Samsung has debuted its new Galaxy M55 5G in India and the brand has launched it in a segment that makes it compete with the Nothing Phone (2a), which debuted earlier last month. Here’s a quick comparison between the two mid-ranger smartphones based on on-paper specifications.
Display
The Galaxy M55 5G sports a 6.6-inch 120Hz Super AMOLED panel with a full-HD+ Resolution (1080 x 2400 pixels), dragontrail glass protection and 1000 nits peak brightness.
The Nothing Phone (2a) sports a 6.7-inch AMOLED FHD+ screen with a Resolution of 1084 x 2412 pixels, HDR10+, up to 1300 nits brightness, 240Hz touch sampling rate and a 120Hz refresh rate.
Both of them have a similar display panel in terms of Refresh Rate and resolution but the Phone (2a)’s panel gets slightly brighter in outdoor conditions, making it in the winner in this segment.
Performance & Software
The Nothing Phone (2a) is powered by the MediaTek Dimensity 7200 processor, paired with up to 12GB LPDDR4x RAM and up to 256GB of UFS 2.2 storage. Samsung’s Galaxy M55 5G draws power from the Snapdragon 7 Gen 1 paired with up to 12GB LPDDR4x RAM and up to 256GB of UFS 3.1 storage. Moreover, it supports expandable storage up to 1TB while the Nothing Phone (2a) doesn’t.
Both of them have chipsets that are quite capable in the segment and daily usage shouldn’t be an issue on either of them. With what we saw on Phone (2a) in our review, we were quite impressed. However, Samsung has the EDGE with faster storage and because it has storage expansion support too.
As for software, the Phone (2a) runs on Android 14-based Nothing OS 2.5 while Galaxy M55 5G runs on One UI 6.1 based on Android 14. They have their own advantages and drawbacks and ultimately, it’s a subjective choice. However, the M55 wins again, as it gets longer update support, with up to 4 years of OS upgrades compared to 3 on the Phone (2a).
Battery & Cameras
Both the Phone (2a) and Galaxy M55 5G get a 5000mAh battery with 45W Fast charging and neither of them comes with a charger in the box. As for cameras, the Galaxy M55 5G has a triple rear camera setup including a 50MP f/1.8 main sensor, an 8MP ultra-wide angle f/2.2 sensor along a 2MP f/2.4 macro sensor. At the front, it gets a 50MP f/2.4 selfiensensor.
The Phone (2a) gets a 32-megapixel f/2.2 selfie camera. The Nothing Phone (2a) has launched with a dual rear camera setup, consisting of a 50-megapixel f/1.88 OIS-assisted primary camera and a 50-megapixel f/2.2 ultra-wide angle camera. It supports Ultra XDR technology as well.
In terms of battery and charging, it’s a tie considerig they have identical specs. As for optics, the on-paper specs for the Phone (2a) are better if we talk of rear cameras but for the selfie sensor, the M55 5G is a more suitable choice. Once again, it’s a draw in terms of cameras too.
Verdict
The Nothing Phone (2a) starts at Rs 23,999 while the Galaxy M55 5G starts at Rs 26,999, both for the same 8GB + 128GB model. Definitely, the Galaxy M55 5G may look expensive at first but for a higher price tag, you get longer software update support, better front camera along with faster storage with expansion support as well.
However, the Phone (2a) should suit you better if you want a cleaner software experience that’s closer to Stock Android along with an IP rating and decent rear cameras too. Overall, we’d say it’s a tie between the two and the final choice would depend on each user’s preference for the features on offer.
