The in-screen optical fingerprint scanner is fast and reliable, and although there’s no headphone jack on this phone, you do get a microSD card slot to expand the base 128GB storage. The Galaxy A35 is IP67 waterproof, so it’ll be fine if you accidentally drop it in the pool, and it supports contactless payments. I’ve been using Google Wallet to pay for almost everything these past few weeks.
The problems begin with the performance. The Samsung Exynos 1380 chipset inside is paired with 6GB of RAM, and while it beat the Moto G Power 5G’s benchmark scores, my real-world tests have been noticeably slower than Motorola’s phone, with many more stuttering in daily functioning. I can do everything I usually do with flagship smartphones, but apps load slowly, switching to another app can be choppy, and the interface can appear choppy due to slowdowns.
It’s not frustrating like the Galaxy A15’s performance, just annoying. Is not always that way; There are periods where I feel fluid and fast when I’m isolated in an app for a while (like Doomscrolling in X before bed).
The battery life is nothing to write home about either. There is a 5000 mAh cell. With average use, I typically finished a full day with 40 to 30 percent left. But on a few occasions, if I used it more rigorously (for GPS, music streaming, browsing Instagram and taking photos (about five and a half hours of screen on), I had to recharge it around 5 or 6 pm.
Solid arguments
Photography: Julian Chokkattu
There is a triple camera system on the A35, but you should stick to the main camera. It is a 50-megapixel primary sensor along with an 8 MP ultra-wide angle and a 5 MP macro. On the front there is a 13 MP sensor. The selfies look sharp, no qualms about that, and I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the photos from the main sensor.