The Galaxy S series is the most premium and most popular set of phones Samsung sells worldwide, while the Galaxy A series comes below the “S” series in Samsung’s smartphone portfolio, as it includes phones starting from $200 and going up to $600 around the world.
Then we have the Galaxy M and Galaxy F series, which focus on developing markets like India and South America. They tend to have a less premium design than the “A” series but represent a very similar value across the $150-500 price range.
The Galaxy Z series, of course, is what you’re looking for if you want a foldable phone – whether it’s a clamshell or a tablet-style, whereas the Galaxy W series is the equivalent of the foldable Z series but for the Chinese market.
Now, another letter makes a comeback into Samsung’s lineup, and that’s the “C” series, marking the return of the newly-launched Galaxy C55, which is the same phone as the Galaxy M55 (recently launched in Europe and India) but in a new, leatherbound disguise!
Why is this worth talking about? Well, for a few reasons… For one, I like leather-back phones. But also, this is the first real leather-back Galaxy phone to see the light of day, making this a monumental moment for Samsung.
For those wondering, the 2013 and 2014 Galaxy Note 3 and Note 4 used a plastic back only designed to resemble faux leather (with decorative “stitching” over the plastic, etc.)
But why?!
Samsung starts selling a stunning $280 leather phone in China, but Chinese people don’t even want Samsung phones – people in the US and Europe do!
The Galaxy C55 looks better than any other mid-range Samsung phone I can remember. It’s a shame you can’t buy it…
Although they are practically the same phone, the Galaxy C55 starts at the equivalent of €260 in China, while European buyers would have to spend €550 for the Galaxy M55 (with 8GB instead of 12GB of RAM). Funny enough, Motorola is the other phone-maker that recently launched the same phone at two wildly different price points. The Motorola Edge 50 Pro goes for €700 in Europe but not more than €350 in India.
In a nutshell, one could argue the Galaxy C55 is what the Galaxy M55 should’ve and could’ve been. The C55 comes with 256GB of base storage and it has a 12GB RAM option – both very unusual for an affordable Samsung phone.
More importantly, the C55 brings an exclusive leather back not found on any other Samsung phone, period. And to rub salt on European buyers’ wounds, the Galaxy C55 starts at the equivalent of €260, which is more than half the price of the Galaxy Galaxy M55 sold in Europe…
Unsurprisingly, Samsung is nowhere to be seen amongst China’s top 6 phone vendors in Q1 2024.
See, on one hand, it makes sense that Samsung is trying “something new” and trying harder when it comes to the Chinese market, because this has historically been the hardest market for Samsung to penetrate. For one, it’s incredibly competitive, but also – Chinese people simply tend to buy Chinese phones (duh). In fact, they much prefer buying the American iPhone over the South Korean Galaxy.
Shocking or not, the iPhone was the best-selling phone in China in 2023. Vivo is currently holding the title for Q1 2024, with Huawei expected to dominate the Chinese market in 2024 thanks to political factors, as well as the excellent new Huawei P70 series. Samsung’s presence on the Chinese market continues to be abysmal.
But this same argument makes for the perfect counterpoint for. In other words, why try hard(er) only in the one market where you aren’t appreciated? While you can launch the same phone (that you’re manufacturing anyway) in markets like Europe, South America, and India where people love and buy millions of your phones, Samsung?
There’s more proof that Samsung puts a surprising amount of effort into the Chinese market: Is this unfair to American, European, and Indian buyers?
Jealous or not, the Chinese Galaxy W24 makes the $1,800 Galaxy Z Fold 5 look like a budget knockoff.
To give another example with the China-exclusive Galaxy W series I mentioned in the beginning of the story, it’s a bit of a bummer for international customers that the foldable Galaxy W series is actually more meticulously crafted than the Z series sold globally.
Although the Galaxy W24 and W24 Flip seem to be the same as the Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Flip 5, they are actually a good bit more premium thanks to a ceramic build (instead of glass), and fancy-looking gold design elements.
Moreover, the Chinese version of Samsung’s foldables come with super generous RAM and storage options (starting at 1GB/12GB), and ship with a ton of accessories out of the box, like a premium case, charger, and even an exclusive box.
It goes without saying, the Chinese equivalents of Samsung’s foldable flagships are also a good deal cheaper than their global equivalents – at least if we’re converting into dollars/euros. Although, definitely not half the price like the (pretty shocking) case of the Galaxy C55 vs M55.
Dear Samsung (and the rest of Android)… It’s time to stop treating America and Europe like the small markets they might become (if you keep doing that)
As awesome as the China-only Galaxy C55 looks, Apple won’t hesitate to eat Samsung’s lunch with the boring-looking but globally-available iPhone SE 4.
To summarize, I’m not saying “don’t launch China-exclusive phones”… I’m saying… maybe think about releasing these phones elsewhere too.
As a European, I also want a leather-back phone, Samsujng! I’ve been asking phone-makers to start using vegan leather instead of glass for years now… Leatherbacks don’t break, and they’d be cheaper to replace if they get damaged. And don’t come at me with the “leather wears off” argument – 90% of people put their phone in a case anyway.
As a European, I also want 12 instead of 8GB of RAM… I also want 256GB of storage instead of 128… It goes without saying, I’d love it if my phone was $100-200 cheaper, or at least ticked all of the above boxes when it’s literally twice as expensive as the same phone sold in China/India.
Sure, Apple might be getting sued hard right now, but this will only make Tim Cook & Co hungrier! And a greedier… sorry, hungrier Apple sounds scary. Watch out for the $500 iPhone SE 4, Samsung. Unlike your beautiful leather phone that’s exclusive to China, this one’s coming everywhere!
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