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Over the years, we have witnessed smartphone companies gradually realising exactly how lucrative the Indian mid-range smartphone market is. This has led to a plethora of launches in this particular segment. We have seen phones with 120Hz AMOLED displays, metallic frames, vegan leather backs, 4K video and whatnot. The Samsung Galaxy A55 is a smartphone that fits the description perfectly.
In this review, we will discuss the new premium mid-range smartphone from the Korean tech giant which recently overthrew Apple as the world’s number one smartphone company in terms of shipments.
The box has the phone body nicely covered in a paper wrap, a white-coloured type C charging cable, a sim tool and paperwork. We would have really appreciated a power adapter and a phone case.
One glimpse at the smartphone, a little touch and feel and a few minutes of moving it around immediately told us that this phone serves a very specific niche. It wanted to cater to consumers who desired a top-shelf product without having to pay the moolah for it.
The smartphone is impeccable when it comes to design and build quality. One can almost confuse it for the Galaxy S24+. ‘Almost’ here is the operative word as there are plenty of differences between the two smartphones.
The aluminium frame, with its brushed finish, adds character while the uniquely crafted elevated ‘key island’ helps the A55 stand apart. This smartphone is heavy in the sense that one can feel the weight. However, the fact that Samsung tried to make it feel more premium justifies the weight.
The back panel is made of glass, an element which instantly puts the A55 in a much more premium segment than other mid-rangers. A popular smartphone in this price range with a similar design quotient that comes to mind is the Nothing Phone 2 and the OnePlus 12R.
As mentioned above, the design of the Galaxy A55 is just outstanding. Unlike its competition, the A55 banks heavily on subtlety and minimalism. The simplistic design of the phone actually makes it even more attractive. The triple camera setup at the back resembles that of the Galaxy S24 series making it look more premium.
The key island consisting of the volume rockers and the power button is slightly elevated. From the design perspective, this does make the A55 rather unique. From a utility perspective, however, we’re not sure how useful this really is. Almost no smartphone has this and they all seem to work just fine.
We’d like to mention that Samsung’s strategy to one design for all phones seems to be working for them so far. All phones, starting from the A05 to the S24+ have a very similar design. Now, while some might see it as a glass-half-full situation, a few might perceive it as the opposite.
The smartphone is highly impressive as far as the display is concerned. The 6.6-inch super AMOLED display comes with a refresh rate of 120 Hz which is frankly spectacular to look at. The use of Gorilla Glass Victus + on the front just adds to the list of goodies for the Galaxy A55.
During usage, we observed that the phone did manage to get a few micro scratches on the display despite it using Gorilla Glass Victus. So, a screen protector is strongly advised.
The Samsung Galaxy A55 runs on an Exynos 1480 SoC, an upgraded processor from last year's A54. The processor is able to churn out a maximum clock speed of 2.75 GHz. Coming to the benchmarks, the Galaxy A55 manages to register a score of ~7,26,000 in AnTuTu and a score of 1,148 and 3,397 in Geekbench 6 for single-core and multi-core tests, respectively. Last but not least, AMD Xclipse GPU landed a score of 4,171 on Geekbench. To give a perspective, the Exynos 1480 competes with the Snapdragon 7 Gen 3, a processor which is widely adopted in the world of mid-range smartphones.
In our opinion, the processor isn’t the place where the phone shines at its brightest. It is decent in performance, is able to handle top gaming titles (medium graphics) and gives an overall seamless user experience. Not to mention, the display (an extension of the SoC) is fabulous. Average day-to-day usage will be as smooth as a walk in the park but demanding tasks such as heavy gaming are not the ideal use case for the Galaxy A55 5G.
The software experience is definitely one place where the Galaxy A55 shines brightly. The One UI 6.1 is not only buttery smooth, it is also very intuitive. The quick settings panel is exactly the same as the one we saw in the Galaxy S24 Ultra. It is feature-clad and easy to use.
Android 14 itself is very well optimised and when you get the One UI 6.1 on top of it, the user interface gets way better, if not the best. On the updates front, Samsung offers 4 years of software updates and 5 years of security updates on the Galaxy A55. We must mention that after 3 months with the Galaxy S24 series, the A55 did feel slower than Samsung’s top-shelf line of smartphones but that's something that was expected. The camera interface is jittery at times, especially while switching from ultra-wide to wide and vice versa (in video mode).
The Galaxy A55 is not a phone that will be remembered because of its photography prowess. Using ISOCELL sensors for all its three cameras, the A55 barely manages to deliver photographs that would justify its price tag.
Here are some samples of the photos that the Galaxy A55 captures:
As you can clearly see, the photographs are not the best in the segment. In fact, a quick photography session led us to a definitive conclusion that the A55 is nowhere close to the S24 when it comes to photos. That being said, it is not a deal breaker in any way as well. The smartphone manages to capture decent photographs in daylight. The shadows and highlights look good while the HDR does its part to make the final images Instagram-worthy.
Speaking of photos, Samsung has provided the option to remaster photos in the gallery. This essentially means that the processor scales up the resolution of the photographs. It often adjusts the brightness and contrast as well. This is the ONLY AI feature that we observed in this smartphone that was also in the S24 series devices.
I need to add that the Galaxy A55 also has a feature that makes it stand out. The camera app has something called the AR Zone. Users can draw anything in the AR plane and see the wonder happen. If not anything, it does provide a fun element to using the smartphone.
The video mode allows for 4K video at 30fps and 1080p video at 60fps. The stabilisation feature is good and delivers decent results. Video mode has something called Super Steady that deserves a mention in this review. I extensively used the Pro photo mode and ended up with some interesting shots. The Pro Video feature is equally impressive.
This segment is not one of the glorious ones but it is still one of the most important aspects to consider when buying a smartphone. The Samsung Galaxy A55 does hold its end of the bargain with a large 5,000mAh battery that contains enough juice to last one whole day. The charging speed, however, is not that impressive. We found that the 25W charging speed did cause us trouble during the review. While smartphones in the competition are offering 45W and 80W charging speeds, the A55’s 25W starts to annoy you. Spending 1 hour and 30 minutes for a full charge gets mildly infuriating when you are in a hurry. Additionally, when you compare phones below the A55's price point which offer 67W and 45W charging speeds, you are compelled to think why Samsung opted for a 25W charging speed for the A55.
We found the Galaxy A55 to be a very lucrative option in the sub-40k price point. Samsung’s efforts to make the A55 attractive to the buyers did pay off. A 120Hz Super AMOLED display, Gorilla Glass Victus + (Gorilla Glass 3 at the back), a 5,000mAh battery, a chipset that can handle popular games and a triple camera module get the job done. This allows Samsung to position this phone as one of the most desirable products in its catalogue.
There are, of course, other options in this price bracket that can give the A55 a run for its money. The most prominent one, though, is Samsung’s own Galaxy S23 FE. A bit smaller than the A55 at 6.4 inches, the S23 FE is an equally good smartphone with slightly better features. The OnePlus 12R is also a device that competes toe to toe with the Samsung Galaxy A55 5G.
All that being said, the Galaxy A55 is by far one of the most stylish, aesthetic and feature-rich smartphones in this price bracket. In conclusion, if great aesthetics, good camera performance (on a budget) and a smooth user interface are the things that you desire, the Galaxy A55 is definitely worth a shot.
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