We all know that Samsung has unveiled its Galaxy S24 series early this year, so now it’s time to pay attention to its mid-range lineup, which just got refreshed with the new Galaxy A Series duo.
We got to unbox and review the Galaxy A55 5G and the Galaxy A35 5G in Awesome Lilac and Awesome Ice Blue variants respectively, and we instantly fell in love after seeing them because of their fashionable design.
Both bright and distinctive in its colors, the two smartphones are very similar, with rounded corners and a triple rear-camera setup on the back. The Galaxy A55 5G boasts a lovely brushed metal frame, while the Galaxy A35 5G, which retails for sports a chic plastic frame, making it stand out from the competition. It’s almost a shame to put a jelly case on these gadgets.
They’re also quite light, making it comfortable to hold and carry around, with front and back covered by Corning Gorilla Glass Victus+ protection—which, not to mention, has a reputation for being durable.
Compared to its predecessor, the phones have a slightly larger display at 6.6 inches. With a peak brightness of 1000 nits and a 2340 x 1080 pixel resolution, their screens are vibrant, with punchy colors that do justice to colorful games like Mobile Legends. Outdoors, the phones know how to impress in most light situations, offering sufficient brightness reserves to still remain easily readable in direct sunlight, as long as there aren’t too many reflections on the front glass.
The refresh rate of both devices is automatically adjusted by the system to either 60 or 120 Hz, but you can also fix it at 60 Hz in the settings. We’d say the maximum 120Hz refresh rate of both A55 5G and A35 5G make fast motion look nice and smooth.
One main difference between them is that the former is powered by an octa-core Exynos 1480 chip, which offers more than enough power for your everyday Instagramming and web browsing, while the latter has Samsung Exynos 1380, which we think is a non-issue.
In everyday operation, the system presents itself as very smooth, only showing the occasional short wait when an application is started. Their speed when surfing the Internet is very smooth and websites are rendered very quickly.
The Galaxy A55 5G and A35 5G have a lot of what has always made the Galaxy A series such good value. It has options for 128GB or 256GB of storage space plus a MicroSD card slot, 5G connectivity, NFC, all of Samsung’s Knox security features, a long software update commitment covering 4 OS updates and 5 years of security updates, and an IP67 water and dust resistance rating.
Both have a 5,000mAh capacity that charges using USB-C and a 25W power brick. We did a test and you can get a full charge in around 90 minutes. Although both models lasted an entire day of using mostly the cameras, it’s worth noting that neither one has wireless charging.
In the camera department, both have a 50 MP primary camera that’s able to use optical image stabilization and a 5MP macro camera that lets you get close to your subjects. They only differ in the ultra-wide sensor camera as the A55 5G gets 12MP while the A35 gets 8MP instead. For selfies, the higher variant A55 5G has a 32MP shooter, while the lower model A35 5G gets toned down to 13MP. The dual recording feature and AI features like “Single Take” AI capture and One UI Creative Studio are offered in both models.
Overall, we were satisfied with the premium experience and feel we got from both devices. The design of the handsets is gorgeous and it stands out from the crowd. Additionally, the devices offer excellent performance for everyday use and gaming, while the battery life and fast charging speeds are respectable. Users can play around with the photography capabilities inspired by Galaxy’s flagship camera innovations while safely and reliably enjoying outstanding mobile experiences with the upgraded security features. We’d say that these experiences add a solid value for their price points of less than P25,000.
The Samsung Galaxy A55 5G retails for P24,990, while the Galaxy A35 5G costs P20,990. They come in three colors: Awesome Ice Blue (online exclusive for A35 5G), Awesome Lilac, and Awesome Navy.