When it comes to buying the right phone, the choice isn’t always obvious with so many options across a range of price points.
The mid-range phone market, in particular, is filled with a lot of competitive offerings, and the Samsung Galaxy A55 and OnePlus Nord 4 are two standout contenders.
Both phones provide premium features at an affordable price, but they cater to slightly different user needs.
Here’s a comprehensive comparison of these two devices, to help you decide which better meets your needs.
Design & Build
The Galaxy A55 boasts a premium build with an aluminium frame and a glass back, closer to that of flagship models. It retains IP67 water and dust resistance, making it a robust choice for those who want durability without compromising on style.
The phone is available in multiple colours, like Awesome Iceblue, Navy, Lilac, and Yellow, offering a vibrant palette for consumers. However, its heavier weight of 213g and larger size might make it less comfortable for some users.
Jon Mundy / Foundry
The OnePlus Nord 4 features a relatively unique metal unibody design, which gives it a premium feel while keeping the weight relatively low at 199.5g. The distinct two-tone rear design – although eye-catching – is prone to fingerprints and smudges.
It packs an IP65 rating, which is slightly less robust than the Galaxy A55’s IP67 certification, but still offers protection against dust and water. The phone’s aesthetics might also appeal more to those looking for a sleek and modern look, with some standout design elements.
Chris Martin / Foundry
The Galaxy A55 offers a more premium feel, with its aluminium frame and glass back, along with superior water and dust resistance. While the OnePlus Nord 4 has a lighter metal unibody and unique design, it falls short in durability.
The Galaxy A55 also comes in a wider array of finishes, which may appeal to those looking for greater personal expression.
Display & Speakers
The Galaxy A55 comes with a 6.6-inch Full HD+ AMOLED display, featuring a peak 120Hz refresh rate. The panel boasts vivid colours and solid brightness output, although it’s not ideal for outdoor use in bright sunlight unless auto-brightness is enabled.
The stereo speakers deliver decent clarity but lack bass depth, making them suitable for casual listening but not for audiophiles.
Jon Mundy / Foundry
The Nord 4 offers a slightly larger 6.74-inch Full HD+ OLED display, with a higher resolution of 2772 x 1240. It also supports a 120Hz peak refresh rate.
The display performs well across various lighting conditions, and the dual stereo speakers deliver a satisfactory audio experience, with more prominent bass compared to the Galaxy A55.
Chris Martin / Foundry
The Nord 4’s OLED display totes a higher resolution and provides better performance in different lighting conditions, making it more versatile for outdoor use.
While both phones top out at a 120Hz refresh rate, the Nord 4’s display offers sharper visuals.
Performance
The Galaxy A55 is powered by the Exynos 1480 chipset, paired with 8GB of RAM.
It provides smooth performance for daily tasks and handles moderate gaming well. However, it falls short when it comes to intensive gaming, where frame rates may drop on higher fidelity graphical settings.
The phone comes with 128GB or 256GB of storage, expandable via microSD, which is a bonus for those needing additional space.
Jon Mundy / Foundry
The Nord 4 uses the Qualcomm Snapdragon 7+ Gen 3 chipset, which is a step down from today’s flagship-class processors but still delivers excellent performance.
With 12GB or 16GB of RAM, multitasking is a breeze, and gaming performance is solid too, though not flawless for graphically demanding games.
Storage options are 256GB and 512GB, but unlike the Galaxy A55, there is no microSD slot for expansion.
Chris Martin / Foundry
The Nord 4’s chipset, paired with higher RAM options, provides better multitasking and gaming performance versus the Galaxy A55.
This is even more evident in our Geekbench 6 multi-core test. While the Galaxy A55 achieved a score of 3447, the Nord 4 surpassed it, reaching 3835 points.
So, even though neither phone is suitable for intensive gaming at the highest quality, the Nord 4 handles itself better overall.
Cameras
The Galaxy A55 features a versatile camera setup, with a 50Mp main camera, a 12Mp ultrawide lens, and a 5Mp macro sensor.
The main camera captures detailed images with vibrant colors, although low-light performance is not its strong suit. The 12Mp ultrawide is useful but suffers from a noticeable drop in quality, compared to the main sensor.
Selfies from the 32Mp front camera are sharp, making it a great option for social media enthusiasts.
Jon Mundy / Foundry
The Nord 4 has a 50Mp main camera, with a Sony Lytia sensor, which performs well in good lighting, offering true-to-life colours and excellent dynamic range.
The 8Mp ultrawide camera, however, is a noticeable downgrade and produces less detailed and washed-out images. There’s also a 16Mp front camera, which delivers high-quality selfies.
Unfortunately, the lack of a dedicated telephoto lens limits its versatility, compared to the Galaxy A55.
Chris Martin / Foundry
Overall, the Galaxy A55’s camera setup offers a more well-rounded photographic experience.
The Nord 4 has a strong main camera but lacks a dedicated telephoto lens, and has a less effective ultrawide camera, making the A55 a better choice for those after photographic versatility.
Battery & Charging
The Galaxy A55 houses a 5000mAh battery, which can comfortably last up to two days of moderate use.
Its 25W charging speeds, however, are a bit slow, compared to the Nord 4. It also lacks wireless charging, which might be a drawback for some users.
Jon Mundy / Foundry
The Nord 4 excels in battery performance, with its 5500mAh battery offering long-lasting power, even under heavy use.
It supports 100W fast charging, although no charger is included in the box, which means you’ll need to purchase one separately to take advantage of the maximum charging speeds. Wireless charging is also absent here.
Chris Martin / Foundry
With a larger battery and faster charging speeds, the Nord 4 offers superior battery life and quicker charging times, versus the Galaxy A55.
Software & Apps
The Galaxy A55 runs on Android 14 with Samsung’s One UI 6.1 overlay. It’s a feature-rich, highly customisable interface that some may find cluttered, compared to stock Android.
Samsung promises four years of OS updates and five years of security patches on its mid-rangers, ensuring the phone stays current for years to come.
Jon Mundy / Foundry
The Nord 4 runs Oxygen OS 14.1, also based on Android 14. It serves up a cleaner, more streamlined experience compared to One UI, but comes with some bloatware.
OnePlus guarantees four major OS updates and six years of security updates, providing slightly longer support than the Galaxy A55.
Chris Martin / Foundry
While both phones run Android 14, the Nord 4 offers a cleaner, more streamlined software experience with Oxygen OS, in contrast to Samsung’s One UI.
The slightly longer update promise from OnePlus also makes it a better choice for long-term software support, and in terms of overall value for money.
Price & Availability
The Samsung Galaxy A55 starts at £439 for the 128GB model and goes up to £489 for the 256GB variant. You can buy it directly from Samsung.
It’s also widely available through various retailers in the UK, but not in the US.
The OnePlus Nord 4 is slightly cheaper, starting at £429 for the 12GB/256GB model, and £529 for the 16GB/512GB version.
It’s sold directly through OnePlus’ store and other online retailers but – like the Galaxy A55 – it’s also unavailable in the US.
Should you buy the Galaxy A55 or Nord 4?
If you prefer a well-rounded device with good all-around performance, the Galaxy A55 is a great pick.
However, if you’re looking for a more powerful device with excellent battery life and performance – especially at a lower price and with slightly longer security support – the OnePlus Nord 4 edges the win in this mid-range phone battle.
