Samsung’s Galaxy A50 series has been popular over the years as an excellent middle ground between pricey flagship Galaxy S phones and entry-level budget phones. However, the upcoming Galaxy A55 won’t make it to the United States.
Samsung revealed the Galaxy A35 and Galaxy A55 budget phones earlier this week, which were expected to be sold in the United States, just like last year’s A34 and A54. However, Samsung has now confirmed to Android Police that the more premium A54 will not arrive in the US.
Samsung said in a statement to Android Police, “We can confirm that Galaxy A35 5G will be coming to the US market and look forward to sharing more details in the coming weeks. While we will not be carrying Galaxy A55 5G at this time, consumers can still take advantage of our Galaxy innovation at great value with Galaxy S23 and Galaxy S23 FE.”
Even though the A50 series has been (mostly) great over the years, the move does make some sense. Samsung’s product lineups can be confusing, and the company has had overlapping options for upper mid-range smartphones over the past few years: the Galaxy A50 series, the Galaxy A70 series, and the Galaxy S FE (Fan Edition) phones. The Galaxy A70 series no longer exists (the A73 from 2022 was the last iteration), and there isn’t a significant price difference between the A50 phones and the Galaxy FE devices.
Samsung released the Galaxy A54 in the US last year at a starting price of $450, but it is typically on sale for $350-$400, and it sometimes drops even lower. The current Samsung Galaxy S23 FE started at $600 but is usually on sale for around $550, with occasional drops to $500 or $400. If most people in the US can get the more premium FE phone at around the same price as the current A50 series phone, it doesn’t really make sense to go for the A50.
The competition for mid-range phones in the US isn’t quite as exciting as the same market in other countries, but there are a few other options beyond Samsung. The iPhone SE starts at $429, though the smaller screen size can be an issue for some apps and websites. There’s also the Google Pixel 7a, which starts at $500.
Source: Android Police