Samsung Galaxy A55 5G vs Nothing Phone (3a)
62
out of 100
VS
66
out of 100
Here we compared two mid-range smartphones: the 6.6-inch Samsung Galaxy A55 5G (with Exynos 1480) that was released on March 11, 2024, against the Nothing Phone (3a), which is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 and came out 1 year after. On this page, you will find tests, full specs, strengths, and weaknesses of each of the devices.
Select the amount of RAM to evaluate performance and value for money more precisely
Key differences
Reasons to consider the Samsung Galaxy A55 5G
- Shows 7% longer battery life (26:41 vs 25:03 hours)
- Expandable storage via MicroSD card up to 1024GB
- Waterproof body (IP67 classification)
- Uses a faster type of memory: LPDDR5 3200 MHz
- Faster storage type - UFS 3.1 versus UFS 2.2
- Supports Dolby Atmos sound technology
- The front-facing camera can record video at 4K
- Ready for eSIM technology
Reasons to consider the Nothing Phone (3a)
- The rear camera has a 2x optical zoom
- Delivers 26% higher peak brightness (1261 against 1001 nits)
- Newer Bluetooth version (v5.4)
- Supports higher wattage charging (50W versus 25W)
- Has 33% more RAM: 8GB versus 6GB
- The phone is 1 year newer
Review
Display
Screen quality, color accuracy, brightness
Camera
Photo and video recording quality
Performance
CPU and memory performance (apps, system)
Gaming
Capabilities for playing modern games
Battery
Battery life, charging type and speed
Connectivity
Networks, ports, data transmission
Scores with a red asterisk (*) are approximate and may change in the future as we gather more data.
Select your primary usage scenario to get a more accurate DeviceFacts Score
Value for money (Beta)
Tests and specifications
Comparison table of technical specifications and testsDisplay
| Type | Super AMOLED | AMOLED |
| Size | 6.6 inches | 6.77 inches |
| Resolution | 1080 x 2340 pixels | 1080 x 2392 pixels |
| Aspect ratio | 19.5:9 | 19.9:9 |
| PPI | 390 ppi | 387 ppi |
| Refresh rate | 120 Hz | 120 Hz |
| Adaptive refresh rate | Yes (60-120 Hz) | Yes (60-120 Hz) |
| Max rated brightness | 1000 nits | 1300 nits |
| Max rated brightness in HDR | - | 3000 nits |
| HDR support | Yes, HDR10+ | Yes, HDR10+ |
| Touch sampling rate | 240 Hz | - |
| Screen protection | Gorilla Glass Victus Plus | Panda Glass |
| Screen-to-body ratio | 85.8% | 87.7% |
| Display features | - DCI-P3 - Always-On Display |
- DCI-P3 - Always-On Display - DC Dimming |
| RGB color space | 100% | 99.8% |
| PWM | 120 Hz | 90 Hz |
| Response time | 1 ms | 1 ms |
| Contrast | ∞ Infinity | ∞ Infinity |
Peak brightness test (auto)
Design and build
| Height | 161.1 mm (6.34 inches) | 163.52 mm (6.44 inches) |
| Width | 77.4 mm (3.05 inches) | 77.5 mm (3.05 inches) |
| Thickness | 8.2 mm (0.32 inches) | 8.35 mm (0.33 inches) |
| Weight | 213 g (7.51 oz) | 201 g (7.09 oz) |
| Waterproof | IP67 | IP64 |
| Advanced cooling | Vapor chamber | Vapor chamber |
| Rear material | Glass | Glass |
| Frame material | Metal | Plastic |
| Colors | White, Blue, Purple, Yellow | White, Black, Blue |
| Fingerprint scanner | Yes, in-display | Yes, in-display |
| Repairability | - | Average (2.84/5) |
| Drop resistance | - | Good (C) · 90 drops |
Screen-to-body ratio
Performance
| Chipset | Samsung Exynos 1480 | Qualcomm Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 |
| Max clock | 2750 MHz | 2500 MHz |
| CPU cores | 8 (4 + 4) | 8 (1 + 3 + 4) |
| Architecture | - 4 cores at 2 GHz: Cortex-A55 - 4 cores at 2.75 GHz: Cortex-A78 |
- 4 cores at 1.8 GHz: Kryo Silver (Cortex-A520) - 3 cores at 2.4 GHz: Kryo Gold (Cortex-A720) - 1 core at 2.5 GHz: Kryo Prime (Cortex-A720) |
| L3 cache | 4 MB | - |
| Manufacturing | Samsung | TSMC |
| Lithography process | 4 nanometers | 4 nanometers |
| Neural processor (NPU) | Yes | Yes |
| Graphics | Xclipse 530 | Adreno 810 |
| GPU shading units | 128 | 256 |
| GPU clock | 1300 MHz | 1050 MHz |
| FLOPS | ~665.6 GFLOPS | ~537.6 GFLOPS |
Benchmarks
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Compute Score (GPU)
| Compute Score (GPU) | 4101 | 4435 |
| Single-core score | 1137 | 1158 |
| Multi-core score | 3437 | 3276 |
AnTuTu Benchmark 11
| CPU | 348485 | 402549 |
| GPU | 226076 | 179108 |
| Memory | 182794 | 194640 |
| UX | 264381 | 274304 |
| Total score | 1021736 | 1050601 |
| Samples | [29 tests] | [38 tests] |
3DMark Steel Nomad Light
| Stability | 98% | 98% |
| Graphics test | 3 FPS | 3 FPS |
| Graphics score | 459 | 379 |
3DMark Wild Life Extreme
| Stability | 98% | - |
| Graphics test | 5 FPS | - |
| Graphics score | 982 | - |
PCMark 3.0
| Web score | 11788 | 11533 |
| Video editing | 7255 | 6290 |
| Photo editing | 23283 | 20294 |
| Data manipulation | 10941 | 10511 |
| Writing score | 17673 | 16899 |
Recent User Tests
Samsung Galaxy A55 5G
| Date | Benchmark | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 📘 2026-09-17 (Артем) | AnTuTu 11 | 1080442 |
| 📘 2026-08-23 (No) | AnTuTu 11 | 965699 |
| 📘 2026-08-14 (Brice) | Geekbench 6 CPU | 1115 / 3126 |
| 📘 2026-08-06 (Mazen) | AnTuTu 11 | 1057022 |
| 📘 2026-06-28 (SK.EMTIAZ) | AnTuTu 11 | 1021736 |
Nothing Phone (3a)
| Date | Benchmark | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 📘 2026-07-10 -> ratulislam-55 | CPU Throttle | 82% |
| 📘 2026-07-10 -> ratulislam-55 | Geekbench 6 GPU | 3328 |
| 📘 2026-07-10 -> ratulislam-55 | Geekbench 6 CPU | 1158 / 3276 |
| 📘 2026-06-07 (Aames Ng) | AnTuTu 11 | 1069149 |
| 📘 2026-06-03 (xperz3650) | AnTuTu 11 | 1065584 |
Memory
| RAM size | 6 GB | 8 GB |
| Memory type | LPDDR5 | LPDDR4X |
| Memory clock | 3200 MHz | 2133 MHz |
| Channels | 2 | 2 |
| Storage size | 128 GB | 128 GB |
| Storage type | UFS 3.1 | UFS 2.2 |
| Memory card | MicroSD | No |
| Memory card max size | Up to 1024 GB | - |
Software
| Operating system | Android 14 (Can be upgraded to Android 16) | Android 15 (Can be upgraded to Android 16) |
| ROM | One UI 8.5 | Nothing OS 4.0 |
| OS size | 20.1 GB | - |
| OS updates | 4 years | 3 years |
| Security updates | 5 years | 4 years |
Battery
| Capacity | 5000 mAh | 5000 mAh |
| Max charge power | 25 W | 50 W |
| Battery type | Li-Ion | Li-Po |
| Replaceable | No | No |
| Wireless charging | No | No |
| Reverse charging | No | No |
| Bypass charging | No | No |
| Fast charging | Yes (55% in 30 min) | Yes (61% in 30 min) |
| Full charging time | 1:03 hr | 1:06 hr |
| Battery cycles | - | 1400 cycles |
| Web browsing | 10:24 hr | 08:06 hr |
| Watching video | 17:52 hr | 16:25 hr |
| Gaming | 05:16 hr | 05:49 hr |
| Standby | 125 hr | 131 hr |
General battery life
Smartphones With Long Battery Life (#116th place)
Main camera
| Matrix | 50 megapixels | 50 megapixels |
| Image resolution | 8160 x 6120 | 8192 x 6144 |
| Zoom | Digital | Optical, 2x |
| Flash | LED | LED |
| Stabilization | Optical | Optical |
| 8K video recording | No | No |
| 4K video recording | Up to 30FPS | Up to 30FPS |
| 1080p video recording | Up to 60FPS | Up to 60FPS |
| Slow motion | 240 FPS (720p) | 240 FPS (720p) |
| Angle of widest lens | 123° | 120° |
| Lenses | 1) Standard: 50 MP 2) Ultrawide: 12 MP 3) Macro: 5 MP |
1) Standard: 50 MP 2) Telephoto: 50 MP 3) Ultrawide: 8 MP |
| Camera features | - Bokeh mode - Pro mode |
- Bokeh mode - Pro mode |
| Image resolution | 50 MP | 50 MP |
| Aperture | f/1.8 | f/1.9 |
| Focal length | - | 24 mm |
| Sensor | Sony IMX906 | Samsung ISOCELL S5KGN9 |
| Sensor size | 1/1.56" (≈ 0.64 inch) | 1/1.57" (≈ 0.64 inch) |
| Pixel size | 1 micron | 1 micron |
| Autofocus | Phase autofocus | Phase autofocus |
| Stabilization | Optical | Optical |
| Image resolution | - | 50 MP |
| Aperture | - | f/2.6 |
| Focal length | - | 50 mm |
| Sensor | - | Samsung ISOCELL |
| Sensor size | - | 1/2.74" (≈ 0.36 inch) |
| Pixel size | - | 0.64 micron |
| Stabilization | - | Optical |
| Image resolution | 12 MP | 8 MP |
| Aperture | f/2.2 | f/2.2 |
| Focal length | - | 15 mm |
| Sensor | Sony IMX258 | Sony IMX355 |
| Sensor size | 1/3.06" (≈ 0.33 inch) | 1/4.0" (≈ 0.25 inch) |
| Pixel size | 1.12 micron | 1.12 micron |
| Stabilization | Digital | Digital |
| Image resolution | 5 MP | - |
| Aperture | f/2.4 | - |
| Sensor | GalaxyCore GC5035 | - |
| Sensor size | 1/5" (≈ 0.2 inch) | - |
| Pixel size | 1.12 micron | - |
| Stabilization | Digital | - |
DxOMark main camera tests
Photo quality
Video quality
Generic main camera score
| Bokeh | 45 | - |
| Preview | 54 | - |
| Zoom | 75 | - |
| Samples | Photo samples of Samsung Galaxy A55 5G from DxOMark | - |
Selfie camera
| Megapixels | 32 megapixels | 32 megapixels |
| Image resolution | 6464 x 4864 | 6560 x 4928 |
| Aperture | f/2.2 | f/2.2 |
| Focal length | 26 mm | 22 mm |
| Sensor | Sony IMX616 | Samsung ISOCELL |
| Sensor size | 1/2.74" (≈ 0.36 inch) | 1/3.44" (≈ 0.29 inch) |
| Pixel size | 0.8 micron | - |
| Autofocus | No | No |
| Stabilization | Digital | Digital |
| Video resolution | 2160p (4K) at 30 FPS | 1080p (Full HD) at 60 FPS |
| Depth sensor (TOF 3D) | No | No |
Connectivity
| Wi-Fi standard | Wi-Fi 6 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax) | Wi-Fi 6 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax) |
| Wi-Fi features | - Dual Band - Wi-Fi MiMO - Wi-Fi Direct - Wi-Fi Hotspot - Wi-Fi Display |
- Dual Band - Wi-Fi MiMO - Wi-Fi Direct - Wi-Fi Hotspot - Wi-Fi Display |
| Bluetooth version | 5.3 | 5.4 |
| Bluetooth features | LE | LE |
| USB type | USB Type-C | USB Type-C |
| USB version | 2 | 2 |
| USB features | - Charging - USB-Storage mode - OTG |
- Charging - USB-Storage mode - OTG |
| DisplayPort | - | No |
| GPS | GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo, QZSS | GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, QZSS |
| NFC* | Depends on the region | Yes |
| Infrared port | No | No |
| Number of SIM* | 2 | 2 |
| Type of SIM card | Nano | Nano |
| Multi SIM mode | Standby | Standby |
| eSIM support* | Yes | No |
| Hybrid slot | Yes | No |
| LTE Cat* | 18 | - |
| 5G support | Yes | Yes |
Sound
| Speakers | Stereo | Stereo |
| Headphone audio jack | No | No |
| FM radio | No | No |
| Dolby Atmos | Yes | No |
Speakers test
Max loudness
Other
| Category | Mid-range | Mid-range |
| Announced | March 2024 | March 2025 |
| Release date | March 2024 | March 2025 |
| Launch price (MSRP) | $439 | $329 |
| Successor | - Samsung Galaxy A57 5G | - Nothing Phone (4a) |
| SAR (head) | 0.68 W/kg | - |
| SAR (body) | 1.04 W/kg | - |
| Sensors | - Hall-effect sensor - Barometer - Gyroscope - Accelerometer - Ambient light sensor - Compass - Fingerprint |
- Proximity sensor - Gyroscope - Accelerometer - Ambient light sensor - Compass - Fingerprint |
| Bundled charger | Not included | Not included |
Further details
Notes on Galaxy A55 5G:
- The barometer is only available in the model for the USA.
- SM-A556B/DS and A556E/DS models come with two physical SIM cards.
*Disclaimer! NFC, GSM network support, and some other specs can be different depending on the country.
Conclusion
If the display and camera are more important to you, then choose the Nothing Phone (3a). But if the gaming, software, and sound are more of a priority – go for the Samsung Galaxy A55 5G.
Cast your vote
Total votes: 51