Samsung earlier today announced the arrival of its newest Galaxy A-series midrange phones, the Galaxy A55 and A35. The two phones share a lot in common, although it’s become clear that the Galaxy A55 is meant to be the more attractive of the two devices, as it comes with some key advantages over its slightly more affordable sibling.
With that in mind, the Galaxy A55 has yet to launch for the UK, although it’s highly expected that it will arrive later this month for the UK, alongside the Galaxy A35. Maybe you’re dead-set on getting the Galaxy A55, and as such we’ve prepared a handy little rundown of things that you might want to know about Samsung’s newest midrange smartphone.
A New but Familiar Look
Take a look at the Galaxy A55, and it’s clear that Samsung has designed this with the intent of creating a more uniform look across all its Android device offerings, a resemblance which the A55 shares with the S24 series and last year’s S23 phones as well. Since it’s a new device however, Samsung has had to make a few changes with how the phone is styled, which becomes all the more apparent when you take a closer look at the handset.
Right away you’ll spot the raised bar that houses the volume and power buttons, a quirky little design trend that Samsung first adopted with its other A-series devices that were launched late last year. The sides of the A55 are made of metal, while both the rear panel and the front of the device are reinforced with Gorilla Glass.
Display and Cameras
Speaking of the front, the phone features a large 6.6-inch touchscreen, which does come with a vibrant and colour-rich look thanks to an AMOLED panel. Samsung’s upper-tier Android phones have always had great-looking screens, and the Galaxy A55 is no different in this regard. The screen also features a smooth 120Hz refresh rate, as well as a a 1080 x 2340 pixel resolution.
In terms of optics, the Samsung Galaxy A55 features a triple-camera setup on the back which consists of a 50MP primary lens, 12MP ultrawide, 5MP macro, and a 32MP camera in front for selfies and video calls.
Android Inside
Of course, the Samsung Galaxy A55 runs Android – in fact, it ships with the current Android 14 version, albeit layered with a heavy dose of One UI. For those unfamiliar, One UI is Samsung’s own take on Android, so everything from the user interface – the icons, fonts, wallpapers and such – all the way down to the features have a bit of added functionality that’s exclusive to Samsung. This also includes Samsung’s Knox security features which are baked into the software.
The Galaxy A55 will also be ideal for folks who tend to keep their phones for a while – Samsung says that it will provide four generations of Android OS and One UI upgrades, in addition to five years of security updates.
Other Details, Pricing
The phone packs Samsung’s Exynos 1480 chipset, a midrange processor that handles everyday performance. The 1480 works in tandem with a base memory and storage configuration of 8GB + 128GB, although a bit more coin gets you a beefier version with a bit more RAM and storage. Meanwhile, there’s a rather large 5,000 mAh battery which is a common capacity found in midrangers like the Galaxy A55.
If you’re planning on getting the Galaxy A55, Samsung says that the phone starts at £439, a considerably affordable price for a phone especially in this bracket. It’s not yet available in the UK, although buyers can expect the A55 to arrive on 20th March.
