Spending less for more is delightfully in season, and Samsung is looking to push bigger screens for under $700 in its latest Galaxy A-range.
The mid-range selection of phones is becoming a solid battleground for mobile makers keen on impressing with value, and every player seems to have a choice to choose from.
Apple has older models of the iPhone available from the entire range, not to mention the iPhone SE, while Google has its Pixel 7a as a solid mid-range choice, and there’s plenty of options from the other brands, including Oppo and Motorola, too.
Samsung has recently been dabbling with a more budget-styled Galaxy A — the Galaxy A05s — and while it didn’t impress us too much due to its lacklustre speed, the price for the big screen certainly made sense on paper.
The maker of the Galaxy range looks to be tweaking things some in two more models it’s adding this year, arriving in the Galaxy A35 5G and A55 5G, large-screened phones packed with features that aim to be competitive against the other mid-range offerings.
As the names suggest, the models will both sport 5G and each arrives with a 6.6 inch Full HD+ Super AMOLED screen sporting up to 120Hz refresh rates, something that’ll improve the look of animations on the phones.
They’ll both also get 128GB storage and Android 14, as well as sizeable 5000mAh batteries, which suggests a battery life of at least one day before stretching into two.
The two phones seem very similar on paper and also on looks, but where they differ is on memory, cameras, and price.
Between the two, there’s a 2GB RAM difference, with the A55 5G sporting 8GB RAM and the A35 getting 6GB, while the cameras are also similar, just not the same.
On the Galaxy A55 5G, Samsung is equipping a 50 megapixel F1.8 wide camera alongside a 12 megapixel F2.2 ultra-wide and 5 megapixel F2.4 macro camera, while the front sports a 32 megapixel F2.2. It’s a little less exciting on the Galaxy A35 5G, which sees the same 50 megapixel main wide camera and 5 megapixel macro, but changes the ultra-wide to an 8 megapixel F2.2 and the selfie-camera down to a 13 megapixel F2.2.
They’re little changes, but they could add up to big savings, particularly if you don’t need the extra camera capability. So much that the Galaxy A55 5G will cost $699 in Australia, while the A35 5G will cost $549 locally.
Samsung says the phones also come with some of the Galaxy security features normally found in the Galaxy S range, including the Galaxy S24 Ultra, including Samsung’s Knox security platform.
Availability is set for March 25 with the phones available unlocked for use on pretty much any telco.
