Mid-range phones, especially the cheaper ones, usually don’t come with great cameras, but what Samsung’s Galaxy A35 5G offers is impressive for its price!
Galaxy A35 5G Intro
Samsung’s latest affordable mid-range phone is the Galaxy A35 5G, coming in at a nice $369. This year, the Galaxy A3x series will be even more important statestide, as the higher-specced Galaxy A55 5G won’t be coming to the US market, leaving the A35 as Samsung’s sole option if you want a mid-range phone.
The good news is that the Galaxy A35, it turns out, comes with almost everything you would want at this price point. That includes a beautiful display and two nice-sounding speakers, a capable-enough chipset, and a more durable body. Not to mention that the camera is probably the best you can get for this kind of money.
Table of Contents:
Specs
Design and Display
Camera
Performance
Software
Battery and Charging
Audio Quality and Haptics
Should you buy it?
Galaxy A35 5G SpecsNew chip, new camera, stronger glass
Let’s start with an overview of the Galaxy A35 5G specs:
SpecsGalaxy A35
Size and Weight 6.37 x 3.07 x 0.32 inches (161.7 x 78.0 x 8.2 mm), 7.37 oz (209.0 g)
Display 6.6 inches AMOLED, 2340 x 1080 pixels with 390 PPI, 60-120Hz variable refresh rate, HDR support, scratch-resistant glass (Corning Gorilla Glass Victus)
Processor Exynos 1380 (5 nm)
Software OneUI 6.1/Android (14)
Cameras Main camera: 50 MP (OIS, Autofocus)
Second camera: 8 MP (Ultra-wide)
Third camera: 5 MP (Macro)
Battery Size 5000 mAh
Charging Speeds 25W wired charge
No wireless charging
Prices 8/128GB for $369
Galaxy A35 5G Design and DisplayUnderstated, beautiful, and more durable than ever
The front and back of the Galaxy A35 5G. (Image by PhoneArena)
For the first time in the Galaxy A3x series, Samsung has included a glass back panel instead of a plastic one. This definitely gives a more premium feel to the Galaxy A35 5G, especially compared to previous generations. That being said, glass is denser than plastic, which means the A35 is heavier, weighing in at 209g versus the 199g of the Galaxy A34 5G.
The frame of the phone remains plastic, but it doesn’t make the A35 look cheap. And speaking of the frame, one cannot exclude the new bump on the right side that is housing the volume and power buttons. Given some of the images that showed up online prior to the official release, we were worried that this bump would be protruding a bit too much for our liking, but we are happy to say that is not the case. In fact, it somewhat adds to ease of use, as it helped to easily find the keys just by feel.
Size-wize, you have the same dimensions as those of the A34 5G, or 6.37 x 3.07 x 0.32 inches (161.7 x 78.0 x 8.2 mm). The shape of the phone is flat on all sides, with curved edges, and three protruding cameras at the back. The look is similar to that of the Galaxy S24 and S24 Plus.
The colors in which you can buy the Galaxy A35 5G are Iceblue, Lilac, and Navy. We have the Lilac version, which has a nice, pastel, and understated look look to it, with nice reflections under direct light.
Galaxy A35 5G box contents. (Image by PhoneArena)
Even though we are used to see affordable phones come with some extra goodies inside the box, Samsung keeps it clean and simple, albeit a bit underwhelming.
This is what you get inside the Galaxy A35 5G box:
The Galaxy A35 5G
A USB-C to USB-C cable
Documentation
SIM tool
Galaxy A35 5G display. (Image by PhoneArena)
Stellar display quality is expected even in mid-range phones nowadays, but Samsung is one of the best in this segment, and that includes the Galaxy A35 5G.
You get an absolutely gorgeous 6.6-inch AMOLED display with a resolution of 1080 x 2340 pixels. Anything that’s shown on this bad boy looks crisp and beautiful. For the most part, it is the same screen that came with the A34 5G, but with two notable differences.
Firstly, now there is a variable refresh rate, so when you put the phone in 120Hz it will go down to 60Hz automatically to save battery life. Secondly, you have Gorilla Glass Victus+ protecting the display, which should be significantly more scratch and drop resistant compared to the Gorilla Glass 5 on the predecessor.
I loved watching content and playing games on the A35 5G. Even when I was on a walk outside during a clear day with lots of sunlight, the display continued to be visible enough for my eyes, which meant no squinting.
Making the experience even better, was the fact that the bezels are smaller than last year’s model, which is especially noticeable with the lower one. Now they almost look uniformly even.
Screen measurements
Color charts
Maximum brightnessHigher is betterMinimum brightness(nits)Lower is betterColor temperature(Kelvins)GammaDelta E rgbcmyLower is betterDelta E grayscaleLower is better
Samsung Galaxy A35 5G 933
(Excellent) 1.4
(Excellent) 6722
(Excellent) 2.1
1.96
(Excellent) 6.37
(Average)
Samsung Galaxy A34 938
(Excellent) 1.7
(Excellent) 6996
(Excellent) 2.04
3.16
(Good) 9.47
(Poor)
View
all
Color gamut
Color accuracy
Grayscale accuracy
The CIE 1931 xy color gamut chart represents the set(area)of colors that a display can reproduce,with the sRGB colorspace(the highlighted triangle)serving as reference.The chart also provides a visual representation of a display’s color accuracy. The small squares across the boundaries of the triangle are the reference points for the various colors, while the small dots are the actual measurements. Ideally, each dot should be positioned on top of its respective square. The ‘x:CIE31’ and ‘y:CIE31’ values in the table below the chart indicate the position of each measurement on the chart. ‘Y’ shows the luminance (in nits) of each measured color, while ‘Target Y’ is the desired luminance level for that color. Finally, ‘ΔE 2000’ is the Delta E value of the measured color. Delta E values of below 2 are ideal.
These measurements are made using Portrait Displays’ CalMAN calibration software.
Samsung Galaxy A35 5G
Samsung Galaxy A34
The Color accuracy chart gives an idea of how close a display’s measured colors are to their referential values. The first line holds the measured (actual) colors, while the second line holds the reference (target) colors. The closer the actual colors are to the target ones, the better.
These measurements are made using Portrait Displays’ CalMAN calibration software.
Samsung Galaxy A35 5G
Samsung Galaxy A34
The Grayscale accuracy chart shows whether a display has a correct white balance(balance between red,green and blue)across different levels of grey(from dark to bright).
