Samsung Galaxy M55 review: Slim phone with long-lasting battery life

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Samsung unveiled the new mid-range Galaxy M55 series phone in India earlier in the month.

The new Galaxy M55 comes with Qualcomm Snapdragon 7 Gen 1 chipset and has a slimmer profile compared to the predecessor.

The company is offering the device in three variants with prices starting at Rs 26,999. Here are my thoughts on Samsung's latest handset.

Design, build quality and display

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.

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 with a matte finish and doesn't get stained easily. It does a wonderful job of repelling sweaty fingerprint smudges.

Samsung Galaxy M55 phone

Credit: DH Photo/KVN Rohit

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.

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.

You will find the volume rocker and the power button on the right side of the frame.

It houses a type-c port with a speaker and a microphone at the base. And, on the top, it has a lone microphone.

The new Galaxy M55 sports a 6.7-inch full HD+ (1080×2400p) Super AMOLED Plus screen with an Infinity-O display design.

Samsung Galaxy M55's display

Credit: DH Photo/KVN Rohit

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.

Even under direct sunlight, the display was bright enough to read messages. I was also able to watch videos without any issues.

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.

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).

Be it day-to-day tasks or playing games, the device works smoothly without any pressing issues to complain about.

Samsung Galaxy M55's CPU and GPU performance score on Geekbench 6.0 app.

Credit: DH Photo/KVN Rohit

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.

Samsung Galaxy M55 series phone

Credit: DH Photo/KVN Rohit

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 up to 2029.

This ensures 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 patrons.

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.

With normal usage, it can easily last one and a half days. 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.

The company offers type-c to type-c charging cable and it supports 45W charging speed. However, the customer has to rely on an older phone charger or else buy a new one.

Samsung Galaxy M55 also supports 5G service offered by Airtel and Reliance Jio in India. Also, it comes with Near Field Communication (NFC) chip for cashless transactions through the Samsung Pay app.

Samsung Galaxy M55's camera sample

Credit: DH Photo/KVN Rohit

Photography

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.

Samsung Galaxy M55's camera sample

Credit: DH Photo/KVN Rohit

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. I won't complain as the details are captured well.

Samsung Galaxy M55's camera sample

Credit: DH Photo/KVN Rohit

Samsung Galaxy M55's camera sample.

Credit: DH Photo/KVN Rohit

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.

Samsung Galaxy M55's camera sample with ultra-wide-angle mode.

Credit: DH Photo/KVN Rohit

At night, the phone takes pretty good photos and manages to balance the light, particularly the neon lights of the nameboards. 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.

Samsung Galaxy M55's camera sample with night mode on

Credit: DH Photo/KVN Rohit

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.

Samsung Galaxy M55's camera sample with macro mode on.

Credit: DH Photo/KVN Rohit

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.

Samsung Galaxy M55's camera sample.

Credit: DH Photo/KVN Rohit

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 the Rs 30,000 price range.

Samsung Galaxy M55's camera sample.

Credit: DH Photo/KVN Rohit

Final thoughts

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.

And, the guarantee of four years of Android OS updates is a big bonus for owning the Galaxy M55.

Samsung Galaxy M55

Credit: DH Photo/KVN Rohit

Samsung is offering the Galaxy M55 in three configurations-- 8GB RAM + 128GB storage, 8GB RAM + 256GB storage and 12GB RAM + 256GB storage-- for Rs 26,999, Rs 29,999 and Rs 32,999 respectively. It comes in two colours-- denim black and light green.

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Published

22 April 2024, 15:37

IST