Samsung's new Galaxy A55 brings several improvements over the Galaxy A54, but looking at the official spec sheets, you would think the display isn't one of them. Granted, the A55 has a slightly larger 6.6-inch panel instead of a 6.4-inch one, but that results in a lower pixel density. Otherwise, the two phones share the same Super AMOLED display type with HDR10+, a 120Hz refresh rate, and up to 1,000 nits — on paper, at least.
It turns out that the Galaxy A55's display is vastly superior to the Galaxy A54's and considerably brighter, too. And, in fact, according to tests conducted by DxOMark, the Galaxy A55's display is the best in its class, beating even the Galaxy S23 FE. The Galaxy A55's display ranks 1st, the Galaxy S23 FE's ranks 9th, and the Galaxy A54's panel ranks 17th.
For an even better sense of perspective, here's how the Galaxy A55's screen compares to the Galaxy A54's and S23 FE on the global scale. The new model is good enough to rank 27th on the global ranking ladder, beating even the iPhone 14 Plus by one point.
And where do you think the Galaxy A54 is on the same chart? Well, it's in the 123rd position. And the Galaxy S23 FE? It's 84th.
Yes, according to DxOMark, the Galaxy A55's display is even better than the more expensive Galaxy S23 FE's, despite the Fan Edition phone claiming to have a higher brightness level. So, what gives?
Samsung underpromises and overdelivers
How can the Galaxy A55's 1,000 nits Super AMOLED display be that much better? What's the secret to beating even the Galaxy S23 FE, whose panel can reach 1450 nits of brightness (according to Samsung)?
That's just the thing. DxOMark tests show that the Galaxy S23 FE's display maxes out at 1,421 nits. However, the Galaxy A55's display peaks at a whopping 1,638 nits, which is considerably higher than advertised.
Even the Galaxy A54 beats the official figure in these tests and tops $1,344 nits — impressive in its own right, just not enough to beat the S23 FE or A55.
All in all, the Galaxy A55 punches way above its weight class, and surprisingly so. It goes to show that even though its on-paper display specs place it right next to the Galaxy A54, real-world usage might tell a different story. Stay tuned for our upcoming review.
