More and more people are asking for suggestions before buying a phone that’s in the Rs 25,000 to Rs 30,000 category. This is more than just a push towards premiumization; it’s about consumers asking for more powerful features and better phones. Buying a pricier phone also means a hope to cling on to a device for the next few years because given the times we are living in, it’s not feasible to update one’s device every year or even two. All this can well be the backdrop of Samsung’s latest offering — Galaxy F55 5G.

Timely software update cycle

The Galaxy F55 5G’s design philosophy takes after the Galaxy S series and the phone comes with a vegan leather back

What’s working in favour of Samsung are a few things only two or three other players are offering. First, you receive four generations of Android and five years of security updates. Yes, several other Android brands have started promising longer updates but those don’t always arrive. For the last few years, Samsung has been on top of their game when it comes to timely software and security updates.

Four generations of Android updates means you can cling on to the device for a long time. Not having to switch phones for a few years means less e-waste. Add to this: Samsung’s network of service centres. What remains to be seen is whether Samsung too can stretch the updates to seven years with future offerings, like Google is doing with its costlier Pixel phones.

Feel of a flagship phone

Usually a flagship phone is my device of choice because I need to keep track of new features. Moving the SIM card to the Galaxy F55 did not come with regrets. It feels like a flagship device, something like the Galaxy S24.

The Apricot Crush hue of the phone sits well with me and so does the vegan leather design. The phone looks premium because of the golden rings around each of the cameras on the rear. The bezels are slim enough for a midrange phone and in-hand feel is excellent. There are a lot of phones with a vegan leather finish on the back panel but the saddle stitch pattern here is the best.

The main camera captures a natural colour palette. Seen here are some graffiti-covered walls of North Calcutta

Where Samsung could have made an improvement involves the number of preloaded apps, like Snapchat, Truecaller, Dailyhunt, PhonePe and Maples MapMyIndia. Sure, these can be deleted but why have it in the first place?

Excellent midrange performance

A Samsung phone is always known for its display, which in this case is 6.7-inch Super AMOLED+ FHD+ and comes with support for 120Hz refresh rate. All the razzle-dazzle of a Samsung display can be found — excellent colour range, deep blacks and excellent brightness (1000 nits).

Perhaps the most debated question when it comes to midrange phones is performance. Samsung is using the 4nm Qualcomm Snapdragon 7 Gen1 processor with up to 12GB LPDDR4X RAM and up to 256GB UFS 2.2 storage. It’s a tried and tested processor which gives you enough power to go work on any app and during gaming, there is good sustained performance. There are no great stutters while playing Genshin Impact on medium graphics at 60fps.

The phone runs Android 14 and on top of it is One UI 6.1. Heading over to the battery, the 5000mAh offering comes with 45W charging speeds. It’s a phone that easily lasts a day and then some more. I am impressed by the stereo speakers and, as usual, there is no headphone jack.

Crisp pictures

On the rear is a triple camera setup of 50MP OIS main snapper, 8MP ultra-wide and 2MP macro while on the front is a 50MP shooter. You can capture a lot of detail in high-resolution photos taken on these cameras. The pictures can easily rival the Pixel 8a and in many cases, they best them.
Having optical image stabilisation ensures steady videos and photos. Plus, you can record videos in 4K@30fps with the front and rear cameras. Yes, there is the ability to switch between the rear and front cameras while recording 4K videos.

The main camera can snap up some crisp shots in any lighting condition while the ultra-wide does a fairly good job during daytime while at night, it’s good but not enough to beat Samsung’s pricier offerings.

The phone’s main camera comes with optical stabilisation, which helps take steady shots. Seen here is the Jain temple complex near Gouri Bari Lane

Since the phone supports OIS on the main camera, you get access to Nightography or Samsung’s way of allowing users to capture good low-light shots and videos.

Should you buy it?

Overall, I’m really impressed with the photos that come out of the phone and also the performance. The Galaxy F55 5G is a solid midrange offering with design razzmatazz. Perhaps the biggest win-win for Samsung is consistent performance, which is at times missing on many rival Android devices.

The Galaxy F55 5G comes with a massive 6.7-inch Super AMOLED+ display and a 5,000mAh battery

At a glance

Device: Samsung Galaxy F55 5G

Price: Upwards of Rs 26,999 (you can also avail discounts)

High notes

Fluid and powerful performance

Bright screen

Great battery life and camera system

Good software support on Android

Eye-catching design

Muffled note

Has a few preinstalled apps (can be deleted)