New vegan leather smartphone from Samsung tipped to launch at slightly questionable price in India

The Galaxy F55 is officially set to launch tomorrow (May 27, 2024) via Samsung India as that OEM's latest mid-tier Android smartphone for that country. Some leaked material obtained by the tipster Abhishek Yadav hints that it might do so at just INR 26,999 (~$325) with an entry-level RAM/storage profile, or INR 29,999 (~$361) as an 8GB/256GB smartphone.

That price might sound reasonable...until you consider that the Realme GT 6T will be released 2 days later (on May 29) at around the same price for the same internal specs.

Both smartphones have 120Hz AMOLED displays, USB-C 2.0 ports and even 50MP OIS main cameras - however, the new Snapdragon 7+ Gen 3 SoC is currently exclusive to the 6T (in India), while the F55 lags behind with the 7 Gen 1.

Its Realme rival also boasts an industry-first (if slightly gimmicky) 6,000-nit max brightness rating - not to mention a larger 5,500mAh battery with 120W charging that blows the 5,000mAh/45W F55 out of the water - even though the latter matches Samsung's top-end Galaxy S24 Ultra in that respect.

Furthermore, the GT 6T offers up-to-date Bluetooth 5.4 connectivity while the F55 languishes on the 5.2 standard. Accordingly, should this new leak pan out, it is possible that the Realme smartphone might be the more cost-effective.

Then again, it seems Samsung might hope that the Galaxy F55 can command its rumored starting price due to its on-trend vegan leather back, "Crafted by Masters" in Black or Apricot, as opposed to the Fluid Silver or Razor Green glass of the 6T GT.

In addition, Samsung could hype its new smartphone with extended software support, an offer Realme just might not be able to keep up with in the long run.