Samsung is known for making affordable mid-range smartphones with decent specifications and premium-looking designs. We got a chance to try out the new Samsung Galaxy A34 5G and here are our thoughts about the new smartphone.
Design
The Samsung A30 series devices are considered the most affordable models of the A-series line-up. The new Galaxy A34 5G we have here shares a similar design to the Samsung Galaxy A54 we reviewed a while back. The smartphone features a chassis that is 8.2mm thick and weighs 199g. The display is a 6.6-inch Super AMOLED panel with a refresh rate that tops 120Hz. The screen also boasts a screen resolution of 1080 x 2340 and up to 1000 nits of brightness.
The display also comes with an under-display fingerprint scanner. Samsung mentions that the A34 also is IP67 certified for dust and water resistance, and the display is protected with Gorilla Glass 5 against scratches and bumps. As for the ports and button placements, the volume rocker and power button are located on the right side, followed by the SIM slot on the top portion, and the USB-C/ speaker grill on the bottom of the device.
The rear side of the A34 features a plastic rear surface and there are three camera lenses on the top left side sans the camera island. Samsung offers the Galaxy A34 5G in three colors that include Awesome Silver, Awesome Graphite, and the Awesome Lime that we have here for review.
Performance
While the Samsung Galaxy A34 5G is the entry-level model of the A30 series, the device does pack decent specifications. The smartphone is powered by the Mediatek Dimensity 1080 SoC and joined with 128GB of internal storage and 6GB of system memory. For extra storage, the SIM slot also doubles as a microSD card slot. The integrated GPU used here is the Mali-G68 MC4 which can handle some smartphone gaming.
The device also runs on the latest Android 13 OS with One UI 5.1 optimizations. We tested the Galaxy A34 5G using benchmark tools such as PCMark, Geekbench 6, and Antutu. Take a look at the scores below.
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- PC Mark Work 3.0
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- Geekbench 6 CPU
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- Geekbench 6 GPU (OpenCL)
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- Geekbench 6 GPU (Vulkan)
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- Antutu
The Galaxy A34 5G also features a 5000 mAh Li-Po battery with support for 25W wired fast charge. However, the device does not come with native wireless charging capability. That said, we ran the PCMark Work 3.0 battery test, and the device lasted for 15 hours and 27 minutes until the battery percentage reached 19% capacity.
Camera
When it comes to photographic capabilities, the A34 comes with three cameras on the rear side, and this includes a 48MP main camera with F/1.8 as the aperture, an 8MP sensor for ultra-wide shots, and a 5MP camera for macro shots. The device can record 4K videos at 30fps, and 1080p videos up to 60fps. The selfie snapper on the front side houses a 13MP sensor and is also capable of 4K 30fps videos.
We took some sample images of the cameras of different focal lengths during the day and night time. Take a look at the image samples below.
Camera Samples (Daytime)
Camera Samples (Night)
Verdict
We recommend the new Samsung Galaxy A34 5G for those looking for an affordable Samsung Android smartphone. The device features a 6.6-inch Super AMOLED panel with a 120Hz refresh rate and a respectable 1080 x 2340 screen resolution. The screen also holds an under-display fingerprint scanner and the device weighs only 199g. The Galaxy A34 also carries the IP67 certification for dust and water resistance.
The smartphone also features a triple-camera setup where the main shooter holds a 48MP sensor with 4K 30fps video recording capability. The device is powered by the Mediatek Dimensity 1080 SoC, along with 128GB of internal space and 6GB memory to run Android 13 with One UI 5.1 OS. While the smartphone lacks wireless charging, the 5000 mAh Li-Po battery has support for 25W wired charging capability.
