The Samsung phone I recommend to most people is not a premium phone (and it is on sale).
Key points of ZDNET
- Samsung’s Galaxy A35 5G is the perfect smartphone for $313 (now $87 off)
- You’ll love the two-day battery life, great screen quality, and four years of software updates
- Biggest problem? Performance tends to vary from day to day and can lead to overheating.
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I was surprised that I enjoyed using it Samsung Galaxy A35 5G. The 2024 mid-range phone in Samsung’s lineup isn’t necessarily anything special – it looks like any other phone Galaxy phones from recent years and doesn’t have any flashy features. However, the mission of mid-range phone not creating waves; which is to provide a balance between performance, quality and price. This phone strikes that balance well.
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Some will argue that this isn’t the best $400 phone on the market, but it’s certainly one of them, and the display is the first reason why.
Galaxy A35 5G has Samsung’s signature Super AMOLED screen, measuring 6.6 inches diagonally. The screen has Full HD+ resolution, a 120Hz refresh rate so everything feels smooth, and 1,000 nits brightness makes it easy to see the screen in direct sunlight. Additionally, it is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass Victus+, which is a great benefit.
One of the best advantages of the Galaxy A35 is its battery size. With a capacity of 5,000mAh, this device can easily last two days on a full charge. During testing, I only plugged in the phone three times and that was moderate usage. Unfortunately, there’s no wireless charging capability and charging speeds are limited to 25W, so it can take a while to reach 100%. Still, it’s nice to have multi-day battery life on any smartphone, let alone one that costs $400.
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Another thing I didn’t expect to say after using the A35 for some time: the camera isn’t that bad. In fact, I would go so far as to say that at least two of them are good, which is almost impossible to say for Most Android phones are under $500.
The 50MP main camera is fully capable of taking some nice photos. Colors aren’t as overpowering as on older Samsung phones, while contrast and exposure are generally solid. You could say that the A35 is okay with maintaining shadows, for better or worse, while photo quality often drops in low light; it’s not that bad by any means, but graininess and extra noise are hard to avoid unless it’s present ton outside or natural light entering the frame.
I’ll also give a little credit to the 13MP selfie camera, which is perfect for taking selfies on your Snapchat or Instagram Stories. Unfortunately, the other cameras on the back of the device disappoint. The 8MP camera can take super wide photos thanks to a 123-degree viewing angle but suffers from noise and poor quality in almost all lighting conditions. Meanwhile, the 5MP macro camera is blurry and unable to capture anything usable – unless you’re in broad daylight.
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You can’t buy a Galaxy A35 5G expecting Spielberg-quality video, but at least you have the option to shoot in 4K, albeit at 30 frames per second. Additionally, I like Samsung’s camera app, which is well optimized and easy to navigate.
Some other notable features include a fast and reliable in-display fingerprint scanner, IP67 certification for water and dust resistance, Gorilla Glass Victus+ on the back, and a microSD card slot so you can expand your memory whenever you want.
However, the A35 struggles with performance. The phone isn’t slow, but it’s not always fast either. It’s powered by an Exynos 1380 octa-core processor that’s fast enough for everyday use, but during my testing, the phone sometimes ran so slowly that it took a few seconds to open an app or go into multi mode. responsibility.
The device also sometimes heats up unexplainably during regular use. For example, in one case, I was scrolling through an article with Spotify playing in the background and the A35 became so hot that I had to put it down.
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This is a known issue with Samsung’s Exynos chips, which have always lagged behind Qualcomm’s Snapdragon processors in terms of performance and efficiency. Luckily, you can equip the A35 with 6GB, 8GB or 12GB of RAM so you don’t run out of memory during use — just don’t push the phone too hard.
ZDNET Buying Tips
It’s hard to find a mid-range device that balances the smartphone experience well, but Samsung Galaxy A35 5G does a pretty good job. While performance and camera quality lag behind in some areas, the rest of the phone is still good (especially the gorgeous display) for the price.
Of course, if you’re planning to buy this phone, you’re probably also looking at phones like Pixel 8a or excellent OnePlus 12Rfluctuate around the same price. The screen quality isn’t as good as the A35’s, and you won’t get two-day battery life. Comparable cameras (apart from Pixel 7abeat A35 and 12R). Overall, I think the A35 is a good truck. It’s not perfect, but if you can accept its quirks, I think you’ll understand it.
ZDNET’s review team spends up to a year testing every major phone release in detail, evaluating day-to-day performance, camera quality, battery life and durability, and special features. . Here’s a breakdown of every factor we consider before making a recommendation:
- Design and ergonomics: How a phone looks and feels plays a big role in many users’ purchasing journeys, so we consider these aspects carefully when testing.
- Efficiency: Several factors affect your phone’s performance, including LTE/5G signal, battery life, and background tasks. Therefore, we usually start our reviews with a fully charged phone, all background tasks closed, and a cellular connection as stable as possible.
- Camera quality: ZDNET tests phone cameras by taking hundreds of photos and videos on a variety of topics and in a variety of lighting conditions. We also compare the output with that of older models.
- Battery life and charging: It’s also important that we evaluate how long the phone lasts under light, medium, and heavy use, how long it takes to recharge, and how it operates (wired, wireless, or both).
- Special features: These features help differentiate the tested devices from the bustling smartphone market and hopefully bring added value to users, not the other way around.
- Price and availability: In addition to budget considerations, we also note whether the phone is available in the US or only internationally.
For more detailed information, see our comprehensive guide phone testing methods page.
This article was originally published on May 2, 2024 and updated on October 7, 2024.
