Samsung Galaxy A35 5G Long-Term Review: A For Awesome Mid-Ranger?

Samsung Galaxy A35 5G price is Rs.25,999 in India. This is the price for the base variant with 8GB RAM and 128GB storage.

Furthermore, the 8GB+256GB variant retails for Rs.28,999. The phone is available in Awesome Blue, Awesome Lilac and Awesome Navy.

The Samsung Galaxy A35 5G packs the following items inside the box:

• Phone
• Cable
• Manual
• SIM Ejector

Before we talk in detail about the Samsung Galaxy A35 5G, let’s see what the on-paper specs look like:

• Display: 6.6-inch Super AMOLED with 120Hz
• Chipset: Exynos 1380
• RAM & ROM: 8GB 128GB, 8GB 256GB
• Software: OneUI 6.1.1 based on Android 14
• Rear camera: 50MP+8MP+5MP
• Selfie camera: 13MP
• Battery: 5,000mAh
• Weight: 209 grams
• Dimensions: 161.7 x 78 x 8.2 mm

The Samsung Galaxy A35 5G has a familiar design with rounded corners. It has the same traffic light design as other Samsung phones, with an LED flash and the Samsung logo at the bottom.

Furthermore, the phone has a premium glass back finish with a shimmery design. The back panel is protected from Corning Gorilla Glass 5.

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I have the Iceblue colour variant of the Samsung Galaxy A35 5G for long-term review, and it looks amazing. However, the phone feels bulky to hold in the hand as it is 8.2mm thick and weighs a hefty 209 grams.

Coming to ports and placements, the phone has the volume rocker and the power button on the right.

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While the left is relatively clean, you get the SIM tray at the top.

At the bottom, you will find the USB-C port, speaker grille and primary microphone. The phone is also IP67-rated to protect against occasional splashes of water and dust.

Samsung Galaxy A35 5G boasts a triple camera setup on the back. It has a 50-megapixel primary, 8-megapixel ultrawide and a 5-megapixel macro lens. On the front, you get a 13-megapixel selfie camera.

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During the day, the phone can take decent shots with plenty of detail and neutral colours. Furthermore, the consistent and balanced colour profile helped me enjoy the camera experience during my Samsung Galaxy A35 5G long-term review.

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The 8-megapixel isn’t the best, but it still offers decent dynamic range and contrast. However, the same cannot be said for the 5-megapixel macro camera. It is best suited for occasional shots as it does not autofocus.

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Coming to low-light shots, the phone can take decent photos with plenty of detail and contrast. However, the phone can often miss out on highlights due to incorrect exposure.

The 13-megapixel selfie camera can capture good photos with accurate skin tones and detail. The phone can record videos in 4K at 30 FPS from the primary as well as selfie camera.

Samsung Galaxy A35 5G packs a massive 5,000mAh battery. During my long-term review of the Samsung Galaxy A35 5G, I found that it easily lasted a day at a single charge. This included casual usage such as scrolling through Instagram, clicking photos, scrolling through Instagram reels, etc.

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There is also support for 25W wired charging, although Samsung does not include a charger in the box. Furthermore, the phone takes approximately 1 hour and 30 minutes to fully top, which is awfully slow given 2025 standards.

Samsung Galaxy A35 5G features a 6.6-inch Super AMOLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate. The phone has a centre punch hole cutout and sizeable bezels surrounding the screen. The bezels are rather symmetrical but thick, given its mid-range price.

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The display offers punchy and saturated colours, making it perfect for consuming content. During my long-term review of the Samsung Galaxy A35 5G, I enjoyed watching Season 2 of SAS Rogue Heroes. The compact form factor made it easy to hold in one hand.

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One thing, however, that I felt was lacking was the brightness. The 1000 nits of peak brightness is just average, and I struggled to view the phone outdoors in sunny afternoons.

Thankfully, there is Corning Gorilla Glass Victus+ for protection, so your phone won’t break easily even if you accidentally drop it.

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The 120Hz refresh rate makes gliding through the software a smooth and fluid experience. You can choose between Standard (60Hz) and Adaptive (Auto), which automatically adjusts the refresh rate via software.

For security, there is also an under-display optical fingerprint sensor. For audio, you get a stereo speaker setup with Dolby Atmos support. The speakers are loud enough and there is also a basic equalizer to tweak the output.

Samsung Galaxy A35 5G is powered by the Exynos 1380 chipset based on a 5nm process. This octa-core processor is the same one found in the Samsung Galaxy A54 from last year. Interestingly, Samsung has opted for Exynos version instead of relying on MediaTek like the last year.

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For my long-term review, I have the 8GB+128GB variant of the Samsung Galaxy A35 5G. The base variant keeps most of the apps in memory, and I did not face any issues.

Thanks to the software’s RAM Plus function, you also get 8GB of virtual RAM.

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For intensive tasks like gaming, you can play multiplayer titles like BGMI at Smooth and Extreme (60 FPS) and CODM at Low and Max (60 FPS). Sadly, neither title supports 90 FPS, and you are only limited to 40 FPS at the max graphics.

When it comes to benchmarks, the phone scores 1011 in the single-core and 2931 in the multi-core test in Geekbench. Moreover, it has a score of 620023 in AnTuTu V10 and a score of 50737 in AnTuTu storage test. Furthermore, it throttles to 89 per cent in the 15-minute CPU throttling test and has a stability score of 99.5 per cent.

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Overall, the Samsung Galaxy A35 5G offers decent performance for day to day tasks however the phone isn’t best suited for intensive tasks like gaming or multitasking.

Samsung Galaxy A35 5G runs on the latest OneUI 6.1.1 based on Android 14. The phone is set to receive another four years of updates, including OneUI 7. So you can rest assured about receiving updates till Android 18.

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Sadly, unlike its premium phones, OneUI on mid-range phones feels bloated.

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There are plenty of preinstalled apps besides ads on the lock screen, notification panel, and even widgets. This left me wondering at times whether I was using a Chinese phone as ads often appear on them.

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Nevertheless, ads and bloatware can be easily dealt with, as you can uninstall most apps and disable the ads. Thankfully, one aspect where Samsung hasn’t made significant compromises is the software features.

I enjoyed using the software during my long-term Samsung Galaxy A35 5G review. It offers plenty of useful features, including a multi-window, smart suggestions, Bixby, Samsung Labs, and a side button to customize the power button taps.