Samsung Galaxy A55 Review: A Solid Choice With a Few Key Misses

of Samsung The Galaxy A55 5G is the latest phone in its affordable A-series. Previous A50 series models like last year’s Galaxy A54 5G they have always been distinguished by their value. And the new Galaxy A55 is no different, offering solid all-round specs at prices well below the flagship Galaxy S24 line. The A55 features a large 6.6-inch display, a powerful octa-core processor and a triple rear camera setup in a colorful glass and metal body.

I tested the phone last week. While it didn’t blow me away with its performance in any way, it feels like a decent phone that’s equipped to handle your day-to-day needs, with enough power under the hood for casual gaming on the bus ride home from work.

The A55 5G went on sale in the UK at £439, but has now dropped significantly to £364 in both the Samsung Store and other retailers. Whether this is a permanent price cut remains to be seen, but that £364 price translates into around $465.

Here are six essential things you need to know about this phone.

Not available in the US

Although Samsung offers the A15, A25 and A35 5G in the US, the company chose not to carry the more expensive A55 in the US as it will compete too closely with the older S23 and S23 FE line.

It still seems odd that the A55 won’t be available in the US, as last year’s Galaxy A54 was a big hit with American audiences. I expect the company will want to continue this success with the updated model.

The display is large enough for video on the go

At 6.6 inches, the A55’s display provides plenty of room for gaming or watching YouTube videos on the go. It’s also vibrant, with vibrant colors that lend dignity to colorful games like Asphalt 9: Legends. A maximum refresh rate of 120Hz makes fast motion look nice and smooth.

The screen is bright and avoids distracting reflections from overhead interior lights. It’s comfortable to use outdoors under the mostly gray clouds I experienced in Scotland during testing. I suspect it won’t do so well under the bright midday summer sun.

It’s powerful enough for gaming

It’s powered by an octa-core Exynos 1480 chip that offers more than enough power for your daily Instagramming and web browsing. But I also found it powerful enough to play games like Genshin Impact and PUBG at decent frame rates.

Its cameras are decent for its price

The triple rear camera setup includes a 50-megapixel primary camera, a 12-megapixel ultra-wide and an additional 5-megapixel macro camera. Photos from both the wide and ultra-wide cameras are decent for the price, offering stable exposures and enough detail to share on Instagram.

Some photos suffer from heavy software ‘optimization’, with shadows looking washed out and colors looking oversaturated (especially the blue sky). This is fairly common with Samsung phones, and while it may put off serious photographers, those who just want casual shots of family and friends will be pleased.

The macro camera is essentially redundant and feels included as a way to brag that the phone has three rear cameras instead of two.

Battery life is disappointing

Although the A55 packs a sizeable 5,000mAh battery, it didn’t last long in our run-of-the-mill tests, with results putting it below the likes of the Galaxy S24 lineup and below Google’s Pixel 8A. The display is probably the biggest drain on the battery, so dropping the refresh rate to 60Hz can help you gain a few extra minutes.

With reasonably careful use, I was able to get most of the day on a single charge. But as with almost all phones, you should expect to give it a full charge every night.

You can expand the storage

While you can pay more upfront to buy the A55 with 256GB of storage instead of the base 128GB, you don’t have to, as you can expand the storage with microSD cards. A microSD slot is an extremely rare feature these days, with none of the top phones of the last few years offering one.

With 128GB microSD cards costing as little as £10 or $10, I’d go with the base model and double the storage with a card as it’s the more cost effective option.

You get five years of software support

Samsung said the A55 5G will get four years of Android software support and an additional fifth year of security support, meaning this phone will still be safe to use in 2029. That’s not a bad support period, but Google is committed to maintaining its most accessible Pixel 8A for the same period as its flagship 8 Pro. This means the Pixel 8A gets seven years of operating system and security updates.

Should you buy it?

The Galaxy A55 is a tough sell at its starting price of £439, given that the battery life, camera performance and software support period are a step behind the £499 Pixel 8A.

But its reduced price of £364 makes it a different value proposition. It’s not a phone that’s going to wow you with pro-level photography skills or amazing new AI features, but it’s a solid option for those looking for a basic phone that can handle everyday tasks, with some casual gaming and streaming thrown in. video.

How we test phones

Each phone is tested by CNET’s review team has actually been used in the real world. We test the phone’s functions, play games and take pictures. We check the display to see if it’s bright, sharp and vibrant. We analyze the design and construction to see how it holds up and whether it has an IP rating for water resistance. We push CPU performance to extremes using both standardized benchmarking tools like GeekBench and 3DMark along with our own anecdotal observations of navigating the interface, recording high-definition videos, and playing graphics-intensive games at high refresh rates .

All cameras are tested in a variety of conditions from bright sunlight to dark indoor scenes. We test out special features like night mode and portrait mode and compare our findings to competing phones at a similar price. We also test battery life by using it daily, as well as running a series of battery drain tests.

We consider additional features such as 5G support, satellite connectivity, fingerprint and face sensors, stylus support, fast charging speeds, foldable displays and others that may come in handy. And we of course balance all of that against the price to give you the verdict on whether this phone, whatever the price, actually represents good value. While these tests may not always be reflected in CNET’s initial review, we conduct follow-up and long-term tests in most cases.