Samsung Galaxy A35 evaluation: How good is that this $399 cellphone?
The Samsung Galaxy A35 seems to proceed what’s been a golden age of types for midrange units from the smartphone large. In recent times, Samsung has managed to pack some fairly spectacular options into its A Collection telephones whereas holding the costs beneath what you’d must pay for a flagship machine just like the Galaxy S24.
However after the Galaxy A54 gained rave critiques from me final 12 months, Samsung modified issues up in 2024. That cellphone’s follow-up, the Galaxy A55, shipped to the U.Ok., Australia and different elements of the world, the place it obtained deserved plaudits. In the meantime, U.S. prospects obtained the Galaxy A35 and its decidedly much less spectacular specs.
This Samsung Galaxy A35 evaluation seems at whether or not U.S. smartphone customers obtained the uncooked finish of that deal of if the brand new mannequin proves to be probably the greatest Samsung telephones for cut price hunters. We’ll additionally think about how Samsung’s midrange mannequin stacks as much as the remainder of the low-cost competitors from the likes of Google and OnePlus.
Samsung Galaxy A35 evaluation: Specs
| Beginning value | $399/£399/AU$549 |
| Show dimension | 6.6-inch Tremendous AMOLED (2340 x 1080) |
| Refresh price | 120Hz |
| Processor | Exynos 1380 |
| RAM | 6GB / 8GB |
| Storage | 128GB / 256GB |
| Rear cameras | 50MP (f/1.8) primary, 8MP (f/2.2) ultrawide, 5MP (f/2.4) macro |
| Entrance digital camera | 13MP (f/2.2) selfie |
| Battery dimension | 5,000 mAh |
| Charging velocity | 25W wired |
| Software program | Android 14 with One UI 6.1 |
| Measurement | 6.4 x 3.1 x 0.32 inches (161.7 x 78 x 8.2mm) |
| Weight | 7.4 ounces (209 grams) |
| Colours | Navy, Lilac, Iceblue Lemon |
Samsung Galaxy A35 evaluation: Value and availability
The Galaxy A35 has been accessible from each retailers and cellphone carriers for some time now. At $399, it is priced effectively beneath its main competitors for greatest low cost cellphone honors. Google’s Pixel 8a — the usual different midrange telephones are judged by — prices $100 extra at $499. That is the identical value because the OnePlus 12R, one other well-regarded midrange mannequin that is prone to see a alternative in early 2025.
The $399 value will get you a Galaxy A35 with 128GB of storage and 6GB of RAM. In different elements of the world there’s an 8GB/256GB mannequin accessible, however that does not seem like an possibility for U.S. customers. Elsewhere, the Galaxy A35 prices £339 and AU$549.
Samsung Galaxy A35 evaluation: Design
When you’ve seen any current Samsung cellphone, you will acknowledge the Galaxy A35’s design, although Samsung has turned to much less polished supplies for its midrange cellphone. The body is plastic, although the A35 makes use of a glass again with a shiny end. That latter function actually picks up fingerprints, so hold a fabric useful to maintain your A35 wanting clear.
At 7.4 ounces, the Galaxy A35 weighs about what you’d count on for a cellphone of its dimension, although it felt slightly hefty in my hand. It is actually extra substantial than the 5.9-ounce Galaxy S24 after I held each telephones. The Galaxy A35 options Gorilla Glass Victus Plus and an IP67 score for water resistance, so sturdiness will not be a priority.
I like that Samsung does not use a definite digital camera array on the again of its telephones. As a substitute, the three rear cameras descend in free-flowing vertical line, with the lenses protruding barely from the again. The one different design flourish — apart from the dearth of a headphone jack — is a barely raised space for the ability button and quantity toggle on the best aspect of the cellphone. It helps set these controls aside, even when they felt increased up the cellphone’s aspect than I am used to.
I examined the navy model of the Galaxy A35, which is slightly disappointing not just for the fingerprint situation however as a result of my colleague John Velasco cherished the way in which the lilac mannequin shimmered in gentle when he went hands-on with the cellphone. Different areas apparently have entry to yellow and ice blue shade choices.
Samsung Galaxy A35 evaluation: Show
With a 6.6-inch Tremendous AMOLED panel, the Galaxy A35 gives expansive display screen house, even when it isn’t fairly as a lot because the 6.7-inch Galaxy S24 FE, which sells for $250 extra. My largest criticism is that the A35’s display screen feels slightly darkish — a number of the finer particulars of a chase scene in “The Fall Man” did not look as effectively lit as I might seen on different screens. The “Moana 2 trailer” appeared a bit brighter and extra colourful, although, so maybe the A35’s show fares higher with extra vivid content material.
Regardless of the motive, the Galaxy A35 display screen is actually shiny sufficient to make use of in broad daylight with out requiring an excessive amount of squinting. Our lab measured HDR brightness at 1,317 nits, which is about equal to the Pixel 8a’s 1,329-nit studying. For what it is value, the Galaxy S24 FE can hit 1,516 nits, so Samsung positively does not use as shiny a panel on its cheaper telephones.
| Row 0 – Cell 0 | Samsung Galaxy A35 | Google Pixel 8a | Samsung Galaxy S24 FE |
| Display screen dimension | 6.6 inches | 6.1 inches | 6.7 inches |
| Brightness (nits) | 1,317 | 1,329 | 1,516 |
| sRGB % | 140 (Vivid), 117.1 (Pure) | 126.5 (Adaptive), 108.9 (Pure) | 140.6 (Vivid), 120.5 (Pure) |
| DCI-P3 % | 99.2 (Vivid), 82.9 (Pure) | 89.6 (Adaptive), 77.2 (Pure) | 99.6 (Vivid), 85.3 (Pure) |
| Delta-E rating (nearer to zero is best) | 0.23 (Vivid), 0.29 (Pure) | 0.24 (Adaptive), 029 (Pure) | 0.23 (Vivid), 0.2 (Pure) |
As for shade high quality, the Galaxy A35 actually performs effectively for a midrange cellphone, with the ocean in “Moana 2” wanting blue and welcoming, and the eyes of the characters wanting shiny and lifelike. In its default Vivid mode, the Galaxy A35 captured 99.2% of the DCI-P shade spectrum, in comparison with 89.6% for the Pixel 8a. Colours had been barely extra correct, too, primarily based on the Galaxy A35’s superior Delta-E rating.
Samsung Galaxy A35 evaluation: Cameras
You are clearly not going to get Galaxy S24 digital camera efficiency by choosing Samsung’s midrange cellphone, however the cellphone maker has confirmed up to now that fashions just like the Galaxy A54 can maintain their very own with regards to producing high quality images. The Galaxy A35 seems to dwell up that commonplace with a 50MP primary digital camera that matches the specs of plenty of Samsung telephones — the Galaxy A54, A55 and even the S24.
It is the ultrawide lens the place the Galaxy A35 takes a step again, as Samsung has gone with an 8MP sensor in comparison with the 12MP shooter on the A55. As with final 12 months, you’ve got obtained a devoted macro sensor on the A35, as Samsung reserves telephoto lenses for the Galaxy S sequence.
If the Galaxy A35 goes to impress, it is obtained to maintain up with the Pixel 8a, our present decide for one of the best digital camera cellphone underneath $500. When you’ve learn my 200-photo Galaxy A35 vs. Pixel 8a face-off, you already know the way the 2 digital camera telephones measure up, however let’s revisit a number of of the picture comparisons to see what you possibly can count on from the Galaxy A35.
Outdoors in favorable lighting, the Galaxy A35 matches up effectively with Pixel 8a, like on this picture of a Blue Hawaii cocktail subsequent to a tiki mug. The A35 tends to favor brighter colours, typically to the purpose of oversaturation. However right here, the whole lot’s stored in steadiness, and the brighter tones showcase swirl of citrus juice within the drink in a method the Pixel 8a images obscures in darkness. The Galaxy A35 makes the tiki mug look slightly too vivid, however I discover the general tone of the shot way more pleasing than the darker forged the Pixel 8a has placed on the scene.
The Galaxy A35’s love of shade does not all the time serve it effectively, although. A bowl of pho is brightened too aggressively with that pepper on the highest taking up an otherworldly glow. The Pixel 8a’s effort will not be solely extra true-to-life, however its richer tones emphasize the colour of the broth with out pumping up the greens within the picture to nearly comical extremes.
Dynamic vary proved to be a problem for the Galaxy A35 all through my time taking footage with the cellphone, and this shot of a ferris wheel underscores that. I took the picture within the golden hour, and the Pixel 8a actually did an excellent job of reflecting the daylight beaming down on the ferris wheel. Distinction that with the Galaxy A35, which brightens the yellow ferris wheel whereas additionally attempting to reduce the shadows on the bushes within the foreground. The top end result lacks the depth that the Pixel 8a brings to the scene.
I’ve had success utilizing Galaxy A telephones in low-light settings earlier than, however the Galaxy A35 is out of its depth at evening. The stuffed animals assembled on bench with minimal ambient lighting from the best seems too shadowy when the Galaxy A35 pictures them. As soon as once more, the cellphone has brightened some colours — take a look at the flowers within the vase subsequent to the leopard — on the costly of different issues within the body.
You distinction that with the Pixel 8a’s picture, the place issues are significantly lighter to the purpose the place you can also make out extra particulars of the stuffed animals. The flowers are precisely coloured and in focus, too, one thing the Galaxy A35 cannot declare.
I did check out the marco mode on the Galaxy A35, which produced respectable if not spectacular outcomes after I obtained up near an apple rising my yard. I’ve gotten higher outcomes from different telephones just like the Moto G Stylus 5G (2024), a tool that prices simply as a lot because the Galaxy A35 and sports activities much less well-regarded picture options.
I travel when evaluating the Galaxy A35’s ultrawide lens with the Pixel 8a’s. On the one hand, the Galaxy A35 did a a lot better job of highlighting the blue in sky over the soccer stadium; the Pixel 8a’s sky seems too washed out. However there’s an excessively blue forged to the remainder of the Galaxy A35 picture, significantly on the followers within the stands. The colours within the Pixel 8a shot seem way more pure, clean sky however.
With out a zoom lens on the Galaxy A35, you are totally reliant on a digital zoom, which may improve noise the additional in you zoom. That was the case after I shot a 4x zoom of a clock tower, with the Galaxy A35 clearly battling sharpness. The Pixel 8a has an edge with a Tremendous Res Zoom functionality that minimizes the sick results of digital zooms with the assistance of computational pictures. At any price, the Pixel 8a’s picture is lot extra targeted and the small print of the clock tower are a lot clearer.
I truly assume the portrait pictures function on the Galaxy A35 performs fairly effectively, even when it did battle with the glasses my good friend Jason is carrying within the above shot. However his pores and skin tone seems fairly pure, and background blur is fairly thorough, even when the general picture seems slightly flatter than the Pixel 8a effort. My downside with the Pixel shot is Google’s tendency to over-smooth faces, which is certainly evident right here. Botched glasses apart, the A35 produced the higher portrait.
Turning to the Galaxy A35’s 13MP entrance digital camera, I believe this selfie of me seems fairly good, even when my hat is overly shiny, due to Samsung’s love of oversaturated colours. I will take brighter colours over unnaturally {smooth} faces, although, because the Pixel 8a has as soon as once more smoothed out wrinkles and blemishes, creating an unnatural forged to my face.
I caught with the selfie cam to check out the A35 Digicam app’s “Enjoyable” mode, as a result of I’ve no dignity. Enjoyable mode encompasses a handful of Snapchat like filters that superimpose AR results on you face. The above pattern has fitted me with glasses and a beanie whereas “Lovely Thoughts”-style math equations seem within the background. It is a signal of who Samsung thinks this cellphone is for — youthful individuals who may get a kick out of taking and sharing these types of images with mates. If that is your factor, effectively bless you. The A35 does handles picture results effectively sufficient, however with third-party apps on the market that do the identical factor, I am guessing this function is not going to sway potential consumers that a lot.
Samsung Galaxy A35 evaluation: Efficiency
The Galaxy A35 makes use of an Exynos 1380 system-on-chip — the identical silicon Samsung turned to final 12 months for the Galaxy A54. That is not essentially a step in the best course, because the A54 wasn’t precisely a velocity demon, even amongst midrange telephones.
Certainly, the Galaxy A35 clearly trails comparable midrange fashions in our benchmark testing. With Geekbench 6, Samsung’s cellphone turns in single and multicore scores of 1,017 and a couple of,950, respectively. These fall effectively behind the Pixel 8a’s 1,581 and 4,093 outcomes on the identical exams, and the Tensor G3 chip powering the Pixel is constructed for AI options and never velocity. The OnePlus 12R, with its high-end Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 silicon, blows the Galaxy A35 away with scores of 1,553 and 5,135.
| Row 0 – Cell 0 | Samsung Galaxy A35 | Google Pixel 8a | OnePlus 12R |
| Chipset | Exynos 1380 | Tensor G3 | Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 |
| Geekbench 6 (single/multicore) | 1017 / 2950 | 1581 / 4093 | 1553 / 5135 |
| 3DMark Wild Life Limitless (fps) | 16.8 | 53.8 | 84.5 |
| Adobe Premiere Rush video transcode (Miins:Secs) | 1:09 | 0:56 | 1:09 |
It is the identical story with graphics, the place the Galaxy A35 managed 16.8 frames per second on the 3DMark Wild Life Limitless check. That result’s effectively behind what the Pixel 8a (53.8) and OnePlus 12R (84.5) averaged. The Galaxy A35 additionally wanted 1 minute and 9 seconds to transcode a video clip in Adobe Premiere Rush — a activity the Pixel 8a accomplished in 56 seconds.
That transcoding check signifies a real-world lag within the Galaxy A35’s efficiency, although I discovered the cellphone to be peppy sufficient when launching apps and switching between duties. I performed PUBG Cell on the Galaxy A35 with out struggling any stutters or dropped frames, so I believe the cellphone is able to dealing with all however probably the most processor-intensive duties.
Samsung Galaxy A35 evaluation: Battery life and charging
The Galaxy A35 averaged 11 hours and 9 minutes on our battery check, during which we set a cellphone’s show to 150 nits after which have it surf the net over mobile till it runs out of energy. That point is about an hour higher than the common smartphone, although I might have anticipated extra from the 5,000 mAh battery that powers the A35.
We obtained that point with the Galaxy A35’s show on its default setting, with the adaptive refresh price turned on. Locking the speed at 60Hz truly lowered the common end result by 11 minutes — curious since sooner refresh charges are inclined to put a success on battery life. The excellent news, then, is you could hold the excessive refresh price turned on with none worry that your Galaxy A35 battery life goes to be adversely affected.
The Galaxy A35’s time on our battery check was consistent with the 11 hours and 22 minutes that the Pixel 8a registered. Each telephones cannot sustain with the OnePlus 12R, which lasts an astonishing 18-plus hours, although it advantages from the ability administration options of its Snapdragon 8 sequence silicon.
In day by day utilization, the Galaxy A35 supplied respectable battery life. A four-hour picture session with the cellphone nonetheless left me with loads of a cost, however a extra intensive gaming session dropped the battery by 10% after half-hour of utilization.
Whenever you do recharge the cellphone, you possibly can depend on 25W charging speeds, which matches what the Galaxy S24 flagship gives. That obtained the A35’s drained battery to 53% after half-hour of charging, which is about what you’d count on. You will not discover wi-fi charging right here such as you would on the Pixel 8a.
Samsung Galaxy A35 evaluation: Software program
Samsung’s 4 years of software program updates plus a further 12 months of safety assist for the Galaxy A35 would have been fairly beneficiant for a midrange cellphone again within the day. However we’re now residing in an period the place Pixel 8a customers are getting seven years of updates, so Samsung’s assist coverage, whereas higher than most, is not probably the most in depth you will discover.
Pixel 8a house owners get one thing else that can elude you when you go for the Galaxy A35 — a set of AI-powered options. Galaxy AI is basically reserved for Samsung’s flagship telephones and premium foldable units, although the A sequence is not utterly shut out. The Galaxy A35 helps Circle to Search, one of many higher Galaxy AI instruments.
All it’s important to do is press and maintain on the house button to summon Circle to Search, which helps you to circle faucet any picture to search out out extra about it. Circle to Search works throughout a number of apps — I’ve used it in Gallery in addition to Chrome — and it is a intelligent method of wanting up data on landmarks or doing slightly on-line buying by letting your fingers do the looking.
In any other case, the software program expertise on the Galaxy A35 is fairly much like what you’d get on different Samsung telephones. That features the One UI 6.1 interface constructed on Android 14, as Galaxy A35 house owners are ready for Samsung’s One UI 7 replace, similar to everybody else.
Samsung Galaxy A35: Verdict
The Galaxy A35 is a strong selection if you’d like an affordable cellphone that does not allow you to down in key areas like energy, efficiency and appears. The one downside, although. is there are higher choices on the market. The Pixel 8a takes higher images and gives extra AI options. The OnePlus 12R lasts longer on a cost and provide extra processing oomph. (You’d think about its successor will too.) If any of these capabilities are particularly essential to you, it might justify digging up the additional $100 to cowl the upper price of these telephones — or in search of out probably the greatest Black Friday cellphone offers that put these costs on extra degree phrases.
That mentioned, in a world of extra subtle premium telephones, the Galaxy A35 makes a very good account of itself. It is obtained a properly sized shiny display screen, extra AI capabilities than you usually discover on a sub-$400 cellphone and cameras that get the job carried out. If cash is an object — and it positively is for a plenty of us — the Galaxy A35 supplies a decently priced possibility with few vital sacrifices.
