itel P55 5G Review: Fulfilling 5G expectations of every Indian

itel has launched two new affordable 5G smartphones in the country – the itel P55 5G and the itel S23+ 5G. Both of these smartphones are priced under 10k and under 15k respectively and come with impressive specs and 5G connectivity. The budget-friendly itel P55 5G claims the title of being the most affordable 5G device ever and features a Dimensity chipset, a large battery, a 50MP camera, and more. While it looks impressive on paper, the question is whether all of this translates to real-world performance. Let’s find out.

itel P55 5G Review: Design and Build

Itel P55 5G has a minimalistic yet bold design. The smartphone comes in 2 colors green and Galaxy blue. I received the blue color model for review and it looked decent from the back. The back panel is made of polycarbonate but has a matte finish and never looked cheap. The device has curved edges and two huge cutouts for cameras at the back. There are 2 protruding cameras jutting out. Even though protruded, the lenses don’t allow the device to wobble when on a flat surface. There is no itel branding but only the word ‘Power’ written on the back panel.

The smartphone does not feel sleek (8.45mm) but it doesn’t feel heavy as well despite weighing 190 grams. The brand is offering a 2-year warranty and a free screen replacement as well, which is a bonus.

Talking about functionality, the itel P55 has a power button and volume rockers on the right and a SIM tray on the left. The bottom edge houses the USB Type-C port, a 3.5mm headphone jack, and a speaker grille. At the front is an HD+ display with a waterdrop notch for the selfie camera. There are noticeable bezels around the display but then you can’t expect more than this from a smartphone under 10k.

Itel P55 5G Review: Display

Itel P55 5G sports a 6.6-inch HD+ display. The display offers decent enough considering its price. The colors and contrast looked slightly dull to since I was coming from a flagship phone. Viewing angles could have been better but the 720×1600 pixel resolution ensures that the visuals are watchable. It has a 90Hz refresh rate which is fine while scrolling but does lag while gaming. Indoors the display is clearly visible even with a lower brightness level but outdoors under sunlight, it was difficult to read the display even when brightness was maximum.

Itel P55 5G Review: Performance

The Itel P55 5G smartphone is powered by an octa-core MediaTek Dimensity 6080 chipset that is fast and efficient. The processor combined with 6GB RAM ensures that multitasking is seamless on the device. Switching between apps is smooth. It’s 128GB onboard storage provides enough space for whatever you want to store on the device.

Talking about gaming, titles like Free Fire Max download and run without any hiccups but it is after 20 minutes of gaming that things start going downhill. The game lags, the frame rate drops, and sometimes the sound doesn’t match the video. As for lighter games, there are no issues even during long gaming sessions. Thermal performance is decent as the device never heated up while gaming, benchmarking, etc.

The Itel P55 5G supports 10 5G bands with NRCA for a better and more stable network. The 5G capability works fine as I experienced no call drops or low signal strength in remote areas. Some benchmarking tests were performed on the device and the results are given below.

It runs Android 13 OS that offers various customizations and personalization. Also, bloatware is very limited so it is a clean UI experience.

Itel P55 5G Review: Cameras

The Itel P55 sports a dual camera setup at the back. It includes a 50MP primary and a secondary AI lens. The main camera clicks workable photos in daylight. The camera tends to oversharpen images. It captures decent colors but struggles to maintain a balance between highlights and shadows. In low light conditions, the shots are clear but details are lost. The edges are slightly blurred though colors are mostly okay.

A secondary AI lens doesn’t serve much purpose so it is better to use the primary lens for clicking photos. At the front is an 8MP selfie camera that clicks good selfies. You can enable the smile sensor so that you don’t have to tap anywhere to get a selfie clicked. As soon as you open the selfie camera and smile into it, the picture gets clicked. The shots are not perfect but the skin tone mostly appears natural. There are options to take an AR shot, a wide selfie, and a short video too with the selfie camera.

Itel P55 5G Review: Battery Life and Charging

The Itel P55 5G packs a 5000mAh battery under the hood. The battery easily lasts an entire day with light to moderate usage. I am a moderate user and my usage includes calling, texting, browsing Instagram, reading articles, listening to music, and more. With this kind of usage, it easily lasted for more than 12 hours. For heavy users, the battery will need to be charged slightly earlier. The battery drains out slowly as even a 25-minute gaming session brought down the battery life from 56% to 49% only. 18W charger and USB Type-C cable come bundled inside the box and charge the battery from 0 to 100% in about 45 minutes. The charging time is also decent if we consider the pricing of the device.

Review Verdict: Should you buy Itel P55 5G?

The Itel P55 5G is an honest attempt by the brand to make 5G accessible to each and every Indian. The device comes with an able processor, ample RAM and ROM, Android 13 OS, and a large battery, just for a starting price of Rs. 8999 (in sale). The gaming performance and outdoor brightness of the display are underwhelming, but one can’t expect everything top-notch from such an affordable device. It has 5G capability and can be an option for those who want to own a 5G device without a budget of more than 10k.