What does this mean re: mobile phones ("different regions"). Massive price difference but OK for UK?

[OhMyGiddyAunt]

I tried posting this on the Tech board but I don't think it's a very active part of MN so trying here for traffic ...

I'm looking at buying a Samsung A35 5g which generally seems to be around £265+ apart from a couple of places, including Amazon, where they're from as little as £177.

I emailed one place (egadgetsdeal) to check if they were ok for use in the UK and they said:
"the two versions you mentioned, the A3560 and A356E, are designed for different regions. However, both models are fully compatible and will work perfectly fine in the UK"
Am I missing something here. Why the massive difference in price if they're fine for UK use?

It could be that they have different settings for different regions.

In Japan the camera always makes a sound when taking a photo.

Various governments may ban certain app such as China doesn't allow Pokémon Go

Maybe they have hidden apps in the background.

The only thing I've seen on one site was that it "might not support Samsung Pay in your area" so suggested using Android Pay instead. That wouldn't be an issue for me though.

A saving of up to £90 is not to be sniffed at but, equally, I don't want to be stuck with a phone that I can't use for some things.

Anyone else with any ideas please?

I've bought from egadgetsdeal a couple of times myself, including a galaxy s24 ultra. The price was significantly lower than other retailers, which made me a bit hesitant at first. However, when the phone arrived, it included an adapter for UK sockets, and after using it for about a month now, I haven’t noticed any difference compared to phones I've bought locally. It works perfectly, and the savings were substantial. So if you're looking for a deal, I'd say it's worth considering.

Different regions have different frequencies for their broadcast networks.

Thank you both.

@mkgr92 that's reassuring to hear, thank you

@frenchnoodle could this prove to be a problem at all?

It could be a problem, but I think it's unlikely, I've got cheap Chinese phones before and they've been fine.

These days due to world wide roaming most phones cover most frequencies.