Galaxy A55 Preview: Samsung playing it safe, leaving us wanting for more – Ultra-Sim

Galaxy A55 5G Intro

This new generation comes with a few upgrades sprinkled throughout, which, combined together, manage to accumulates meaningful update to the A5x series. That being said, don’t expect to see anything groundbreaking, especially if you are coming from a Galaxy A54 5G.

We have a bit of sad news with this year’s edition of the Galaxy A5x series though… For one reason or another (it is not specified), Samsung has decided that it will not be selling the Galaxy A55 5G in the U.S. this year. For the first time in five years, the only mid-ranger from the “A” series will be the new and cheaper Galaxy A35 5G.

What’s new about Galaxy A55 5G

Table of Contents:

Galaxy A55 5G Specs

The Galaxy A55‘s specs are somewhat unexciting. The clear changes are the size, chipset, and the slight increase in the display size. There’s also the longer software support, which could be the most viable reason for upgrading to the A55 5G besides the new processor.

Galaxy A55 5G Design & Colors

The Galaxy “A” series has kept a look that’s so close to Samsung’s flagship “S” series that some might even have trouble distinguishing it from the more premium lineup. This time around, however, the Galaxy A55 5G comes with one small but visible change in its design that makes it stand out from Samsung’s other models.

More specifically, we are talking about that bump on the right side of the frame, which houses the volume and power buttons. Some are calling this bump the “Key Island”, which has a nice ring to it if we do say so ourselves.

This is a design that Samsung first tested on the Galaxy A15 and A25, which were released at the end of 2023 and are even more budget-friendly. It seems the company thought it would fit in nicely to its mid-range lineup, and we kind of agree. We will let you know if our opinion changes once we get to spend some time with the phone though.

Speaking of the frame, it is now also made out of metal, unlike the plastic frames Samsung used for previous iterations of the A5x series.

Size-wize, the A55 is a bit larger than its predecessor, measuring at 161.1 x 77.4 x 8.2mm vs the 158.2 x 76.7 x 8.2mm that is the Galaxy A54 5G. It is also a bit heavier, with 213g to its name compared to the 202g of last year’s model.

Protection-wise, the A55 5G’s display is made with Gorilla Glass Victus (upgrading from Gorilla Glass 5), which is more resistant to scratches and shattering. We are happy to see that IP67 dust and water resistance rating persists with this new generation too, as it is the best protection against the elements that you get at this price point.

Colors-wize, there are four options available. Here are the Galaxy A55 5G colors:

Here are images showcasing the A55 5G in all four colors:

As far as the Galaxy A55 5G unboxing experience goes, Samsung is rather simplistic on that end, unlike some other players like OnePlus. The Galaxy A55 5G comes with no charger in the box, no case, and no screen protector. You get a charging cable, some documentation, and the phone itself.

Galaxy A55 5G Camera

Galaxy A55 5G cameras.

The Galaxy A55 5G comes with a triple camera setup on its back, reminding us of Samsung’s more premium flagship phones, the Galaxy S24 series. That said, instead of rocking a third telephoto camera, the company continues to use a macro camera, which in this case is the same 5MP one that is featured on the Galaxy A54 5G.

In fact, the rest of the cameras also seem to be the same as the A55 5G’s predecessor, including the 50MP wide (main) camera, and the 12MP ultra-wide. The same is true for the 32MP front-facing selfie snapper too.

These cameras should offer better results, however, thanks to that new chipset that Samsung has placed inside the Galaxy A55 5G. Samsung also says that the A55 5G is introducing advanced AI Image Signal Processing (ISP), which produces stunning low-light images never seen before on Galaxy A series. Stay tuned for sample images and the results of our dedicated camera tests.

Galaxy A55 5G Performance

Performance is the one area Samsung has focused on improving the most with the Galaxy A55 5G. The phone comes with the new Exynos 1480 chipset, which is built on the 4nm process, unlike the Exynos 1380 that is built on the 5nm process.

We won’t know just how much faster the new processor is for certain until we get to do our own performance tests on the A55 5G, but it should be the more meaningful upgrade among the other changes that Samsung has introduced.

Besides the newer chipset and the higher raw power it brings along, there is also the option to buy Samsung’s mid-ranger with 8GB of RAM this year. So far, users living in the US have only had the chance to get the A5x series with 6GB of RAM at the most.

Galaxy A55 5G OneUI / Android version

We were really hoping the company would bring that long software support to its mid-range lineup too, but alas, the A55 5G comes with the same 4 years of Android updates and 5 years of security patches as the A54 5G did.

One thing we should definitely mention here is that Samsung has introduced its Knox security software to the A series with this new generation. This should make the company’s mid-rangers much more secure compared to before.

Unfortunately, the A55 5G does not have wireless charging, so it won’t be the first Samsung mid-ranger to introduce that feature.

Samsung did not mention anything related to the audio quality or haptics of the A55 5G, so we expect the same experience on these two fronts from the new generation.

We were a bit disappointed with the audio quality coming out of the Galaxy A54’s speakers. The sound was getting severely distorted at higher volumes, especially the lower frequencies where the bass should be.

On that end, we have our fingers crossed that Samsung surprises us with some unmentioned upgrades here. We will let you know in the final review once we spend some time with the phone.

There’s also the fact that now the A series works with Samsung’s Knox security system, which gives users that extra sense of security from any malicious intent. Additionally, the display has improved and we have a slightly different design, but that’s about it.

Stay tuned for our full review of the Galaxy A55 5G, where you will find more details in the form of test results for the camera, display, as well as the battery life and charging.