Forgive my ignorance but is a v5.5 the same as a v5? ^-^;
No, you're not ignorant, there's only a couple of topics about it on the Comments and Rumours board as far as I know.
If it's really true that the v5.5 will be the English equivalent of the Famitama Royal (like the v5 was the English equivalent of the original Famitama) then here is a Japanese website you might like to take a look at:
https://tamagotch.channel.or.jp/toy/royal/
Even if you can't read Japanese you can still look at the pictures to get an idea.
Think of the amount of similarities between the v4 and v4.5. The v5 and v5.5 probably have the same amount of similarities between the two. Think of this: same amount of games, but different games, same amount of characters, but different characters, same amount of families, but different families, same features, just changed a tiny bit (for example, the v4.5 and v4 have different jobs but it's the same feature anyway, and the Famitama and Famitama Royal both have DVDs but the DVDs have different minigames).
Despite all that I'm considering it seeing as I enjoy my v5. If you're considering getting another v5 I suggest holding off until the Famitama Royal comes out as you will still be able to connect (and maybe breed) between the two.