Neglect the flagship – this midrange Galaxy checks all the precise bins at lower than $200

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I am stunned how a lot I take pleasure in utilizing the Samsung Galaxy A35 5G. The 2024 midrange telephone in Samsung’s lineup is not essentially something particular — it appears like some other Galaxy telephone from latest years, and it does not have any flashy options. Nonetheless, the mission of mid-range telephones is to not make waves; it is to offer a stability between efficiency, high quality, and value. This telephone achieves that stability properly.

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Some would argue this is not the perfect $400 telephone in the marketplace, but it surely’s actually one among them, and the display is the primary motive. 

The Galaxy A35 5G incorporates a Samsung Signature Tremendous AMOLED show measuring 6.6 inches diagonally. The show has a Full HD+ decision, a 120Hz refresh charge for easy movement, and 1,000 nits of brightness, making it straightforward to see in direct daylight. Plus, it is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass Victus+, which is a pleasant perk.

Among the finest perks of the Galaxy A35 is the battery measurement. Clocking in at 5,000mAh, this factor can simply final two days on a full cost. Throughout my testing, I solely plugged within the telephone thrice, and that was with reasonable use. Sadly, there are not any wi-fi charging capabilities, and the charging pace is capped at 25W, so it would take a while to get to 100%. Nonetheless, it is good having multi-day battery life on any smartphone, not to mention one which prices $400.

One other factor I wasn’t anticipating to say after spending a while with the A35 is that the cameras aren’t that dangerous. In reality, I would go so far as to say that at the very least two of them are good, which is sort of not possible to say for many sub-$500 Android telephones.

The principle 50MP digital camera is completely able to taking some good footage. Colours aren’t overdone as a lot as on older Samsung telephones, whereas distinction and publicity stay typically on level. The A35 is okay at sustaining shadows, for higher or worse, whereas picture high quality typically dips when the lights get low. It isn’t horrible by any means, however additional grain and noise are laborious to keep away from until there is a ton of exterior or pure mild within the body.

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I am going to additionally give credit score to the 13MP selfie digital camera, which is completely fitted to Snapchat or Instagram Tales. Sadly, the opposite cameras on the again of the gadget are disappointing. The 8MP could also be ultra-wide due to its 123-degree area of view, but it surely’s grainy and low-quality in virtually each lighting situation. In the meantime, the 5MP macro digital camera is washed out, and it’s not possible to seize something usable — until you are in broad daylight.

You possibly can’t purchase the Galaxy A35 5G anticipating movie-quality movies, however at the very least you possibly can shoot in 4K, albeit at 30 frames per second. As well as, I like Samsung’s digital camera app, which is well-optimized and straightforward to navigate.

Another notable options embrace a quick, dependable in-display fingerprint scanner, IP67 water- and dust-resistance, Gorilla Glass Victus+ on the again, and a microSD card slot for increasing your storage everytime you need. The A35, nevertheless, stumbles in efficiency. The telephone is not gradual, but it surely’s not all the time quick both. It is geared up with an Exynos 1380 octa-core processor that is quick sufficient for on a regular basis use, however throughout my testing, the telephone would typically decelerate a lot that it took a number of seconds to open an app or change to multitasking.

The gadget would additionally typically get inexplicably sizzling throughout common use. For instance, as soon as I used to be scrolling by way of an article with Spotify enjoying within the background, and the A35 acquired sizzling sufficient that I needed to put it down. 

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This can be a identified situation with Samsung’s Exynos chips, which have traditionally fallen behind Qualcomm’s Snapdragon processors in efficiency and effectivity. Fortunately, you possibly can rig the A35 with 6GB, 8GB, or 12GB of RAM, so you will not run out of reminiscence throughout utilization — simply do not push the telephone too laborious.

ZDNET’s shopping for recommendation

It is laborious to discover a midrange gadget that balances the smartphone expertise properly, however the Samsung Galaxy A35 5G does a fairly good job. Whereas efficiency and digital camera high quality fall behind in some areas, the remainder of the telephone is nice (particularly that attractive display) for the worth.

There are different strong options, just like the Pixel 8a or the wonderful OnePlus 13R, that supply an identical expertise. Nevertheless, they’re considerably costlier. As talked about earlier, the Galaxy A35 is on sale for lower than $200. The OnePlus 13R, as compared, prices triple that quantity.