Earlier this week, Samsung unveiled the Galaxy A55 and Galaxy A35 mid-range phones. The handsets are almost identical when it comes to design. The Galaxy A55 delivers the best set of specs of the two. It will even come in a version with 12GB of RAM, something you can’t get on the base Galaxy S24 flagship.
That’s not entirely surprising, considering that the Galaxy A-series models that preceded it were some of Samsung’s most popular handsets in recent years. The Galaxy A55 should be the best possible mid-range phone Samsung can make.
What is surprising is Samsung’s decision not to bring the Galaxy A55 to the US market. Buyers will have to either get last year’s Galaxy A54 with a big discount, which is probably a better option anyway, or get the Galaxy A35, which is a cheaper Galaxy A55 alternative.
When Samsung unveiled the Galaxy A55 and A35, it didn’t specify launch plans for the US. I speculated at the time that the Galaxy A55 would probably be available in the US while the Galaxy A35 wouldn’t.
I was wrong. Samsung told Android Police that it will be the other way around:
We can confirm that Galaxy A35 5G will be coming to the US market and look forward to sharing more details in the coming weeks. While we will not be carrying Galaxy A55 5G at this time, consumers can still take advantage of our Galaxy innovation at great value with Galaxy S23 and Galaxy S23 FE.”
It’s the first time Samsung’s best Galaxy A-series phone isn’t coming to the US, and it’s pretty shocking. But there is one possible explanation for all of this. Samsung might not want to erode the strong position of the Galaxy S24. The flagships are selling better than the Galaxy S23, with recent reports indicating a 14% sales boost for the Galaxy S24 series.
From a distance, the Galaxy A55 (and A35) design is almost identical to the Galaxy S24. The specs aren’t bad either, and while they’re not quite flagship level, and Galaxy AI is missing, I wouldn’t blame anyone for choosing a Galaxy A55 instead of the base Galaxy S24 model.
Samsung is obviously looking to cash in on the Galaxy S24 for as long as possible. The alternatives it offers buyers who might be interested in the Galaxy A55 prove that. The Galaxy S23 and Galaxy S23 FE quoted above cost $799 and $599, respectively. They’re not bad options, either. But they’re more expensive than what the Galaxy A55 would cost.
The Galaxy A54 cost $449 at launch, and you can find better deals on it right now. The Galaxy A55 would have cost under $500 in the US.
Samsung did not reveal the Galaxy A35 price in the US. However, the handset will likely be priced under $400, making it a good alternative to the Galaxy A54, whose chip it inherits.
The only way to buy a Galaxy A55 in the US would be to import it from Europe or a different international market. It would involve extra taxes, which would defeat the purpose of going mid-range.
Luckily, you’ll get other great mid-range alternatives this year. The OnePlus 12R is one such option. Even cheaper is the Nothing Phone 2a, which launched earlier this week. Then there’s the Pixel 8a coming in May, though Google’s handset might be slightly more expensive.
