Galaxy M53 is an affordable budget phone. But, should you buy the Galaxy M53? Learning about the pros and cons of M53 is the perfect way to make a decision. This way, instead of relying on others’ reviews, you be the judge and decide on your future purchase.
We always say that it’s your money, your decision. However, this article will give clear information whether the Galaxy M53 is a perfect phone for you.
Here is a complete specs table for the Samsung Galaxy M53.
| M53 features | M53 Specs |
|---|---|
| Network Support | GSM / HSPA / LTE / 5G |
| SIM | Dual SIM (Nano-SIM, dual stand-by) |
| Supports eSIM? | No. |
| SIM Slot Type | Single Slot holds both nano-SIM and the SD card. For the dual sim model, there are two side by side sim slots and dedicated SD card slot. |
| Display | 6.7-inch Super AMOLED Plus |
| Front Display Protection | No Corning Gorilla glass. |
| Build | Glass front, plastic back, plastic frame. |
| Display Resolution | 1080 x 2408 pixels (394 PPI density) |
| Screen Refresh Rate | 120 Hz. |
| OS | Android 12, One UI 4.1 |
| Processor | Octa-Core. 2 at 2.4 GHz Cortex-A78, and 6 at 2.0 GHz A55. |
| Processor Make | MediaTek MT6877 Dimensity 900 |
| GPU | Mali-G68 MC4 |
| Motherboard | Mediatek |
| Internal Memory Size | 128GB, and 256GB version available. |
| External SD card? | Yes. Expandable up to 512 GB |
| SD card slot type | microSDXC (dedicated slot) |
| RAM | 6GB or 8GB |
| Number of Main Back Camera | 4 |
| Back Main Camera Configurations | 108 Megapixel(MP) 80-degree 26mm wide camera, 8 MP 123-degree ultra wide camera, 2 MP depth camera, and 2 MP macro camera. |
| Front Camera | 32 Megapixel(MP) 26 mm wide angle camera with 2.2 fixed aperture. |
| Rear Camera OIS | No. |
| Front Camera OIS | No. |
| 3.5mm headphone jack? | No. |
| Stereo speaker? | Yes. |
| NFC? | Yes but dependent on region |
| MHL support | Yes |
| Wi-Fi Direct support | Yes |
| Wi-Fi 6 Support? | No |
| USB | Type-C 2.0 reversible connector. |
| OTG Support | Yes |
| Fingerprint Sensor? | Yes, side-mounted. |
| Other Sensors | Accelerometer, compass, proximity sensor, GPS |
| Bluetooth | 5.0 LE, A2DP, low power. |
| Battery | Non-removable Li-Po 5000 mAh. |
| Charging Power | 25W fast charging. |
| Wireless charging? | No |
| Supports Reverse Wireless charging? | No. |
| Waterproof? | No. |
| Dex Support? | No. |
| Wireless emergency alerts (CMAS) capable | Yes. |
| Hearing Aid (HAC) rating | M3, T3. |
To check the latest price of this phone, please visit Samsung Amazon Store.
Pros of Samsung Galaxy M53:
These are the advantages of M53.
Price:
The biggest advantage of the Galaxy M53 is its price. Compared to other Samsung Galaxy series, such as the A, F or S, Galaxy M-series phones have almost similar build quality but have a low price.
Samsung created the Galaxy M series phone to compete with low-cost Xiaomi and Oneplus phones. Therefore, the M53 is the most affordable phone made by Samsung. Price is the main advantage. As Samsung sells millions of phones each year, they can leverage their marketing, R&D, and factory floor to produce phones at a low price with suitable hardware that other phone manufacturers struggle with.
Moreover, Samsung is very good with its quality control. Even though they have a bad reputation for terrible software, no one can say that Samsung ships with lousy hardware. Samsung makes the best phone parts in the world. Therefore, you get world-class phones at a budget price.
If you are on a budget but don’t want to buy Xiaomi or Oppo phones, the M53 is an excellent option for you.
Large Battery:
The Galaxy M53 has a massive 5000 mAh battery. Generally, not even many tablets on the market packs this gigantic battery, let alone a phone. One can smoothly use this phone for two days without any recharge.
Expandable Storage:
Galaxy M53 comes with either 128GB or 256GB memory. Moreover, the M53 has an expandable memory slot, where you can insert a microSD card up to 512GB. It is very convenient because you don’t have to shell out hundreds of dollars for memory upgrades like Apple’s iPhone.
Here’s an example. The 128 GB iPhone 13 Pro costs $999, and the next storage version, 256 GB, costs $1099. So, Apple is charging you $100 for 128GB of memory. Now check this 512 GB Samsung microSD card on Amazon.
Apple charges you 450% more money for the same product you can buy from Amazon. We hope you do realize the benefit of expandable storage space.
If you want to buy the Galaxy M53, we suggest purchasing the 128GB version from Samsung. Then go to Amazon and buy a 512GB SD card. There’s no reason to give Samsung extra money for only 128GB of additional storage.
Many would argue that getting extra storage for Android OS is good for making the phone faster. However, it’s not entirely accurate. Nowadays, Android apps can be installed on external SD cards. Therefore, extra internal memory space isn’t required.
Super AMOLED Display:
The Galaxy M53 has a 6.7 inch Super AMOLED screen, and its resolution is 1080 x 2408 pixels (394 PPI density). We know that the AMOLED display is superior to the LCD screen and consumes less energy. The screen resolution of this phone is so high that you won’t be able to distinguish individual pixels.
However, AMOLED displays have two types of problems.
One, an AMOLED display loses its sharpness, crispiness, and vividness after a few years. The screen would look dull compared to a newly purchased M53 phone’s screen.
Second, the AMOLED display has a screen burn issue. It arises when someone uses a single app extensively — such as Google Maps — for a long time. This extended usage would leave a ghost watermark of the used app imprinted on the screen permanently.
MHL Support:
Most of the Samsung phones support MHL. Samsung Galaxy M53 also supports MHL connectivity.
MHL is a fantastic piece of technology that many do not know. MHL stands for Mobile High Definition Link. Using the MHL-HDMI cable, you can mirror your phone screen to any projector or TV. This feature helps you to give a presentation from the phone or watch a movie on the projector.
Here’s an example of an MHL cable.
On Amazon, if you search “MHL to HDMI,” you will get thousands of results. This cable will help you transfer your phone display signal to an HDMI port. Before you buy your MHL to HDMI cable, please make sure which USB your phone supports, whether it is a micro USB, mini USB, or USB type C.
Connect one end of the MHL cable to your phone, connect the other HDMI end to a TV or projector. After configuring your TV or projector to HDMI input, your phone screen will show up on your TV or projector. Now, enjoy movies, gameplay on your TV or projector. Moreover, you can give a presentation on office settings with your MHL supported phone without laptops or computers. Isn’t it great?
Galaxy M53 has OTG Support:
OTG stands for on-the-go. As M53 supports OTG, we can buy various USB-C devices and add useful functionality to our Galaxy M53. Here are a few examples.
USB C keyboard:
You can purchase a USB-C keyboard from Amazon and use it to type faster on your phone.
USB C game controller:
If you use a USB C game controller with your M53, it will tremendously improve your gameplay. For example, you can purchase this game controller from Amazon.
USB C microSD card reader:
You can buy a USB C MicroSD card reader and an SD card from Amazon and expand your phone memory on the go. OTG is mind-blowing.
USB C Flash Drive:
If you don’t want to buy a microSD card reader and SD card, you can purchase a USB C Flash Drive instead, similar to this one. Using a flash drive, you can transfer various files, photos, and videos between your Galaxy M53 phone and laptop.
USB C HUB:
A portable USB C HUB will allow you to connect a monitor, keyboard, mouse, speaker, hard disk, TV, SD card, projector, etc., with your Galaxy M53. Simply put, this type of HUB will transform your phone into a computer.
USB C to USB adapter:
This type of adapter has various uses. Here is one example. If you have a DSLR camera and want to backup pictures from your DSLR camera to your phone, you can do it with a USB C to USB adapter.
Ethernet Cable Connection:
You can use a USB C to Ethernet adapter, for example, like this one to connect the Galaxy M53 to an ethernet network. This way, you can get the internet on your M53 phone without WiFi.
5G Support:
The Galaxy M53 supports 5G. However, not all models have 5G support. It depends on region and models. If you need a 5G M53, please verify the model before placing your order online.
Fast Charging:
Though the Galaxy M53 does not have wireless charging, it has a 25W fast charging capability. As a result, charging this phone does not take too much time.
However, fast charging degrades the battery quickly compared to slow charging. So, we suggest that if you purchase this phone, slow charge it overnight. It will improve your phone battery life.
Fingerprint Sensor:
The Galaxy M53 has a side-mounted fingerprint sensor. A dedicated side-mounted fingerprint sensor is better than in-screen sensors. Many have reported that in-screen fingerprint sensors malfunction if the display gets broken.
SmartThings, Smart View:
If you have Samsung devices such as a Samsung smart fridge, TV, oven, dishwasher, Air conditioner, Samsung washing machine, Samsung dryer, etc., in your home, you can control those devices using your Galaxy M53 with SmartThings and SmartView app. For example, you can wirelessly cast your phone screen onto your Samsung TV through the SmartView app.
Top-Notch Security:
Galaxy M53 is a very secure phone. It’s perfect for the “Bring Your Own Device (BYOD)” programs. Samsung Knox is integrated into this phone’s hardware and software. This multi-layered Knox security mechanism protects sensitive data from malware threats.
There’s a misconception that Android phones can get viruses or malware. It’s not entirely accurate. Android OS is inherently very secure. One app can’t steal information from another app.
However, an app can steal personal information if and only if you give too many permissions to the app. If you keep an eye on the app and permission list during installation, you can determine whether the installing app is bad or good. For example, if a game asks for permission to access your camera, media gallery, or SMS app, the gaming app is undoubtedly doing something nefarious in the background.
Samsung Pay:
The Galaxy M53 supports Magnetic Secure Transmission (MST) and Near Field Communication (NFC) payment systems. Therefore, you can use M53 to pay at stores even if they only have old fashioned standard credit card readers.
“Always On Display”:
The Galaxy M53 have the “Always On Display” feature. “Always On Display” is very useful. Using this feature, you can control music, watch time and date, view the calendar even when the screen is turned off. If enabled, the Always On Display will appear if you tap on the screen.
Free Shipping:
If you order your phone online from the Samsung website, Samsung will ship you this Galaxy M53 free of charge.
Useful Apps and Features in Galaxy M53:
In Galaxy M53, there are many useful apps. The following features in Galaxy M53 are beneficial.
Secure Folder:
Every Samsung phone, including the Galaxy M53, has the “Secure Folder” feature. You can use the secure folder to protect your private photos, messages, apps, contacts, files, etc., from being accessed by others. It’s a great way to save and protect sensitive data on your phone.
Scan QR Code:
The Galaxy M53 has a built-in QR code scanning feature. From the notification panel, you can activate this feature.
Game Launcher:
In Galaxy M53, there are many useful apps. Game Launcher is one of them. You can use the Game Launcher app to record your phone screen and system audio while you play an android game. A third-party screen recorder app can only record the phone screen, not system audio. So, this is very useful for YouTubers. One drawback of this app is that it can’t record anything except video games.
Built-in Screen Recorder:
The Galaxy M53 also has a built-in screen recorder app. So, you don’t need to install a 3rd party app to record your phone’s screen.
WiFi Direct Printing:
If you have a printer that supports WiFi, you can print anything from your M53 phone without a WiFi router.
Samsung Kids:
Galaxy M53 is perfect for kids. This phone has a parental control feature. While activated from settings, you can restrict access to apps and set their usage times. Moreover, you can also monitor daily usage time and activity history, including the history of frequently used contacts and browsing history. You need a PIN to deactivate “Samsung Kids” once it is enabled. So, don’t worry that your kid will disable it.
Data Usage Monitor:
The Galaxy M53 comes with a built-in data usage monitor. It is a useful feature to keep track of data usage.
Don’t be surprised to read that many apps use data in the background, even if the phone screen is off. To test in a Samsung phone, Goto Settings -> Connections -> Data Usage -> Data Saver. Now tap on “Allow unrestricted data usage.” Now in the top right corner, click on “⋮” and click on “Sort by allowed apps.” Now click again on “⋮” and “Show system apps.” You will get all the apps that use your phone’s internet data in the background. If necessary, you can turn off data permissions for apps individually by switching the toggle button.
Cons of Samsung Galaxy M53:
The Galaxy M53 is less popular than the Galaxy A series. Samsung primarily makes the M series budget phones to compete with Chinese Xiaomi or Oneplus phones. M series phones are less powerful and don’t last as long as the Galaxy A series. These are the drawbacks of M53.
No 3.5mm Headphone Jack:
The Galaxy M53 doesn’t have a 3.5mm headphone jack. Moreover, Samsung also doesn’t ship headphones with the phone’s package. Even a few years ago, Samsung mocked Apple for removing the headphone jack, but now they are copying Apple.
As the Galaxy M53 doesn’t have wireless charging, listening to music and recharging the phone is impossible unless we use Bluetooth headphones. The price of this phone is already $350. Thus the headphones cost extra.
Nowadays, most Samsung phones come without it. The 3.5mm jack is very helpful because you can charge and listen to music at the same time. However, Samsung decided to remove the 3.5mm jack from the Galaxy M53.
No Eligible Trade-in:
Though Samsung frequently offers trade-in on their various phone line up for a new buyer. Galaxy M53 does not provide a trade-in opportunity.
No Free Offers:
On various phone models, Samsung gives free offers. However, the Galaxy M53 phone does not come with any free offers.
Weak Processor:
Samsung is using the MediaTek MT6877 Dimensity 900 processor on this M53 phone. Compared to the Qualcomm Snapdragon processor, it’s performance is weak. Even Xiaomi uses Qualcomm processors on their mid-range phones.
Phones’ long term performance is essential. We don’t replace phones every few years. We generally want to use it for 3 to 4 years. However, after only two years, this processor performance will degrade, making the phone barely usable.
MediaTek processors have two main problems. It gets hot and consumes too much battery power. You will notice that Samsung only uses Qualcomm processors on high-end phones and uses Exynos and MediaTek processors on their budget phones.
No Samsung Financing:
Samsung does not offer any financing to purchase the Galaxy M53. It’s disappointing because we buy a medium-range phone only when we have a monetary problem. However, Samsung decided not to help a customer in need with a financing offer. On the other hand, when people buy high-end phones, they offer 24 months of interest-free loans.
Galaxy M53 Battery is Non-Removable:
The M53’s battery is non-removable. It is a disadvantage because the removable battery is useful in many scenarios. An old phone loses its battery capacity. So, it charges slowly but discharges rapidly, making the phone unusable for a practical purpose.
Moreover, if Samsung OS detects the battery has become weak, it will slow down the processor to protect the battery from further deterioration. The slow processor will make a Samsung phone laggy. It is why an old Samsung phone lags and hangs.
Replacing the old battery with a new one will solve all these problems. But, the M53’s battery is non-removable. So, when your Galaxy M53 phone gets old and becomes slow, you have to replace the phone itself.
Weak Cameras:
The cameras on M53 are disappointing. Even the midrange A series phones have superior cameras than the M53.
For example, the M53 has four back cameras — one 108 MP, two 2MP, and one 8MP. But none of these phones takes a better picture. Even an iPhone with a 12MP camera takes a better picture than this 108MP camera.
A MegaPixel (MP) on a camera means nothing. Whether a camera would take a good or bad photo depends on the pixel size of the camera sensor and the amount of light that enters the camera.
Even though the primary camera on the M53 is 108MP, Samsung hasn’t increased the camera sensor size. Therefore, each pixel size has decreased. It means that, even though the M53 would take a good photo in daylight, M53 will fail to capture even a decent photo at night.
The low light performance of the M53 is terrible. Both video and photo taken in low light with this camera are unusable. It’s grainy and noisy. Therefore, please don’t buy this phone because it has a 108MP camera. This pixel count means nothing.
Moreover, the camera doesn’t have any image stabilization. Therefore, if you record a photo while walking, it will look horrible and nauseating.
Moreover, the feature Samsung advertises as “Space Zoom” is useless; it is nothing but a digital zoom, which causes image deterioration.
M53 Isn’t Water and Dust resistant:
Unfortunately, Samsung M53 is not IP67 certified. It means it’s not waterproof or dust resistant. So, you have to be careful with this phone to prevent any water damage.
Nevertheless, we ask you to be careful before you take your M53 to the sea beach. It’s because saltwater will damage your phone.
Samsung Phones Slows Down:
One of the most significant drawbacks of Samsung phones is that their phone becomes slow over time.
Samsung inherently is a hardware company, not a software company. They develop software because they have to. On the contrary, Apple is inherently a software company. Therefore, Samsung’s software isn’t that great.
Even though Samsung develops its hardware, the Android OS comes from Google. Samsung only modifies it for their M53 phone. Therefore, the optimization isn’t that great.
Moreover, Android is inherently a processor and memory-intensive operating system (OS). But as the Galaxy M53 is a relatively weak phone, it struggles to run the Android OS.
When new, the phone would run blazing fast. However, as the phone ages, it will become increasingly slow. After 12 to 18 months, this Galaxy M53 would become painfully slow.
No DEX support:
The Galaxy M53 does not have Samsung Dex support.
DEX is a great feature. With this, you can turn your phone into a trackpad for TV or PC, wirelessly connect to monitor or TV for enhanced multitasking experience such as browsing the web like a PC.
No eSIM support:
The Galaxy M53 does not have eSIM support.
No Link to Windows:
The Galaxy M53 does not have a link to the windows feature.
Various high-end Samsung phones have this feature; for example, the S20 FE also supports the “Link to Windows” feature. You can live-stream your phone’s screen to your PC, interact with your phone using a keyboard and mouse, see notifications, read and reply to messages, and interact with photos with “Link to Windows” functionality.
Samsung Phone Becomes Hot:
Samsung phones overheat quickly. For the last ten years, Samsung failed to fix the phone overheating issue. Samsung acts like this issue does not exist.
If you play any video game, run YouTube, Netflix, or run an app that uses a lot of processing power — such as a video editor — the phone would become so hot that it would be impossible to hold it in hand. When the phone overheats, your phone will become slow and laggy. Furthermore, your Galaxy M53 can also overheat while you record an HD video with the phone cameras.
Samsung BloatWare:
Though I love Samsung Phones, I’m not too fond of their software. Samsung always ships its phone with a lot of bloatware pre-installed. M53 is not different either. This Galaxy M53 comes with more than 50 preloaded apps. There are several duplicate apps too.
Note: The number of preloaded apps and apps selection differs depending on the region.
You may think it’s not a big deal for your M53 because you have plenty of remaining storage capacity left for you. But the problem with pre-installed bloatware is that those apps have some root permission to access your user data that 3rd party apps don’t have.
Moreover, A pre-installed app can run several processes in the background, which you will never be able to detect. For example, the Facebook app runs several processes in the background that consume a lot of battery and processing power. It not only limits the battery but also prevents other apps from running smoothly, such as Maps. It is why Google maps crashes if you have Facebook installed.
Pre-installed Microsoft Bloatware:
Samsung preloads every Galaxy M53 with the following Microsoft apps.
- Office Mobile
- Microsoft One Drive
- Microsoft Outlook
3rd Party Bloatware:
Samsung ships its every M53 phone with the following 3rd party Apps.
- TikTok
- Booking.com
- Wego Flights & Hotels
- Spotify
- Netflix
Duplicate Apps in Galaxy M53:
Samsung is infamous for shipping its phone with duplicate apps. Galaxy M53 is not an exception, either. The following are the duplicate apps in a Galaxy M53.
Duplicate App Store:
- Google Play Store
- Galaxy Store
Duplicate Music App:
- YT Music
- Spotify
Duplicate Browser:
- Google Chrome
- Google (Search)
- Samsung Internet
Duplicate Online Storage:
- Google Drive
- Microsoft OneDrive
Numerous Email Client:
- Gmail
- Samsung Email
- Microsoft Outlook
Duplicate Payment System:
- Google Pay
- Samsung Pay
Unnecessary Pre-installed Apps:
There are apps on Galaxy M53, which are not necessary at all times. It could be beneficial for some, but not for all people. Moreover, anyone can download these apps from the App store. So, there’s no point in pre-installing the following apps.
Note: Varies depending on the region.
LinkedIn, Booking.com, Facebook, Dictionary, Chat Over Video, Galaxy Friends, Spotify, Wego Flights, Netflix, Samsung Member, Samsung Global Goals, Samsung Notes, Galaxy Wearables, Google Search, Outlook, Play Movie & TV, Duo, YouTube, Google Photos.
We don’t know about you, but we are laughing, looking at the M53 bloatware list. Compare this with an iPhone, which comes with zero bloatware, zero 3rd party apps, and zero carrier pre-installed apps.
No Wireless Charging:
Galaxy M53 does not support wireless charging.
Even a mid-range phone from Xiaomi has wireless charging support, but this phone does not have this feature.
No Wireless PowerShare:
The Galaxy M53 does not have wireless power share technology built-in. Therefore, we can’t use this phone to charge other phones wirelessly.
Plastic Back:
This M53 has a plastic back. So, it does not feel premium at all. Moreover, a plastic back will chip its paint after a few years. At that point, this phone will look very ugly. However, if you use a phone case, you can avoid this issue.
No Extended Software Update:
Apple provides regular software updates to all of its iPhone. They never abandon their phones. But Samsung stops giving any software update after only 18 months of release. But this is only true for high-end Samsung phones.
As the M53 is a mid-range phone, Samsung will never release an OS update after 12 months.
RAM:
The Samsung Galaxy M53 would ship with 6GB or 8GB RAM. We consider it a disadvantage because 6GB RAM is not enough for the Android OS with One UI 4.1 and with all those bloatware pre-installed. While new, your phone will open apps blazing fast; however, this RAM will choke to run different apps after a few years.
Android is inherently a resource-intensive operating system. The RAM Samsung is giving in this phone is actually not for users. It’s primarily for the heavy Android OS because, without the 6GB RAM, the M53 will struggle to run apps smoothly.
However, as the RAM ages, this phone will slow down and fail to run various apps without crashing.
Useless Bixby:
Samsung is terrible at software. Bixby is the prime example. Most of the time, it does not work. Moreover, Android Assistant is far superior to Bixby. Still, Samsung ships this unnecessary software with every phone.
Samsung Phones Don’t Last Long:
We all know that Samsung phones don’t last long. A new Galaxy M53 will operate smoothly. But after only a few years, this M53 will become very slow and laggy.
Frequently Asked Questions.
Does the Samsung M53 come with a screen protector?
No, Samsung M53 does not come with a screen protector pre-installed on the phone.
Does the Samsung M53 come with a case?
No, Samsung M53 does not come with a phone case in the box.
How to activate Developer Mode in Galaxy M53?
Before you can develop apps and test on M53, you need to enable the “Developer options.” To activate it, go to “Settings” then click on “About phone.” Now, click on the “Build number” 7 times to enable “Developer options.” Once activated, the option will appear in the “Settings” main menu.
How to force restart M53?
If your M53 is frozen and unresponsive, press and hold the Side key and the Volume Down key simultaneously for more than 7 seconds to restart your phone.
Conclusion:
The Galaxy M53 is a moderately priced, decent phone. However, this phone has more drawbacks than benefits. We encourage you to compare this phone with similarly priced Xiaomi and Oppo phones first, then make your final purchasing decision.