Samsung Galaxy M55 Review — The quintessential Samsung experience

• Samsung Galaxy M55 has entered the competitive mid-range segment in India, starting at ₹26,999
• The device is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 7 Gen 1 and packs in a 5500 mAh battery
• It sports a uniform design, improved camera, and delivers a decent performance
  

The M moniker for Samsung has always brought laurels to the brand. While the A & F series followed in recent years, it was the M series that started the streak Samsung has today in the mid-range segment. And M55 can be dubbed the crown device in the M-series line-up.

Over the years, we have seen the variants go through phases leading up to the current M55 range. It features a more uniform design and improved camera while retaining its well-known battery performance. However, the smartphone landscape over the years has also changed. The market now has more devices on offer at this price point than we have ever seen before.

So where does the Samsung Galaxy M55 stand today? And who should buy it? I will tell you in this comprehensive review.

Price & Availability
Samsung Galaxy M55 is available in 3 variants. You can buy the device from Amazon, and select offline stores.


Design
Samsung Galaxy M55 takes forward the unilateral approach Samsung has been taking across their smartphones, resembling most of their line-up but offering enough differentiating features. Talking about the uniformity in approach, we have a triple camera set-up on the back which resembles the flagship S24 line-up — nothing to complain about. Yes, I appreciate experiments, but why disturb something that works, and works well?

I used the light green colour variant, and it has a blue shade to it as well. It is minimalistic and definitely looks good. We don’t have a cover inside the box, so if you are planning to buy one I suggest going for a clear case. This way you can appreciate the color. We do have one more colour option, the denim black, which is even more subtle.

Over the years Samsung has managed to manage the weight better on the M series devices and M55 is no exception. The smartphone packs in a 5500 mAh battery and yet it feels light in the hand. For that matter, it feels lighter than the latest Nord CE 4 packing the same battery size. The device sports mostly a glass sandwich design with flat edges, something we are observing across smartphones now. And as you would expect combined with the optimal weight distribution and the design the smartphone has a towering presence.

The volume rockers and power buttons are on the right edge and are placed conveniently for easy reach. They are also tactile and feel solid. At the bottom, we have the USB Type-C port along with the speaker grill and the SIM card slot. M55 supports 2 nano SIMs.

While the overall design feels solid, I would like to note a couple of improvement opportunities:

1. IP rating — In my usage so far, the device has faced short bouts with water splashes and has come out strong. However, an official rating definitely adds to the mindset.
   
2. IR blaster — Though not an in-demand feature, imagine having a universal remote in your pocket, with a Samsung UI. I would pay good money for that.
   

Both of these points are not a deal breaker in any way, but it’s important to highlight how a good device can become even better and more appealing to the masses.

I also recommend checking out the ASMR unboxing for the M55 here.

Display

Samsung dominates the display space across spectrums. For that matter, Samsung’s display booth at MWC is a living proof of that, which I experienced first-hand. Check out the video here.

This dominance trickles down to the entire smartphone line-up and the M55 is the latest example of just how good it can get. The Galaxy M55 features a punch-hole 6.7-inch S-AMOLED+ display with a max refresh rate of 120Hz. And as you would expect from a Samsung display, it delivers on aesthetics and experience.

The colors are well saturated, skin tones look perfect and the blacks are Z blacks. I caught up with Star Wars Rebels this weekend, it's an animated TV show set out in space. It provides a wide canvas for me to judge the display in terms of motion, image projection and sound. The M55 has passed the visual experience test without even flinching. The performance was consistent in terms of quality.

However, I would recommend keeping the auto brightness off on this one. Yes, it manages to get the brightness level correct eventually, but it takes its sweet time. This gets particularly annoying when you are outdoors. To avoid this, I kept the brightness at 100% at all times, of course, this also helped in judging the battery life.

The screen is also super responsive, and if I may say, better than what I have experienced in this segment. The smartphone provides a max refresh rate of 120Hz, wherein you have the option for an adaptive refresh rate as well. The screen instantly switches the refresh rate when you go through different apps. I was getting a consistent output of 90-120Hz while I was scrolling on a web page, and it would switch instantly when I would start a game.

You do get an in-display fingerprint sensor here, but it’s not Samsung’s ultrasonic unit. So yes there is a noticeable pause before it unlocks the device. In order to skip this beat, I suggest setting up a facial unlock. Closing this section with the stereo speaker set-up on the Galaxy M55. It is loud, for the size in which it fits, but for a better experience, you should connect a pair of headphones.

Software
Samsung Galaxy M55 runs on Android 14 out of the box with Samsung One UI 6.1. Now this device is yet to get the new Samsung Galaxy AI features, about which you can learn here.

That being said, Samsung’s One UI still has some strong designs and features on offer. I don’t want to touch upon the aesthetics of it since it looks very familiar to what we have been observing. We get similar animation styles, widget options and themes. Customization options are a strong suite on One UI, and it shows up here as well. There is not one element which you cannot change here. From the font and text colour to custom themes everything can be rejigged. While this is good, I hope I can write something different about the UI next year.

I thoroughly enjoyed using Android-specific features here, like text selection from an image. From the native camera app, I could select the text and take it out from the image. What I am not a fan of is the Samsung keyboard. The layout for emojis and other gifs is something which did not appeal to me. So, I opted for the Gboard. It is more familiar and I could maintain faster typing speeds on it.

Overall, the Samsung Galaxy M55 performance is bug-free and easy to understand. However, I look forward to Galaxy AI features. This is a favourable expectation since Samsung has promised 4 years of OS updates here and 5 years of security updates.

Performance
Samsung Galaxy M55 runs on Qualcomm Snapdragon 7 Gen 1 SoC. This is a tried and tested CPU which has a strong track record of delivering stable performance. And that’s exactly what we experienced in the M55.

I have tested the smartphone across computational heavy tasks like gaming and generic tasks like social media. And as I had expected the performance was stable. Nothing out of the park or to shout about, just about right.

I have been running on multiple windows together and kept heavy apps like BGMI in the background. Yet, the device was able to boot up on time and switch between apps efficiently. The 12GB RAM variant that I have been testing can manage pretty much all the tasks that you throw at it. I also have 256GB of internal storage here which is ample for most users. Hence, I would recommend going for this variant. You get a solid RAM option combined with ample storage.

Coming to gaming, the device was stable and I didn’t notice any lag or heating issues. I would play BGMI daily for about an hour. In a moderate setting delivering a smooth experience.

However, for me, the litmus test of a smartphone in performance is the battery life. The M55’s 5500 mAh battery consistently gave me an average screen time of 7 hours. This is a huge number especially counting most of it was on mobile data.

So if you are looking to buy a device solely on battery performance in this segment, you have a clear pick here.

Camera
Samsung Galaxy M55 offers a triple camera set-up, you get a brand new 50MP OIS primary camera here. This is paired with an 8MP ultra-wide sensor and a 2MP macro sensor. At a time when we are observing camera options being trimmed down across devices, Samsung’s decision to have all three here is refreshing.

However, as you might have observed the trend here, the camera performance is satisfactory. Except for the primary camera performance, the rest of the set-up delivers familiar results. There are no hard-core experiments done here, which I believe the M series users don’t really look for.

Starting with the strongest suit, the 50MP primary camera. I have tested multiple cameras this year, but this one in particular stands out for me, especially in natural lighting. The colour tones are perfect and the balance that it can maintain is commendable. The camera by default shoots 12.5MP images, but once you bump up the settings to 50MP you see a noticeable change.

I also liked the performance in low light since the camera is able to manage light surprisingly well. The details are off as you would expect, but the image results are far better than what the viewfinder shows you. Especially in terms of details, specifically while editing them. We, at Business Insider India, make a lot of thumbnails which require editing, and high-quality images are a necessity, the M55 delivers just that.

The 8MP ultra-wide sensor here opens up the frame but you will notice a color shift. Nothing major but a slight saturation is what I observed. However, for quick point and shoot the camera gives a satisfactory performance. The 2MP macro sensor here is definitely for a niche set of users. You can expect decent details from the camera with colour accuracy and fast shutter speed.

We don’t have a dedicated portrait sensor here, which I would prefer over a macro sensor. Better yet, the portrait results are solid with the software providing suitable edge detection. You can also play around with the bokeh effect in the gallery.

Coming to video, the camera can record 4K videos upto 30fps and 1080P videos at 30 & 60fps. I would recommend sticking to 1080P especially if you shoot in a vlogging format where the camera stays on for longer durations. The videos in all formats look crystal clear with well-captured details and colours. There is also no lag in the video feed and the audio from the primary microphone is also clean and you can use it directly for your videos.

The selfie camera this time is new, with a 50MP sensor. And the selfies are also good — noise is in control, sharpness is intact, and details are well put together with the correct colors. The selfie camera also provides us with an option to open the frame for a wide-angle shot. It’s not a significant jump but enough to fit three people.

Portrait shots from the front camera are also crisp, and the blur is managed well across multiple subjects. Videos from the front camera are solid, especially at 4K videos at 30fps and 1080P at 30fps. The wide-angle frame, paired with the correct colours, makes for a good combination. So, if you are a vlogger, you should take a note.

Verdict
Samsung Galaxy M55 is for the set of users who don’t want to experiment with their smartphones. The device delivers an improved performance on a standard Samsung experience. It sports a well-accepted design, decent performance, solid battery life and a camera that has the potential to surprise you.

However, if you are looking for a specific use case like gaming or software, then I suggest checking out Poco X6 Pro, Nothing Phone 2A, or a Redmi Note 13 Pro.

Disclaimer: The content on this website is for informational purposes only and should not be construed as a purchasing guide or recommendation. We advise readers to do additional research, including hands-on usage of the device at a retail outlet, before making a decision.