Samsung Galaxy A55 and Galaxy A35 Review: A Midrange Showdown with Premium Features
Samsung’s Galaxy A series has always been a tempting proposition for midrange smartphone buyers, offering premium software features and design language at a price point slightly higher than the Galaxy M and Galaxy F series. This year, Samsung launched the Galaxy A55 and Galaxy A35 in India, both priced under Rs. 40,000 and Rs. 30,000, respectively. These phones are powered by Samsung’s own Exynos chips and boast an impressive four years of OS updates, a feature usually reserved for flagships. But do these phones hold their own against similarly priced competitors? I spent some time with both the Galaxy A55 and A35, and here’s what I think.
Samsung Galaxy A55 and Galaxy A35 Price in India
The Samsung Galaxy A55 is priced at Rs. 39,999 for the 8GB+128GB variant. You can also pick up the 8GB+256GB and 12GB+256GB models for Rs. 42,999 and Rs. 45,999, respectively.
The Samsung Galaxy A35 starts at a more affordable Rs. 30,999 for the base model with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. If you need more space, the 8GB+256GB storage variant costs Rs. 33,999.
Both phones are available in Ice Blue and Navy, with the Galaxy A35 also offering a Lilac color option. For review, Samsung sent over the Ice Blue (Galaxy A55) and Lilac (Galaxy A35) variants.
Samsung Galaxy A55 and Galaxy A35 Design: Premium Look and Feel
The Samsung Galaxy A55 and Galaxy A35 are essentially twins when it comes to design. The placement of the SIM tray, USB Type-C port, triple rear camera layout, bottom-firing speaker grille, and the new Key Island for the volume and power buttons are all identical. You’d be hard-pressed to tell them apart just by looking.
The Galaxy A series has always been known for its premium aesthetics, and the A55 and A35 continue this trend. The rear panel, with its glossy finish and a design reminiscent of this year’s Galaxy S24, exudes an air of sophistication. In my experience, the glossy finish does a good job of resisting fingerprints.
The front of the phone is dominated by a Super AMOLED screen with up to a 120Hz refresh rate and Gorilla Glass Victus+ protection. The bezels are notably thick, and the selfie camera sits within a centrally placed hole punch cutout.
The Galaxy A55 sports flat, brushed aluminum edges, while the Galaxy A35 features flat aluminum edges with a matte finish. While neither phone comes with a TPU case in the box, they felt comfortable and durable enough to use without one during the review period.
Samsung Galaxy A55 and Galaxy A35 Specifications and Software: Powerful Performance and a Long-lasting Software Experience
Both the Samsung Galaxy A55 and Galaxy A35 share a 6.6-inch full-HD+ (1,080×2,408 pixels) Super AMOLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate and up to 1,000 nits of peak brightness. These Gorilla Glass Victus+ protected screens are flat and bright enough for outdoor visibility, especially with auto-brightness turned on.
Samsung has committed to four OS upgrades and five years of security updates for the Galaxy A55 and A35. This means these phones, currently running on Android 14-based One UI 6, will be supported until 2028, a significant advantage over most midrange devices.
The handsets come with a few pre-installed apps like Spotify, which can be uninstalled. The Galaxy A35 also includes Candy Crush Saga, pre-installed via the AppCloud service, which lacks an opt-out option. Both phones persistently prompt users to enable the Glance lock screen features after each software update, requiring multiple taps to skip.
Despite these minor annoyances, the software experience is generally clean and refined, thanks to the mature One UI interface introduced in 2018. Both phones also come packed with features like Samsung Wallet, Link to Windows, and Good Lock for customizable themes and options.
One of the standout features is the Object Eraser powered by machine learning, which lets you remove unwanted objects from photos. In terms of connectivity, both phones offer 5G, 4G LTE, Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.3, NFC, GPS, and a USB Type-C port for charging, data transfers, and audio output. There’s no 3.5mm audio jack on either phone.
Samsung Galaxy A55 and Galaxy A35 Performance: Powerful But Not Industry-Leading
The Galaxy A55 is powered by a 4nm Exynos 1480 chip paired with up to 12GB of RAM, while the Galaxy A35 relies on a 5nm Exynos 1380 processor with 8GB of RAM. On paper, both phones should offer adequate performance to remain snappy for a few years. They handle everyday tasks like web browsing, social media, non-intensive games, and photo/video capture with ease.
Most games run well on both the Galaxy A55 and Galaxy A35. I was able to play Battlegrounds Mobile India (BGMI) and Asphalt 9 without noticeable frame drops or throttling after 30 minutes. However, heavier titles like Call of Duty: Warzone Mobile resulted in noticeable lag, even on the Galaxy A55. Genshin Impact, with its demanding graphics, proved too much even for the Galaxy A55.
One UI 6, based on Android 14, provides a smooth and responsive software experience on both phones. The RAM management is particularly impressive, with apps like Instagram, WhatsApp, Gmail, Outlook, X (formerly Twitter), and Threads staying in memory even after switching between different apps.
Despite the improved software, Samsung could learn from brands like Motorola and Nothing and stop the persistent prompts to enable features like Glance after every update, especially when the user has already opted out. Both phones received an update after the initial setup process, and Samsung has finally introduced support for system A/B updates (only on the Galaxy A55), allowing for significantly faster recovery after an update.
Synthetic benchmarks reveal that the Samsung Galaxy A55 and Galaxy A35 fall short of some competitors in terms of raw performance.
Geekbench 6 results:
- Galaxy A55: Single-core – 1,132, Multi-core – 3,346
- Galaxy A35: Single-core – 1,013, Multi-core – 2,805
AnTuTu v10 benchmark results:
- Galaxy A55: 678,167 points
- Galaxy A35: 606,767 points
PCMark Work 3.0 results:
- Galaxy A55: 13,315 points
- Galaxy A35: 13,176 points
For comparison, the iQoo Z9, with its Dimensity 7200 chip, offered better raw performance with scores of 1,151 on single-core Geekbench, 2,669 on multi-core Geekbench, and 687,545 on AnTuTu v10. This phone is also significantly cheaper, starting at Rs. 19,999.
Graphics benchmark results:
- 3DMark Wild Life: Galaxy A55 – 3,814, Galaxy A35 – 2,816
- 3DMark Wild Life Unlimited: Galaxy A55 – 3,811, Galaxy A35 – 2,800
- 3DMark Sling Shot: Galaxy A55 – 7,467, Galaxy A35 – 5,481
- 3DMark Sling Shot Extreme: Galaxy A55 – 5,525, Galaxy A35 – 4,655
- GFXBench Car Chase: Galaxy A55 – 32, Galaxy A35 – 25
- GFXBench Manhattan 3.1: Galaxy A55 – 56, Galaxy A35 – 46
- GFXBench T-Rex: Galaxy A55 – 59, Galaxy A35 – 94
Both the Galaxy A55 and Galaxy A35 have a 6.6-inch Super AMOLED screen with a 120Hz refresh rate and up to 1,000 nits of peak brightness. This ensures comfortable outdoor viewing, especially with auto-brightness enabled. One UI also offers an Extra Dim mode that can be accessed via quick settings to reduce eye strain during nighttime use.
With 5,000mAh batteries, these phones are powerhouses of endurance. The Galaxy A55 lasted for 28 hours and 14 minutes while the Galaxy A35 clocked in at 26 hours and 34 minutes in our HD video loop battery playback test. In real-world usage, I found that both phones easily went for 30-35 hours on a single charge with moderate usage.
Samsung doesn’t include a 25W charging brick with either phone, so you’ll need to purchase it separately. My Belkin USB PD 3.0 charging brick took around 45 minutes to charge both phones to 50 percent and approximately 1 hour and 25 minutes for a full charge. Both models offer an IP67 rating for dust and water resistance, a welcome feature on a midrange phone.
Samsung Galaxy A55 and Galaxy A35 Cameras: Solid Performance but Not Class-Leading
Both the Samsung Galaxy A55 and Galaxy A35 sport a 50-megapixel primary camera with an f/1.8 aperture and a 5-megapixel macro camera with an f/2.4 aperture. They also feature a 12-megapixel ultra-wide angle camera (Galaxy A55) and an 8-megapixel ultra-wide angle camera (Galaxy A35), both with an f/2.2 aperture. The Galaxy A55 has a 32-megapixel front-facing camera, while the Galaxy A35 opts for a 13-megapixel selfie camera.
Both phones share the same camera interface as the more expensive Galaxy S series, including a Pro mode for advanced manual controls. The Pro Video mode also provides manual controls for video recordings. Both models support features like Super Steady (stabilisation), Slow Mo, and Super Slow Mo for video recording.
The primary cameras on the Galaxy A55 and A35 capture detailed images. Both support 2x in-sensor zoom for better shots of subjects slightly further away. The cameras perform exceptionally well in outdoor environments with plenty of natural light, producing images with slightly punchy colors. The phones also excel in portrait photography, particularly when shot in natural light.
The ultra-wide angle camera on the Galaxy A55 is slightly better than the one on the Galaxy A35, but both are noticeably less impressive than the primary camera, especially in low-light situations. They’re useful for capturing shots of buildings or nearby objects, but images often exhibit warping around the edges, and the color accuracy isn’t as reliable as the primary camera.
The camera app automatically takes long exposure shots (Night Shot) in low light conditions, although you can manually disable this for darker images of moving subjects. For very dark environments, both phones have a dedicated Night Mode that delivers bright images with some smoothening to reduce noise.
The 5-megapixel macro camera on both phones performs decently in well-lit situations. It requires multiple attempts and tapping on the subject in the viewfinder to ensure focus. Selfies taken with the front-facing cameras on both phones are clear, with the Galaxy A55’s higher-resolution 32-megapixel camera delivering more detail.
Both the Samsung Galaxy A55 and Galaxy A35 support video recording at 4K/ 30fps or 1080p at 30fps and 60fps. The gyroscope-enabled Super Steady mode on the rear camera provides excellent stabilisation in most lighting conditions. The selfie camera on both phones offers 4K/ 30fps and 1080p/ 30fps, with the Galaxy A55 also offering 1080p/ 60fps video recording from the front camera.
Samsung Galaxy A55 and Galaxy A35 Review: Verdict
While the Samsung Galaxy A55 and Galaxy A35 boast decent cameras and processors, are they the pinnacle of midrange smartphones? The answer depends on your priorities.
Both phones are visually appealing and benefit from a promise of four years of Android OS updates and an additional year of security updates, an impressive feat for midrange models. The IP67 rating adds to their durability, and the battery performance is excellent even with support limited to 25W charging (and no charger included).
However, if you prioritize raw performance, phones like the Nothing Phone 2, OnePlus 12R, or the iQoo Neo 9 Pro offer better value at similar price points. For an affordable option with good camera performance, consider the Galaxy S23 FE or the Google Pixel 7a. Alternatives to the Galaxy A35 include the Galaxy M55, Vivo V30e, and Oppo Reno 11 5G.
Ultimately, the choice is yours. If you’re looking for a balanced midrange smartphone with a touch of premium features and long-term software support, the Samsung Galaxy A55 and Galaxy A35 are solid contenders. However, if you prioritize specific features like performance, camera capabilities, or affordability, there are other compelling options available in the market.
