Marques Brownlee, more commonly known as MKBHD, the famous tech YouTuber once said, “Cheap phones are getting good and good phones are getting cheaper”. A look into the current market of smartphones also reveals the same. Among the mid-range releases this year, the Samsung Galaxy A54 and the realme 11 Pro+ stand out as great phones that are surprisingly inexpensive. So which is the better buy? Let’s find out.
Samsung Galaxy A54 vs realme 11 Pro+: Key Differences
Design and Build Quality
The design of the two phones couldn’t be more different than they are. Both of them have a plastic frame but the A54 edges out in the sense that it has a glass back. However, the 11 Pro+ is not slack as there’s a choice of faux leather back to bring flagship-like premium looks.
The A54 looks minimalistic with a frosted back, vertical camera housing, and a simple Samsung engraving. On the other hand, the 11 Pro+ has a very busy back with a vertical stripe, rounded camera housing, and contrasting colors. The 11 Pro+ is a clear winner here when it comes to design.
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The 11 Pro+ comes in at 161.6 x 73.9 x 8.2 mm with the A54 coming in at 158.2 x 76.7 x 8.2 mm. Even though the A54 is a bit smaller than the 11 Pro Plus it is slightly heavier at 202 gm compared to 183 gm or 189 gm (leather) of the 11 Pro+. The Gorilla Glass protection on the A54 is complemented by IP67 water and dust resistance. None of these are present on the 11 Pro+.
The external features on both devices are more or less the same. Except the A54 comes with micro SDXC support on the shared sim slot.
When it comes to design, things are pretty much subjective. But as for the build quality and protection, the A54 slightly edges out the 11 Pro+.
The Display
It’s often difficult to beat Samsung in the display category. But the 11 Pro+ comes pretty close. Both devices come with an AMOLED panel with 1B color, 120 Hz refresh rate, HDR10+ support, and HBM.
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The display on the 11 Pro+ is slightly taller at 6.7 inches compared to the 6.4 inches on the A54. The taller display also accounts for a peculiar 20:9 aspect ratio. That brings the 1080P display ppi to 394 compared to the 403 ppi on the A54.
But the curved panel on the 11 Pro+ accounts for a 90.5% screen-to-body ratio. Compared to the 11 Pro+, the bezel might look larger on the A54 with an 82.9% screen-to-body ratio.
Ultimately, the display of the A54 prevails over the 11 Pro+ with crisper color, better sharpness, and a slightly better HBM.
The Camera
The camera module on the A54 and 11 Pro+ has very contrasting specs and even more contrasting performance in an unexpected way. Let’s clarify.
Both devices come with a triple camera module. The A54 has a 50 MP main sensor, 12 MP ultrawide, and 5 MP macro shooter. On the other hand, the 11 Pro Plus has a whooping 200 MP main sensor, 8 MP ultrawide, and a 2 MP macro.
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Performance-wise, both devices are on par. Pictures look crisp and detailed in daylight with decent dynamic range. Not to mention, in many cases megapixel counts mean nothing. Both the cameras performed well in low light but the Samsung takes an edge with more consistent exposures.
The videography of the 11 Pro+ has the highest capacity of 4K at 30 fps with the slo-mo being pushed up to 960 fps at 720P. The A54 can really match the ultra slo-mo of the 11 Pro+ as it maxes out at 480 fps. However, 4K at 30 fps is also present on the A54.
The front camera is the same 32 MP shooter in both devices which is good enough for casual selfies and reels.
Processor and Performance
The processor on the Galaxy A54 is the proprietary Exynos 1380 based on a 5 Nm architecture with a chip design of 4x2.4 GHz Cortex-A78 & 4x2.0 GHz Cortex-A55. On the other hand, the 11 Pro+ comes with MediaTek Dimensity 7050 based on a 6 Nm architecture with a chip design of 2x2.6 GHz Cortex-A78 & 6x2.0 GHz Cortex-A55.
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Both the devices are powered by Mali G68 GPU with the A54 having the MP5 variant and the 11 Pro+ with the MC4 variant respectively.
In real-life performance, both devices are on par with each other. Both are based on Android 13 with a snappy interface. But in terms of UI, the One UI takes an edge over the Realme UI. The high refresh rate on both devices makes it a treat to interact with the device. For casual use, any of these two would more than suffice.
In terms of high-end gaming, the story is also somewhat similar. Both the devices can run graphics-intensive games like PUBG, COD, Asphalt 9, and Genshin Impact perfectly in mid settings and with some occasional frame drops here and there at max settings.
The devices don’t do a very good job of heat dissipating as they tend to heat up after 30-odd minutes of continued gaming. The heating is more apparent on the A54 as it has a glass back.
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Overall, both devices are capable performers when it comes to the performance side of things.
Battery and Charge Time
Perhaps the biggest difference between the two devices is in the battery department. The Galaxy A54 has a 5000 mAh battery and so does the 11 Pro+. So where is the difference? It has an impressive charge speed of 100W on 11 Pro+. Compared to that, the A54 falls way short with just 25W fast charging.
Table: Comparison of key features
| Factor | Samsung Galaxy A54 | realme 11 Pro+ |
| Dimensions | 158.2 x 76.7 x 8.2 mm | 161.6 x 73.9 x 8.2 mm or 8.7 mm |
| Weight | 202 gm | 183 or 189 gm |
| Display | 6.4 inch, 1080 by 2340 pixels resolution, Super AMOLED FHD+, 120 Hz, HDR 10+, 1000 nits HBM, 6.4 inches, 403 ppi. | 6.7 inch, 1080 by 2412 pixels resolution, AMOLED FHD+, 120 Hz, HDR 10+, 950 nits HBM, 6.7 inches, 394 ppi. |
| Camera |
50 MP main sensor with f/1.8 aperture. 12 MP ultrawide rear sensor with f/2.2 aperture and a 123-degree field of view. 5 MP macro (rear sensor) with f/2.4 aperture. 32 MP front camera with f/2.2 aperture |
200 MP main sensor with f/1.7 aperture 8 MP ultrawide rear sensor with f/2.2 aperture and 112-degree field of view 2 MP rear macro shooter with f/2.4 aperture. 32 MP front camera with f/2.5 aperture |
| Processor | Exynos 1380 (5 nm) with Mali G68 MP5 | Mediatek MT6877V Dimensity 7050 (6 nm) with Mali G68 MP4 |
| Storage (RAM/ROM) | 6/128 GB, 8/128 GB, 8/128 GB, 8/256 GB | 8/256 GB, 12/256 GB, 12/512 GB, 12GB/ 1 TB |
| Headphone Jack | No | No |
| Battery | 5000 mAh with 25W wired fast charging | 5000 mAh with 100W wired fast charging |
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Reasons to consider the Samsung Galaxy A54
Design
Front and back sides of the device Corning Gorilla 5 glass protection.
Waterproof body
It has an IP67 classification, ensuring protection against water damage.
Newer bluetooth version
The device is equipped with Bluetooth v5.3, offering enhanced connectivity features.
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Expandable storage
You can expand the storage capacity of the phone using a MicroSD card of up to 1024GB.
Higher peak brightness
The Galaxy A54 5G delivers higher peak brightness compared to its competitor, resulting in a brighter and more vibrant display.
Front-facing camera with 4K video recording
The phone's front camera can record videos in 4K resolution, allowing for high-quality self-recording.
Ready for eSIM technology
It supports eSIM technology, enabling one to use electronic SIM cards for convenient network connectivity.
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