Amateur Photographer verdict
Large screen, great value for money, only let down by the poor digital zoom, and spare macro camera- Great value for money
- Very good main camera
- Good enough ultra-wide
- Good selfie camera
- Would prefer telephoto camera as 3rd camera
- Digital zoom is poor
The Samsung Galaxy A35 is one of Samsung’s budget smartphones, with a price around $349 / £339, this is an affordable phone, some would even say cheap. It’s often on offer, and can be found for under $300 / £300. Or for a little bit more, you can get the generously spacious 256GB version.
But what do you get, and is it worth your money? Joshua Waller finds out in this full review.
At a glance:
- 50MP wide-angle, f/1.8, 25mm equivalent, PDAF, OIS
- 8MP ultra-wide, f/2.2, 16mm equivalent, fixed focus
- 5MP macro camera, f/2.4, fixed focus
- 13MP selfie camera, f/2.2, fixed focus
- 4K video recording from main and selfie cameras (not ultra-wide or macro cameras)
- 6.6inch FullHD AMOLED, 120Hz screen, 1000nits peak brightness
- Battery: 5000mAh (25W charging)
- Operating system: Android 14
- 4 years of OS, 5 years of security updates
- 6/8/12GB RAM, 128GB/256GB storage options
How we test phones
We review smartphones from the perspective of choosing a smartphone for its photography and camera performance, so we’ll be starting by looking at what the Samsung Galaxy A35 offers in terms of the cameras and what features are included for photography and video.
Hardware, design and features
At first glance the Samsung Galaxy A35 looks like a more colourful version of the A55, with brighter and more interesting colours, and a cool reflective rainbow effect as you move the phone around (on the back of this yellow version). It’s got a glass back and Corning Gorilla Glass Victus+ on the front, but plastic sides, rather than metal on the A55. Like the A55, there’s a triple camera setup on the back, with a 50MP main camera, 8MP ultra-wide and 5MP macro. More on this later.
The 6.6inch screen has a quick refresh rate, which can be set up to 120Hz, however, the peak brightness of 1000nits isn’t as good as some competitors, as many phones are now offering double this.
The borders look large if you’re used to flagship phones, but larger boarders are common on entry-level phones. You also get a large 5000mAh battery, but the lack of wireless charging is a bit of a let-down, but not entirely unexpected.
The camera setup gives you a 50MP f/1.8 wide-angle main camera, with optical image stabilisation (OIS), an 8MP ultra-wide-angle camera, and a 5MP macro camera rounds it off.
With the 50MP main camera, you get 12MP images, thanks to pixel binning, and whilst it may seem the same as the main camera on the A55, it uses a smaller sensor (1/1.96inch vs 1/1.56inch on the A55). The main camera gives a 2x zoom option, but results aren’t as good as you’d find on a phone with a dedicated telephoto camera.
The 8MP ultra-wide camera does not feature focus, but instead is fixed focus, and it’s not as wide as some other phones, giving a 16mm equivalent.
There’s a 13MP selfie-camera, with an f/2.2 aperture, and fixed focus, as is quite normal on most phones. You can record 4K video with the selfie camera.
Finally, the 5MP macro camera is fixed focus and can only be used with the subject about 3cm away from the camera. It can be used for some close-up shots, but often with these types of macro cameras, you end up getting better results from the main camera.
The camera app
Samsung’s default photo app is incredibly easy to use, with the most popular photo modes quick to access along the bottom row. This includes Fun, Portrait, Photo, Video, and then in More you’ll find a range of additional shooting modes. This includes Pro photo, Pro video, Night, Food, Panorama, Macro (5MP macro camera), Super slow-mo, Slow motion, Hyperlapse, and Single Take.
The night mode will automatically activate when it’s dark enough, or you can select it from the modes. You can also use “Motion photos” as well as shoot with the full 50MP resolution of the camera, although for 99% of people this won’t be needed. Pro photo and video modes give you manual controls.
Performance and image quality
The Samsung Galaxy A35, like other Samsung phones, gives really nice colours in the majority of situations, with particularly nice results in sunny conditions.
The main camera performs well, with good levels of detail, reliable exposure, and good levels of dynamic range, with the camera automatically creating high-dynamic range (HDR) images. The digital zoom options on the phone are disappointing, with 2x zoom giving soft results. If you go beyond this, images get even worse, so it’s best avoided.
Ultra-wide-angle camera – Surprisingly there’s not a massive difference between the results from the 8MP camera on the A35 and the 12MP camera on the A55, unless you’re spending your time pixel peeping. However, the ultra-wide-angle camera gives a wider view on the A55, and colour is a little bit more saturated, but the difference isn’t as stark as I expected, and results a generally quite good.
Low-light sees noise creeping into the image, however, the optical image stabilisation (OIS) system helps keep shots sharper than they would be without it. In comparison to the A55, which has a larger sensor, the noise in the A35 image means colours are muddier, and the image isn’t as clean. If you regularly shoot in low-light conditions then the A55 will be a better choice.
The main camera can be used for close-up shooting, and whilst not as close as the dedicated macro camera, you do get higher resolution images, better colour, and you can always crop into the image if needed. The A35 lets you focus slightly closer than the A55.
The selfie camera performs well, and gives slightly sharper and more detailed results than the “32MP” selfie camera on the Samsung Galaxy A55, and that’s because the 32MP selfie-camera on the A55 uses pixel binning to give you lower resolution images. The portrait mode can be used, to give nicely blurred backgrounds, and the cut out around the subject is reasonable.
Video performance is good, with the same good colour and exposure as seen in the photos. Focus is quite smooth, with the camera automatically focusing on the subject, and stabilisation does a relatively good job too. Video quality does drop in low-light conditions. Watch a sample video here.
Value for money
The Samsung Galaxy A35 starts off at $399 / £339 (RRP), but is regularly on offer on Samsung’s website for $349 / £289. Shop around and you can sometimes find the phone on offer for around $250 / £200. This makes it amazing value for money.
The next model up, the Samsung Galaxy A55 (with improved main camera, and higher resolution ultra-wide-angle camera) has an RRP of £439 (not currently available in the US), but is regularly on offer for under £300. So if you have the extra £100, then the A55 is a great choice, but if you don’t, then the A35 is still a very good choice. Other alternatives include the Google Pixel 6A, and Google Pixel 7A, which varies in price, but is available for low prices on the used market.
Verdict
The Samsung Galaxy A35 shows that you can get a nice camera phone, for not a lot of money. It looks great, performs well enough, and gives a good main camera, and a good selfie camera.
The inclusion of an ultra-wide-angle camera is nice, and the results are good, but I’d really love the 3rd camera to be a telephoto camera rather than a 5MP macro camera. Even an 8MP telephoto camera would be nice to see, something with a 3x telephoto camera would be great. But I suppose that’s where the S series comes in, and if you want, you could look at the S22 or S23 for improved camera options. If you shop around, you can find a cheap one on the second-hand or renewed market.
Overall, the Samsung Galaxy A35 delivers a very good set of cameras, with the main camera and selfie camera performing well, and the ultra-wide-angle camera putting in a reasonable performance, even though it’s “only” 8MP. In low-light, other, more expensive phones will perform better, but as long as you don’t mind this, the A35 is a great bit of kit, particularly for the price.
Specifications
| Main camera | 50MP wide-angle, f/1.8, 25mm equivalent, PDAF, OIS |
| Ultra-wide camera | 8MP ultra-wide, f/2.2, 16mm equivalent, fixed focus |
| Third camera | 5MP macro camera, f/2.4, fixed focus |
| Selfie camera | 13MP selfie camera, f/2.2, fixed focus |
| Screen | 6.6inch FullHD AMOLED, 120Hz screen, 1000nits peak brightness |
| Video | 4K 30fps from main and selfie cameras |
| OS | Android 14, 4 years of OS, 5 years of security updates |
| Battery | 5000mAh (25W charging) |
| RAM/Storage | 6/8/12GB RAM, 128GB/256GB storage options, MicroSD support |
| Dimensions | 161.7 x 78.0 x 8.2mm |
| Weight | 209g |
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