Mid-budget premium: review of the Samsung Galaxy A55 smartphone

The mid-priced segment of smartphones attracts less attention than the “star” offerings of manufacturers. But this does not mean that such devices do not continue to develop and compete for customers. Recent years have brought tangible updates to this category that significantly improve the user experience. In today’s review, we’ll take a look at how the older model of Samsung’s A-series, the Galaxy A55, looks this year.

Samsung Galaxy A55 specifications

Equipment

Saving the environment from unnecessary plastic, and at the same time saving on equipment, applies not only to flagship lines. Therefore, with Galaxy A55, the buyer will find a small pin for opening the SIM card compartment and a USB-C-to-USB-C power cable.

This way, the user is left to his or her own discretion when it comes to protecting the case and charging. And potentially, a more powerful power supply than the old one would be useful, and a large glass case would be nice to cover it. Of course, all the accessories can be found in the company store or purchased from third parties.

Design and usability

Samsung maintains a certain look for most of its models, leaving smartphones recognizable among others. Galaxy A55 is no exception, so you can recognize its origin at a glance. The simple design is both minimalistic and quite elegant. However, it’s also relatively easy to see that this is not a flagship.

Now, the Galaxy A55 is a relatively large gadget. Last year, the older model in its lineup slightly reduced the display, and this time it increased it again. Accordingly, the body has also become fatter – 161.1×77.4×8.2 mm. The weight has also increased and now amounts to 213 grams. Not that these are significant increases, but such dimensions do not have a good effect on the overall comfort of use. However, I think everyone is used to large smartphones, so there will be no problems with use.

Among the updates in the new model, the materials have changed. The glass used to protect the display is now Gorilla Glass Victus+, and the frame has changed from plastic to aluminum. Thus, the mid-budget device has become not only more durable, but also much more pleasant (of course, when used without a case). There are four color options available in Ukraine: navy blue, ice blue, lilac, and lemon.

The three camera windows on the back of the device have the same look as the flagship models. And they also protrude above the body, preventing the device from lying flat on a flat surface when the case is not on. However, this design is part of the Galaxy devices and, in my opinion, does not overload the appearance with a large block with a sometimes bizarre look.

There are several cosmetic changes on the frame. Firstly, the main speaker slot is now one continuous one, like in top models. Second, the keys have a small protrusion, which the flagships do not have. The latter does not create practical benefits, but is a separate design detail. At the same time, there are no inconveniences with the location of all working elements.

So, at first glance, the familiar and simple design is still better than previous generations. And to top it all off, the device remains IP67 water and dust resistant. Yes, fingerprints may remain on the glossy finish, and the device may get scratched or otherwise damaged, but this is true of every modern smartphone. Therefore, if the dimensions of the case suit the buyer, then there will be nothing unpredictable about other aspects of use.

Display

Many smartphones change the diagonal slightly with each new model. In the case of the Galaxy A55, this figure reached 6.6 inches (which is 0.2 inches larger than its predecessor). This time, the aspect ratio remains at 19.5:9 and the resolution is 2340×1080 pixels. The noticeable bezels around the screen are uneven, with the top and bottom being larger than the sides. However, this is quite understandable for its class. The ratio of the display area to the entire front surface is approximately 86%.

The high refresh rate is no longer a novelty for this model. Here, it is also 120 Hz, but with a static image, the smartphone reduces the indicator to the standard 60 Hz. To save more battery power, the user can turn off the adaptive mode, but in general there is no need for this.

The color reproduction options of the Super AMOLED matrix are also quite standard for Samsung. The settings include Vivid and Natural modes. The former offers a slightly wider color gamut and has additional temperature and color settings, while the latter almost completely covers sRGB and is quite neutral. Although even now Samsung screens do not show such a striking difference in profiles as they used to. Therefore, in any case, the image remains pleasant and comfortable for all usage scenarios.

Vivid profile measurements:

Natural profile measurements:

Last year, the maximum brightness level of the A54 increased to 1,000 cd/m², and Galaxy A55 has not updated this indicator. Indoors, the device will adjust the backlight from 1.7 to 530 cd/m², and more will be visible outdoors. In this case, by the way, the display looks great even in direct sunlight. Automatic adjustment is also very comfortable, as is the Always On mode.

Security

Galaxy A55 has quick unlock options as standard. The front camera can recognize the owner’s face. This is not the safest way, but it is convenient. To work correctly, it needs lighting, no sunglasses, and an extra fraction of a second to process.

There is also an optical fingerprint scanner under the display. It’s not the fastest, even for its class, and can store up to three prints. Still, it works and is safer than face scanning. By duplicating both methods, you can pass authentication faster, get access to passwords, etc. In general, both methods have no major problems, except that they may not be very fast.

Sound

Similarly, stereo sound has not been exclusive to flagships for years. However, there are some differences. The main speaker is more powerful than the earpiece speaker, and this can be felt when watching videos or playing games with the display oriented horizontally. In more expensive models, this difference is less noticeable. But still, two speakers work, and this is better than one.

Phone calls shouldn’t be a problem. The earpiece speaker, which is well hidden above the display, is loud enough for fairly noisy streets, and the microphones and noise cancellation system do a good job of picking up and transmitting the owner’s voice.

The model does not have a separate headphone port, so you will need a wireless option, a USB-C headset, or an adapter. The choice of options is now available for different budget options. And this is assuming that the user has not yet prepared for this. 

Performance and software

Along with other updates, the Galaxy A55 also received a newer processor, the Exynos 1480. Like last time, it consists of four Cortex-A78 cores and four more Cortex-A55 cores. But now the processor is developed using a 4-nm process, and the clock speed of the more powerful cores has been increased to 2.75 GHz. The changes also affected the video accelerator, which was upgraded from Mali-G68 MP5 to Xclipse 530.

The drives still offer 128GB or 256GB of storage, but the amount of RAM has increased to 8GB (12/256GB is also available in some countries). For the basic version, which previously had 4 or 6 GB of RAM depending on the region, this will be a rather pleasant upgrade in everyday use. At the same time, the ability to install a microSD memory card instead of a second SIM card has not been removed, which can be a nice bonus for those users who need more storage. In addition, there is support for eSIM.

Connectivity didn’t require any significant improvements, so Galaxy A55, like its predecessor, can work in 5G and Wi-Fi 6 networks, has a Bluetooth 5.3 receiver, works with several navigation systems, and receives NFC regionally (in Ukraine, of course).

And in general, it all works very well. For all basic tasks, the smartphone is completely sufficient. Even games can work well. However, both synthetic tests and our own experience of using it show that mid-budget smartphones still need to catch up to the performance of more expensive models with more powerful hardware. So, you’ll have to accept small delays in processing certain tasks (editing photos, accessing Google Discover, changing interface settings, etc.), and you shouldn’t expect lightning-fast performance from your smartphone.

But where such processors are able to demonstrate themselves better is in stability. Being under load for a long time, the Exynos 1480 practically does not lose its original capabilities. And although the case feels a little warm, it is far from what happens with flagship variants. Moreover, under normal conditions, this almost never happened with the test smartphone. And this is a bonus for the comfort and overall stability of the device.

The smartphone also comes with Android 14 and the current version of OneUI 6.1. Of course, the Galaxy A55 didn’t get all the proprietary features, so there are no Galaxy AI, Dex, or even a new version of Always On. However, for the vast majority of buyers of such smartphones, this will definitely not be an obstacle, and absolutely all the necessary Android applications will work as they should. And with the exception of the aforementioned flagship features, the interface is generally not much different from the manufacturer’s more expensive lineup.

Cameras

Last year, the Galaxy A54 camera unit lost an additional sensor for measuring the depth of a portrait photo, and since then there have been no major updates. Therefore, Galaxy A55 will also offer a familiar set of three rear cameras, the main characteristics of which have not changed:

• wide-angle sensor – 50 MP, aperture value ƒ/1.8, optical image stabilization;
• ultra-wide-angle sensor – 12 MP, ƒ/2.2 and 123° capture angle;
• macro – 5 MP with ƒ/2.4, focuses from a distance of 3-5 cm.

The latter sensor can be treated with some skepticism, as it is hardly a necessary feature, but the manufacturer pays more attention to the wide-angle and ultra-wide-angle cameras. Thanks to its top-of-the-line offerings, Samsung has managed to build certain expectations among fans, which will also be shared by potential buyers of cheaper devices. And here, they should be fulfilled to some extent.

In daytime conditions, the main camera takes good photos. Out of 50 megapixels, the camera retains 12. In post-processing, there is enough skill to choose quite accurate color settings, white balance, not to spoil the shadows, etc. Even with backlighting, the user will get a pretty good photo. For its category, the results are really good.

Video can be recorded in 4K resolution, but traditionally it is better to stick with Full HD. Even with these settings, the stabilization will still not be the best, but the overall video quality will be quite consistent with its class.

Night mode is one of those moments when we would like to see more performance. So you’ll need to hold the smartphone for an extra second, and then wait another second or two for the image to be processed. And the darker it is outside, the more detail the photo will lose. Also, the white balance will shift more noticeably. However, it will still be better than what you could see a few years ago, so the results can be called satisfactory.

The ultra-wide-angle camera reproduces colors worse than the main camera during the day, but it can still take a fairly normal shot. And the way the system manages to process the edges of the images is still much better than in newer models. Yes, some geometry is still distorted, but this is a feature of this capture angle. In some places, I would like to “tighten” the shadows a little, but it’s nothing.

Recording ultra-wide-angle video is, as they say, not-great-not-terrible. But, again, given the category of the device, we didn’t have much higher expectations.

And at night, this sensor has difficulties. There are a lot of artifacts in the photo and most of the details are lost. Probably, many competitors are unlikely to have much better photos in such conditions. So we’ll have to wait for better night shots from future models.

Macro, as always, is a rather conditional functionality. But when it comes to capturing a really small detail, a slow shutter speed and good lighting will do the trick. 

The 32-megapixel front-facing camera also does not use its full resolution, thus trying to improve selfies. It offers a couple of capture angle options for different situations, and also has a good portrait mode. In daylight conditions, of course, it is much easier to work with. However, it is not lagging behind in artificial light either.

There will be no problems with the camera app. It meets general modern standards and will be understandable to all users. Launching and switching between different cameras or modes is quite fast, but night mode and post-processing, as I mentioned, are still noticeably faster on more expensive smartphones.

Battery life

There were no major updates in this section either. As with previous versions, Galaxy A55 has a 5,000 mAh battery. In the autonomy test, this was enough for almost 13 and a half hours of work. The not too demanding processor, even with a bright display, is still quite energy-efficient, so without excessive use of navigation or camera, the smartphone can easily work for a day and a half. I’m sure that this figure will easily be higher for those users who don’t spend a lot of time on social networks and the abyss of “reels”.

The mid-budget smartphone class has not yet widely implemented various charging options, so the A55 can only be recharged using the standard wired method. The maximum charging power is 25 W, and it took almost two hours to fully recover with a third-party power supply. Theoretically, a proprietary power supply will do it a little faster.