Samsung Galaxy A35 5G is one of the latest additions to the brand’s Galaxy A-series along with the Galaxy A55 5G. While we have already reviewed the A55, here’s an in-depth review of the Galaxy A35 5G, which starts at Rs 30,999. Is it worth spending that much or should you look elsewhere? We’ll give you an answer by the end of this review of the Samsung Galaxy A35 5G.
Design & Build
The Samsung Galaxy A55 5G and the Galaxy A35 5G share the same design and footprint. However, while the A55 5G doesn’t cut any corners in terms of build, the Galaxy A35 5G does. It gets a plastic frame with the same key island on the right that houses the volume keys and the power button.
The lilac variant of the Galaxy A35 5G we got for review has a violet frame and while it doesn’t feel as premium as the Galaxy A55 5G, it’s decent enough for the price at which its being offered. The buttons have a nice feel to them while the back glass gets a rainbow effect depending on how the light shines on it. Despite being plastic, the device doesn’t feel cheap by any means. Samsung claims the device is IP67 rated as well.
There’s a dual speaker setup that is loud and produces good sound. The Haptics feel weak but not all the same as how the ones in budget phones do. Overall, the design of the Galaxy A35 5G is classic Samsung and is clearly recognizable as belonging to the Korean brand.
Display
The handset gets a 6.6-inch Full HD+ sAMOLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate, Gorilla Glass Victus+ protection, 1000 nits peak brightness, a punch-hole notch, and 1080 X 2340 pixels resolution.
The device is highly protected with Gorilla Glass Victus+, so durability shouldn’t be an issue. As for the colour reproduction, it’s high on contrast, while the viewing angles and brightness under direct sunlight remain impressive.
Samsung has finally upgraded the display design from a water drop notch in Galaxy A34 5G to a punch-hole design in the A35 5G. However, the bezels are uneven and thicker than we see in the competition.
It gets an in-display optical sensor, which works fine. It could have been faster, but I cannot complain about it in terms of accuracy. Overall, the Galaxy A35 5G boasts an impressive display with little to nitpick about.
Software & Performance
The Galaxy A35 5G is powered by the same chip that backed up last year’s Galaxy A54 5G, the Exynos 1380. Now, in daily use, the device shows lags in animations and regular use, which hampers the experience. Despite how smooth One UI 6.1 has been, even on the Galaxy A55 5G, the Galaxy A35 5G fails to match that level of fluidity.
RAM management is decent, but the animations and overall smoothness remain unimpressive. While gaming, it dips further, and you certainly cannot expect it to match the competition in that area in terms of resource-heavy titles such as Call of Duty or BGMI. Its competition, including the likes of the Poco X6 Pro and the iQOO Neo 9 Pro, perform far better.
Similar to the Galaxy A55 5G, the A35 5G also runs on One UI 6.1 and is set to receive four years of major OS upgrades. Software is the Galaxy A35 5G’s most vital link, where it does move ahead of its competitors. While stuttery, the animations have still definitely improved over One UI 6.0. In addition, features like Good Lock, Always-on display, and Wallpaper-based theming are all available.
The device does come with some pre-installed apps, which are, fortunately, uninstallable. Connecting performance, including 5G, Bluetooth, and 5Ghz Wi-Fi, remained optimal.
Battery backup
The Galaxy A35 5G packs a 5000mAh battery with 25W fast charging, but no in-box charger is included. Battery life was okay but could have definitely been better. On 5G, the device can easily drain out in a day, but with Wi-Fi, things remain in control.
I got a screen-on time of 5.5 hours and sometimes even 6, with usage that included chatting, calling, scrolling through social media, and browsing the internet. Casual gaming will also put a load on the battery, leading it to drain faster. The device can easily run for a day in most situations.
The handset takes about 1 hour 20 minutes to charge from 0 to 100%, which is absolutely poor at this price point. To make things worse, as we mentioned, Samsung doesn’t give you a charger in the box, while competitors are easily providing above 65W Fast charging speeds with the included charger as well.
Cameras
The Galaxy A35 5G has a triple rear camera setup, including a 50MP primary sensor with f/1.8 aperture, LED flash and OIS, an 8MP ultra-wide angle lens with f/2.2 aperture, and a 5MP Macro lens with f/2.4 aperture. The phone also gets a 13MP f/2.2 snapper on the front for selfies.
The primary camera captures stunning photos in daylight with excellent detail. The photos are vibrant, showcasing Samsung’s signature colour palette with vivid hues, and the dynamic range is impressive. Overall, the primary sensor performs very well.
Samsung has done a decent job maintaining colors in ultra-wide angle shots, however, the colour shift is still noticeable. The shots display good detail and sharpness, but there is room for improvement in EDGE distortion as the edges lack detailing and the distortion isn’t well contained.
In portrait photos, the camera performs impressively. The bokeh effect is striking, with highly accurate edge detection. The background bokeh feels natural, and the level of detail in the shots is quite nice.
The camera excels in low-light conditions, producing noise-free photos while preserving colour integrity. In extremely low-light conditions, such as nighttime shots, there is slight noise in the photos. However, turning on Night mode significantly improves the situation.
The third Macro sensor is there for the sake of it. The shots from this sensor look faded and lack detail.
The handset also performs well in artificial lighting, delivering acceptable results. Finally, the selfies look more than decent when we talk of details. The skin tones could have been better, though.
