It's been weeks since I tested the Samsung Galaxy A55. This device is an interesting but not perfect smartphone in the premium mid-range. Samsung tries to offer many flagship features such as a good camera, a more powerful chip and a sexier design. The question is, can the Galaxy A55 be an alternative to the Galaxy S24 like the Galaxy A54 is a good alternative to the Galaxy S23? or Galaxy A35 is enough?
SPECIFICATION AND DESIGN
Samsung Galaxy A55
6.6″ Super AMOLED screen, 1080 x 2350 FHD+,
120Hz, HDR10+, Gorilla Glass Victus+
Exynos 1480 processor (4nm)
4x 2.75 GHz Cortex-A78
4x 2.0 GHz Cortex-A55
Xclipse 530 Graphics Chip (AMD RDNA2)
RAM 12GB LPDDR5
256GB UFS 3.1 storage
Primary Camera 50MP, f/1.8, Wide Angle OIS
12MP, f/2.2 Ultra Wide Angle
5MP, f/2.4 Macro
Front Camera 32MP, f/2.2
5000mAh battery
25W Floating Charging
5G Dual-SIM Sim/Telephony
Stereo Speaker Audio
Wi-Fi. NFC, Bluetooth WiFi 6, Yes, Bluetooth 5.3
Infrared None
Waterproof IP67
Under Screen Fingerprint Scanning System
Sale Price Priced at RM1,999
Have you seen the table above? It is clear that the specifications on paper Galaxy A55 is a premium and great mid-range device. But what matters is the real-world usage experience. For example, the design of the Galaxy A55 is sexier to me because there is a curve on the side that is not on the Galaxy A54.
The device also looks like a Galaxy S24 because this device does not feel like a cheap device. The buttons on the side are all nice to press, the back panel feels solid, the device has no hollow marks, and everything is done with care. What is disappointing is the screen design with thick and uneven bezels.
SCREEN
Speaking of the screen, for a premium mid-range device the Galaxy A55 uses one of the best screens on the market. By best here I mean the attractive color quality, pitch blacks, just good brightness and most importantly One UI 6.1 is very smart in handling the adaptive refresh rate from as low as 120Hz. Watching videos on Netflix or Disney+ also provides a satisfying experience.
BIOMETRIC
The Samsung Galaxy A55 uses an under-screen fingerprint scanner which is quite slow and requires a lot of patience. Luckily it's Ramadan now so I can still use this device in peace. After all this is normal for Samsung's mid-range devices.
USAGE – ONE UI 6.1 + KNOX VAULT
I was very disappointed when I found that the Galaxy A55 uses One UI 6.1 based on Android 14 which is the same as the Galaxy S24 series but there is no Galaxy AI feature at all. Even something as simple as translation is limited to Google Translate which is built on the keyboard only. For this new Galaxy A series, Samsung only focuses on security which is Knox Vault.
Other features and functions of One UI 6.1 on this device are more or less the same as One UI 6.1 on other Samsung devices. Even Knox Vault is an old security feature just given a new marketing name. In my use the Galaxy A55 is quite fast, smooth and absolutely no serious lag issues as of several weeks of use. The Exynos 1480 really challenges the processing chips of other mid-range devices and MediaTek should be careful with the rise of Exynos.
Samsung's strength still lies in the updates provided, which are four versions of Android and five years of security patches. Not many other manufacturers have dared to provide long-term support like Samsung has so far for mid-range devices.
Here are the Knox Vault features that Samsung wants to emphasize on the Samsung Galaxy A55;
TEE-based protection, TrustZone.
Passwords, biometrics and cryptographic keys in the device are managed by a separate non-Android operating system.
User protection from the processor chip into the device all the way to the cloud.
The only line of mid-range devices with the strictest security system.
PERFORMANCE AND BENCHMARKS
For the benchmark test I compared the Galaxy A55 with Nothing Phone (2a) (Dimensity 7200 Pro) and Oppo Reno11 F (Dimensity 7050) as they are more or less the same device category. The Galaxy A55 score surprised me because it is really powerful and competes hard with the Dimensity 7xxx chip. Samsung has really managed to optimize this device so that it remains smooth and has consistent performance throughout the duration of use.
Antutu 3D
Samsung Galaxy A55 – 686,987
Nothing Phone (2a) – 685,115
Oppo Reno11 F 5G – 606353
Geekbench 6
Samsung Galaxy A55 – 1120/3338
Nothing Phone (2a) – 1110/2589
Oppo Reno11 F 5G – 884/2164
3D Mark Wildlife Extreme
Samsung Galaxy A55 – 1049 / 6.28
Nothing Phone (2a) – 1157 / 6.93 FPS
Oppo Reno11 F 5G – None
The Exynos 1480 chip is slightly more powerful than the Dimensity 7200 Pro used in the Redmi Note 13 Pro+ and Nothing Phone (2a). First ones like Marvel Snap are very smooth, fast and have no problem closing by themselves. But high graphics games like Honkai Star Rail cannot be run because after 10 seconds it will close by itself.
OK CAMERA!
Samsung Galaxy A55 uses a 50+12+5 Megapixel camera configuration with a 32 Megapixel selfie camera. The camera capabilities of this device are only average but the post-processing of each picture is faster than the Nothing Phone (2a). The color on me is good, it's just that it's not bright enough and the focus is a little slow.
The yellow color looks similar to the real object, but only in a bright environment.
In a low-light environment, the Galaxy A55 is less than satisfactory because it is full of noise.
A bonus feature, built-in Snapchat filters.
Pretty good selfie portrait mode.
A night mode that can be beautiful when the focus becomes.
Focus problems can also occur during the day.
Human images are difficult to preserve details and give bright colors.
Evening atmosphere with people walking is sometimes very good.
Video recording on this device is quite poor. The color result looks good but there is a problem with focus and the audio is recorded in fragments as if there is static interference. One bonus thing I like is the built-in Snapchat filters right in the camera app.
AUDIO
The speaker on this device is average. It's balanced, has good bass and an acceptable usage experience. My one complaint is that the Galaxy A55's speaker is not loud enough, making me often use 75% compared to other devices in the same class, around 45% is enough.
BATTERY AND CHARGING
This is something I don't expect to happen on a device that uses an Exynos chip. The battery of the device can last for quite a long time. Light use on the Galaxy A55 leads to 6-7 hours of SOT, while heavy use has no problem lasting up to 8 hours of SOT.
What I don't like about this device is that charging is limited to 25W, whereas competing devices in the same class can offer faster charging rates at a cheaper price. Recharging time takes around 105 minutes which is slow for modern devices.
WHAT'S IN THE BOX?
No matter which is more expensive or cheaper, every purchase of this device you will receive;
1x Samsung Galaxy A55
1x SIM Pin
1x USB-C to USB-C Cable
1x Guidebook and safety
CONCLUSION
Believe it or not it doesn't matter how bad a product is, if someone is loyal they will still buy it. But with Hari Raya approaching, I don't want you to waste money on gadgets that aren't worth it. In my opinion, if a mid-range device is close to RM2000, it should have things that make it the best value device.
It's a shame this isn't on the Samsung Galaxy A55 because this good device seems to be stuck in the middle of the road that hasn't reached the Galaxy of dreams. The selling price of RM1,999 is quite expensive because you can buy the more powerful Redmi Note 13 Pro+ for RM1599 or the Nothing Phone ( 2a) with a unique design at a price of RM1699. However, the advantage of the Samsung Galaxy A55 is in terms of offering software, updates and security - which is still difficult to achieve by various other device manufacturers in the market. Samsung's after sales service is also much better than others in the market.
PRO
Beautiful design, premium and sexy.
The same One UI 6.1 as Samsung's flagship devices.
Beautiful screen and fast.
Tight and secure Knox Vault security system.
Very long lasting battery.
Four Android version updates and five years of security patches.
CONS
No generative AI features.
Screen design with thick and uneven bezels.
Camera capabilities are not satisfactory. Maybe it can be fixed through a software update like before.
Can't run high graphics first.
Slow 25W charging.