Samsung Galaxy A35 Review | Geek Lifestyle

Following the phone’s launch back in March, we got our hands on the Samsung Galaxy A35, a mid-range entry in the A series that promises to be a great all-around daily driver.

While Samsung’s Galaxy S devices typically get a lot of attention during the first half of every year, Samsung also releases a range of more affordable A series phones that still promise to deliver a good overall experience. This is the case with the A35 as, based on its specs, it should have all the features that most users would want in a daily driver, coupled with some premium additions.

So, is the Galaxy A35 the next phone for you if you’re in the market for a new mid-range device? Here’s what we think in our review.

Geek-sthetic

Let’s start things off with the phone’s design. Over the past couple of years, Samsung’s A series phones have fairly similar-looking designs, and the A35 is no exception. Comparing it to the previous A34, the newer model doesn’t look all that different as it still features the same triple camera layout at the top left, though they are a bit bigger now compared to the previous model.

While I wouldn’t call the design striking, it does still look pretty good, especially if you’re a fan of a simpler look for you phone. Plus, if you want some extra pop, the phone does come in more eye-catching colors. For me though, I prefer the sleeker look of the Navy colorway.

The trend for many phones these days is either a matte finish or a glossy finish that’s still grippy, but for the A35 Samsung went with glass for the A35’s back. As such, the phone has a mirror-like sheen to it that looks nice, but is a fingerprint magnet. I would’ve liked a more matte finish instead so that fingerprints aren’t an issue when going caseless (especially as someone whose hands can get sweaty).

On the flip side, the back finish isn’t an issue when it comes to slippage. Even while gaming, the back’s glass build didn’t become slippery. This is helped by the fact that the phone has flat edges that give users a good grip. What’s more, the A35’s build should also be tough as it packs Corning Gorilla Glass Victus+ at the front, all while being IP67 dust/water resistant.

Also worth noting is that this phone feels a bit thicker than you’d expect as many phones are racing towards being thinner and thinner. That’s not to say that it’s a chunky phone though, but it does feel fairly hefty while still feeling comfortable to hold.

Moving to the front, we can see the phone’s fairly large screen. This is the biggest difference compared to last year’s model as, unlike the A34 which has a waterdrop notch, Samsung finally went with a sleeker-looking holepunch notch at the top. Though take note that the A35 still has fairly sizeable bezels, at least compared to other new devices released this year. In my experience though, this shouldn’t be too big of a deal thanks to the AMOLED screen.

Binge-Watching Factor

The Galaxy A35’s 6.6-inch display is an AMOLED screen with a 1080p resolution and a 120Hz refresh rate. Samsung has made a name for itself over the years with great displays on their phones, and the A35 continues this as it’s a great partner for watching your favorite movies and shows.

As always, the AMOLED screen means colors pop when watching movies and anime while also having deep blacks so that the black borders aren’t distracting when watching content that’s not in full screen. The screen’s size should also be good enough to give users a nice viewing experience.

For sound, the Galaxy A35 has stereo speakers which is a nice touch for a more affordable mid-range phone. What’s also great is that the speakers have surprisingly good audio quality as you can actually hear bass notes unlike with other phones in this price range. Of course, you shouldn’t expect flagship-level quality as the speakers can still sound a bit sharp when at max volume.

If you want to connect headphones or speakers, you’ll need to use a wireless device as this phone does not have a 3.5mm headphone jack. This is a shame as a headphone jack would’ve been nice for a phone at this price point, though this might not be a dealbreaker for many users who prefer wireless headphones.

Gaming Performance

Unlike the Galaxy A34 which is powered by a Dimensity 1080, Samsung went with an Exynos 1380 chipset for the A35. To be honest, I wasn’t sure about this before testing the phone out as some previous Exynos SoCs did not perform as well as we would’ve liked. Thankfully, the Exynos 1380 proved to have enough power for gaming.

To start, we tried playing MOBAs and FPS titles like League of Legends: Wild Rift and Call of Duty Mobile. These games ran smoothly at the higher graphics settings at 60FPS, with no real issues to report. In Wild Rift, you can also run the game smoothly at 90FPS to take advantage of the high refresh rate screen, though you’ll need to set the Graphics Quality to Medium.

Moving on to more demanding games, the Galaxy A35 can run Genshin Impact, though you may want to stick to the default Lowest setting (or at the very least the Low preset) to keep the game running smoothly. This isn’t too surprising given that some mid-rangers can still struggle with this game, but it’s still nice to be able to play it fairly well on this device.

What’s also great is that we didn’t notice any overheating issues which has been an issue with older Exynos chipsets. While playing games on this phone, it didn’t get hot enough to be noticeable or distracting which should be good news for its longevity.

Geek Photoshoot Capabilities

For its cameras, the Galaxy A35 has a 50MP main + 8MP ultrawide + 5MP macro triple rear camera setup along with a 13MP front shooter. This is a fairly typical setup as telephoto cameras are usually only reserved for either upper mid-range or flagship devices. Still, the main camera is promising as it has optical image stabilization.

When it comes to photography, the 50MP camera is quite good as it is easily able to capture quality photos in daytime or indoors with plenty of light. The image processing is also good enough that even photos taken against the light turn out quite well. The quality isn’t exactly flagship-level, but it’s still great at this price point.

At night, the photos taken with the main shooter are also great thanks to the Night Mode. What I particularly like is that the Night Mode photos don’t make the colors too unnatural. Sure, they’re more saturated than Auto Mode photos, but the colors still look fairly natural. This makes the phone a good partner if you like taking photos at night, be it landscapes outdoors or some indoor photos.

Moving on to the ultrawide camera, this 8MP shooter also takes pretty good photos in daytime, but at night, there is a noticeable dip in quality. Photos can turn out blurry if you’re not careful, meaning when using the Night Mode for ultrawide shots, you’ll need to have steady hands to get good photos.

As for selfies, the 13MP camera is reliable at taking social media-ready photos, with colors being natural and plenty of detail being kept. As with most phones these days, there is a beautification filter for selfies that’s turned on by default, though it’s surprisingly not as aggressive as in other phones as even the touched-up photos look fairly natural. Still, you may want to tweak the settings to your liking.

Everyday Reliability

As the phone’s chipset is able to handle today’s popular games with ease, it should come as no surprise that the Galaxy A35 is a snappy and reliable phone for everyday use. Most users should be satisfied with how well the phone performs for everyday tasks as in our time with it, the phone did not slow down or hang unexpectedly.

Battery life is also pretty good as the phone’s 5,000mAh battery lets it last for a day of use with ease, though that will depend on your use case. Still, most users should be satisfied with this phone’s longevity.

For charging though, this phone isn’t the fastest to fill up to 100% as it only has 25W fast-charging support. As such, it will take well over an hour to fill the phone up to full. It’s not exactly slow, but it’s far from the fastest in its class.

The Galaxy A35 runs on One UI 6.1 based on Android 14. Yes, this is the full version of One UI, and it delivers a great user experience. Gone are the TouchWiz days when Samsung phones aren’t great when it comes to UI usability as One UI has become one of the best in the Android space (at least in my opinion).

Sure, there are still pre-installed Samsung apps here, but the overall experience with One UI is great as there’s not much in the way of obtrusive pop-ups and notifications. The layout and look of the UI is also good, making the phone’s software one of its key features.

Final Geek Lifestyle Verdict

The Samsung Galaxy A35 as it has pretty much everything you need in a mid-range phone. After all, it has a sleek design, a great display, good gaming performance, and reliability in spades. Its cameras are also solid overall, especially its 50MP main camera which captures great photos in most situations.

At its price of PHP 18,990, the Galaxy A35 is a phone that’s well worth considering. While there may be more powerful options at this price bracket, the phone’s combination of features coupled with its good software means you can’t really go wrong with it.

Samsung Galaxy A35 specs:

6.6-inch (1080 x 2400) AMOLED, 120Hz refresh rate with Corning Gorilla Glass Victus+
Exynos 1380 processor
Mali-G68 MP5 GPU
8GB RAM
256GB storage
Rear cameras: 50MP main + 8MP ultrawide + 5MP macro triple rear camera setup
Front camera: 13MP
5G, LTE
Under Display Fingerprint scanner, USB Type-C port
Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/6e/7, tri-band, Wi-Fi Direct, Bluetooth 5.3
5000mAh battery with 25W wired Fast charging
Android 14 with One UI 6.1
Price: PHP 18,990