Skip to main content

Samsung just launched a $400 phone in the U.S., and it looks great

A render of the Samsung Galaxy A35.
Digital Trends

A little over a month ago, Samsung announced two new entries in its Galaxy A family — the Galaxy A55 and Galaxy A35. Both phones made their way to the U.K. and Europe, but we’ve been left waiting for a U.S. release. Thankfully, that waiting has now come to an end.

As of April 18, the Galaxy A35 is now available for purchase in the U.S. from Samsung.com, Samsung’s retail stores, and at “major carriers and retailers.” Regardless of where you buy the phone, it’s available in your choice of two colors: Awesome Navy and Awesome Lilac. The starting price is a penny shy of $400, putting it well below the Galaxy S24 that launched earlier this year. Interestingly, the Galaxy A55 is not coming to the U.S. at this time.

Recommended Videos

So, what do you get from a $400 Samsung phone in 2024? As it turns out, quite a lot, actually.

A render of the Samsung Galaxy A35.
Samsung

On the front of the Galaxy A35 is a 6.6-inch Super AMOLED panel with a Full HD+ resolution and up to a 120Hz refresh rate. Around the back is a trio of cameras — including a 50-megapixel main camera, an 8MP ultrawide camera, and a 5MP macro camera. For all of your selfie duties, you get a 13MP front camera.

Please enable Javascript to view this content

What about the internal specs? There’s an Exynos 1380 chipset (the same one used in the Galaxy A54), 6GB RAM, 128GB of storage (expandable up to 1TB), and a 5,000 mAh battery with up to 25-watt wired charging. There’s also an IP67 rating for dust and water resistance, Android 14 is available out of the box, and Samsung promises four major Android updates, plus five years of security updates. For a $400 smartphone, that’s a pretty solid package.

At $400, the Galaxy A35 is a bit cheaper than some of our other favorite budget phones available today — such as the $500 OnePlus 12R and Google Pixel 7a (which will soon be replaced by the Google Pixel 8a). It’s nice to have an even cheaper option to consider, and although we still need to test the A35 for ourselves, the spec sheet sounds promising.

A render of the Samsung Galaxy A35.
Digital Trends

If you’re interested in picking up the Galaxy A35 for yourself, Samsung has a couple of promos to make the phone even more affordable. For a “limited time,” buying the Galaxy A35 will give you a 30% discount on the Galaxy Buds FE. Alternatively, you can trade in your current phone for up to a $150 credit toward your A35 purchase.

Joe Maring
Joe Maring has been the Section Editor of Digital Trends' Mobile team since June 2022. He leads a team of 13 writers and…
Interested in the Galaxy S25 Slim? This latest leak is great news for you
Someone holding the Samsung Galaxy S24 Plus.

Samsung is going to enter 2025 with more force than the Kool-Aid Man through a brick wall. The company has its next flagship ready to go with an estimated release date of January 22, the launch of One UI 7 around the same time, and even the addition of a fourth device to its lineup. Here's the good news: Unlike the Galaxy Z Fold SE, the long-rumored Galaxy S25 Slim will be receiving an international launch.

There's no official word on this from Samsung, at least not in the form of a press statement. Instead, the model number gives it away. Someone spotted a new Samsung device with the model number SM-S937B, according to SamMobile. To most people, that number won't mean much at all — but we already know that the rest of the Galaxy S25 lineup has the model numbers SM-S9931x, SM0S936x, and SM-S938X. The fact that SM-S937B is part of the same sequence indicates it's part of the same family. As for the "X," that will be replaced by a "U" in the United States.

Read more
There’s a new Samsung Galaxy S25 spec leak, and it’s a bit disappointing
A Samsung Galaxy S24 Plus laying on concrete.

The Samsung Galaxy S25 series is still a couple of months away, but a new leak from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) website, first spotted by 91Mobiles, has given us a major sneak peek of what to expect. While a few of these specs were already expected, some others are a bit, well, disappointing.

From the FCC listings, there appear to be three models for the S25 line: SM–931U, SM–936U, and SM–938U. All three models will support 5G, dual-band Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GNSS, and NFC connectivity. There is also mention of two models having an ultrawide band on them, but it looks to be just the Galaxy S25 Plus and S25 Ultra, which means the base model S25 will lack UWB. Features that use UWB include precision tracking with item trackers or locating lost devices, so those who end up with the base model S25 will miss out on such features.

Read more
Here’s another hands-on look at the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra and One UI 7
The back of the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra.

Another day, another Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra leak. Yesterday, we saw a short video teasing the design of the phone, but we didn't get a full look at the device. A few more images have appeared, all from the same source as yesterday.

Android Authority shared images obtained from Reddit user u/GamingMK, who said they came from yesterday's leaker (a user that has since deleted their account). Additionally, these images show the Galaxy S25 running One UI 7.

Read more