(Image source from: Samsung.com)
Samsung's M-series phones are known for their value for money, and the new Galaxy M55 5G is no different. However, there are some new features that are new to the M series. For example, it has an in-display fingerprint scanner and a 50-megapixel front camera. It is also the first Galaxy M series phone to support 45W fast charging. The phone has a slim design and is primarily an upgrade from last year's Galaxy M54 5G. The Samsung Galaxy M55 5G is available in India for Rs 10,000. The basic version with 8GB RAM and 128GB storage costs 26,999. There is also an 8GB + 256GB option priced at Rs. It is priced at $29,999 and the 12GB RAM + 256GB option is available at $29,999. 32999. Here is the review of this smartphone:
Color options include denim black and light green. A light green version is also available. Inside the box you'll find the phone, documents, a SIM card removal tool, and a USB Type-C to Type-C charging cable. The charger is not included, although the box offers enough space for the charger. In terms of design, the Samsung Galaxy M55 offers a slim form factor of just 7.8 mm. Its slim shape fits well in the hand and is very easy to hold. At 180 grams, it's slimmer and lighter than last year's Galaxy M54. The phone has a plastic frame with a plastic back and no button island that you see on other mid-range Samsung phones. The key island houses the volume and power buttons on a raised bezel.
The corners are rounded and the sides are tapered. Despite the lack of metal and glass, the phone doesn't look cheap. On the back, there are three clear rings for the triple camera system in the top left corner and a separate LED flash on the side. The camera ring protrudes slightly and wobbles when you lay the device flat on its back. At the front, the left and right frames are uniform and the chin is slightly thicker. At the top there is a hole for the front camera and the Dragontrail glass on the screen. Unfortunately, Gorilla Glass is not included, which is a shame at this price. The Galaxy M55 5G is also not IP certified.
The Galaxy M55 5G does not have a 3.5mm headphone jack. On the right side of the phone there are volume and power buttons, on the left side there is a SIM card tray, on the top there is a microphone and on the bottom there is a USB Type-C port, another microphone and a Speaker. Samsung's new Galaxy M55 looks more or less similar to the Galaxy M45 from the front and back. The only difference is the thickness. Overall, this phone has the simple and minimalist design we've come to expect from Samsung. Now let's talk about the specifications. The Samsung Galaxy M55 5G is powered by an octa-core 4nm Snapdragon 7 Gen 1 chipset with Adreno 644 GPU. It is the first M-series phone to come with up to 12GB of RAM. It supports expansion with a microSD card and offers up to 256GB of internal storage.
The phone has a USB Type-C port, Bluetooth 5.2, NFC, GPS, two 5G SIM cards with dual standby and dual-band Wi-Fi 6. The SIM card tray is hybrid and accommodates two SIM cards or two SIM cards. 1 SIM card and microSD card. There is no 3.5 mm headphone jack here. As mentioned earlier, the Samsung Galaxy M55 5G is the first phone to feature an under-display fingerprint scanner. The previous version had a capacitive fingerprint reader under the power button. The in-display fingerprint is fast and works well most of the time, although it crashes here and there.
The Galaxy M55 5G runs One UI 6.1 based on Android 14 with minimal bloatware. Samsung has packed a 5,000mAh battery in the smartphone, which is less than the 6,000mAh battery in the Galaxy M54 5G. It also supports 45W fast charging, but there is no charger included in the box. The Galaxy M55 5G comes with One UI 6.1 based on Android 14. There are some pre-installed apps and lock screen displays, but otherwise it's pretty clean. Samsung promises four years of operating system updates and five years of security patches, which is commendable. Most phones in this price range only support the original operating system for about two years.
This phone offers four years of Android OS updates. Software features include Always on Display, One-Handed Mode, Quick Sharing, Live Captions, Kids Mode, Screen Recording, Link to Windows, Multi-Window Support and more. Most of the features introduced in One UI 6.1 are available, except for the Samsung DeX artificial intelligence features and the Samsung Galaxy AI suite. In terms of performance, the Galaxy M55 performs well in everyday use, including gaming and streaming content. Most people, myself included, will be grateful to Samsung for including the Snapdragon chipset in their phones. The Snapdragon 7 Gen 1 is not a new chipset, but it is better than the Exynos 1380 SoC in the Galaxy M54. You may not notice any major issues during normal use of the phone, but the Snapdragon chipset offers better performance and is more efficient in resource-intensive scenarios.
On AnTuTu, the phone scored 5,48,995, which was lower than some alternatives like the Nothing Phone 2a, Realme 12+ and Realme 12 Pro. I noticed a lag when opening apps, UI animations, and switching modes in the camera app, but otherwise it was a smooth experience. The Galaxy M55 5G's display also offers fluid performance thanks to an adaptive refresh rate of 120 Hz. The phone features a 6.7-inch AMOLED display with Full HD+ resolution and a maximum brightness of 1000 nits. Even in direct sunlight I was able to use it without any problems. Colors are sharp, but there's no color mode if you want to make fine adjustments. The display also offers good viewing angles.
Samsung has equipped the Galaxy M55 Hybrid with a dual speaker setup. The headphones act as a second speaker with a dedicated speaker at the bottom. The sound may be loud, but there is no bass. This phone has two microphones and we found the call quality to be good. The Snapdragon 7 Gen 1 SoC in this smartphone is impressive. I was able to play BGMI with HDR graphics and ultra frame rate settings. The touch sensitivity while gaming was also good. The phone got a little hot, but not too bad.
The Galaxy M55 5G comes with a 5000mAh battery. During the battery test, I left the phone alone while playing a YouTube video at 50% brightness, no sound, Wi-Fi on, and airplane mode, and got about 11 hours and 30 minutes of runtime with the screen on. In daily use, the phone easily lasted more than 24 hours. I didn't have to charge the phone until the next morning because it was under heavy use, e.g. E.g., gaming, using the camera, YouTube/movie streaming, etc. What's not so good is the 45W fast charging support. I tried charging the phone with multiple chargers including a 125W charger and each time it took around 80-90 minutes to fully charge the phone. The 45W fast charging only seems to charge up to 90%.
The Galaxy M55 5G features a triple rear camera setup with two available sensors. There's a 50-megapixel main sensor, an 8-megapixel ultra-wide sensor and a 2-megapixel macro unit. The camera app is easy to use with various modes including professional mode. A full-resolution 50-megapixel option is also available in photo mode. All important modes and settings are easily accessible in the viewfinder. The photo quality of the 50-megapixel main camera was good in daylight. You get good details and accurate colors with good dynamic range. However, I noticed that the white balance is sometimes not correct. The ultra-wide-angle camera takes good photos during the day, but isn't very useful in low-light conditions without a night mode. The colors of these two sensors also do not match. When it comes to video performance, the Galaxy M55 5G can record up to 4K at 30 frames per second with its main camera. Although it supports OIS, the stabilization is average in my opinion. Video quality is good in daylight and offers plenty of detail, but white balance and dynamic range are not that good. In low light conditions, the video is less usable due to excessive noise and artifacts.
The Samsung Galaxy M55 5G has a starting price of Rs 26,999. The top-end version with 12GB RAM costs Rs 32999. At this price, this phone has many competitors. The recently launched Nothing Phone 2a features a unique design and an almost standard software experience. Not only is it cheaper, but it also offers faster performance and a slightly better camera setup. If you want something with a better design, you can also check out the Realme 12+ or Realme 12 Pro at this price. Then there is the Poco X6 Pro, which is cheaper and offers significantly better value for money. It's also a stronger league.
The Samsung Galaxy M55 5G is a tough recommendation, especially with so many great options at this price. This is undoubtedly a good mid-range smartphone, but there are no outstanding features here. If you like Samsung One's user interface, 4 years of Android OS updates, good camera setup, average performance, good battery life and simple design, then you should consider Galaxy M55 5G.
