Samsung Galaxy M53 5G First Impressions: Stylish and Powerful?

Samsung is expanding its Galaxy M series with the introduction of the Galaxy M53 5G. This is the successor to the Galaxy M52 5G and features some big upgrades. Some of the highlights of this new smartphone include a 108-megapixel primary rear camera, a Mediatek Dimensity 900 SoC, and a big 6.7-inch Super AMOLED display. Should the Galaxy M53 5G be your first choice in the Rs. sub-30,000 segment? I got my hands on this new smartphone and here are my first impressions.

The Samsung Galaxy M53 5G has launched priced starting at Rs. 26,499 for the base variant which comes with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. The other variant offers 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage and is priced at Rs. 28,499. You can get Rs. 2,500 instant cashback thanks to an offer for ICICI Credit Card holders and EMI transactions.

The Mystique Green colour looks premium and helps the Galaxy M53 5G stand out

Samsung offers the Galaxy M53 5G in two colours, Deep Ocean Blue and Mystique Green. I have the base variant in Mystique Green for this review. The smartphone comes in a slim box, like the Galaxy S series smartphones, because a charger isn't included. The box contains the Galaxy M53 5G, a USB Type-C to Type-C cable, SIM eject tool, and some documentation.

The first thing that appealed to me the moment I held the phone was the Mystique Green finish. It looks premium and isn't very common in this price range, which should help the Galaxy M53 5G stand out. What also makes the device distinctive is the big 6.7-inch Super AMOLED display. Samsung calls this an Infinity-O display since it has a hole at the top for the 32-megapixel selfie shooter. This panel has a full-HD+ resolution and a 120Hz maximum refresh rate. You get Corning Gorilla Glass 5 protection for the display which should help protect it against scratches and damage. Samsung has managed to keep the bezels on the sides of the display quite slim but the chin is thicker.

The Samsung Galaxy M53 5G is a huge phone. One-handed use is possible but not convenient. Thankfully, it isn't too thick despite having a 5,000mAh battery. It supports up to 25W fast charging, but you'll need to use your own charger.

The Galaxy M53 5G runs Android 12 with Samsung's OneUI 4.1 customisations on top

You get a side-mounted fingerprint scanner integrated into the power button. It is easy to reach and convenient to unlock the phone. The Samsung Galaxy M53 5G has a flat back, and the camera module in the top-left corner is designed to look like it rises from the surface without any sharp edges. The camera setup on the Galaxy M53 5G consists of a 108-megapixel primary camera, an 8-megapixel ultra-wide-angle camera, a 2-megapixel macro camera, and a 2-megapixel depth camera. The flash sits right below the module. I noticed that the back panel picked up smudges easily, forcing me to wipe it constantly for that clean look.

The Samsung Galaxy M53 5G is powered by the MediaTek Dimensity 900 SoC and has a vapour cooling system to keep temperatures in check. The OnePlus Nord CE 2 5G (Review) also uses the same SoC and can be considered a competitor to the Galaxy M53 5G. Samsung also offers a RAM Plus feature that lets you allot up to 8GB of the storage as virtual RAM on the top-end variant.

The Samsung Galaxy M53 5G runs Android 12 out of the box with Samsung's OneUI 4.1 skin. My review unit had the March 2022 Android security patch. Samsung's UI looks polished and is easy to use. Even if you haven't used a Samsung smartphone recently, you should be able to get accustomed to the menus and layout without much trouble. You can also set up Samsung's cloud storage service through a Samsung account for backups and other ecosystem features.

The quad-camera module looks like it's fused to the back panel

The Samsung Galaxy M53 5G comes with several Samsung and Google apps preinstalled. It also has a lot of bloatware, some of which can bombard you with spammy notifications. You can simply uninstall the apps you won't use to reduce clutter.

In my limited time with the Samsung Galaxy M53 5G, I found general performance to be good. It did not show any sign of lag and was able to keep up with my usage. At this point, I can say that the Rs. 25,000 to Rs. 30,000 price segment has some promising phones and that the Galaxy M53 5G should make a good addition. However, the only way to know for sure whether this is a worthy smartphone or not is by reviewing it, which is what I'll be doing soon, so stay tuned for the full review coming soon only on Gadgets 360.