The Poco F5 is a well-rounded high-performance mid-ranger from Xiaomi, while the Samsung Galaxy A54 is another all-around excellent mid-ranger that’s quite popular these days. The two phones are roughly similar in size; the Poco is slightly taller, but the A54 is a bit wider and thicker. While both have a plastic frame, the A54 has a Gorilla Glass back, while the Poco’s back is plastic. This could be one reason why the Poco F5 is noticeably lighter than the other phone.
Display
The Poco is taller, and that’s because its display is a bit larger at 6.67 inches versus the A54’s 6.4-inch display. The Poco also has support for Dolby Vision and 12-bit color depth, which the A54 doesn’t have. Other than that, each panel is a bright and sharp 120Hz OLED with support for HDR10+ video. The Galaxy A54 has IP67-rated Ingress Protection, tested for protection against water submersion, versus the Poco’s IP53-rated splash-proofing.
Feature
But the Poco F5 has a traditional headphone jack, unlike the Galaxy. Both phones have a pair of stereo speakers, and the setup on the Poco F5 is slightly louder than the A54’s. The sound quality is about the same, though. You can check the provided link to compare the two.
The Galaxy A54 has an optical under-display fingerprint reader for biometrics, whereas the Poco F5 has a capacitive one built into the power button on the side. In typical Xiaomi fashion, the Poco F5 also has an IR blaster for controlling appliances, which is absent from the A54. But the Galaxy brings another desirable feature: MicroSD expandable storage.
software
Naturally, you get a different user interface on either phone. The Galaxy A54 runs on Samsung’s One UI over Android 13, while the Poco F5 runs the Poco-flavored version of Xiaomi’s MIUI, again over Android 13. Each phone gives you slightly different organization and aesthetic on top of the familiar Android core. But the Galaxy has one clear advantage: software support for four more OS updates, while you’ll get only two updates on the Poco.
Chipset
The balance swings back into the Poco’s favor when it comes to the chipset. It’s rocking a Snapdragon 7 Plus Gen 2, which is about as powerful as you can get without going into flagship territory. Meanwhile, the Galaxy A54 uses an Exynos 1380 chip. It runs smoothly without noticeable hiccups, but the Poco F5 handily outperforms the Galaxy A54 in benchmarks.
Battery
Both the A54 and the Poco F5 have a 5,000mAh battery, and the battery life is neck and neck. In our tests, the Galaxy scored an endurance rating of 119 hours, while the Poco scored 118 hours. But the Poco comes with a 67W charger in the box, while the Galaxy has support for 25W charging, and there’s no adapter included. The Poco blows the Samsung away in this regard, charging from 0 to 83 percent in half an hour compared to 56 percent on the A54.
Camera
When it comes to cameras, the Galaxy A54 has a 50-megapixel main camera, a 12-megapixel ultrawide, and a 5-megapixel macro cam. As for the Poco F5, its main cam is a 64-megapixel one, paired with an 8-megapixel ultrawide and a 2-megapixel macro camera. All in all, neither phone will disappoint, as both are pretty solid in the camera department. With either the Galaxy A54 or the Poco F5, you can capture great daylight photos with good detail and colors.
And both phones also manage to do a good job in low-light conditions as well. Here’s a comparison of the 4K video quality from the main camera of each phone; either way, it’s quite nice. Poco does support electronic stabilization in 4K, though, while on the Samsung, you can only get stabilization with 1080p videos.
The Galaxy has a 32-megapixel selfie cam compared to a 16-megapixel one on the Poco. But despite the disparity in resolution, both phones can take competitive selfies. The Galaxy has the upper hand for selfie video; still, it can record in 4K, while the Poco F5 can only record in 1080p with the selfie cam.
So there you have it, guys. While both of these phones are solid mid-rangers in many ways, each has some clear advantages over the other. But the Galaxy A54 gives you the better build quality with the Gorilla Glass back and IP67 Ingress Protection. The expandable storage and under-display fingerprint reader are notable exclusives, and you get better software support and 4K selfie videos.
Meanwhile, the Poco F5 provides a more powerful chipset and a better display with 12-bit color and Dolby Vision. You get a headphone jack and an IR blaster, and there’s much faster charging and an adapter bundled with the phone. At the end of the day, the question of which is better than the other depends on your own priorities. Either way, though, both phones provide excellent value and have our full recommendation.
