A comparison between the Samsung Galaxy A54 and the iPhone SE is the latest development in Samsung and Apple’s battle for supremacy in the smartphone market. Each of the phone manufacturers has a sub-$500 phone intended to appeal to customers on a tighter budget, even though they may be better known for their expensive flagship models.
Of the two midrange models, the Galaxy A54 is the more recent model; it was released this year with an upgraded main camera, a brighter 6.4-inch display, and a longer-lasting battery. Even though it makes some cost-saving compromises on a few other features, it has also adopted the design of the Galaxy S23 series.
Don’t be fooled by the iPhone SE’s 2022 release date; it was only released in the spring. Thanks to the same A15 Bionic chip that debuted with the iPhone 13, it is still a top-performing phone. Additionally, it makes use of Apple’s mobile software to provide an excellent iPhone experience in a much more affordable package.
What matters most in a Samsung Galaxy A54 vs. iPhone SE comparison is probably whether you prefer iOS or Android. However, it’s still important to consider which device overall offers the best value as a cheap phone. Here is a comparison of the two phones.
Specs:
| Samsung Galaxy A54 | iPhone SE 2022 | |
| Starting price | $449/£449/AU$699 | $429/£449/AU$719 |
| Screen size | 6.4-inch AMOLED (2340 x 1080) | 4.7-inch LCD (1344 x 750) |
| Refresh rate | 120Hz | 60Hz |
| CPU | Exynos 1380 | A15 Bionic |
| RAM | 6GB, 8GB (U.K-only) | 4GB |
| Storage | 128GB, 256GB (U.K.-only) | 64GB, 128GB, 256GB |
| Expandable storage? | Yes, up to 1TB | No |
| Rear cameras | 50MP main (f/1.8), 12MP ultrawide (f/2.2), 5MP macro (f/2.4) | 12MP (f/1.8) |
| Front cameras | 32MP (f/2.2) | 7MP (f/2.2) |
| Battery size | 5,000 mAh | 1,624 mAh |
| Battery life (Hrs: Mins) | 10:20 (adaptive); 11:46 (60Hz) | 9:05 |
| Charging speed | 25W wired, no wireless charging | 25W wired; 7.5W wireless |
| Size | 6.2 x 3.0 x 0.32 inches | 5.45 x 2.65 x 0.29 inches |
| Weight | 7.1 ounces | 5 ounces |
| Colors | Awesome Graphite, Awesome White, Awesome Lime, Awesome Violet | Midnight, Starlight, [Product] Red |
The iPhone SE base model will cost you less money. The cheapest iPhone model from Apple costs $429, $20 less than the Galaxy A54.
But not every base model is made equally. The Galaxy A54 has 128GB of storage, which is twice as much as the $429 iPhone (U.K. customers can choose a 256GB version). The 128GB iPhone SE is $30 more expensive than the A54 because you would need to pay an additional $50 to get an equivalent amount of storage.
By searching for the best Galaxy A54 deals and the best iPhone SE deals, you can attempt to reduce the cost of both phones.
Despite the iPhone’s lower starting price, we have to give the Galaxy A54 the advantage because its 128GB of storage offers better value.
Design:
The Galaxy A54 mimics the design of the Galaxy S23 and draws design cues from a high-end smartphone. That indicates that the rear cameras are arranged vertically down the phone’s back, with the lenses sticking out. The Galaxy A54 actually experiences some wobbling when placed face-up, whereas the iPhone SE doesn’t due to the iPhone SE’s single camera lens not sticking out as much.
A flagship phone serves as an inspiration for the iPhone SE as well. Sadly, that flagship was released in 2018. The iPhone SE maintains the appearance of the iPhone 8, which includes a Touch ID button and wide bezels on the top and bottom of the screen. Although the bezels on the Galaxy A54 are noticeable, they are not nearly as prominent as those on the iPhone SE.
Despite using less expensive materials than their flagship counterparts, both phones have IP67 water resistance ratings, which give them some degree of durability. Accordingly, either the iPhone SE or Galaxy A54 can withstand a 30-minute submersion in water up to one meter deep.
With the Galaxy A54, which offers violet and lime colors in addition to the customary black and white, you’ll have more color options. Along with its white and black versions, the iPhone SE only comes in a (Product) Red variation.
Display:
When comparing the displays of the Galaxy A54 and iPhone SE, the differences are immediately noticeable. The iPhone SE’s 4.7-inch screen is among the smallest still on the market, while the Galaxy A54’s 6.4-inch display offers plenty of screen space.
But as you examine the specifications, the differences become more pronounced. The Galaxy A54 from Samsung has an OLED display, whereas the iPhone SE from Apple has an LCD display. As a result, the A54’s display features truer blacks and a 120Hz refresh rate. The iPhone SE has a 60Hz lock.
| Samsung Galaxy A54 | iPhone SE | |
| Display size | 6.4-inch AMOLED | 4.7-inch LCD |
| sRGB (%) | 127.1% (Natural) | 114.7% |
| DCI-P3 (%) | 90% (Natural) | 87.2% |
| Delta-E | 0.06 | 0.21 |
| Peak brightness | 854 nits | 590 nits |
The Galaxy A54 reproduces slightly more colors than the iPhone SE for the sRGB and DCI-P3 color gamuts when set to Natural, and according to the A54’s 0.06 Delta-E rating, its colors are more accurate. (The colors are more accurate the closer to zero.) The brightness of the Samsung phone is also higher, measuring 854 nits on a light meter compared to 590 nits for the iPhone SE.
Cameras:
With three lenses compared to the iPhone SE’s single rear camera, the Galaxy A54 appears to have an advantage in terms of camera hardware. Of course, the A54 only has one useful camera—a macro lens—so we’re really just focusing on the 50MP main camera and the 12MP ultrawide camera. As the same primary camera as the Galaxy S23, the 50MP sensor ought to garner the most interest.
There is only one 12MP lens on the iPhone SE. The Galaxy A54 is the only ultrawide camera available. Even more damning, since the iPhone SE lacks a Night mode, the Galaxy A54 outperforms it when the sun sets. At least the computational photography features that the A15 Bionic chipset supports on the iPhone SE give it an advantage over the Galaxy A54.
Performance:
There isn’t much of a race going on. The A15 Bionic, one of Apple’s better chipsets, is included in the iPhone SE. Although that isn’t the model powering the iPhone 14, which has an additional GPU core, it is still a sizable piece of silicon.
Samsung, on the other hand, is using the Exynos 1380 to power the Galaxy A54. Although the Exynos 1280 was capable of delivering a 20% increase in CPU performance and a 26% increase in GPU performance, Samsung’s chipset would still lag far behind the A15 Bionic.
| Samsung Galaxy A54 | iPhone SE | |
| CPU | Exynos 1380 | A15 Bionic |
| Geekbench 5 (single core/multicore) | 781 / 2664 | 1718 / 4482 |
| 3DMark Wild Life Unlimited (fps) | 16.9 | 50 |
| Adobe Premiere Rush (Mins: Secs) | 1:12 | 0:27 |
That is exactly what we observed when we conducted benchmarks on both phones. The Galaxy A54’s corresponding Geekbench 5 results of 781 for the single-core test and 2,664 for the multicore test were easily defeated by the iPhone SE’s 1,178 and 4,482 scores. Similarly, the iPhone SE scored 50 frames per second on the 3DMark Wild Life Unlimited graphics test while the A54 only managed 16.9 fps.
Beyond artificial benchmarks, real-world testing shows that the iPhone SE outperforms the Galaxy A54. The iPhone SE transcoded a video using Adobe Premiere Rush in just 27 seconds, according to our phones. That is 44 seconds faster than the time taken by the Galaxy A54.
No matter how you look at it, the iPhone SE must be chosen over the Galaxy A54 if you want a faster phone.
Charging and Battery Life:
Even though the A15 Bionic is faster, the iPhone SE still struggles to manage the 1,624 mAh battery’s power. (That number is based on an iPhone SE teardown; Apple doesn’t publicly disclose the size of its phones’ batteries.) The iPhone SE lasted 9 hours and 5 minutes on our battery test, which involves having phones browse the internet over cellular data until they run out of power. About 50 minutes less than the typical smartphone, to be exact.
It is also lower than the outcome of the Galaxy A54. The Galaxy A54, which has a 5,000 mAh battery, lasted 10 hours and 20 minutes during our test. Even longer battery life is possible if you disable the 120Hz refresh rate; the Galaxy A54 lasted 11 hours and 46 minutes with its display locked at 60Hz. The Galaxy A54 was thus able to squeak onto our list of phones with the best battery life.
| Samsung Galaxy A54 | iPhone SE | |
| Battery size | 5,000 mAh | 1,624 mAh |
| Battery life (Hrs: Mins) | 10:20 (adaptive); 11:46 (60Hz) | 9:05 |
| Charging speed | 25W wired | 20W wired |
Both phones have lightning-fast charging times. The Galaxy A54 offers 25W charging while the iPhone SE can charge at 20W. However, the iPhone SE supports wireless charging, whereas Samsung’s phone does not.
Software:
When it comes to software, the phones are fairly comparable because they both use the most recent versions of their respective operating systems: iOS 16 for the iPhone SE and Android 13 for the Galaxy A54. The iPhone SE will be able to download iOS 17 when it becomes available later this year, but Android 14 won’t be ready for Samsung’s phones until after it has been released.
The Galaxy A54 at least offers better software support thanks to Samsung’s new four-year update guarantee for Android and an additional year of security updates. That is almost as good as what Apple provides for its iPhones, which typically receive updates every five years.
Verdict:
This Samsung Galaxy A54 vs. iPhone SE comparison turned out to be closer than we initially anticipated, especially given the iPhone’s out-of-date design and the Galaxy A54’s more recent release date. But it’s fairly obvious that the Galaxy A54 is the superior option.
| Samsung Galaxy A54 | iPhone SE | |
| Price (10 points) | 10 | 9 |
| Design (10 points) | 9 | 7 |
| Display (15 points) | 13 | 10 |
| Cameras (20 points) | 16 | 15 |
| Performance (20 points) | 14 | 19 |
| Battery life and charging (15 points) | 12 | 11 |
| Software (10 points) | 9 | 10 |
| Overall (100 points) | 83 | 81 |
In terms of price, software, and cameras, Samsung and Apple phones are fairly comparable, though we believe that Samsung’s ultra-wide lens and night mode support give it the overall advantage in that last category. When it comes to performance, the iPhone comes out on top, but the Galaxy A54 is pretty strong in every other category.
Compared to the outdated iPhone SE design, it has a better, more polished appearance, and because the A54 uses a fast-refreshing OLED panel, it has a better display. Even though an iPhone SE can be wirelessly charged, the Samsung phone has a longer battery life.
Budget-conscious Apple fans will still choose the iPhone SE over any Samsung product. Even the most ardent supporter would have to admit that the Galaxy A54 outperforms the iPhone SE in terms of overall quality.
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