The mid-range smartphone market is becoming increasingly competitive, with heavyweights such as Samsung hoovering up sales, while new companies such as Nothing are also making waves.
The Galaxy A55 5G is the latest mid-ranger from Samsung, and looks to offer great value on paper. Meanwhile, the Nothing Phone (2) ranks highly in our Best Mid-Range Smartphone list too, saving you a lot of money compared to the more premium phones on offer.
But which is the best midrange phone between the Samsung Galaxy A55 5G and Nothing Phone (2)? We’ve created this comparison guide to highlight the key differences between the two.
Samsung Galaxy A55 5G is more affordable
The two phones may both be in the mid-range market, but that doesn’t mean they have the same price. The Samsung Galaxy A55 5G has a starting price of £439 for 8GB memory and 128GB storage, while upgrading to 256GB storage will cost you £489.
That makes the Nothing Phone (2) slightly more expensive, with a starting price of £499 bagging you 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. You can alo upgrade to 12GB RAM / 256GB storage for £549, and 12GB RAM / 512GB for £619.
So why is the Nothing Phone (2) more expensive? We’ve listed multiple key reasons further down:
Exynos vs Snapdragon
The Samsung Galaxy A55 5G has an octa-core Exynos 1480 chipset at its heart, which is a mid-range chip designed by Samsung itself.
As for the Nothing Phone (2), it features a Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 processor, which used to be a flagship Android mobile processor back in 2022.
It’s hard to be sure which processor provides the best performance without testing both side by side, but we’d guess that the Snapdragon has the edge here. Not only did it used to be a flagship processor just a couple of years ago, but one (out of 8) of its cores are capable of a speedy 3GHz frequency.
Nothing Phone (2) has fast and wireless charging
Samsung doesn’t seem particularly fussed about increasing the speed of charging on its smartphones, even with the Galaxy S series. As a result, it’s not surprising to see that it is limited to the default 25W wired charging speeds.
It’s a different story with the Nothing Phone (2), which supports 45W wired charging that means you can supposedly replenish the cell in just 55 minutes.
The Nothing Phone (2) even supports 15W wireless charging, allowing you to juice up the phone without plugging a cable in – as long as you have a wireless charger, that is.
Samsung Galaxy A55 5G has a triple-camera system
Which phone has the best camera? That’s not an easy question to answer by simply looking at the specs. The first thing to note is that Samsung has opted for a triple-camera system, with a 50MP main sensor, 12MP ultrawide and 5MP macro.
Meanwhile, the Nothing Phone (2) just has a dual-camera system, with a 50MP main sensor and 50MP ultrawide. While the megapixel counts are pleasingly high, it does unfortunately lack a macro sensor for enhanced close-up shots.
With very little separating the camera specs, we suggest waiting until our full review to hear our final impressions on the camera quality before hitting checkout.
Nothing Phone (2) has a unique LED-laden design
Most phones have a metal or glass rear, maybe with a dash of colour, but few have an LED-laden design like the Nothing Phone (2). These lights can also be used as a notification system, alerting you to incoming calls and messages, even with the phone faced down. We really liked the design, and it helped the Nothing Phone (2) stand out from its rivals.
The Samsung Galaxy A55 5G has nothing quite as fancy as this, but is at least available in a variety of colours, including Ice blue, Lilac, Navy and Lemon. For comparison, the Nothing Phone (2) is only available in White and Dark Grey.
So in terms of design, it’s basically a choice between having a unique LED-based notification system, or a greater variety of vibrant colours.