New to sx530hs .... disappointed

The SX530 uses OLD DIGIC4. Soft JPEGs, poor noise reduction, not so smart AF. I use bold letter rarely but I can't stress that it's the weakest link here enough. Post processing RAW is necessary to get more out of it.

An SX540 sports DIGIC6 which has newer noise reduction and AF. The SX70 HS is better still with the most modern smaller sensor and DIGIC8.

I should note, all of these cameras have smaller sensors which you're comparing a smartphone that also has a small sensor but has compute AI on it's side which these cameras, or any other non-smartphone, do not. Cameras like the SX530 have reach, which smartphones lack. But, if you're needing something other than reach? You should consider a larger sensor to produce higher image quality as the smartphone is going to win, easily, against any smaller format offering, even 1" G and RX series if you don't post process. You gotta step up to APS-C to make a dent. Trust me, just did it myself, and I'm not saying that because I did it, I did it because of image quality concerns, like yourself where I could've just whipped out my iPhone and done better for cheaper, lighter, but less fun.

The DIGIC4 won't serve you well if you don't intend to post though either way. Heads up. Canon made MAJOR changes to noise reduction with DIGIC6 and newer CPUs which makes a large difference if you're a SOOC JPEG shooter.

If you want reach, consider keeping it, or upgrading to the SX540.

But, you may want to consider say a Rebel SL2 or SL3 + EF-S 55-250, or M50 + 55-200. Doesn't have the (same) reach, but man, they have punch! And the M in particular is small for what it is.

Here's what this looks like in practice...

https://j.mp/3tirxjf

That M50 Mark II + 55-200 in paritcular, isn't that much heavier, bigger, and you can swap lenses... You may want to consider something more like an 70-300 IS II (not L) adapted though for more reach though if you're a birder...