After the high-end with the S24, Samsung is renewing its popular smartphones with the A35 and A55, attractive and accessible models which should be very successful. Here’s our take.
Samsung smartphones, those that attract all eyes come from the S range. A showcase of the know-how of the South Korean giant, they benefit each year from all the technological advances of the brand and often occupy the first steps of the podium compared to competition. But in the shadow of the Galaxy S, it is the Galaxy A that is leading the way and enjoying great success. These mid-range smartphones, much more affordable (prices start at 169 euros), are selling like hot cakes both to the general public and to companies wishing to renew their employees’ professional smartphones. Suffice to say that the stakes are high for Samsung when it comes to updating these popular mobiles. And for this 2024 vintage, the South Korean does not disappoint. After the Galaxy A05s, A15 and A25 released discreetly at the start of the year, the new Galaxy A35 and A55, more advanced, have the difficult task of facing the fierce competition raging in the mid-range smartphone market with long-toothed players like Xiaomi and its Redmi and Poco ranges, Motorola and even Honor. We were able to take charge of these two new mobiles. Here are our first impressions.
Samsung Galaxy A35 and Galaxy A55: a little taste of the S range
After months of rumors and leaks, Samsung has officially launched the marketing of its new mid-range ambassadors. And the least we can say is that the South Korean did not look far for inspiration. These new A35 and A55 resemble in many aspects the models in the S24 range released at the beginning of the year. Starting with the design. We therefore find elegant flat edges and, for this year, a metal chassis of the most beautiful effect for the A55. This one also stands out from its little brother with brushed aluminum edges. both have a glass coating on the back and give the smartphones a nice premium look. It’s not easy to distinguish them at first glance. The finishes seem impeccable. The weight is also well controlled.
At the front, a 6.6-inch Amoled screen is fitted to the two smartphones. It offers an FHD+ definition (i.e. 2340 x 1080 pixels) like the Galaxy S24. But the brightness here does not reach that of the high-end with its 2600 nits and caps at 1000 nits. The refresh rate increases to 120 Hz. Small bonus for these new models compared to last year, the protection of the screen has clearly improved. Samsung has opted for Gorilla Glass Victus+ to replace Gorilla Glass 5. Enough to deal with small everyday shocks without fear. Finally, the two smartphones benefit, like their predecessors, from IP67 certification to resist dust and immersion and a 5000 mAh battery.
Samsung Galaxy A35 and Galaxy A55: differences under the hood and in photos
If they share the same appearance and the same screen, the Galaxy A35 and A55 no longer play on the same table regarding their technical sheet. The A35 is powered by an in-house Exynos 1380 SoC, an eight-core processor clocked up to 2.4 GHz supported by 6 GB of RAM and 128 or 256 GB of storage space (expandable to 1 TB with a microSD card) . On the A55, an Exynos 1480 SoC is in operation. An octacore chip too but at a slightly higher frequency (2.75 GHz). The RAM is a bit more generous with 8 GB and the storage space remains the same (128 or 256 GB).
As for the photo, the two mobiles display different proposals. The A35 offers a 50 Mpx wide-angle module (f/1.8), an 8 Mpx ultra-wide-angle module (f/2.2) and a 5 Mpx macro module (f/2.4). On the front, the selfie camera has a 13 Mpx sensor (f/2.2). The A55, for its part, goes up a notch. The wide-angle and macro sensors remain identical but the ultra-wide-angle is entrusted to a 12 Mpx (f/2.2) sensor and the selfie camera boosted with a 32 Mpx (f/2.2) sensor. .
The A35 and the A55 are both 5G compatible and include a WiFi 5 module for the A35 and WiFi 6 for the A55. Bluetooth 5.3 is included on both models.
Samsung Galaxy A35 and Galaxy A55: identical software monitoring but better on security
For the A34 and A54 released last year, Samsung provided 4 years of Android update and security patch monitoring. Nothing changes for these A35 and A55. The mid-range models therefore do not follow the path traced by the S24 with the seven years of update tracking. Damage. On the other hand, Samsung is deploying its Knox Vault security space for the first time on these models, which allows you to create a completely encrypted and secure space on the smartphone, isolated from the rest of the system to lock away sensitive information. An argument which should also strike a chord with businesses.
Samsung Galaxy A35 and Galaxy A55: prices and availability
The Galaxy A35 and A55 are available for pre-order in four colors: blue, midnight blue, lilac and lime. They will be available in stores from March 12.
On the price side, Samsung maintains a fairly aggressive approach and does not increase the price compared to last year. The manufacturer even doubles the storage space for the same price on each model.
- Galaxy A05s 4G 4—64 GB: 169 euros
- Galaxy A15 4G 4—128 GB: 219 euros
- Galaxy A15 5G 4—128 GB: 249 euros
- Galaxy A25 5G 6—128 GB: 319 euros
- Galaxy A25 5G 8—256 GB: 379 euros
- Galaxy A35 5G 6—128 GB: 399 euros
- Galaxy A35 5G 8—256 GB: 449 euros
- Galaxy A55 5G 8—128 GB: 499 euros
- Galaxy A55 8—256 GB: 549 euros