While much of Samsung’s marketing budget is spent trying to push buyers towards its flagship handsets like the Galaxy S24 Ultra and the Galaxy Z Fold 5, its cheaper A-series phones have traditionally been very solid performers for those who want to spend less than $500.
Next up is the Samsung Galaxy A55. And given our Galaxy A54 review described it as “the best budget phone right now” when it was released last year, we’ve got high hopes for the successor.
Here’s everything we know about the Samsung Galaxy A55.
Samsung Galaxy A55: Price and release date
If recent form is anything to go by, the Samsung Galaxy A55 is just around the corner. The previous three models have all been released in March (the 15th in 2023, and the 17th for the two years previous) so it would be a big surprise if the A55 didn’t follow suit.
As for pricing, Samsung has been all over the place with recent A-series handsets, with the MSRP going up in the UK, but down in the US. The Galaxy A52 went on sale at £399/$499, but last year’s A54 was £449/$449.
It seems Samsung will be keen to keep it under $500, but we wouldn’t be surprised if inflation pushed the costs a bit higher than recent models (especially in the UK).
Samsung Galaxy A55: Design
Back in December, it was suggested that the Galaxy A55 would take design cues from the (at the time unofficial) Galaxy S24, with a flat screen, rounded corners and the introduction of polished metal as an upgrade to the plastic frame of its predecessor.
More recently, official-looking renders have emerged giving us a good look at the handset. As you can see from the image below, the handset does indeed look similar to the S24, right down to the traffic-light arrangement of its three rear cameras.
One interesting deviation is the “Key Island” bump on the side which houses the power and volume buttons. That’s actually an inheritance from the cheaper Galaxy A15 and A25 handsets, and should make the buttons easier to find without looking, even if it loses symmetry in the process.
The leak suggests that the A family will continue its more playful color schemes, with the report claiming “Awesome Iceblue”, “Awesome Lilac” and “Awesome Navy” among the options.
“Awesome”? Yep, that appears to be the branding Samsung is going with, judging by the renders released by the leaker Evan Blass last month…
. https://t.co/jYJob6BY4i pic.twitter.com/91sT9WeDNtFebruary 9, 2024
Samsung Galaxy A55: Core specs and cameras
According to the December report, the Galaxy A55 is set to be a 6.5-inch handset with a Full HD+ resolution and a refresh rate of up to 120Hz.
The phone will reportedly be powered by Samsung’s own Exynos processor — this time the Exynos 1480, which achieved solid benchmark scores of 1,180 and 3,536 when spotted on the Geekbench browser in December. For comparison, the A54’s Exynos 1380 achieved 781 and 2,664 in our tests.
That Exynos processor is tipped to be supported by 8GB RAM, and, thanks to an accidental early post on Samsung’s Portuguese site, we already know that the handset will come with 128GB and 256GB storage configurations.
That triple camera array on the phone's rear reportedly comprises a 50MP main snapper, a 12MP ultra-wide sensor and a 5MP macro sensor. For selfies, the handset is accepted to have a 32MP front-facing lens.
Samsung Galaxy A55: Outlook
The Samsung Galaxy A54 currently tops our list of the best cheap phones, ahead of heavy hitters like the Google Pixel 7a and the OnePlus 12R.
Unless Samsung massively raises the price on its successor, it seems very likely we’ll soon be crowning a new king. We should find out for sure later this month.
