Samsung launched the Galaxy M55 5G in India back in April and about two months later, we have the Galaxy F55 5G, which is basically the same device but with a new material for the back panel. We have already reviewed the Galaxy M55 5G in detail and our reactions were mixed. We are now giving a first look at the Galaxy F55 5G to find out whether it’s any better than the Galaxy M55 5G and if you should buy it.
Galaxy F55 5G: Price, Availability, Offers
The Galaxy F55 5G is priced at Rs 26,999 for the 8GB + 128GB model, Rs 29,999 for the 8GB + 256GB model and Rs 32,999 for the 12GB +256GB trim. Buyers can get a Rs 2,000 bank cashback when using HDFC cards to make the purchase on Flipkart. You can also buy it from Samsung online store and other retailers.
There’s also a launch offer running from May 27 till May 31, where Galaxy F55 5G buyers can opt for a 45W fast charger for Rs 499 or the Galaxy Fit 3 at Rs 1,999 alongside the purchase of the handset. The device will go on an early sale today at 7 PM IST.
Galaxy F55 5G: Design
Design-wise, the Galaxy F55 5G basically has the same look as the M55 5G but with a new vegan leather back panel that’s available in two shades, orange and black. While the black has a more classy and stealthy look, the orange grabs more eyes and is flashier.
While everyone has their own preference, we loved the orange more due to the more unique aesthetic. Compared to the Galaxy M55 5G, the F55 definitely feels more premium in the hand due to the leather finish. The M55 5G has a matte finish but the in-hand feel is inferior over the F55 due to a plasticky texture.
The frame on the orange model is gold in colour and it has the same texture as the M55. The buttons feel decent when clicked while the Haptics remain poor. The stereo speakers are loud and have a treble-driven sound.
As for the display, it was one of the strongest points of the M55 5G and so it is on the F55 too, apart from the premium looking design. The 6.6-inch 120Hz Super AMOLED panel has a full-HD+ Resolution (1080 x 2400 pixels), dragontrail glass protection and 1000 nits peak brightness.
In terms of colors, the display is vibrant with excellent viewing angles. It gets sufficiently bright under sunlight while the text looks sharp. Thanks to the vivid color profile and deep blacks, video content on Netflix looks exceptional.
The bezels are minimal, and the 120Hz Refresh Rate enhances the overall appeal. Additionally, it features an optical in-display fingerprint sensor that, despite being positioned a bit low, works effectively.
While we mentioned that the Galaxy M55 5G has the best display in the range, we can’t say the same for the F55 5G as the Poco F6 5G took that crown when we recently reviewed it.
Galaxy F55 5G: Performance & Software
The Galaxy F55 5G gets the Snapdragon 7 Gen 1 Chipset under the hood and the competition is already way ahead in this area. The Realme GT 6T has the Snapdragon 7+ Gen 3 while the Poco F6 5G has an even better Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 processor.
With that said, if you are into gaming, you needn’t even look at the Galaxy F55 5G. Moreover, it tends to warm up quickly which is another disadvantage for regular gamers. However, the heat doesn’t feel as intense as it does on the M55 5G, most likely due to a different finish.
Performance-wise, we faced quite a few stutters on the Galaxy M55 5G and we are happy to report that the Galaxy F55 5G has solved that for the most part. The same also got solved to some extent on the M55 5G post a recent update but the animations are still not completely stutter-free, both on the M55 and the F55. If you try to put it through its paces, the Galaxy F55 5G would still struggle in handling some of the tasks smoothly.
The feature set is vast, as it usually is with One UI-powered smartphones and One UI 6.1 doubles down on that with newer and more fluid animations, at least on the flagships from Samsung. What’s not there on flagships and is there on the F55 5G is pre-installed bloatware that will have to be uninstalled manually, including apps like PhonePe, Snapchat, MapMyIndia and more.
As we mentioned, the animations aren’t the smoothest on these Galaxy mid-rangers despite running on One UI 6.1 but the extended software support of 4 major Android OS upgrades is what keeps the software experience still recommendable on the Galaxy F55 5G. The device also received the May 2024 security patch a few days back which is appreciable.
Connectivity performance with Jio 5G SIM, 5Ghz Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth was decent without any issues as such.
Galaxy F55 5G: Battery backup
The handset gets a 5000mAh battery with 45W Fast charging support. You can get it through a day worth of use and get around 5.5 to 6 hours of screen-on time at a stretch. Overall, the backup remained similar to the M55.
My usage mostly remained limited to Wi-Fi with some calling, browsing social media and the internet, chatting and other usual tasks. With heavier workloads such as when gaming even casually or using navigation, the battery backup tends to drop. Overall, the battery life was average and we have seen other smartphones in this price range do much better.
Galaxy F55 5G: Cameras
The Galaxy F55 5G has a triple rear camera setup, including a 50MP f/1.8 main sensor, an 8MP ultra-wide angle f/2.2 sensor, and a 2MP f/2.4 macro sensor. At the front, it gets a 50MP f/2.4 sensor.
The Galaxy F55 5G captures detailed and sharp photos with its main sensor, but the colors are a letdown as they are quite inconsistent. They appear unnatural and faded in some conditions but look fine in others. The dynamic range is above average but isn’t very appealing.
Regarding the ultra-wide angle shots, the colors are similarly lackluster, and the detailing and sharpness suffer. While EDGE distortion is well controlled, the overall photo quality falls short of the usual pleasing standards seen in Samsung cameras. The dynamic range also goes for a toss in these shots.
The selfies from 50MP front-facing sensor are slightly better than what we saw with Galaxy M55 5G. The edge detection is on point, and even the skin tones are handled better. As for the detailing, the levels stay high which is, again, superior over the M55 5G selfies.
Portrait photos have good edge detection and detailing, as seen in the shot above. However, same as M55 5G, the macro shots from the third sensor on the Galaxy F55 5G are disappointing. They lack sharpness, appear smudgy, and the colors fall short of accuracy.
Shots clicked under artificial lighting have decent detailing, while the colours are vibrant, in comparison to how they were a mismatch to reality in the Galaxy M55 5G. Low-light shots look overly soft and unappealing.
Photos taken in complete darkness lack detail, but activating Night mode makes a significant difference. The entire scene becomes more visible and gains much better detail.
