Samsung's Galaxy A55 5G and A35 5G

 Samsung's Galaxy A55 and A35 are official, focus on security and Design Upgrades 

As per announced schedule, the Galaxy A55 5G and Galaxy A35 5G are official. The successors to the most popular mid-range duo of 2023 have more in common than ever before. The new midrange phones bring improvements to core areas like security and design rather than flashy new features. Samsung's Galaxy A55 5G has a glass and metal design. Samsung has already launched a slew of new products this year, and it's continuing that streak with two new midrange phones: the Galaxy A55 5G and Galaxy A35 5G. Both phones will include the company's Knox Vault security system for the first time, and Samsung is flaunting the A55 5G's ability to take better photos in the dark.

Like Google's Pixel A series and Apple's iPhone SE family, Samsung's Galaxy A phones are a lower-cost alternative to the company's premium devices. Only the Galaxy A35 5G will be available in the US. Samsung is instead positioning the Galaxy S23 and Galaxy S23 FE as cheaper options for those who want something more powerful than the Galaxy A35 5G, but at a more affordable price than the Galaxy S24. The headline feature of both phones seems to be the addition of Samsung Knox Vault, a secure environment that's physically separated from the phone's main processor and memory for storing sensitive data like login credentials. While Knox Vault has been available on other devices like those in the Galaxy S product line, it's the first time Samsung's made this security feature available on the more affordable Galaxy A family.

For starters the Galaxy A55 and Galaxy A35 are built around the same display - a 6.6-inch 1080x2340px Super AMOLED panel with 120 Hz refresh rate. They also share a 5,000mAh battery with 25W charging support and Samsung's new Key Island design language. The frame is different though, with the Galaxy A55 using metal to the Galaxy A35's plastic. But there are some differences when it comes to camera hardware. Samsung says the Galaxy A55 5G should take crisper night time photos thanks to the phone's AI image signal processing, although it's unclear whether the Galaxy A35 5G will also have this capability. However, Samsung's product page for the Galaxy A35 5G does suggest it will have an improved neural processing unit and enhanced sensor for low light photos. 

The Galaxy A55 5G has a 50-megapixel main camera, a 12-megapixel ultrawide camera, a 5-megapixel macro camera and a 32-megapixel front camera. The Galaxy A35 5G has similar camera hardware, but a slightly lower-resolution 8-megapixel ultrawide camera and 13-megapixel front camera along with the 50-megapixel main camera and 5-megapixel macro camera. In a major upgrade, both phones have glass on the front and rear. The Galaxy A55 uses Gorilla Glass Victus+ likely on both front and rear, while the Galaxy A35 uses Gorilla Glass Victus+ on the front (no official word on the glass material on the rear). Gorilla Glass Victus+ is reportedly twice as scratch resistant as the Gorilla Glass 5 on the Galaxy A54 and A34. Both phones will run on an octa-core processor, according to those product pages, although the company hasn't shared more details. 

The Galaxy A55 5G has the Exynos 1480 SoC with an AMD RDNA2-based Xclipse 530 GPU. You can have it paired with either 8 GB or 12 GB of RAM, and 128 GB or 256 GB of storage. In contrast, the Galaxy A35 settles for the older Exynos 1380 that the Galaxy A54 used. It's still a 5nm chipset, which suggests good efficiency and you get to pick between 6 GB or 8 GB RAM and 128 GB or 256 GB storage. The Galaxy A55 has a 32MP f/2.2 selfie camera, while on the back there's a 50MP f/1.8 main shooter with OIS, a 12MP f/2.2 fixed-focus ultrawide camera and a 5MP f/2.4 macro camera. The Galaxy A35 5G comes with a 13MP f/2.2 front-facing unit, a 50MP f/1.8 main camera, an 8MP f/2.2 fixed-focus ultrawide shooter, and a 5MP f/2.4 macro unit.

The Samsung Galaxy A55 and Galaxy A35 premiere Samsung Knox Vault on the A series. It's a hardware-based secure execution environment that's physically isolated from the processor and memory. It safeguards the most critical data on your device, like lock screen credentials - PIN codes, passwords, and patterns. It also protects the phone's encryption keys. Both phones will have expandable storage -- a notable difference that separates them from the more premium Galaxy S series -- and will receive four generations of Android and Samsung's One UI software updates. That's not as long as the seven-year pledge Samsung made for the Galaxy S24 series, but it matches the company's previous software support policy. 

Samsung's standalone Knox is also installed, and you get the opt-in Auto Blocker, which can stop suspicious app installations, scan for malware, and block malicious commands. Samsung promises 4 years of major OS updates and 5 years of security patches for both new Galaxy A series phones. That's two years shorter than what the flagship series got, but still impressive for a mid-ranger. You can get the Galaxy A55 in 8/128GB for €480, while other available options are 8/256GB (€530), and 12/256GB variants. The Galaxy A35 starts at €380 for the 6/128GB trim, has a 8/128GB middle option and tops out at €450 for the 8/256GB variant.

"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," a representative from Samsung's US branch said in a statement, adding that it "will not be carrying the Galaxy A55 5G at this time." With the Galaxy A55 5G and Galaxy A35 5G, Samsung appears to be focused on upgrading core elements like design and security rather than adding flashy new features. Samsung is seemingly building on its approach with last year's Galaxy A54 5G, which included a fresh design which is more premium than its predecessor's.