By Dave Snelling
If you don't fancy splashing out almost £1,000 on a new Galaxy S24 then Samsung might have the answer. Its all-new Galaxy A35 and A55 5G devices will arrive in stores today, March 20, with prices starting from just £339 - that's less than half the price of the firm's S24 flagship. Along with being cheaper, the latest A-Series are now a lot more robust. That's all thanks to Samsung bringing its Knox Vault security features to these budget call makers for the very first time.
For those not in the know, Samsung Knox Vault offers a number of ways to keep things safe including protecting important data behind biometrics and pin codes. This means only a user who has the correct lock screen credentials can access their data, even if the device is lost or stolen.
Real-time threat detection also keeps an eye on current dangers and the addition of Samsung's so-called Auto Blocker can block app installations from unauthorised sources. It will also scan for potential malware and block potentially malicious commands and software installations. All of this should help to make the A35 and A55 two of the most uncrackable devices on the market.
Those security upgrades are important but there are plenty more features coming to these cheaper Android phones as well including 6.6-inch AMOLED screens with a 120Hz refresh rate for silky smooth scrolling.
There's also Vision Booster technology to help increase the brightness when checking emails out in the midday sun. Large batteries should keep things going all day and Samsung is promising taht users will continue to benefit from up to four generations of Android OS and One UI upgrades and five years of security updates.
When it comes to the cameras the more expensive A55 5G has a slightly better triple-lens system and bigger selfie snapper but both get optical image stabilisation and video digital image stabilisation for blur and wobble-free photos and home movies.
“With the Galaxy A series, we are expanding our latest technologies to a wider audience so that more people can benefit from them,” said TM Roh, President and Head of Mobile eXperience Business at Samsung Electronics. “We are excited to open up even more possibilities on the Galaxy A series this year, including offering Samsung Knox Vault for the first time on this lineup. We’re proud to enable Galaxy A series users to safely and reliably enjoy outstanding mobile experiences.”
Here's full pricing
Samsung Galaxy A55 5G
• 8GB Memory + 128GB Storage, £439
• 8GB Memory + 256GB Storage, £489
Samsung Galaxy A35 5G
• 8GB Memory + 128GB Storage, £339
• 8GB Memory + 256GB Storage, £389