Samsung Galaxy A55 review

Design, build quality, handling

At first glance, the Galaxy A55 looks almost identical to the A54, but some subtle changes have made it feel like a different phone in hand, and we mean that mostly positively.

The front glass is now Gorilla Glass Victus+. That's a welcome upgrade from last year's model, which had a plastic frame and dated Gorilla Glass 5 protection. The handset is still IP67-certified against water and dust. The back uses a more regular Gorilla Glass, and Samsung hasn't revealed which type.

The back is painted in either Iceblue, Lilac, Navy (the one shown in our photos) or Lemon. For some reason, the Navy color looks black in the renders.

With the flat aluminum side frame and the slightly larger camera lenses on the back, the device feels a lot like the Galaxy S24. If it wasn't for the size, we could have easily mistaken it in a blind test. The slightly elevated area around the power key and the volume rocker gives it away.

Samsung Galaxy A55

On the other hand, some may find the device a bit awkward to hold due to the sharp edges where the frame meets the front and back panels. But no matter the side frame, button placement and fingerprint reader position are well thought out. Everything is within reach.

Samsung Galaxy A55

Unfortunately, that's all the good we could say about the fingerprint reader. It has been a while since we last used such an unreliable scanner. We even tried creating two different entries with the same fingertip, and it was still difficult to read correctly.

Is the Galaxy A55 the most comfortable design we've tried? Far from it. But is it one of the best in terms of overall feel and materials? It's right up there with the best.