Samsung Galaxy A55 5G tipped to get Android 16 beta soon

The Galaxy A55 5G is a 2024 sub-flagship smartphone that can be found for $399.99 on Amazon today (June 29, 2025). It is listed with its original One UI 6.1 software on that page - however, it could upgrade to a newer version of that Android skin soon.

A device with the A55 5G's model number ("samsung SM-A556E") has surfaced on Geekbench with "Android 16" as its OS - even though its latest official update brings it up to One UI 7. 

The leak suggests that it will join the Galaxy S25 series in gaining access to One UI 8 soon - even if it will be at the public beta stage.

The new discovery closely follows reports that its successor the A56 5G has also exhibited leaked One UI 8 as of late.

We found the Galaxy A55 5G to be a decent Android mid-ranger in our testing, with a few potentially crucial drawbacks such as the hamstrung screen-to-body ratio (which was fixed somewhat in the A56) and lack of wireless charging (which wasn't).

Now, it seems the handset might be able to add the prospect of a timely major software upgrade to the ability to use microSD cards (subsequently taken away in its successor) to the list of its advantages as a long-term daily driver.