We tested the Samsung Galaxy A55, Samsung's new mid-range that arrives with a new design and updated features to carve out a niche for itself among Xiaomi.
If we talk about Samsung phones, the Galaxy S are the main protagonists. But the South Korean company also has other very interesting families. One of them is the Galaxy A, intended for the mid-range and which has recently been updated with two models: the Galaxy A35, available for 379 euros, and the Galaxy A55, which arrives for about 479 euros. Both aim to compete against the mid/high-end of brands like Xiaomi, and they do so by inheriting some of the features of their bigger siblings: the Galaxy S24.
Although the Galaxy A35 and A55 are very similar to each other, the truth is that the model that most resembles Samsung’s flagships in terms of performance is the Galaxy A55. It is the one that we at Hipertextual have tested in depth to check if it is really worth paying what it costs.
Because, on paper, its performance is convincing; The Galaxy A55 arrives with a 6.6-inch AMOLED display with a brightness of 1,000 nits, a new Exynos processor, a triple 50-megapixel main camera, a 5,000 mAh battery and a design that is consistent with the rest of the brand’s smartphones, but somewhat different from what we are used to.
But is this enough to compete with a tight mid-range? Or even, to compete against the high-end of emerging brands like Nothing?
The best thing about the Galaxy A55 is its design
The Samsung Galaxy A55, again, has inherited some features from its big brothers, the Galaxy S24, and the design, in a way, is one of them.
Samsung’s new mid-range ditches the polycarbonate of the previous generation to opt for a completely flat glass back in which the camera modules protrude slightly independently. The terminal is also available in different finishes, such as this pink that reflects a kind of rainbow when the light hits it, a blue with a similar effect, a yellow or the classic black color.
The back is also combined with aluminum frames of the same shade, although in this case with a brushed effect that, on the one hand, gives it a shiny touch — which makes the phone look more attractive — and, on the other, prevents fingerprints from being easily marked.
In addition, Samsung has created an interesting effect by making the area of the frame where the volume and power keypad is located slightly raised; This doesn’t bother the grip at all. What’s more, it makes it much easier to find the buttons, since this area doesn’t have the brushed finish.
All of this, including the completely flat front with hardly any bezels, makes the Galaxy A55 a beautiful, stylish phone with a premium feel. In fact, it’s almost like you’re holding a Galaxy S24; although somewhat fatter (the Galaxy A55 is 8.2 mm thick) and somewhat heavier (it weighs 213 grams).
Also its screen and autonomy
The screen is another of the benefits of this Galaxy A55, despite the fact that, a priori, it has similar specifications to those of any other mid-range mobile. In this case, we find a 6.6-inch Super AMOLED panel with a Full HD+ resolution (2340 x 1080 pixels) as well as a 120 Hz refresh rate.
It’s an overall incredible display, one of the best I’ve tested in this price range. Both the contrast and the tonality of the colors is excellent, the brightness is more than sufficient even outdoors, and the adaptive screen refresh rate makes the viewing and user experience much more satisfying.
This screen is powered by a 5,000 mAh battery that also does a very good job and allows you to reach a day and a half with average use without going through the charger. By the way, the charger is not included in the box. In any case, the Galaxy A55 supports 25W fast charging, an acceptable power to give it a boost, but well below the power of other phones that even cost less than this Samsung.
Enough power with a but
The Samsung Galaxy A55 is powered by an Exynos 1480 processor. This is Samsung’s own SoC aimed at the mid-range and which, in this case, is accompanied by a generous 8 GB of RAM. This allows the terminal to open and use any application without any problem, as well as run games even with demanding graphics, without the presence of lag or other latency.
All this, in addition, without the device suffering excessive heating, something that is appreciated. By the way, the fact that the frames are completely flat and have that brushed finish, and that the corners are slightly rounded, make the grip of the phone when placed in a horizontal position much more comfortable, which considerably elevates the experience when it comes to gaming.
Now, while the Galaxy A55 offers good performance, its processor is slightly lower in power than other similar SoCs. In tests conducted via Geekbench, the handset scored 1155 single-core and 3429 multi-core. This is below processors such as the Xiaomi 13T’s Dimensity 800 Ultra (available for around €500), which scores 83841 in Geekbench’s multi-core test.
This is what the Samsung Galaxy A55’s cameras look like
The Samsung Galaxy A55 inherits both the configuration and sensors of the Galaxy A54. We are, therefore, with a 50-megapixel primary sensor, a 12-megapixel ultra-wide-angle camera and a 5-megapixel resolution macro.
It’s a good camera, has excellent stability, and allows you to capture photos with good detail and correct shadow interpretation. Samsung also seems to have improved one of the negative points of previous generations: color saturation. The Galaxy A55’s camera is more realistic, although on some occasions it is overexposed, which means that we have to repeat the shot.
The ultra-wide-angle camera also performs very well, although the loss of detail in scenes where you have to capture a lot of information – such as a garden with trees – is quite noticeable. Even so, and if there are good lighting conditions, good results can be achieved.
The Galaxy A55 also features a macro lens which, while it does a good job of capturing images at close range, is very unusable. In fact, it’s very likely that you’ll forget about the possibility of taking pictures with this sensor. It would have been a good idea to replace this camera with a telephoto lens. This would allow Samsung to have a much more versatile camera in its mid-range smartphone, and would serve as a trump card to compete against those Xiaomi phones that do not have this element.
Is the Samsung Galaxy A55 worth it?
The Samsung Galaxy A55 is a practically round phone. It has an attractive design, with very good materials, a range of colors for all tastes. Its display is excellent; One of the best I’ve tested on a phone for this price range, and both the 120Hz refresh rate and the software features that allow you to adjust the hue of the colors, make the user experience much greater.
All this is combined with a very good battery, a mature customization layer and very useful services and platforms, such as Samsung Pay, and a camera that, while not one of the best in this segment, fulfills perfectly in most conditions.
Now, the Galaxy A55 has the same problem as always: its price. Samsung’s smartphone is priced at €480 for its 8GB RAM and 128GB internal storage version, and €530 for the 256GB variant. In the latter case, the price is similar to that of the 256 GB Nothing Phone (2) (available for 550 euros), which in my opinion is a better option, as it has a more powerful processor, a much more striking design and also complies in sections such as photography or autonomy. For about 500 euros we can also get mobiles such as the Xiaomi 13T, which has a somewhat more powerful processor, a telephoto camera and a more powerful load.
Be careful: this is not to say that the Galaxy A55 is a bad option. In fact, it’s an ideal alternative if you’re looking for a phone with a good design, a good screen and that doesn’t slack in the rest of the sections. The best thing to do, however, is to wait for its price to drop slightly or try to get it at a discount through operators.