Samsung Galaxy A35 review: Best camera phone under Rs. 50,000!

March 20, 2024

Samsung recently released its midrange A series smartphones: the Galaxy A35 and the A55. We have already reviewed the Galaxy A55 5G, so here I’ll be walking you through my experience with the Samsung Galaxy A35 5G and why I think that it’s the best camera phone you can get in Nepal for under 50,000 rupees.

But before that, here’s a quick rundown of the specs:

Samsung Galaxy A35 5G Review: Specifications

Display: 6.6-inch Super AMOLED, FHD+, 120Hz refresh rate, Gorilla Glass Victus+
Chipset: Exynos 1380 5G (5nm mobile platform)
Memory: 8GB RAM, 128/256GB storage (expandable)
Software & UI: One UI 6.1 on top of Android 14 (upgradeable)
Rear Camera: Triple (50MP main, 8MP ultrawide, 5MP macro)
Front Camera: 13MP sensor (teardrop notch)
Security: Fingerprint sensor (optical in-display)
Battery: 5000mAh with 25W charging
Price in Nepal: NPR 46,999 (8/128GB) | NPR 51,999 (8/256GB)
Read the full specifications of the Samsung Galaxy A35 5G
Buy Galaxy A35 5G here

Samsung Galaxy A35 5G Review:

Design

161.7 x 78 x 8.2 mm, 209 gm
Glass front and back, Plastic frame
IP67 dust/splash resistant

Starting off with the looks, you are getting a good-looking smartphone for the price. It does look similar to last year’s A34, but this time the back here is made of glass. The frames are still plastic but, Samsung has finally gotten rid of the teardrop notch and now we have a tiny, minimalist punch hole that looks way better. But I wish I could say the same thing about the bezels though, they are still thick and look outdated!

That's a pretty design!

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The Galaxy A35 is also slightly wider than the A34 and it’s also heavier, which probably is because of the inclusion of the glass back. This time, the back has a shiny finish, which does catch fingerprints and smudges, but it’s not that visible, so I was comfortably using this phone without a cover.

Samsung has not exactly been open about what kind of glass protection they have included at the back, but you get a more robust Gorilla Glass Victus Plus for the display. And as expected on an A-series phone, you also get IP67 dust and water resistance!

Key Island

Oh yes, there is a small change in the design, the camera buttons and the volume rockers rest in slightly protruded space. Samsung has also given it a fancy name, it’s called “Key Island. Now, I know, it might not seem like it’s anything useful, but I’ve found it to make the grip better and it’s easier to locate the power and volume buttons, so I do appreciate this tiny addition.

Display

6.6-inches FHD+ AMOLED
Corning Gorilla Victus+ protection

The display side of things is impressive too. It’s a big 6.6-inch Super AMOLED display with nice colors and contrast. This screen can go decently bright as well and finally, Samsung has included adaptive refresh rate support in the A35.

Last year’s A34’s display could only be set to either 120Hz or 60Hz, there was no adaptive refresh rate option, but that’s not the case anymore and A35’s display can go from 60-120Hz depending on the content displayed on the screen.

Apart from that, I also love the color reproduction, there’s just something to a Samsung display that looks so pleasing to the eyes. The touch response and everything is also great, so I don’t have many complaints here.

Speakers and Haptics

However, I wish the Galaxy A35 had better haptics. Not that the vibration is extremely bad. It is impactful, but slightly buzzzy, and not as precise as you get on the more expensive A55.

The speakers are good though, you get stereo speakers which are really loud! They are not the most balanced, but they’re good enough for casually listening to music or watching content.

Performance

Octa-core Exynos 1380 (5nm)
8GB LPDDR4x RAM, 128/256GB UFS 2.2 storage
Android 14 with OneUI 6.1 on top
4 generations OS, 5 years of security updates

On the performance side, you are getting the Exynos 1380 here, which is the same chip that we saw on last year’s A54 and F54.

And if you have read my review of both of these phones, you will know that initially, I had complained a lot about how unoptimized it was. But over time, Samsung did bring forth a lot of updates that optimized the chip and its day-to-day performance grew to be really stable.

Even when you look at the benchmarks, there’s nothing extraordinary, especially when you compare it with other chipsets that you can get for a similar price like the Snapdragon 7s Gen 2 or the Dimensity 8300 Ultra.

Benchmark Scores

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But I guess one of its redeeming qualities is the fact that this chipset does not heat up in any kind of workload, so that’s good I guess!

Like I said earlier, because the 1380 is a tried and tested chipset, it will give you a stable experience in everyday usage. It can handle things like multitasking and browsing very well without much stutters or anything like that.

A magical trick

Nonetheless, the phone will feel a little slower in general – Be it while navigating through the UI or opening an app. I guess, it’s always going to be the same with Samsung’s mid-range phones, great software experience at the expense of a slightly slower performance.

A small trick I used is to reduce the animation speed to half, to kind of get the illusion of a faster performance. I did that with the fingerprint animation specifically and now it feels slightly faster.

Gaming

The Exynos 1380 is still not a gaming chipset by any means, the most it can do is give you a maximum of 30 fps in games like PUBG with the graphics set to smooth + high. It’s the same with Genshin Impact which runs on 30 fps in low+30 fps settings.

Slightly less demanding games like Call of Duty do reach around 60 fps, but that’s the maximum gaming performance you can expect from the A35.

Gaming! What's that?

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Software and UI

OneUI 6.1 based on Android 14

Anyway, like always, Samsung is at the top of its game when it comes to the software experience. You get the latest Android 14 here on top of OneUI 6.1 and we all know how stable of an experience Samsung offers not just in their flagship phones, but in their mid-range and even budget phones.

You are getting a total of 4 years of OS and 5 years of security updates on this phone and Samsung is one of few companies that sends monthly or quarterly security updates just right in no time. So, that’s always great to see on a Samsung phone!

Cameras

Triple camera setup at the back
(50MP main, 8MP ultrawide, 5MP macro)
13MP selfie camera (Infinity-O)

Cameras

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And not just the software, mid-range Samsung phones have always had a good reputation for having great cameras. I had the chance to test A35’s cameras extensively and I am thoroughly impressed. You get a 50MP primary camera with OIS along with an 8MP ultra-wide lens and a 5MP macro lens. I did mention this in the beginning, and I will say it again, the A35 has one of the best cameras in its price segment. Period.

Daylight photos

It does not have large 108 or 200MP sensors, but the camera optimization here is excellent. It gives you that classic Samsung color reproduction, pleasing greens, nice blues, and punchy contrast from the primary camera.

I didn’t find the colors to be overbearingly vibrant too, the colors are actually really toned down and if you’re someone who prefers a sort of natural output, I am sure you will like the images from the A35.

Daylight pictures look appealing!

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Samsung also has done a great job with HDR management. No matter how harsh the sunlight or how difficult the lighting situation is, the A35 was able to handle the highlights and shadows so well.

Lowlight

During night time too, the A35 produces bright images with nice sharpness, all thanks to the onboard OIS. I did find the night mode slightly overdoing the processing sometimes, so I preferred not turning it on mostly. And because the normal mode brings out good images, I did not feel the need to either.

Low light Images

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Portraits and selfies

I was able to get good-looking portraits from the A35 as well. The skin tone is slightly brightened, but it does not smoothen it at all and the details look natural. Sometimes it tends to make the skin tone a bit yellow, but not in an unpleasant way, so I won’t complain much. But I do think it’s high time that Samsung starts including 2x options for portraits, considering all its competitors do so!

Portraits and Selfies

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Selfies also look good enough from the Galaxy A35 5G. It’s only a 13MP sensor and not 32MP like the A55, but it is able to manage details on the face very well. I wish the skin tone was not as warm as it produces though.

4k videos

I am happy that there is a 4k video recording from the front camera as well. Quality-wise- wise the 4k selfie videos are not the most stable, but the subject focus and everything are nice enough. From the rear camera too, you can shoot up to 4k 30 fps videos. The core quality of the videos is great, and color reproduction and highlight management are also good. You will notice a little bit of movement wobble, but nothing that ruins the experience.

Ultrawide and macro

The only thing that’s average here is the 8MP ultra-wide lens and the 5MP macro camera. First, there’s a considerable color shift from the main to the ultra-wide lens, and the details, dynamic range and everything is inferior to this 8MP sensor. Especially during night time the ultra-wide images are really really average. The color reproduction is not bad though and in extremely good lighting, you will be able to get some acceptable images though!

Ultrawide and Macro Shots

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Battery

5000mAh with 25W fast charging

Lastly, I have no complaints about the battery life on this device either. You get a 5000 mAh unit that can easily last you an entire day with a solid 7 hours of Screen on Time on my heavy usage pattern.

Charging could be a little pain as you only get 25-watt support that takes around 1 hour and 30 minutes to fully juice this device up. And by the way, the charger is not even included inside the box.

Samsung Galaxy A35 5G Review: Conclusion

To sum it all up, Samsung’s doubled down on its strengths in the camera, software, and design departments making the Galaxy A35 5G a pretty solid deal. Capable hardware paired with Samsung’s optimization makes it my favorite camera phone in the <50,000 segment. If you are someone who doesn’t game a lot on your phone; and cameras, reliability, and good-looking design are what you’re looking for, I wholeheartedly recommend the Galaxy A35 5G.