AI injection will make affordable Galaxy phones unbeatable: Huge win for Android users on a budget

• Starting with what’s arguably the best and most practical “AI” trick on the Galaxy S24 series, you can be 99% sure “Circle to Search” is coming to Samsung’s mid-range series.

That’s because Circle to Search really doesn’t require any special hardware to run on mid-range and budget phones. In fact, it’s highly debatable whether it’s an “AI” feature at all - but that’s a different story.

• Moving on, the “Summarize” feature, which can summarize web pages, notes, and emails has got me on the fence.

Summarize certainly requires more hardware power compared to Circle to Search. However, it’s a rather basic feature, which leads me to believe Samsung will be generous enough to add it to the Galaxy A series - unless there are hardware limitations (like RAM, for example).

• “Call/chat translate” is another super useful “real AI” trick, however, this one would require quite a bit more CPU and RAM than the other two. It’d be simply awesome if Samsung made it available on the Galaxy A35 & A55.

The good news is that Samsung has been very generous in the past few years, having upgraded the Galaxy S23 and Galaxy S22 series with virtually all the same AI as the Galaxy S24.

In other words (and I’m repeating myself), if the hardware constraints aren’t a factor, this means the much newer Galaxy A35, A55 (and upcoming Samsung mid-rangers) might get even more AI.

Samsung’s generous AI boost could make Galaxy A35 and Galaxy A55 the easiest Android to recommend

In conclusion, practical AI features in budget Android phones enhance the user experience in meaningful ways, and aren’t to be overlooked when making a purchase decision.

For example, Circle to Search is my favorite new feature on both my Pixel 8 Pro and Galaxy S24 Ultra but these phones cost $1,000 and $1,300. Therefore, getting practical AI on a $400 phone would be a real selling point for someone like me, and (I believe) for anybody.



Let’s not forget that the Galaxy A35 and A55 also have excellent cameras, battery life, and even IP67 dust/water resistance. Not to mention they are available almost anywhere in the world, with their only real drawback being the somewhat underpowered (and at times sluggish) Exynos chips.

Even with that in mind, for as little as €240 in Europe, the Galaxy A35 seems like a deal that’s impossible to beat right now, and with Galaxy AI on the way, Samsung’s popular budget champ could become… untouchable.

The only two AI-enabled alternatives to the Galaxy A35 & A55 right now are the Pixel 8a and OnePlus Nord 4. However, both cost much more than €250/£260/$330, and while the OnePlus makes a decent case for being more expensive, Google’s dated design and tiny 6.1-inch display make the Pixel 8a the loser for many people.