For just $339, the Galaxy A35 5G offers a distinctively Samsung experience. It almost passes as a flagship with its 6.6-inch Super AMOLED display, stereo speakers, large battery, respectable gaming performance, and 50-megapixel main camera. I’ve been using for a few days now here’s my full review.
Design and Build
The design not much has changed over the past year, Galaxy A35 5G features a 6.6-inch display, just like the Galaxy A34. It looks like every other Samsung smartphone and could almost pass as an S Series flagship, except for the plastic frame and bright, bold color options. These colors look splendid but don’t scream premium. I chose the dazzling lemony option, likely called something like Awesome Citrus. The glossy back does get smudgy and grimy at times, so you’ll want to keep a cleaning cloth handy if you dislike muck.
A few complaints include the chunky bezels surrounding the display, making it a full-sized smartphone. The flat iPhone-style edges aren’t the most comfortable to hold.
On the positive side, the front features Gorilla Glass Victus Plus, which has remained scratch-free despite my less-than-careful handling. The Galaxy A35 is also IP67 water and dust resistant, so it’s safe from spills and brief submersion in water, a rare feature at this price point.
The in-display fingerprint sensor takes a while to react to your thumbs, making it not the snappiest sensor. However, it is backed up by face recognition, so you can press the power button and eventually gain access to your desktop. If nothing else, the delay helps build a bit of suspense.
OneUI and Features
Samsung fans can expect Android 14 with Samsung’s One UI 6.1 launcher. The layout and visual aesthetics of One UI 6.1 are appealing, though the duplication of Google apps and services is less desirable. This means users have two smart home apps, two web browsers, two health trackers, and two smartphone assistants.
One UI includes useful features like mods and routines to automate tasks and Samsung Knox for enhanced security. However, it doesn’t offer the fully-featured One UI 6.1 experience found in the S Series flagship phones. Notably, most AI features promoted in Samsung ads are absent.
Bixby is available, but its usefulness is limited. They starts with 128GB of storage, upgradeable to 256GB for an additional cost. It also supports microSD memory cards in the second SIM slot.
The Galaxy A35 supports eSIM, which is handy for short trips abroad, allowing for affordable roaming. Samsung guarantees four OS updates and five years of security patches, a commitment not often found in this price range.
Display Quality and Audio
These days, you can expect a gorgeous OLED display, and Galaxy A35 5G certainly delivers. The 6.6-inch Super AMOLED is punchy, bright, and crisp. With a Full HD Plus resolution, photos, movies, and games look sharp and vibrant. By default, the screen is set to Vivid color mode, which enhances animation and colorful content. For more realistic output, you can switch to Natural mode.
While the Galaxy A35 doesn’t support HDR playback on platforms like Netflix, it still offers impressive contrast. The display features deep blacks, bright whites, and can reach up to 1,000 nits of brightness on sunny days. Although you might squint a bit in direct sunlight, the screen remains clear under typical overcast skies. The refresh rate maxes out at 120 Hz, ensuring a smooth experience while navigating One UI.
And also boasts stereo speakers. While it’s not the loudest audio output, the clarity is strong. It’s sufficient for hearing what’s going on in a busy kitchen or similar noisy environments. Overall, the volume is more than adequate for everyday use.
Performance
Samsung’s Galaxy A35 features the Exynos 1380 chipset, also found in some older Galaxy phones. The everyday performance can be hit and miss. Generally, apps load quickly, and you can have many open in the background without issues. However, occasionally, the camera app loads slowly, which can be slightly annoying.
Surprisingly, the Galaxy A35 handles demanding games like Genshin Impact well, even on higher graphics settings. The frame rate may stutter occasionally, but the game remains playable. Keeping graphics on low to medium settings provides a fluid frame rate. The phone does get warm after 20 to 30 minutes of gameplay, but it doesn’t worsen, and there’s no noticeable performance throttling. Samsung’s gaming mode is basic compared to rivals, so hardcore gamers might prefer other phones. However, the overall performance is better than expected.
Battery life
I wasn’t optimistic about the Galaxy A35’s battery life initially. In the first week, it seemed poor, which is common with many Samsung smartphones. However, the battery performance has been impressive in the last few days.
Most days, I get over 6 hours of screen-on time, sometimes reaching seven or eight hours. This includes activities like using the camera, video streaming, and audio streaming in the background. I usually end the day with at least 25% battery remaining, which is solid. Even demanding users should be satisfied with this performance.
The good battery life is necessary because recharging speeds are quite slow. When I plug in the cable at night, even with 25-30% battery left, it takes about an hour and a half to fully recharge. Unfortunately, there’s no wireless charging support either.
Cameras
Samsung Galaxy A35 features a triple camera setup headlined by a 50-megapixel primary shooter with optical image stabilization. It captures 12-megapixel photos by default, but you can increase it to 50 megapixels if conditions are ideal. I’m impressed by the images it produced over the past few days. It’s a capable, dependable camera, even in challenging conditions like HDR situations with strong contrast and backlight. The phone handles these admirably, even in auto mode.
In lower light conditions, the camera still produces rich tones, and Samsung’s processing results in reasonably natural images. They includes various Samsung modes like portrait mode, which adds a bokeh effect that you can tweak after taking the shot, and a food mode for photographing meals. Night mode boosts brightness in low-light shots, provided you and your subject remain still.
There’s also the single take mode, perfect for capturing moving subjects like kids or pets, and a dedicated pro mode where you can adjust shutter speed, ISO levels, and white balance, though it doesn’t support raw capture. Additionally, there’s a fun mode for creative photos. The phone also has an 8-megapixel ultra-wide-angle shooter and a 5-megapixel macro lens.
The Galaxy A35 performs well for video recording too. It can capture footage at 30 or 60 frames per second in full HD, and up to 30 FPS in 4K Ultra HD. I shot test footage at 4K resolution at 30FPS, and stabilization was sufficient to avoid a jerky look. Detail levels are respectable at night, and it performs adequately in low light. Audio pickup is good as long as background noise isn’t too troublesome.
Lastly, the 13-megapixel selfie shooter captures a respectable range of conditions, similar to the rear camera, without overly emphasizing every detail. You can also shoot up to 4K resolution footage with the selfie camera, with decent audio pickup.
Final Thought
The performance isn’t always perfectly fluid, but its battery life is solid. The camera technology is impressive, delivering great quality. It’s also noteworthy that the phone features IP67 water and dust resistance, which is often absent in more expensive mid-range models. Overall, I really like the Galaxy A35, especially at the £339 price point. There are also various trade-in options available.
Samsung Galaxy A35 5G performance is not quite 100% fluid all of the time, but the battery life is solid, and that camera tech is really rather bloody good. So overall, I really rather like it, especially that $339 price point.
Pros
- Impressive camera setup
- Solid battery life
- IP67 water and dust resistance under budget
- Vibrant Super AMOLED display
- Expandable storage
Cons
- Slow charging speeds
- Limited performance
- Duplicate apps and limited AI features
- Lack of premium build materials
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Design8
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Software7
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Display9
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Performance7
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Battery Life8
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Camera8
