Three reasons the Galaxy A55 changed Samsung's A5x series forever

While the Galaxy A56 is one of our favorite Samsung phones of 2025, it likely wouldn't have reached the level of success it enjoys without its predecessor pushing the limits first.

The Galaxy A56 is awesome. However, the Galaxy A55 should get a brighter spotlight because it changed the game forever. Here are three ways how.

While the Galaxy A54 had the difficult job to to introduce a new design language, it was the Galaxy A55 that changed our build quality expectations for the series.

The Galaxy A55 was the first modern A5x phone to feature an aluminum frame. Samsung used aluminum frames on older, higher-grade A-series models, like the A80 and A90, but those series were years before the A55 entered the scene.

Today, the Galaxy A5x is the only mid-range Samsung lineup to feature an aluminum frame, and the A55 was the model that set that new standard.

One other “first” the Galaxy A55 secured was seamless updates. But the A55 wasn't just the first in the A series to finally adopt this feature after years of waiting. It was, in fact, the first Samsung phone to do it.

Google introduced the virtual A/B partition system, a.k.a. the seamless updates feature, with Android 7. It took years for more phones to adopt the feature, and the Galaxy A55 was Samsung's first to do it.

The Galaxy A55 set the tone, and now, newer phones like the A56 and the Galaxy S25 series benefit from seamless updates.

Unfortunately, this feature cannot be added to older phones retroactively through firmware updates and must be set up from the factory.

That being said, the Galaxy A55 will forever remain the oldest Samsung phone with a virtual A/B partition, and no older device will take its crown.

While we praised the Galaxy A56 for its solid performance across One UI at launch and after it received One UI 8.0, it was the A55 that set the trend.

At launch, the Galaxy A55 was the first A5x phone in years to deliver good day-one performance. Before it, the A52 was the last model that didn't disappoint in this regard.

Thankfully, the A56 followed by example, and we're hoping the A55 has set a trend for all future Galaxy A5x models.