Samsung Galaxy A55 5G Review: Premium Feel on a Budget

Cheap smartphones are no good? Not any more. Phones around the budget mark now carry technology that was the preserve of flagships only a few years ago. Pricier models still tend to lead on processor and memory, but fingerprint sensors, USB-C, high-resolution displays and capable cameras have all become standard — and in one respect budget phones actually beat their expensive rivals, since their storage can usually be expanded with a simple microSD card. The Samsung Galaxy A55 5G stakes its claim here: after an expensive launch it has settled into the affordable class, feels genuinely high-end and runs quickly on up-to-date silicon. This review is based on the published laboratory test, not on a hands-on trial of our own.

The A55 5G reached the shops in 2024 well above its current price, and it has since dropped into much more competitive territory. It comes in Iceblue, Lilac, Lemon and Navy, with the tested Lemon model carrying 128 GB of internal storage; a 256 GB version exists but matters little, because the hybrid card slot accepts up to a terabyte of microSD storage if you can forgo the second SIM or lean on the built-in eSIM instead. That expandability is one area where budget phones genuinely beat their pricier rivals, whose storage is usually sealed: you simply choose between a second physical SIM and a memory card, or sidestep the dilemma with the eSIM. The frame is aluminium and the back is toughened glass, and it all fits together seamlessly, with a finish that feels far pricier than the class suggests. The design is strikingly iPhone-like, though an accent along the frame beside the buttons sets it clearly apart. It is rated IP67 against dust and temporary submersion to a depth of one metre.

The 6.6-inch display resolves at a proper 388 ppi and, thanks to OLED, delivers a brilliant image with a wide viewing angle. The refresh rate either adapts dynamically between 60 and 120 Hz to suit the app, or can be fixed at 60 Hz to ease the load on the battery.

At the time of testing the phone ran Android 14 under Samsung's own One UI 6.0, so operating the budget A55 differs barely at all from its far dearer siblings. The chipset is Samsung's home-grown Exynos 1480 octa-core, backed by 8 GB of RAM, and in benchmarking the pairing raised the bar for the competition in this class. Battery life is a strength: tested at the maximum refresh rate and 50 per cent screen brightness, the phone lasted a good 23 hours of continuous use. A USB-C cable is supplied but no mains charger, so you will need an existing plug or a new one, and there is no Qi wireless charging — though that remains uncommon at this price.

Three cameras sit on the back, each with its own job: a 50-megapixel main wide-angle, a 12-megapixel ultrawide and a 5-megapixel macro for extreme close-ups, joined by a generous 32-megapixel selfie camera up front. Samsung has long had a knack for matching sensors to its imaging software, and the A55 is no exception — for a phone at this price the photo performance is consistently above average. In a night-time shot the phone proved what it can do, rendering the scene very authentically — individual letters of an illuminated sign could be told apart even where branches obscured them — and the dedicated night mode only lifted the shadows gently, so it was not strictly necessary. Shooting straight into a bright evening sun, the Galaxy favoured atmosphere over sheer brightness, leaving the foreground darker but adequately exposed; rival phones in the class light such scenes more, though not necessarily more naturally. Under studio conditions it climbed into the next price class up: at 30 lux colours stayed natural and well saturated with noise only visible at high magnification, and under bright, even light there was nothing to fault, with no double contours from artificial edge sharpening. Portrait mode is more class-typical — a face is clearly recognised but cut out fairly roughly, fine hairs disappear, and it works at only one focal length — though the amount of background blur can be set steplessly with an on-screen slider.

The only real gripe is the sparse bundle. Beyond the missing mains charger, a case is an extra purchase too, since neither is included — but Samsung is far from alone in that, and not only at this price.

At the time of writing the Galaxy A55 5G sells for £179.99 for the 128 GB model on Amazon UK. All told, it is a strong smartphone at an entry-level price. The combination of quick silicon and microSD expansion is a real strength, and the capable camera delivers excellent photos even in low light. That makes the Galaxy A55 5G one of the best smartphones in its price class — a genuine slice of premium feel on a budget.