So, this is the time of the year when Samsung releases its premium A-series phone and today I have the Galaxy A55 with me that has just been launched globally! There is also a slightly cheaper Galaxy A35.
The Galaxy A55 here is a slightly more premium variant of the Galaxy A35 and you can see that from the price itself. The latter one starts at Rs. 46,999. So, the A55’s pricing is actually quite higher this year starting at Rs. 62,999 rupees for the base 8/256GB variant, and if you look at the overall specs, it does seem a bit overpriced.
However, I think, for most people looking for a premium mid-range phone from a brand like Samsung, this is actually a very good and well-balanced phone! I’ll let you know why in my Samsung Galaxy A55 review.
Before digging in, let’s have a quick look at the specifications.
Samsung Galaxy A55 5G Specifications:
- Display: 6.6-inch Super AMOLED Infinity-O Display, 120Hz refresh rate, Gorilla Glass Victus+
- Resolution: Full HD+ (1080×2400 pixels)
- Processor: Exynos 1480 (4nm)
- Software & UI: One UI 6.1 based on Android 14
- Rear Camera: Triple
– 50MP main, OIS
– 12MP ultrawide
– 5MP macro - Front Camera: 32MP (hole-punch cutout)
- Connectivity: Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.3, NFC, 5G, GPS, VoLTE
- Battery: 5000mAh with 25W charging
- Color Options: Awesome Iceblue, Awesome Lemon, Awesome Lilac, Awesome Navy
- Price in Nepal: Rs. 62,999 (8/256GB), Rs. 67,999 (12/256GB)
- Check out the full specs of the Samsung Galaxy A55 here.
Samsung Galaxy A55 Review
A Solid Build
- 158.2 x 76.7 x 8.2 mm, 202 grams
- Glass front/back, Plastic frames
- IP67 dust/splash resistant
First of all, Samsung has improved the build of this phone by quite a margin! It is now more robust since we get a Gorilla Glass Victus+ protection for the display, a Gorilla Glass back, and brushed aluminum frames. Hence, it has a solid heft to it and feels premium to hold. You also get a sculpted shape here, just like the A35 on the right side of the frame, which helps for a comfortable grip.
Compared to the S24 series which has a nice matte finish, the back here is glossy, but the good thing is it doesnt catch smudges and fingerprints that easily, so that’s better. The overall design of this phone also feels quite premium to look at with a similar camera layout. As for color options, there are four options to choose from. I have this in the Ice Blue color variant, but you can also go with other options like black, pink or lemon.
So, yeah, a solid A+ in terms of design and build. And by the way, you also get IP67 dust and water protection here, just like we got on previous A-series phones!
But not perfect…
The areas where I have to nitpick here are those sharp edges which can be a bit frustrating on longer usage. And second, are these thick bezels in the display, Maybe Samsung could have trimmed it a bit better!
Top-notch display
- 6.6-inches FHD+ OLED panel
- 120/240Hz refresh/touch sampling rate
- Corning Gorilla Glass Victus+ protection
But let me tell you that the actual display quality of the Galaxy A55 is top-top notch. It is easily the best display in its class. It is now slightly bigger at 6.6 inches and it looks brighter too. So I had no difficulty viewing contents outdoors in direct sunlight. The minimum possible brightness is also excellent here!
As expected from a Samsung phone, you get excellent colors with punchy output in the default vivid mode. There’s no unnecessary oversharpening on the videos like we see on most Chinese phones, the color retention is best in the business, and the touch is quite responsive as well.
Speakers and Fingerprint Reader
Samsung has also improved the audio here. Its stereo speaker is now louder. So, watching movies and TV shows here is quite flagship-like on this phone. The in-display fingerprint scanner is still Optical and not ultrasonic like we get on S-series phones, but it’s fast and gets the job done.
Performance
- Octa-core Exynos 1480 (4nm)
- 8/12GB LPDDR5 RAM, 256GB UFS 3.1 storage
- Android 14 with OneUI 6.1 top
- 4 generations of OS, 5 years of security updates
Now for the performance, you get the new Samsung-made Exynos 1480 chipset, which is slightly more powerful than the Exynos 1380 chipset we got on last year’s Galaxy A54.
So, the day-to-day task runs fine here. The 120Hz refresh rate is also quite optimized. It hovers between 60 and 120Hz and works without hustle for most apps. There are no jitters or lags while navigating through the UI, scrolling through the news feed, or watching Instagram reels.
But, comparing it with the competition like the iQOO Neo 9 Pro, the Galaxy A55 just feels a little slow. In fact, it scored half in almost all the benchmarks I ran.
Definitely not meant for gaming!
And just like we saw with the Exynos 1380, the 1480 is also not optimized for gaming. I am averaging just 30fps in PuBG mobile and Genshin impact – scores comparable to budget phones of 2024! This new chipset actually has the AMD Xclipse 530 GPU, so I expected it to perform better!
Even in optimized games like Call of Duty, the max fps it can go is just 38. So, maybe, it can get better with future updates, but it looks unlikely given the Exynos history. Hence, if you play a lot of triple-A games, this phone is simply not for you.
The OneUI smoothness
- OneUI 6.1 based on Android 14
- 4 years of OS and 5 years of security updates
Ok now, talking about the software, this is the one area in which the Galaxy A55 truly shines. The One UI is just so good to use and look at. And it has matured a lot over the years. There’s very little to no bloatware, and I can disable even the remaining ones if I want to.
You will also not see any kind of ads or annoying bugs here, the X-axis vibration has soft and precise feedback, so experience-wise, it’s very good, especially if you are a light user.
Samsung is also promising 4 years of OS and 5 years of security patches. And that’s not just a promise, they are one of the few smartphone brands that delivers on-time security patches and Android versions.
So, when Android 15 rolls out, say at the end of this year, you are going to receive that new and refined software experience quite early on this phone vs the competition.
However, one thing that’s still a question mark is, how this Exynos chipset will hold up in 2 or 3 years time. So, in this regard, maybe Samsung should have gone with maybe a faster chipset like the SD 7 Gen 3 or even the Dimensity 8300 which you will see on much cheaper phones.
Some good things about the Exynos
The one good thing I want to highlight about this Exynos chipset is, it doesn’t heat up at all. Samsung has included a Vapor Chamber cooling system here, and that could also be the reason, but no matter what you do, the temperature on the Galaxy A55 does not exceed 40 degrees!
How’s the Battery Life?
- 5000mAh battery with 25W fast charging
The Exynos 1480 chipset is also based on a more energy-efficient 4nm process node, and coupled with a 5000mAh battery, I am getting an excellent battery back on this phone. It easily lasts me a full day of usage with around 7-8 hours of Screen of time, that too on a heavy usage!
Charging is a bit slow! It only supports 25W wired charging, which takes the phone from 0 to 100% in about 1.5 hours.
Cameras
- Triple camera setup at the back
- (50MP main, 12MP ultrawide, 5MP macro)
- 32MP selfie camera
OK lastly, let’s talk about the Cameras! And this is the big plus point for this phone! Hence if you are looking for a reliable camera phone under 70,000 rupees, this might be the phone for you.
The reason why the Galaxy A55 does so much better than the competition is not because of how big its camera sensors are, but it’s because of the classic Samsung optimization that looks pleasing to the eye with the right amount of contrast.
Daylight
As you can see from these samples, the photos have a nice color output with excellent dynamic range in shadows. It also maintains the white balance very well, and highlight control during daylights is also doing superbly.
And even when I am taking closeup shots like this, it has a nice bokeh, sharpness, and background blur, and the overall photos don’t look dull.
Ultrawide
The 12MP ultra-wide camera can also take some good shots, but I found it to be less reliable. It doesn’t have the best of details, and exposure control could be a hit or a miss, but I don’t want to complain that much since it’s better than most phones.
Lowlight
During low light, the main lens of the Galaxy A55 also does a good job of retaining the details and it doesn’t mess up the colors too. It’s nice and pleasing. OIS also works pretty well.
Ultrawide camera struggles here
But I found the ultra-wide camera struggling to bring in more lights and hence they look dark with compromised dynamic range. You can turn ON the night mode, but I found that in most instances, the dark mode makes the images look artificial.
In fact, I found its cheaper sibling, the A35 doing a better job in night mode vs the A55. So, I do hope Samsung can fix this with an update.
But, one thing I wished this phone had, especially considering the price hike, is a 3X telephoto lens. The Realme 12 Pro+5G carries a 3X periscope lens, with which you can take some beautiful 76mm portraits! That was something I missed while using this phone.
Portraits
Here you can only take 1X 25mm wide portrait, which just feels too old school. Maybe Samsung should have offered 2X portraits by cropping the photos, just like how Pixel phones do. But that’s missing too!
That being said, the 1X portraits have good skin tone and you do look good. Similarly, I like its selfies too. It has a good amount of details, HDR, and looks natural.
Videos
The Galaxy A55 can also record up to 4K 30fps from all the lenses. And while Samsung has disabled OIS, you can get satisfying output; both during daytime and lowlight. It does have slight jitters if you move or vlog around, but it has steady hands, so you can take some detailed shots.
Samsung Galaxy A55 Review: Conclusion
Okay, this brings me to the conclusion. And yeah, for the starting price of Rs. 62,999, the pricing of the Galaxy A55 is of course a bit on the higher side. But, Samsung Nepal is at least bundling a 25W genuine charger, which is not the case with India. If you look past that, I believe it’s a solid premium mid-range phone, especially if you don’t play competitive games that often.
But if performance is what you are aiming for, I think you should definitely wait for the Poco X6 Pro instead which might launch at a much cheaper price tag. It’s a much faster phone and you are going to enjoy most titles at 60 or 90fps without any frame drops.
However, If you are someone who prefers Samsung’s brand value, good-looking design with a proper IP rating, on top of reliable everyday experience — be it clicking photos with your friends or just scrolling through the Instagram reels for hours or providing all-day backup, the Galaxy A55 hits a sweet spot in delivering a good overall package.
But, let me remind you again – This Phone is not for Gaming!
Samsung Galaxy A55 Review: Pros & Cons
Pros
- Premium Build
- Gorgeous 120Hz AMOLED panel
- Reliable main camera
- Fluid software
Cons
- Exynos 1480 is not for gaming
- Ultarwide camera needs to be optimized
- No telephoto lens at this price point
