Samsung Galaxy A35 review: Affordable mid-ranger with solid cameras

Codrut Neagu
15.04.2024

review

Rating

In this review, I’m going to tell you about the Samsung Galaxy A35, the company’s latest affordable mid-ranger that has to distinguish itself from the huge variety of offerings from other manufacturers. Some of its competitors boast better hardware specifications at comparable prices. However, Samsung’s Galaxy A35 has some tricks up its sleeve, like an attractive design and a solid camera setup that might make you consider it as the ideal choice. Without further ado, here’s what you should know about the Samsung Galaxy A35:

Table of contents

Samsung Galaxy A35: Who is it good for?

The Samsung Galaxy A35 is a good choice for:

Those who want an Android smartphone that looks good
People who are looking for a well-built phone
Anyone looking for an affordable midrange Android made by Samsung

Pros and cons

The best things about the Samsung Galaxy A35 are:

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Good performance in daily tasks
Bright AMOLED screen with 120 Hz refresh rate
Solid camera system
Good build quality and Gorilla Glass Victus+
Protected against dust and water with an IP67 certification
It comes with the latest Android 14 and Samsung One UI 6.1
Great battery life
Expandable storage via microSD card

However, there are also some downsides:

No charger is included in the box
Lots of bloatware
Lack of HDR support

Product rating 4/5

Verdict

The Samsung Galaxy A35 5G impresses with its battery life, appealing aesthetics, excellent display, and competent camera performance, particularly considering its midrange positioning on the Android market. The smartphone’s design is also quite pleasant, and its more youthful colors should attract many people. Nonetheless, there are many alternatives that compete with the Samsung Galaxy A35 within this price bracket, with potentially superior hardware specifications. One of its most important competitors is last year’s Samsung Galaxy A54, which has a slightly better screen and a better selfie camera at a very similar price. However, if you prefer a new device and you’re a Samsung Galaxy fan, the Galaxy A35 is a well-rounded choice.🙂

Design and build quality

In terms of size and design, the Samsung Galaxy A35 is almost identical to its bigger brother, the Galaxy A55. It’s large and heavy, measuring 161.7 x 78 x 8.2 mm (or 6.37 x 3.07 x 0.32 inches) in length x width x thickness and weighing 209 grams (7.37 oz).

The Samsung Galaxy A35 is large and heavy

Similar to the Galaxy A55, the smartphone’s back is covered by glass, but its frame is made of plastic instead of aluminum.

With a minimalist appearance that only includes the cameras and the Samsung branding, the back looks good but is prone to collecting smudges and fingerprints. You may get around this issue with a cover, which would also protect all that glass. 🙂

The back of the Samsung Galaxy A35 is covered by glass

The Galaxy A35 sample I received from Samsung was in Awesome Navy. The smartphone is also available in Awesome Iceblue, Awesome Lilac, and Awesome Lemon. Younger audiences are likely to prefer these colors. 🙂

Color options available for the Galaxy A35

On the front, a sheet of Corning Gorilla Glass Victus+ protects the generous 6.6-inch Super AMOLED screen of the Galaxy A35. The screen’s surface is broken only by a tiny hole in the top-center area where the selfie camera resides. Above it, an extremely thin cutout in the phone’s frame holds the ear speaker.

The selfie camera on the Samsung Galaxy A35

Moving on to the sides, the top edge of the Galaxy A35 holds the SIM card tray and one of the smartphone’s microphones.

The top edge of the Samsung Galaxy A35

On the left edge, there are no elements whatsoever, while on the right, you can find the usual buttons: the Volume rocker and the Power buttons.

The right edge of the Samsung Galaxy A35

The bottom edge is more crowded; it’s home to the USB-C port, the main loudspeaker, and two other microphones.

The bottom edge of the Samsung Galaxy A35

The Samsung Galaxy A35 is protected against dust and water (1-meter depth, for a maximum of 30 minutes), as evidenced by its IP67 certification.

The Samsung Galaxy A35 is built and looks extremely similar to the Galaxy A55. It’s a big phone with glass on both sides. However, its frame is made of plastic instead of aluminum, likely to keep costs down.

Hardware specifications

Under the hood, the Samsung Galaxy A35 is powered by a Samsung Exynos 1380, which is the same chipset that last year’s Galaxy A54 had. This chipset comes with eight cores, four of which are designed for performance and run at 2.4 GHz, while the other four run at 2.0 GHz and are designed for energy efficiency. Inside the chipset, there’s also a Mali-G68 MP5 graphics unit. In terms of memory and storage, the Galaxy A35 model that I tested had 6 GB of RAM and 128 GB of internal flash storage space. Depending on your needs and budget, you can also get it with more (8 GB) memory or storage (256 GB).

Storage and memory details

The display on the Samsung Galaxy A35 is almost identical to the one on the pricier Galaxy A55 model. It’s based on a 6.6” Super AMOLED panel that offers vivid colors, a maximum refresh rate of 120 Hz, and a brightness that can reach 1000 nits. Its 1080 by 2340 pixels resolution gives you a 390 ppi density (pixels per inch), which means fonts and edges are smooth and clear both in text and images. The only obvious difference between this screen and the one on the Galaxy A55 is the lack of HDR support for the former.

The display has a maximum refresh rate of 120 Hz

The camera setup on the Samsung Galaxy A35 includes:

A main wide camera with a 50-megapixel sensor, PDAF (phase detection autofocus), f/1.8 aperture, and OIS (optical stabilization system)
A 123˚ ultrawide camera with 8 megapixels and an f/2.2 aperture
A 5-megapixel macro camera with an f/2.4 aperture
A selfie camera with a 13-megapixel sensor and an f2/2 aperture

Regarding videos, the main camera on the Samsung Galaxy A35 can record them in up to 4K resolution at 30 frames per second or in 1080p resolution at a framerate of either 30 or 60. The selfie camera can also shoot videos in 4K but only at a framerate of 30 frames per second.

The rear cameras on the Samsung Galaxy A35

Regarding connectivity and sensors, the Samsung Galaxy A35 is a dual-SIM phone with options for nano-SIM plus eSIM and supports 5G networks. We also get a microSD card slot for extending the storage. 🙂

The Samsung Galaxy A35 is a dual SIM phone

It’s also equipped with Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.3 chips, and depending on your region (such as the US or European Union), it may include an NFC chip. Additionally, the smartphone features common sensors like GPS, fingerprint (optical, under the display), accelerometer, gyro, virtual proximity, and compass.

The Samsung Galaxy A35 has a large battery capacity of 5000 milliampere-hours (mAh), ensuring it lasts for at least a full day, if not two, before recharging. It supports 25-watt wired fast charging, but it’s not compatible with wireless charging.