- Excellent value
- Lovely display
- Long battery
- Average camera performance
- Processor can struggle with more demanding games
At a time when absolutely everything is getting more expensive, Samsung's Galaxy A35 bucks the trend. Not only is it $50 cheaper than last year's Galaxy A34, the Galaxy A35 has a handful of improvements that make it feel a lot more premium.
A drop from $599 to $549 isn't a huge price cut, but it's nonetheless welcome. We've only seen flagship phones - including Samsung's own - get pricier in recent years, making the Galaxy A35 even more novel. It's a rare treat.
To start, Samsung has replaced the plastic back from previous A-series models with glass. The front and back of the Galaxy A35 use Gorilla Glass Victus Plus, which was last seen on the Galaxy S22 family. As the name suggests, it is more durable than standard Gorilla Glass Victus, which is able to survive drops onto rough surfaces from heights of up to two metres.
Since my Galaxy A35 review unit is on loan from Samsung, I wasn't able to do any drop testing, but a more resilient display is always a good thing. I'd still pop a case on the Galaxy A35, however. An abundance of caution never hurts with phone displays.
While Samsung has started using aluminium for the pricier Galaxy A55, the Galaxy A35 still has a plastic frame. It doesn't feel cheap, and I honestly prefer it to the aluminium on the Galaxy A55. The Galaxy A55 is sharp in the hand, which isn't an issue with the Galaxy A35.
The chunky bezel surrounding the display is the only aesthetic element that gives the Galaxy A35's more affordable status away, and even then, it's not really an issue. It's not something you really think about in day-to-day use, and the phone's overall size is comfortable.
As you'd expect from Samsung, the Galaxy A35's screen is lovely. It's vibrant, bright enough to work well in direct sunlight, and has a 120Hz refresh rate for smooth motion. The only major change from last year's model is the selfie camera now sits in a camera cut-out, rather than a notch. It doesn't make a practical difference, but it looks that little bit nicer.
In terms of battery, expect between five and six hours of screen time per charge. That's easily a day-and-a-half of moderate usage in between top-ups, and should be more than enough for almost anyone. The Galaxy A35 has fast charging, but not wireless charging.
The Galaxy A35 is pretty smooth when it comes to day-to-day performance. Web browsing, social media, emails, and messaging are all as responsive as you'd hope. You might start to run into some issues with more demanding activities like gaming. Diablo Immortal was a little choppy on the out-of-the-box medium settings, for example. It was still smooth enough to play, but there was regular, noticeable stuttering.
The Galaxy A35's camera setup is the only feature that's middling. Given the $549 price tag, that's not exactly surprising; better photo quality is often the most noticeable benefit of spending more on a phone. You can still get solid photos, but that relies on good lighting and a still subject. There's even noticeable noise on daytime indoor shots if it’s a touch too dim.
Exposure and saturation can be all over the place. I've had bright lighting make shots look washed out and sickly, for example. Moving subjects can also trick up the camera, and lead to blurry images.
But by and large, the Galaxy A35 certainly doesn't take bad photos; it can just be inconsistent You might need a few attempts to get the shot you want. At the same time, you're going to run into this issue on pretty much every phone in this price bracket. The Pixel 7a currently has the best photo quality of any mid-tier phone, but it's $200 more expensive than the Galaxy A35.
Galaxy A35 camera samples
Check out these camera samples taken on the Galaxy A35. Click or tap on any photo to see a larger version.
One omission worth calling out is the lack of eSIM support. Samsung added it to the Galaxy A55 this year, but not the Galaxy A35. It's a minor niggle, but a very useful feature - especially when travelling overseas.
It's also worth remembering all the other premium trimmings the Galaxy A35 has that aren't new, but aren't a given in this price category. It has IP67 water resistance, which allows it to survive depths of one metre for up to 30 minutes. That's pretty uncommon for a phone under $600.
Similarly, Samsung is promising four years of major operating system upgrades and five years of security updates. That's best-in-class for a mid-tier phone.
Samsung Galaxy A35 - Final Thoughts
For the $549, the Galaxy A35 is a great phone. As a more affordable choice, it naturally makes some compromises to keep the price down. This isn't the phone for avid photographers or mobile gamers.
But in terms of an everyday device, it's very easy to recommend the Galaxy A35. General performance is smooth, the battery is long, the display is lovely, and the build quality is better than you might expect. Coupled with extensive post-purchase software support and water resistance, there's currently nothing quite like it in the Galaxy A35's price bracket.
Samsung's knocked it out of the park with this one.
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Alex Choros
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