Cheap phone buyers have been eagerly awaiting the arrival of the Samsung Galaxy A55, and for good reason Last year Samsung's top mid-range smartphone, the Galaxy A54, one of the best budget phones available, went all out on the Google Pixel 7a So fans of bargain devices like myself couldn't wait to see what Samsung had planned as a follow-up [Instead, it looks like the Galaxy A35 will be the mid-range phone Samsung will offer to US customers who don't want to buy the flagship Galaxy S24 This is a change from the way Samsung handled it in the past, when the Galaxy A5x model hit the US while the Galaxy A3x skipped this particular market

Link: the beginning of this link appears to be broken The option is that it pertains to the Galaxy S23 FE This is a $599 phone that offers many, but not all, of the same features as Samsung's Galaxy flagship It seems that Samsung is trying to create a US phone lineup where the FE model and the discounted Galaxy S23 will be an instant low-cost alternative to the Galaxy S24, which starts at $799 If they want something even less expensive, they will turn to the Galaxy A35

But what does one get with the Galaxy A35? And will this mid-range phone be such a big step down from the Galaxy A55? Here is what we know so far about the new Galaxy A model

There is good news for US consumers who are considering buying a Galaxy A this year

The Galaxy A35 is £339, £100 cheaper, while the Galaxy A55 starts at £439 Samsung has not yet announced US pricing, but the handset maker indicated to Cnet that the A35 is for the United States

Guessing how a phone's price in one country translates to another is a mug's game However, we do know that the Galaxy A55 was $449 in the US and £449 in the UK Therefore, it is reasonable to assume that the Galaxy A35 will be priced below $400, especially if Samsung wants to put some distance between it and the Galaxy S23 FE With the Pixel 7a priced at $499, Samsung has a price advantage in mid-range smartphones Samsung has a real opportunity to bring a price advantage to mid-range smartphones

So what trade-offs will they have to make for the cheaper Galaxy A35? According to the images and specs released by Samsung, this phone has more in common with the Galaxy A55 than you might think However, the differences there are quite stark

Performance should be the major difference between the Galaxy A35 vs the Galaxy A55 The latter phone will run on the new Exynos 1480 chipset, while the A35 is expected to have an Exynos 1380 This is the same silicon used by the Galaxy A54, which is not a powerful phone; the RAM is also less, 6GB for the A35 compared to 8GB for the A55, and the Galaxy A35 is not expected to threaten the performance of phones like the Pixel 7a, iPhone SE and OnePlus 12R It is unlikely to do so

The Galaxy A35's camera is also downgraded from the A55's specs; the A35 shares the A55's 50MP main camera, but the A35's ultrawide sensor megapixel drops to 8MP from the A55's 12MP The front camera is also not as sharp, at 13 MP vs 32 MP Given that the Pixel 7a outperformed the Galaxy A54's photo quality in last year's camera showdown, it may be difficult for the Galaxy A35 to beat Google's camera phone with these specs

The Galaxy A35 is slightly taller and wider than the Galaxy A55 Otherwise, they share the same specs, including a 5,000 mAh battery that charges at a speed of 25W with a wired connection Both models feature Samsung's Knox Vault security feature, which is a first for the Galaxy A

Samsung's apparent decision to launch the Galaxy A35 in the US This means that the choice of low-cost Galaxy devices will be narrowed down to this model or the Galaxy S23 FE We'll have to wait until we get our hands on the Galaxy A35 for an official comparison, but we don't have to wait until Samsung announces pricing and availability in the US

The Galaxy S23 FE uses either the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 or the Exynos 2200 system-on-chip, depending on which part of the world you buy its phone in Both chipsets have more than enough power to outperform the Galaxy A35 with the Exynos 1380 Nevertheless, the Galaxy S23 FE does not have a microSD slot for more storage

Those who like to zoom in on their subjects when taking pictures may want to opt for the Galaxy S23 FE, which has a dedicated telephoto lens (although the 8MP shooter is not as powerful as the Galaxy S24) The third camera in the Galaxy A54's rear array is a macro sensor, an additional camera that not many people find useful

The Galaxy A35's Gorilla Glass Victus Plus glass should prove more durable than the Gorilla Glass 5 used by the Galaxy S23 FE Also, the A35's screen is 66 inches, slightly larger than the S23 FE's 64-inch panel

Of course, all of these comparisons are in anticipation of the Galaxy S24 FE Rumors about that phone have already surfaced, and we expect a new FE model to be announced by the end of the year

It is hard not to be disappointed by Samsung's decision not to release the Galaxy A55 in the US, as the new model promised improved performance over the previous model And performance may have been our biggest complaint against the otherwise solid Galaxy A54

Still, the Galaxy A35 seems to be a reasonably decent mid-range phone, just a slight downgrade from the Galaxy A55 It seems that the A35 could be a formidable challenger to any mid-range device in the same price range, although we'll know for sure when we have a chance to test Samsung's latest model