Samsung Galaxy A55 review: excellent mid-range with stiff competition

Big boy who presents well

The latest addition to Samsung’s mid-range fits perfectly into the Samsung image in terms of styling. With its metal and glass casing, the Galaxy A55 feels sturdy and premium. It is also IP67 certified for dust and water resistance. There is also the option to expand the storage space with a microSD card. If you look closely, you will spot some small design elements that reveal that this is not a flagship: the black bezels around the screen are quite thick and not equal on each side, resulting in a slightly less refined design compared to premium models. The Galaxy A55 also differs from more expensive Galaxy models by a piece of rounded metal on the side where the buttons are located.

The 6.6-inch AMOLED display is one of the absolute assets of this device, with good contrast, vivid colors and a refresh rate of 120 Hz. The only stumbling block may be the size of 6.6 inches. For those who have smaller hands (or simply prefer not to use a huge smartphone), the Galaxy A55 may be too large. The position of the buttons on the right side can make it difficult to operate the smartphone with one hand. The display brightness of 1,000 nits is fine, but could be higher considering the peak brightness of 2,600 nits on the Galaxy S24 models. Four colors are available, each with a beautiful rainbow effect when exposed to light. All in all, you get quite a lot back for the purchase price of 449 euros.

Decent cameras

For the price, the camera setup on the Samsung Galaxy A55 also offers a solid experience, with the 50MP main camera being a standout. The lens setup is not much different from that of its predecessor, the Galaxy A54. Colors look fairly saturated, which is typical for Samsung, and generally results in nice photos. In daylight, the main camera captures a fair amount of detail, but this decreases in lower light, especially with the 12MP ultrawide camera. In sufficient light, this lens performs quite well and delivers photos that are similar in color to those of the main lens. However, at dusk the quality and color difference between the two cameras becomes clearly noticeable. The 5MP macro camera feels a bit redundant and a telephoto camera with 3x optical zoom would be welcome, as the Galaxy A55’s digital zoom relies on good lighting for acceptable results. Overall the cameras are decent for the price, but for those who want something better, a slightly older flagship like the Google Pixel 7 might be a wiser choice.

Fast enough for everyday tasks

In terms of performance and operating speed, the Galaxy A55 with its Exynos 1480 chip certainly meets the expectations you have in this price range. The phone is actually a (relatively minor) upgrade over the A54. Daily tasks are effortless thanks to the new chip and 8 GB of RAM. The most limited is the graphical performance, which means that demanding games do not run smoothly at high settings. Lighter gaming is still possible. Those who need more graphics power can consider the Galaxy S23 FE, for example. During the most intensive tasks, the A55 can sometimes be a bit slower or stutter. The chip also doesn’t provide enough power for Samsung’s new Galaxy AI features. Although the phone runs on Android 14 with One UI 6.1, you won’t have access to these features. Additionally, the A55 doesn’t offer the seven years of software support available with the S24 series, but it does offer four major Android updates and five years of security updates, which is still respectable.

Battery life of two days

The Samsung Galaxy A55 does excel with its battery life. Although the capacity of 5,000 mAh is the same as that of the battery in the previous model, it is clear that the Exynos 1480 uses the battery more efficiently than its predecessor. With normal use it lasts up to two days. If you perform some heavier tasks, the battery life may drop to a day and a half, but even that is still excellent. Unfortunately, while the phone doesn’t run out of power quickly, it does take quite a long time to recharge as it charges at a maximum of 25W. That’s a shame, because many competitors in this price range offer higher charging speeds. This downside is not limited to the Galaxy A55, because Samsung’s premium smartphones are also lagging behind in that area. As we have become used to, you do not get a charger included in the box, only a charging cable. Wireless charging is also missing, but that is not unusual for a mid-range device.

Samsung Galaxy A55: final verdict

All things considered, the Galaxy A55 leaves little room for complaints in terms of specs, build quality, performance and battery life. In fact, the phone even approaches the premium devices of the Galaxy S24 series in several aspects. While it certainly offers value for money, it’s not a revolutionary upgrade over the Samsung Galaxy A54. The biggest stumbling block of the Galaxy A55 is its suggested retail price at launch, which puts it directly in competition with a number of other Samsung devices. That does not mean that the Galaxy is overpriced: there is strong competition from other brands in the middle class. The problem, however, lies in the fact that you can now purchase the Samsung Galaxy S23 FE for just over 50 euros extra. And it offers an experience that hardly differs from Samsung’s flagships, including the new Galaxy AI functions. In addition, last year’s Galaxy A54 still remains attractive, because there are few changes and this model is often 100 euros cheaper. The Galaxy A55 is a solid mid-range device, but currently not the best buy you can make.