Technologies

Galaxy A54 5G Hands-On: Samsung’s Budget Phone Gets a New Design

The $450 phone’s new design makes it feel more like a premium device.

Samsung’s new Galaxy A54 5G has a lot in common with its predecessor, but you wouldn’t guess just by looking at it. The Galaxy A54 5G, which costs $450 (£499, roughly converts to AU$915) and launches on April 6, brings a fresh design, new processor and updated camera to Samsung’s more wallet-friendly phone.

How to Preorder the Samsung Galaxy A54

Based on the brief amount of time I spent with it, the new design appears to be the biggest change. That might not matter much if you plan to put a case on your device. But it suggests Samsung is doing more to close the gap between its premium and budget devices. That could be particularly important if Samsung wants to catch up to Google’s Pixel 6A, which I said might be the best-looking phone in its price range in my review.

The Galaxy A54 5G’s new look

Samsung's Galaxy A54 5G being held with the screen showing — Richard Peterson/CNET

The Galaxy A54 5G has a new glossy finish that makes it feel more premium than last year’s Galaxy A53. The shiny back panel and matte edges remind me of the iPhone 11, and that’s a good thing.

You’ll also notice the camera bump is absent from the Galaxy A54 5G. Samsung replaced it with a floating camera setup similar to the one found on the Galaxy S23 lineup, giving it a more clean and consistent aesthetic. Looks aren’t the most important aspect of a phone, but it’s still great to see a sub-$500 device that doesn’t feel cheap.

It almost feels like Samsung is taking a page from Google’s book in terms of design. The $450 Pixel 6A, which is essentially a less expensive version of the Pixel 6, also has a glossy finish. And like the Galaxy A54 5G, the Pixel 6A inherits a camera design that’s similar to its premium sibling.

The Galaxy A54 5G has a 6.4-inch screen, making it slightly smaller than the 6.5-inch Galaxy A53 5G. I’ve always felt this size makes for a great medium between the 6.1-inch Galaxy S23 and 6.6-inch Galaxy S23 Plus, and that remains true with the Galaxy A54.

The Galaxy A53 5G (left) and the Galaxy A54 5G (right) being held up showing the back — Last year’s Galaxy A53 5G (left) with the new Galaxy A54 5G.

Richard Peterson/CNET

By putting more of a focus on the Galaxy A54’s looks, Samsung addressed one of my biggest complaints about the Galaxy A53. I specifically said there was nothing «new» or «interesting» about the Galaxy A53’s design, so I’m glad to see that’s changed this time around.

My other gripe about the Galaxy A53 was its sometimes sluggish performance. The Galaxy A54 5G runs on a newer processor called the Exynos 1380, which is likely the successor to the Exynos 1280 found inside the Galaxy A53. I haven’t spent enough time with the Galaxy A54 5G to know whether this new chip brings significant improvements. But in my brief time with the device, performance seemed just fine. Apps opened and closed quickly, the camera launched almost instantly and the keyboard popped up right away.

Camera is the major difference between the Galaxy A54 and S23

The triple camera on Samsung's Galaxy A54 5G — The Galaxy A54 5G has a triple-camera unit.

Richard Peterson/CNET

There are many differences between Samsung’s A-series budget devices and its premium S-series phones. However, the camera system continues to be the biggest one. The Galaxy A54 5G has a 50-megapixel main camera, 12-megapixel ultrawide camera and 5-megapixel macro camera. There’s no telephoto camera, so the Galaxy A54 5G only has a 10x digital zoom.

The Galaxy S23, on the other hand, has a 50-megapixel main camera, 12-megapixel ultrawide camera and 10-megapixel telephoto camera. While the main and ultrawide cameras may sound similar on paper, I wouldn’t be surprised to see some noticeable differences in image quality. The Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip inside the S23 lineup, which has been optimized for Samsung’s Galaxy phones, likely plays a notable role in the way photos are processed.

Samsung's Galaxy A54 5G in black (left) and purple (right) sitting up on a couch — Richard Peterson/CNET

You can’t use Samsung’s Expert Raw app on the Galaxy A54 5G either, which might be important for photography enthusiasts to consider. That said, the Galaxy A54 5G’s camera setup is just what you would expect on a phone of this price. It even has much more to offer than the $429 iPhone SE, which only has one 12-megapixel main camera with a 5x digital zoom.

Overall, the Galaxy A54 5G seems like a promising option for those seeking an Android phone that costs less than $500. But we’ll have to spend more time testing it before we know whether it’s worth recommending.

Galaxy A54 5G vs. Galaxy A53 5G Specs

	Galaxy A54 5G	Galaxy A53 5G
Display	6.4-inch FHD+;Super AMOLED; 120Hz refresh rate	6.5-inch FHD+; Super AMOLED; 120Hz refresh rate
Dimensions	158.2 x 76.7 x 8.2 mm	74.8 x 159.6 x 8.1mm
Weight	202g	189g
Camera	50MP (main); 12MP (ultrawide); 5MP (macro)	64MP (main); 12MP (ultrawide); 5MP (depth); 5MP (macro)
Front Camera	32MP	32MP
Processor	Exynos 1380	Exynos 1280
Memory and Storage	6GB RAM + 128GB	6GB RAM + 128GB
Expandable Storage	Yes (up to 1TB)	Yes (Up to 1TB)
Battery	5,000 mAh	5,000 mAh
Software (at launch)	Android 13	Android 12

Technologies

Pope Francis’ Funeral: How to Stream Live or Watch the Replay

Here’s how to stream the pope’s funeral very early Saturday, and what you can expect to see during the service.

After a week of global mourning for Pope Francis, who died on Monday at age 88, the pope’s funeral will be celebrated on Saturday . Francis’ funeral will be held Saturday at 10 a.m. local time at St. Peter’s Square in Vatican City (which is very, very early if you’re tuning in from the US or Canada), and he will be laid to rest at the Papal Basilica of St. Mary Major in Rome.

The Vatican will be livestreaming the papal funeral and procession, though not the burial, on its YouTube channel as it happens. The funeral will also be televised live on CBS, NBC, ABC and Fox, as well as on streaming services like Disney Plus, Hulu, Peacock and Paramount Plus. Due to the time difference, it seems likely that many interested North American viewers will catch it when it’s replayed later on Saturday. Numerous networks will rebroadcast the service later that day.

If you choose to stay up, or get up early, here’s when the live broadcast of the pope’s funeral will air in your time zone in the continental US on April 26:

ET: 4 a.m.
CT: 3 a.m.
MT: 2 a.m.
PT: 1 a.m.

The papacy of Pope Francis was notable for the progressive reforms he brought to the Roman Catholic Church. He appointed more than half of the current College of Cardinals and attempted to foster more positive attitudes toward members of the LGBT community and migrants worldwide.

What to expect from the funeral

The funeral will follow many rituals, though not all traditional protocols will be followed. Most popes are buried in St. Peter’s Basilica or its grottoes, but the AP reports Francis chose the St. Mary Major Basilica to reflect his veneration of an icon of the Virgin Mary that is located there, the Salus Populi Romani (Salvation of the People of Rome).

His funeral will be less elaborate than those of other popes per his own wishes. Francis simplified papal funeral rites last year, permitting his burial outside the Vatican, and emphasizing his role as a bishop rather than as pope (the pope is also the Bishop of Rome).

Previous popes were buried in three coffins: one of cypress, one of lead and one of oak. Francis requested to be buried in a single wooden, zinc-lined coffin and not to be placed in an elevated bier as other popes were.

The coffin will be taken from St Peter’s Basilica and placed on a dais in St Peter’s Square, where Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re will lead the service. After the service, the coffin will return to St Peter’s Basilica before it is carried across the River Tiber and to the Papal Basilica of Saint Mary Major for burial. The ceremony is estimated to end around 2 p.m. local time, or four hours after it begins.

Pope Francis’ funeral Mass will be the first of nine Masses held daily at St. Peter’s until May 4. This is an ancient tradition of the Catholic Church that observes nine days of consecutive mourning. According to Vatican News, a different group of mourners will participate each day, though the Eucharistic celebrations are open to everyone.

Who will attend Pope Francis’ funeral?

Hundreds of people, including world leaders and royals, are expected to attend Pope Francis’ funeral.

US president Donald Trump confirmed on his Truth Social Platform that he and first lady Melania Trump will be at the funeral. This will be Trump’s first foreign trip in his second term. He is expected to have a seat in the third row, though the Vatican has yet to release an official seating chart. It is tradition for the first row of seats to go to Catholic royalty, and the second row to non-Catholic royals.

Prince William, who is attending on behalf of King Charles, will sit in the second row, which is reserved for non-Catholic royals. Former president Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden, devout Catholics, will also attend the funeral.

Conclave: What happens next to choose the new pope

After Pope Francis’ funeral, the cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church will vote on his successor in an assembly of cardinals known as a conclave.

There are many matters for the cardinals to settle before the conclave begins, but once it does, it can take days or even weeks to conclude. Two-thirds of the cardinals’ votes are required to elect the next pope. The conclave occurs behind closed doors and the vote tally is never made public.

Read more: Where to Watch Conclave, the Vatican Thriller About Electing a New Pope

Look for the white smoke

The ballots are burned after each round, and chemicals are added to the flames to produce black smoke if there’s no majority. When a new pope has been selected, the chemicals will be added to the flames so they produce white smoke. Crowds gather in St. Peter’s Square to watch for the results.

If you’re fascinated by the process, you can watch a dramatized version of the events in 2024 film Conclave.

In the movie, Ralph Fiennes stars as Cardinal Thomas Lawrence, who spearheads the election of the next pope while investigating rumors about potential candidates. The film is based on the 2016 novel by Robert Harris and is completely fictional — though it does represent some of the events of how actual papal conclaves take place. In March, the film won the Academy Award for best adapted screenplay.

You can stream Conclave on Amazon Prime Video, or rent it for $6 on Apple TV, Fandango at Home, YouTube or Google Play Movies.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections Hints, Answers and Help for April 26, #685

Hints and answers for Connections for April 26, #685.

Looking for the most recent Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands puzzles.

Today’s Connections puzzle features a lot of short words, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy. That purple category requires a lot of thinking — probably most people will solve it only by solving the other three and having four words left over. Read on for clues and today’s Connections answers.

The Times now has a Connections Bot, like the one for Wordle. Go there after you play to receive a numeric score and to have the program analyze your answers. Players who are registered with the Times Games section can now nerd out by following their progress, including number of puzzles completed, win rate, number of times they nabbed a perfect score and their win streak.

Read more: Hints, Tips and Strategies to Help You Win at NYT Connections Every Time

Hints for today’s Connections groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: Rainbow.

Green group hint: San Fernando ____.

Blue group hint: Think Robert.

Purple group hint: Mixed-up hue words.

Answers for today’s Connections groups

Yellow group: Tint.

Green group: Valley.

Blue group: Bobs.

Purple group: Color anagrams.

Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words

What are today’s Connections answers?

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is tint. The four answers are color, hue, shade and tone.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is valley. The four answers are dale, dell, glen and hollow.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is Bobs. The four answers are Dole, Hope, Marley and Ross.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is color anagrams. The four answers are Dre (red), Gary (gray), genre (green) and lube (blue).

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints and Answers for April 26, #215

Hints and answers for the NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, No. 215, for Saturday, April 26.

Looking for the most recent regular Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle and Strands puzzles.

Connections: Sports Edition is tough today. The purple category theme threw me because of one phrase I didn’t know. And let’s hope you’re familiar with college coach surnames. Read on for hints and the answers.

Connections: Sports Edition is out of beta now, making its debut on Super Bowl Sunday, Feb. 9. That’s a sign that the game has earned enough loyal players that The Athletic, the subscription-based sports journalism site owned by the Times, will continue to publish it. It doesn’t show up in the NYT Games app but now appears in The Athletic’s own app. Or you can continue to play it free online.

Read more: NYT Connections: Sports Edition Puzzle Comes Out of Beta

Hints for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: Try to achieve.

Green group hint: Move through it.

Blue group hint: Sideline bosses.

Purple group hint: Like a carton.