In our quest to own a flagship-py phone at a reasonable price, we came across the new Samsung Galaxy A55 5G. The company has been working towards creating a cohesive design strategy for its phones, no matter the pricing. It’s just the phone one could be looking for before the Bengali New Year rolls in.

Best display in its category

Samsung is offering a good build with Gorilla Glass Victus+ protection and aluminium frame. All this adds a good heft to the phone, making it premium to hold. On the side, you get a slight inundation, which makes it comfortable to grip the device.

If you look at the back of the phone, it has the same design philosophy as the premium Galaxy S24 series. Lately, Samsung has been doing this to give the entire smartphone series an identity of its own. The new A55 5G doesn’t gather smudges or fingerprints. Add to this, IP67 dust and water resistance. This is solid enough for you to take it everywhere. Only one area Samsung needs to look at: the bezels could have been of similar thickness across the phone. That doesn’t take anything away from display quality… easily the best display in its category.

The 6.6-inch Super AMOLED 120Hz display is easy to read even if you stay out in the sun for long stretches. Most of us colour correct photos on the go, but after posting a photo on, say, Instagram, other users may find your photos slightly washed out. That’s not the case here. Go ahead and use Adobe Lightroom as much as you want and colour grading will be perfect. By default, the display is set to ‘vivid’ mode; usually, I switch it to ‘natural’.

The phone is easy to grip even though it comes with a biggish screen

Since it’s an “affordable premium” phone, many users would want to watch films on this device, which means a good audio setup is needed. The stereo speakers are not just louder, it offers a good sonic landscape with great instrument separation. Having seen some Netflix films, I can hardly tell the difference between what you get here and, say, on the Galaxy S24 base-level device.

Efficient chipset

Samsung has put in Exynos 1480 chipset, which is a step up from last year’s Galaxy A54. The processor is powerful enough to handle everyday tasks and more. Usually, you are able to keep five-six apps open in the background and then as and when you open new apps, the older ones disappear or take too long to reload. With this chipset, apps load faster. Gaming is given a smooth shine but don’t expect this to be a gaming device. It’s best not to go by benchmark scores all the time because real-world usage is quite different. Being a 4nm processor, it is a power-efficient smartphone. Even after using the phone for seven-eight hours a day, you will be left with enough battery (5000mAh). There is support for 25W fast-charging but you need to buy the power brick separately. Since battery life is good, 25W should work well with most people as the phone can juice up at night.

The main camera on the Galaxy A55 5G captures colours brilliantly

Recently, I had a business trip to Jaipur where the weather is getting worse than toasty. Usually, many phones clam up if used in hot weather after 40-60 minutes at a stretch, especially while taking videos. The thermal on this device behaves properly and you wouldn’t face problems. Further, there is sustained performance and there is no major throttling.

On top of that, the company is offering four generations of OS updates and five generations of security updates. In other words, there is the promise to cling on the device for a long time and the chipset should see you through the years. Samsung (besides Google with its Pixel) offers updates regularly. This is something the South Korean company has been doing for the last couple of years and it’s not restricted to flagship devices only. Android 15 is around the corner, so it will be on your phone soon.

Camera punches above its weight

The camera setup is perhaps the most impressive part of the phone. You get a 50MP main camera and keeping it company is a 12MP ultra-wide and 5MP macro. Sure, the sensor is similar to that on many Android phones but Samsung also offers great camera optimisation. The colour output is natural, retaining enough dynamic range. The white balance control is also top-notch. Portrait shots too come out crisp with excellent background separation. Photos do not look dull. There is OIS or optical image stabilisation ensuring steady shots.

Brownie points are won by the 12 MP ultra-wide which has very little colour shift when coming from the main camera. Night photos taken on the ultra-wide lens shine. Anything missing? A telephoto lens would have been a good addition. The 32MP selfie snapper allows you to capture warm or natural tones while skin colour remains fairly correct.

An early morning shot taken using the new Samsung phone

On the video front, you can record at up to 4K@30fps, which is also possible via the front camera. There is the option to switch from front to rear camera while recording videos.

Should you buy it?

One of the features that you need to consider is Knox Vault, a feature that has so far been available only on premium Samsung phones. This helps you protect your system PIN, passwords and patterns. The encrypted data can be transferred to Knox Vault, which is isolated from the main operating system. It will offer you peace of mind. Overall, it’s cruise control all the way with Samsung Galaxy A55 5G that comes with several flagship-grade features.

There is OIS technology to offer steady shots

At a glance

Device: Samsung Galaxy A55 5G

Price: 39,999

High notes

Knox Vault offers better security

Good Android update cycle

Excellent camera setup

Battery easily lasts a day

Premium finish

Muffled note

The bezels could have been of similar thickness across the board