Samsung Galaxy A55 – Tudocelular.com Review

Samsung knows that the Galaxy A line is very popular, especially the most advanced model that aims to deliver the best value for money. The A54 was successful for offering a balanced package and in the A55 we have substantial improvements that make the Korean intermediary attract even more attention. In this analysis we will check its evolution and find out if it surpasses rivals in the same price range.

The Galaxy A55 comes in similar packaging to the A54. It is white and made from cardboard paper. In addition to the cell phone you receive:

• 15W charger
• USB cable in C standard
• Manuals
• Key to open the SIM and microSD card drawer

Visually we had few changes, except for the measurements that increased in this generation. The Galaxy A55 has grown to house a larger screen, but its edges have been reduced. It also became wider and heavier, without changing its thickness.

The plastic structure was replaced by an aluminum one, giving it a more premium appeal. The Korean intermediary is still made of glass and now Samsung promotes Gorilla Glass Victus Plus, which guarantees twice the resistance against scratches and impacts compared to its predecessor’s Gorilla Glass 5.

The sides are flat, following the recent trend of other Samsung launches. There is a higher part where the power and volume buttons are located, also seen in lower models of the Galaxy A 2024 line. The matte finish conveys good quality and a true premium feel that the line required.

The triple photographic set at the rear features the already known layout with the three cameras organized vertically in individual rings. There is a simple LED flash next to the set. On the front we have the selfie camera in a centralized hole, while the edges still draw attention because they are wider than we would like.

The IP67 certification is still present to ensure that the cell phone survives in water for a maximum of 30 minutes in up to 1 meter of depth. The biometric reader comes under the display and quickly recognizes the fingerprint with good unlocking efficiency. The drawer is a hybrid type and allows you to use two chips or give up the second to expand storage with a microSD card of up to 1 TB.

In connectivity we have sixth generation Wi-Fi for high-speed navigation, Bluetooth 5.3, NFC and 5G.

As said, the screen has grown and on the Galaxy A55 we have 6.6 inches compared to 6.4 inches on its predecessor. Other specifications remain the same and this includes a Super AMOLED panel with a 120 Hz refresh rate, Full HD+ resolution and HDR10+ support.

The brightness is stronger and brings the Galaxy A55 closer to some high-end cell phones. Due to the type of panel adopted, we have infinite contrast for perfect black and a wide viewing angle. The colors are well calibrated by default and there are profiles and adjustments available to adjust to your taste.

The panel comes in adaptive mode that regulates the speed according to need. In static content, the screen will be at 60 Hz most of the time, which rises to 120 Hz when you interact with the cell phone.

The A55 uses the call speaker as a secondary channel for stereo sound. The power is good, being average for the segment. The sound quality is pleasing overall, although the midrange is overshadowed by the other frequencies.

Don’t expect much bass, especially in music, but the Galaxy A55’s sound tends to have little distortion when the volume is at maximum. There is a full equalizer with Dolby Atmos that helps you adjust the sound to your liking.

The A55 debuts the Exynos 1480 chip, which features a more refined manufacturing process for lower energy consumption and a GPU made in partnership with AMD that adopts RDNA architecture and aims to make a big leap in gaming. There is a promise of a 40% gain in graphics performance and the new dissipation system guarantees less heating.

The version we tested has 8 GB of RAM, but Samsung also released a 12 GB version that is not available in all countries. Even the most basic model does well in multitasking by keeping several apps open at the same time. It was more agile than its predecessor in our speed test and also outperformed several rivals.

In benchmarks we have a good jump in tests with AnTuTu scoring more than 700 thousand points. And how does this new GPU perform in games? We tested Call of Duty in Very High quality with everything enabled and PUBG in HDR with frame rate at Ultra and other features enabled. In both games it was possible to have good fluidity without the exaggerated warm-up as before.

The battery continues to have the same 5,000 mAh capacity as before. With the increase in the screen we could have feared a reduction in autonomy, but thanks to the more efficient chipset in this generation we saw the opposite happen.

The Galaxy A55 yielded 33 hours in our test that simulates moderate use with some games included. This represents a jump of more than 20% in autonomy between generations and guarantees that Samsung’s new intermediary will not let down even those who demand more from the device.

The A55 supports charging up to 25W, but comes with a more modest model in the box that only delivers 15W. This limitation means that the Korean intermediary spends a good amount of time plugged in, taking almost 2 hours to have its battery completely full. A quick 15-minute charge recovers 17% and reaches 32% after half an hour.

The photographic set has not changed in this generation and we have a 50 MP sensor accompanied by a 12 MP ultra-wide and 5 MP macro. The front also inherits the sensor from its predecessor, in this case one with 32 MP resolution. Therefore, improvements are only due to the image processing algorithm.

The main difference we noticed is that the A55 tends towards a warmer tone in photos, while the A54 tried a more neutral approach, but in many cases it resulted in images that were too cold. If you like photos with vibrant colors, you’ll be happy with the new Galaxy’s camera.

Standard | 50MP

By default, the software compresses four pixels into one, as happens on cell phones with 50 MP sensors. The 12.5 MP images have good clarity, little noise, adequate contrast and great colors.

You can use the maximum resolution if you are looking for photos with more recorded details, which helps when editing more precisely. However, in this mode we have a limitation of dynamic range and HDR that make photos very dark when there is excess backlight.

Home | Ultra-wide

Ultra-wide also presents darker photos and more limited contrast. The sharpness is lower due to the simpler sensor, but it can still take good photos in many scenarios. The problem really becomes more at night, as this camera ends up leaving bursts of light and other colors suffer from software that tries to regulate brightness and contrast.

The zoom is purely digital and despite not having dedicated hardware for shooting from a distance, it still captures sharp images with the 2x zoom. The macro camera remains the weak point of the set. Its resolution of just 5 MP and the lack of autofocus greatly limits what you will photograph. The blurring is done via software and presents decent results without suffering in low-light locations.

zoom

Night photography performance pleases with the main camera; There is a dedicated mode that comes into action when it detects that the ambient light is insufficient. The software seeks to eliminate as much noise as possible and in the process can make some parts of the photo smoother.

Nocturnal

Although the front hasn’t received hardware updates for a few years, it’s still capable of taking good selfies. Don’t expect the sharpest photos, but it’s also far from the smoothed, detail-poor selfies that are still common in the segment. The A55’s front camera pleases with good colors, a good portrait effect and little noise at night.

Selfies

The camcorder records in 4K at 30 fps with the rear and front. Even at this resolution we have efficient stabilization that deals well with shake. The quality of the videos is not much lower than what is seen in the photos; only the ultra-wide one is unnecessary at night, while the front one doesn’t make videos as dark. The main camera’s focus is agile, but we’ve seen better in the category, while stereo sound capture is of good quality.

We have Android 14 from the factory modified by One UI 6.1. For those who intend to spend many years with the same cell phone, here is one of the main differences between the A55 and others in the segment: it will receive four Android updates with five years of security updates, which guarantees that you will be up to date until 2029.

Despite coming with the same version of One UI debuted on the Galaxy S24 line, don’t expect the features present in Samsung’s most advanced models. Everything related to Artificial Intelligence was left out, which Samsung calls Galaxy AI. Not even the simplest features are present here, such as creating your own wallpapers or even full customization support for Always on Display.

Despite also leaving aside other advanced features with Samsung Dex, the A55 brings the essentials like Edge Screen to your favorite apps on any screen and all the power of customization. The interface flows well and presents fewer chokes compared to its predecessor.

A big highlight of this model is that it is the first to support Android non-stop updates, a feature launched by Google in 2016. What changes is that you can continue using the cell phone while the system updates in the background. When the update is complete, you must restart the cell phone and wait much less time to have the device ready for use again.

If you prefer a telephoto camera instead of a macro camera, then the realme 12 Pro Plus could be a great alternative to the A55. It features a large 6.7-inch screen with a 120 Hz AMOLED panel, better sound quality, unique design and optical zoom that delivers quality close to a high-end cell phone. The Galaxy, on the other hand, gains in multitasking performance, has a better battery and receives Android updates for longer.

The Poco X6 Pro is a cell phone that is highly sought after by Brazilians and fights in the segment for the best value for money. Is it a more interesting purchase? The Chinese model has a better screen and sound. It comes with a much more powerful charger that fills the battery in half the time, which ends up compensating for the lower autonomy. Samsung’s wins handily in multitasking and records better photos and videos.