Most smartphones are being designed to be replaced every two or three years. In such a situation, what makes a smartphone company different? There are a handful of brands that offer a constant flow of updates to keep the phone new, packed with the latest features and security updates. And Samsung has been doing this very well for the last few years. The likes of Redmi and Oppo blitz us with new hardware but Samsung goes a step further with timely updates. The company’s new Galaxy M55 5G does exactly that.

It’s a great midrange phone with quite a lot of top-end features, from a bright screen to lengthy software updates. It’s a well-rounded package that you can keep using for several years.

The phone comes with a Super AMOLED 6.7-inch display that offers a good range of colours

Samsung has offered a cohesive design strategy for all its smartphones for some years. That means its flagship smartphone doesn’t look all that different from its phones less than half the price. The review unit of M55 comes in a lovely green.

The best part is the Super AMOLED 6.7-inch Full HD+ screen. This panel offers inky blacks and punchy colours. The resolution is sharp, but the screen brightness is what impresses the most. It can go up to 1,000 nits. Yes, there are brands offering more nits but you don’t need it. Nits have become a part of the marketing game. With 1,000 nits even the wrath of the sun can’t stop users from comfortably reading the display.

And did I mention it’s a 120Hz screen as well?! We do a lot of scrolling through feeds on Instagram or X. The frames you see on the screen ratchet up to 120 per second. The overall experience becomes fluid.

What makes the M55 stand out is its software support cycle. Samsung is offering a great four major OS Android upgrades. If that’s not enough, you’ll get five years of security updates.

A sample shot taken using Samsung Galaxy M55 5G

Powerful and power efficient

Galaxy M55 5G is powered by a 4nm-based Snapdragon 7 Gen1 processor. Even though this is not the latest flagship processor, it’s powerful as well as power efficient. The experience you will get even a few years down the line should be good.

For the most part, you won’t run into issues while browsing apps or sending an email. Even a game like Streets of Rage 4 ran without the phone breaking into a sweat. While moving back and forth between multiple apps, you won’t notice any kind of sluggishness… that’s the power of a well-tuned chipset.

The main 50MP camera can capture detailed shots

Battery-wise, you get a large 5,000-mAh cell, which can easily take you through a day and half. I spent a couple of days taking pictures, using the GPS for navigation, and killing time on Instagram, yet, I was left with enough battery. Plus, the battery supports 45W fast-charging but there is no charging brick in the box. In fact, the box could have been slimmer like other flagship Samsung phones but I guess the company is trying to clear out the stock of its stash of old boxes.

Should you buy it?

On the camera front, the company’s flagship feature — Nightography — can be experienced on this device. The camera set-up comes with a 50MP (OIS) camera and so does the selfie snapper. The ultra-wide is 8MP and there is a macro of 2MP. Winning the phone points is the similarity in video specs while recording videos — 4K@30fps, meaning you can switch between front and rear cameras while shooting is on. So far there has been no shutter lag and there is very little colour shift while moving from main snapper to ultra-wide.

Bonus point: M55 come with Knox Security, ensuring that you are worry-free when it comes to privacy and security on your smartphone. These devices will also feature Samsung Knox Vault. The hardware-based security system offers comprehensive protection against both hardware and software attacks.

The only quibble at the moment is the handful of unnecessary apps that can be deleted. But why include the same in the first place? Apart from that performance and software update cycle make Samsung Galaxy M55 5G a wowza of a device.

At a glance

Device: Samsung Galaxy M55 5G

Price: Upwards of Rs 26,999

High notes

Top-notch display and battery life

Good software update cycle

Camera has plenty of flagship-grade features

Muffled note

The box in which the phone is sold needs an update