Samsung has announced two new Galaxy phones will launch next week, but there’s disappointing news for those expecting the latest technology.
Building on the success of previous Galaxy A handsets, the Galaxy A55 5G and Galaxy A35 5G have been revealed by Samsung India’s social media team along with the March 11 launch date. However, pricing and retail release details are not yet available.
The marketing focuses on the A of Galaxy A, labelling the devices as “awesome” thanks to their water- and dust-resistant design, low-light photography, and the power of its Samsung Exynos processor.
Samsung has also confirmed some disappointing news: the handsets will only come with four years of software updates and five years of security updates. Those numbers would have been welcomed last year, yet some of 2024’s flagships—including the Galaxy S24 family—come with seven years of software and security.
It’s also curious that the full-throated push to mention the possibilities of Samsung’s generative AI software is nowhere to be seen in the teaser. It could be that these are being held back for the launch, but that would stand in contrast to other Samsung launches where the upcoming rise of AI was seeded at an early stage.
The current mix of AI on handsets is shared between local- and cloud-based processing. The former needs a powerful processor, and the latest generations have dedicated hardware optimised for AI. The Galaxy A range’s cheaper and less powerful chipsets may not be capable of running AI routines locally at an acceptable level. Samsung may not be ready to guarantee access to all its cloud-based AI services for the millions of potential owners of the new handsets.
This explains Samsung’s focus on the more practical areas of the handset. Protection, photography and a practical day-to-day phone will be more attractive to the mid-range market than being able to order a pastéis de nata in Portuguese when travelling on business.
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