Samsung today announced two additions to its popular A series of smartphones, with the Philippines being one of the first markets to get dibs on the new models.

Price and availability

The newly launched Samsung Galaxy A55 5G and Samsung Galaxy A35 5G will be available in the country in Awesome Iceblue, Awesome Navy, and Awesome Lilac colors starting March 18. Locally, the higher-end A55 carries a suggested retail price of P24,990 (around $452 converted) for 8GB of RAM and 256GB of internal storage. The more affordable model with the same configuration, on the other hand, costs P20,990 ($379).

If you’d rather go the postpaid route, the 128GB storage variants of both units will be available exclusively through Globe Telecom and Smart Communications. Early adopters will receive a free pair of Galaxy Buds FE worth P5,490 ($99) and travel adapter valued at P1,190 ($22) with every purchase made until April 18.

What to expect

Visually, not much has changed for both phones compared to their predecessors, although the latest models now have a slightly protruding side rail where the physical power and volume buttons are located. The “floating lens” design from the previous generation remains, but the camera rings appear to be slightly larger this time around.

Samsung has upgraded the Galaxy A35 5G with a punch-hole display — still of the Super AMOLED variety. Meanwhile, the Galaxy A55 5G bumps up the screen size to 6.6 inches (from 6.4 inches on the Samsung Galaxy A54 5G), with tougher Gorilla Glass Victus layered on top, instead of Gorilla Glass 5.

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Here’s our first look at the Samsung Galaxy A55 5G. In the feature photo we used for this article, the more premium model is the unit on the right side

Another notable improvement is the A55’s metal frame, which gives the device a premium glass-metal-sandwich design that’s also protected against dust and water ingress thanks to its IP67 rating. For pictures, both smartphones are equipped with a 50-megapixel main image sensor, alongside dedicated cameras for ultrawide and macro.

Under the hood, the Samsung Galaxy A35 5G inherits the Galaxy A54 5G’s 5nm Exynos 1380 chipset, while the Galaxy A55 5G packs the new Exynos 1480 chip that promises up to 32% faster graphics and up to 167% faster NPU performance than the previous generation. Both devices have a 5,000mAh battery that supports fast charging up to 25 watts over USB-C.

Creating awesome has never been this good! The #GalaxyA55 5G and #GalaxyA35 5G are loaded with new features just for you. Drops on March 18! 📆

Only at https://t.co/kIkN6Jn6tR and https://t.co/wvPc4K9ceS pic.twitter.com/20H6qx85TZ

— Samsung Philippines (@SamsungPH) March 11, 2024

Samsung Philippines announces the release date of the Galaxy A55 5G and Galaxy A35 5G

Samsung Galaxy A55 5G specs

• 6.6-inch Super AMOLED display, FHD+ resolution, 120Hz refresh rate, 1,650 nits peak brightness, Corning Gorilla Glass Victus
• 5nm Exynos 1480 5G chipset
• 12GB RAM
• 256GB expandable storage
• Triple 50-megapixel main sensor with OIS, 12-megapixel ultrawide camera, 5-megapixel macro rear cameras
• 32-megapixel front camera
• Under-display fingerprint reader
• IP67 rating
• Dolby Atmos, dual speakers
• 5,000mAh battery with 25-watt fast charging
• OneUI 6.1 based on Android 14
• Colors: Awesome Navy, Awesome Iceblue, Awesome Lilac

Samsung Galaxy A35 5G specs

• 6.6-inch Super AMOLED display, FHD+ resolution, 120Hz refresh rate, 1,650 nits peak brightness, Corning Gorilla Glass Victus
• 5nm Exynos 1380 5G chipset
• 8GB RAM
• 256GB expandable storage
• Triple 50-megapixel main sensor with OIS, 8-megapixel ultrawide camera, 5-megapixel macro rear cameras
• 13-megapixel front camera
• Under-display fingerprint reader
• IP67 rating
• Dolby Atmos, dual speakers
• 5,000mAh battery with 25-watt fast charging
• OneUI 6.1 based on Android 14
• Colors: Awesome Navy, Awesome Iceblue, Awesome Lilac

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