Samsung Galaxy M55

 Samsung Galaxy M55 : Review

The Samsung Galaxy M55 is a mainstream smartphone in the mid-range segment with a display, camera and performance. Samsung's new phone works smoothly without any overheating issues and delivers excellent battery life. The photography capabilities are reasonably good for its asking price. The Galaxy M55 is a no-frill smartphone in Samsung affordable M-series line. The smartphone’s specifications sheet exhibits mainstream features, but there is more to it than meets the eye. Perhaps even more importantly, it is priced competitively. For the price, the smartphone offers a vivid AMOLED display of a smooth refresh rate, a modest triple-camera system on the rear, a proven Qualcomm chip, and a lasting big-capacity battery with support for fast wired charging. But do these features suffice for a mid-range smartphone remains the actual question. Samsung unveiled the new mid-range Galaxy M55 series phone earlier in the month. The company is offering the device in three variants. It comes in two colours, denim black and light green. 

Display  

It has a pixel density of 393 ppi (pixels per inch), supports 120Hz refresh rate and up to 1,000nits peak brightness. The display on Samsung's new phone is really good, the best in its price range. The new Galaxy M55 sports a 6.7-inch full HD+ (1080×2400p) Super AMOLED Plus screen with an Infinity-O display of a 120Hz refresh rate. The display delivers vibrant visuals with optimal colour accuracy and contrast, ensuring a good viewing experience. Moreover, the display panel boasts decent brightness levels to remain visible even under direct sunlight. Enhancing the visual experience is a 120Hz refresh rate, which facilitates smooth transitions and swift response times. Even under direct sunlight, the display was bright enough to read messages. While the display panel on the Galaxy M55 supports HDR (high dynamic range), it lacks Dolby Vision support. The smartphone does not offer many display setting options but offers a useful one, Easy Mode, which simplifies the home screen layout by enlarging icons and text. Easy Mode also adjusts brightness, and contrast levels, and introduces a slight delay to touch-and-hold actions, reducing the likelihood of accidental touches. The device also houses an in-screen fingerprint sensor. It responds quite fast to the finger impression with a low false rejection rate. But the finger has to be dry and clean for the sensor to instantly match the registered biometric data to work smoothly.

Design

Perhaps the dullest feature of the Galaxy M55 is its design. The smartphone has a rounded frame design and a curved back panel sporting a matte finish. Made from plastic, both the frame and back panel look generic. As for the usability, however, the matte finish on the back effectively repels fingerprint marks and smudges. The latest Galaxy M55 series is one of the slimmest M series phones to date. It measures just 7.8mm in thickness, 0.6mm thinner compared to the predecessor (8.4mm). It is light too. The device weighs just 180g. The phone’s back panel exhibits some flexibility, even with light pressure. Thanks to the slim design language, it is easy to hold the device firmly and there is less chance of slipping out of hands. The back panel features a frosted glass design and doesn't get stained easily. It does a wonderful job of repelling sweaty fingerprint smudges. Nevertheless, the Galaxy M55 boasts a lightweight build at 180g. Coupled with its rounded frame, it offers an ergonomic design which ensures comfortable handling, even during prolonged usage sessions.

On the left side, it features a hybrid SIM tray. It can accommodate one primary SIM (nano) and in the other slot, the customer has to choose between a second SIM or the microSD card for extra space. The green model looks gorgeous in the sunlight. The frame made of sturdy polycarbonate material around the edge, is a shade darker than the back panel. It beautifully blends with the cover case. The company also offers the device in a denim black colour variant, which is visually pleasing to the eyes as well. It houses a type-c port with a speaker and a microphone at the base. And, on the top, it has a lone microphone. You will find the volume rocker and the power button on the right side of the frame.

Camera

Samsung's Galaxy M55 houses a triple-camera module-- 50MP (with f/1.8, OIS: Optical Image Stabilisation) + 8MP ultra-wide angle camera (f/2.2) + 2MP macro camera (f/2.4) with LED flash on the back. The Galaxy M55 comprises a 50-megapixel main sensor, an 8MP ultra-wide-angle sensor, and a 2MP macro camera. Despite the primary sensor capturing vibrant colours, detailing tends to suffer, particularly in low-light conditions. The 8MP ultra-wide-angle camera produces social-media-friendly images with modest colours and decent white balance, albeit at the expense of clarity to preserve colour vibrancy during processing.  It takes pretty good photos in the sunlight. Also, as you can see in the sample images, the camera does add a colour boost to make the subjects look vibrant in the frame than they actually look in our eyes. 

As for the front camera, the 50MP camera sensor sets an example that higher megapixels do not always yield better results. The camera sensor struggles to get even the basic selfie right. It often captures images of low quality. Like the rear cameras, the front camera struggles with capturing facial details, though there is minimal image processing, preventing over-softened images. With ultra-wide angle mode, the phone supports up to 123-degree field-of-view. It is wide enough to capture a hill range and even a big statue within the frame. At night, the phone takes pretty good photos and manages to balance the light, particularly the neon lights of the name boards. But, the autofocus seems to slow down in low-light conditions. Also, one needs to have a steady hand and patience to get that perfect photo. However, it excels with macro mode during the day. It takes amazing close-up shots and manages to get crisp details of the subject pretty accurately, particularly the flowers.   And, on the front, it houses a 50MP sensor (f/2.2) for selfies and video calling. It takes brilliant sharp photos in natural light conditions and indoors as well. 

Video

In terms of video recording, both front and rear cameras support UHD recording at 30 fps, with the option for 60 fps available up to HD resolution. Additionally, a dedicated “Super Steady” mode enhances video stability. The front and the main cameras on the back support 4K video at 30 frames per second (fps). They can also record full HD (1080p) at 30 and 60 fps options. The video quality is good, on par with most of the rival brands under this price range."

Performance 

Inside, it comes with a 4nm Qualcomm Snapdragon 7 Gen 1 octa-core processor with Adreno 644 GPU, 8GB/12GB RAM, 128GB/256GB storage (expandable up to 1TB). The Galaxy M55 excels in the performance department, powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 7 Gen 1 chipset paired with 12GB of RAM (review unit). Handling everyday tasks effortlessly, the smartphone breezes through multitasking scenarios. It proves more than capable of tackling demanding tasks like high-resolution video recording and playing graphic-intensive games such as Real Racing 3 and EA Sports FC Mobile. Even during prolonged gaming sessions, the Galaxy M55 maintains thermal efficiency, with only slight warmth noticeable. Be it day-to-day tasks or playing games, the device works smoothly without any pressing issues to complain about.

Software

Based on OneUI 6.1, the smartphone comes pre-loaded with several apps like Dailyhunt and MapmyIndia. Some Samsung apps, such as MaxVPN, show ads within the application, which can be intrusive. Moreover, these apps inundate the notification panel, detracting from the overall user experience. Despite this, the Android 14-based UI remains user-friendly and offers a plethora of useful features, including Knox security, the Galaxy Health app, and Smart Switch. Samsung has also promised four generations of OS updates for the Galaxy M55 smartphone and that is a plus. Samsung Galaxy M55's CPU and GPU performance score on Geekbench 6.0 app. The device runs on Android 14-based Samsung One UI 6.1 OS. The user interface is clean, but there are a lot of third-party apps.

Thankfully, Samsung offers the option to delete them all. Most people don't mind having Microsoft's suite of productivity apps and Samsung's proprietary applications on the phone. They can help you with accessing work-related PPTs or notes right on the screen. There are also popular apps such as Netflix, Amazon, Facebook, Truecaller and Snapchat on the phone. The company offers a minimum of 128GB (base model), which is more than enough to install hundreds of new apps and also be able to store thousands of images and videos. Even if you face any shortage of space, there is an option to add microSD card.  One of the best perks to owning this particular Samsung phone is that it is guaranteed to get four Android OS updates and Samsung is also promising to offer an additional year of software security support till 2029. This ensures that the phone gets new features every year up to 2028 and customers don't have to buy the phone for at least three or four years. This helps in building more loyalty among its user's. 

Audio

In the audio department, the Samsung Galaxy M55 excels with its stereo speaker system, delivering clear and crisp output. Impressively, the volume levels remain clear even at maximum settings, ensuring sound clarity is maintained throughout.

Battery

As noted earlier, it houses a 5,000mAh battery, 20 per cent less than the predecessor (6,000mAh). However, this is not a deal breaker. The Galaxy M55 boasts 45W fast-wired charging capabilities. On mixed usage, the battery lasts for nearly a day and a half before needing a recharge. If you are an extreme user, and spend more time watching reels or plays for several hours, the device can still deliver a full day's battery life. This usage pattern includes scrolling through social media apps, browsing the web, streaming YouTube videos, and playing casual games. The company offers type-c to type-c charging cable and it supports 45W charging speed. When the battery does eventually run out of juice, the Galaxy M55 recharges to full capacity in about 50 minutes. However, it is worth noting that users will need to purchase a supported power adapter separately, as Samsung only includes a USB Type-C to Type-C cable in the box. Samsung Galaxy M55 also supports 5G services. Also, it comes with Near Field Communication (NFC) chip for cashless transactions through the Samsung Pay app.   

Conclusion

Snapdragon 7 Gen 1-powered Samsung Galaxy M55 is a really good performer. It works smoothly without any overheating issues and delivers excellent battery life. The photography capabilities are reasonably good for its asking price. With its good performance and satisfactory battery life, the Samsung Galaxy M55 emerges as a solid option for users who value functionality over aesthetics and build quality. The inclusion of 45W fast charging and a vibrant display further enhances its appeal. And, the guarantee of four years of Android OS updates is a big bonus for owning the Galaxy M55. Samsung is offering the Galaxy M55 in three configurations-- 8GB RAM + 128GB storage, 8GB RAM + 256GB storage and 12GB RAM + 256GB storage.