The Samsung Galaxy A-series smartphones are popular among budget-conscious users for their decent performance and affordable price tags. We recently got a chance to try the latest Samsung Galaxy A35 5G, and here are our thoughts about the device.
Design
Over the years, Samsung has been borrowing some of its flagship S-series design elements for its A-series counterparts, and the Galaxy A35 is no exception here. You get a similar design that resembles the latest base Galaxy S24 smartphone. The Galaxy A35 is 8.2mm thick and weighs about 209g. It’s also an IP67-certified device for dust and water resistance. The device sports a 6.6-inch Super AMOLED display, featuring a screen resolution of 1080 x 2340.
The screen also boasts a 120Hz refresh rate for smooth animations while going through the user interface. The screen also comes with Corning Gorilla Glass Victus+ protection to resist accidental scratches and drops. For outdoor use, the A35’s display has support for 1000 nits of brightness. The volume rockers and the power button are located on the top right side. The portion of the frame, where the buttons are placed, does protrude a bit outward. We should also mention that the A35 uses an under-display fingerprint scanner, and is not embedded in the power button.
The SIM slot is located on the top side, and the USB-C is on the bottom, along with the speaker grills. The device also has a glass back, along with a borderless camera island, similar to the Galaxy S24. There are three cameras on the rear side. We should also mention that the glass panel on the rear side easily attracts fingerprints and smudges, and the dust gets collected easily between the lenses.
The smartphone comes in four different colors: Awesome Lemon, Awesome Lilac, Awesome Icecube, and Awesome Navy. As you can see, we received the Awesome Navy color option for review.
Performance
The Samsung Galaxy A35 5G comes powered by the Exynos 1380 SoC, an octa-core chip that features four 2.4GHz Cortex A78, and four 2GHz Cortex A55 cores. The SoC also houses the Mali-G68 MP5 GPU. The device runs on Android 14 OS, along with Samsung’s One UI 6.1 user interface. Samsung offers the A35 in both 128GB and 256GB internal storage options in the UAE. Both storage variants come with 8GB of RAM. We should also mention that users will be able to expand the storage via a MicroSD card with the shared SIM slot.
While using the smartphone, the performance was decent at best, while switching between apps. Gaming performance is just mediocre. To test the absolute performance, we ran benchmark tools such as Antutu, Geekbench 6, and 3DMark tests. Take a look at the scores below.
The device also comes with 5G connectivity, Bluetooth 5.3, and WiFi 6. The Galaxy A35 5G also houses a 5000 mAh battery, along with support for 25W fast charging. However, the device does not support wireless charging capability. That said, the smartphone was able to last almost a day of normal use, and the 25W fast charge helps to fill the battery in less time.
Camera
The Galaxy A35 5G features a total of three cameras on the rear side. The main shooter houses a 50MP sensor, along with f/1.8 as the aperture. The second camera is a modest 8MP ultra-wide snapper, along with f/2.2 as the aperture. The third camera is dedicated to macro shots, featuring a 5MP sensor with f/2.4 as the aperture. While the main camera is capable of 1080p videos and 60fps videos, the 4K video recording capability is limited to 30fps. That said, the smartphone does have support for gyro-based EIS, for stable video recording. The selfie camera packs a 13MP snapper, and f/2.2 as its aperture. The video capability of the selfie camera is limited to 30 fps for both 1080p and 4K video recording.
We shot some day-time and night-time samples of the same spot (with different focal lengths). The images appeared to look good during the day, but the quality does take a hit when zooming in. It’s the same case for night shots too, and the noise is particularly seen on the zoomed focal length. Take a look at the samples below.
Day-time Shots
Night-time shots
Verdict
For those who are looking for an affordable Android smartphone that offers decent performance and features, we can recommend the Galaxy A35 5G. The device comes with a 6.6-inch Super AMOLED display, along with 1080 x 2340 as the screen resolution. The screen also features a 120Hz refresh rate, along with Corning Gorilla Glass Victus+ protection. The device is light and weighs 209g.
The A35 5G also comes with a triple-camera setup, which includes a 50MP main camera, an 8MP wide-angle lens, and a 5MP macro shooter. The Exynos 1380 SoC offers decent performance, along with Android 14 OS out of the box. The device is available in both 128GB and 256GB capacities, and both models come with 8GB of RAM. Wireless capabilities include Bluetooth 5.3, WiFi 6, and 5G. Along with the 5000 mAh battery, the device also has support for 25W fast charging capability.
