Samsung Galaxy A35 5G

The Galaxy A35 continues to stack triple cameras on the back, similar to the Galaxy A55. The rear camera system is headlined by an upgraded 50MP primary camera alongside an 8MP ultra-wide camera and a 5MP macro camera. The front panel houses a 13MP selfie shooter. Samsung is also promising improved photography with an upgraded NPU on SoC.In daylight, images captured with the primary and ultra-wide cameras prioritise saturated colours, resulting in a warm hue (in a good way). The HDR processing is on point, and the NPU does an excellent job of processing edges and details in the scene, therefore maintaining a good dynamic range. Consistency between the wide and ultra-wide camera images is good, though the colour of the sky may appear different, which is a common issue with most smartphones in this range. The macro camera generally detects the subject well; however, details, even after post-processing, may appear a little sketchy.But the Galaxy A35's strength lies in taking portraits and photos with human subjects. It offers one of the best skin tone detections I've seen in the segment. The edge detection is also good, if not the best. The same applies to the 13MP selfie camera.

Samsung has opted to use its in-house Exynos SoC on the Galaxy A35 instead of a MediaTek chipset on last year's Galaxy A34. The base variant now also offers 8GB RAM. Users can choose between 128GB storage (Rs 30,999) or 256GB storage configuration (Rs 33,999). The Galaxy A35 utilises LPDDR4X RAM and UFS 2.2 storage - common storage standards for most smartphones in the range. However, Samsung's Chinese counterparts have started pushing the limit by offering LPDDR5 and USF 3.1 standards to offer fast load times and smooth performance.In terms of benchmarks, the Galaxy A35 looks modest compared to its rivals (images below). At least the Exynos 1380 performs in Geekbench's single and multi-core and AnTuTu's overall tests. Beyond number, the Galaxy A35 exhibited reliable performance without too many stutters. You can play moderate titles seamlessly and heavy titles like BGMI with HD graphics. More demanding titles, like GTA San Andreas, require more juice.Samsung promises to provide four years of major Android OS updates (Android 14-based UI out of the box), setting itself apart from most rival brands that adhere to a three-year Android update cycle. The company also guarantees security updates for five years, surpassing industry standards. While the Galaxy A35 may not deliver the cleanest Android experience, Samsung's native apps prove highly useful and versatile, especially within the Samsung ecosystem. For example, I paired my Galaxy Fit 3 fitness band and Galaxy Buds 2 with the Galaxy A35, and all three devices synced up in perfect harmony.You can also use Samsung Pay to enable digital transactions even without the internet, thanks to NFC support.

The Samsung Galaxy A35 packs a 5,000mAh battery with 25W charging. As mentioned, the box does not include a charger, and a separate unit with the same output is available on Samsung's official website for Rs 1,299.I used a 67W SuperVOOC charger (from OnePlus), and the phone took a little over an hour to fully charge. A compatible Samsung charger may fetch better results. When it comes to battery backup, the Galaxy A35 won't disappoint. In our PC Mark battery test, the phone survived for nearly 13 hours in flight mode and 50 percent brightness, which is quite good considering the price and segment. You can expect an all-day battery even with 120Hz refresh rate enabled, 5G, and AOD on.