SAMSUNG Galaxy A35 5G Cell Phone (Awesome Lilac) + Buds FE (Graphite) 128GB Unlocked Android Smartphone with AMOLED Display, Expandable Storage, True Wireless Bluetooth Earbuds, ANC, US Version

A35 is the Sweet Spot in the Galaxy A Lineup
I’ve had my Samsung Galaxy A35 for just over one month. I looked at a lot of reviews before pulling the trigger and I shopped a few brands.1st – 4 Android upgrades (1/yr) and 5 years of security patches CAN’T BE BEAT at this price point.2nd – IP67 dust/water resistant (up to 1m for 30 min).Great screen (Super AMOLED, 120Hz, 1000 nits) and the adaptive brightness works super well (High Brightness Mode). Solid build with Victus Glass front and rear on a plastic frame. 5000 mAh battery and 25W charging give longevity and fast top ups. The 5nm Exynos 1380 chipset has 4×2.4 GHz & 4×2.0 GHz processors along with 6GB RAM, 128GB internal storage and micro SDXC slot. Plenty of power and storage under the hood for all except maybe the hardcore power users and game junkies. A fantastic all-around phone for most users. Fingerprint reader under the screen works great providing accurate and fast access to the device. Stereo speakers have plenty of volume and a pleasing tone for streaming videos. Audiophiles will want quality ear buds regardless of the speakers. The sound is well tuned for normal use. Calls are clear and trouble free.I don’t really do selfies; the front camera is 13MP of acceptable. Not horrible, not wow.Let’s talk triple rear cameras. 50 MP, f/1.8, (wide) with PDAF (phase detection auto focus) and OIS (optical image stabilization – way better then electronic image stabilization) + 8 MP, f/2.2 (ultrawide) + 5 MP, f/2.4, (macro). Like their displays, Samsung also makes their own camera sensors and know what they are about in both departments. In my experience, the biggest limiter on phone cameras is the controlling software. Here Samsung gives you acceptable level software. No brand name glass (like Zeiss or Leica) for the lenses. The cameras are solidly utilitarian and get the job done with enough power to give you some creative wiggle room. Those who know how can tweak their pictures by learning the strengths and weaknesses and going to post processing when needed. Unfortunately, there is no RAW support, or you could make even better progress in post. There are also several shooting modes that users might utilize to adapt to the composition of a particular image capture.The main camera operates in a 12.5MP mode by default. I went into settings > settings to keep > camera mode (switch on) so that it remembers I want the 50MP mode and saves it when I open the camera app again. There is no zoom in 50MP mode, but I’d rather crop in on more pixels than use less pixels getting degraded by digital zoom in most use case scenarios.The picture of the steering wheel detail was taken with the 5MP f/2.4 macro lens, auto settings, no post process.The two cloudscapes were captured with the main camera in 50MP mode, auto settings, no post process. You only achieve 50MP when shooting in full aspect ratio. I prefer 16:9 so those images are 37.5MP.The picture of the moon was taken in Pro mode (12.5MP) with 10x zoom, ISO 40 and -2.0ev.The picture of the $1 coin was captured with the main camera at 50MP. I used a 10x macro lens clipped in front of the main camera and did post processing in Snapseed.The picture of the moth was captured with the main camera at 12.5MP and 2x zoom. Post processed in Snapseed.All-in-all: solid value for money and a phone you likely won’t upgrade from anytime soon. It has all you need to make it a faithful companion for years.Quick Update: I was out taking Milkyway photos the other night with my mirrorless camera. I did add one image to this review, taken with the A35. The photo of the trees after sunset was during the Blue Hour (low light) with the main camera in 50MP mode, auto settings, lightly edited in Snapseed. The capture was at 1/9th of a second and demonstrates the effectiveness of the Optical Image Stabilization.I was also using the Stellarium app with live view and can attest to the accuracy and responsiveness of the compass sensor on the Galaxy A35. I just keep finding more reasons to love this phone!

Amazing Phone
After much research, trial and error, I bought this phone for several reasons: 1) Good screen size.. prefer the larger screen size than s23 or s23 fe; 2) Adequate/decent performance specs of processor, camera etc 3) Expandable storage 4) Lowest SAR (radiation) values of any modern Esim phone Ive researched.. Yes i know they say its safe non-ionizing radiation… blah blah.. they said smoking and lead paint were ok too. I use my phone A lot.. tell it to the next guy buddy lol. 5) Price was reasonable enough. Anyway, the phone has been generally amazing so far, much faster and smoother than my old one. Beautiful screen, although every once in a while some text has a barely noticeable very slight flicker on certain apps/ scripts? I shut off adaptive display something or other, which helped, but again barely noticeable and almost never happens. Generally amazing, very fast, vibrant, and smooth thanks to the quality display and fast refresh rate. I used a usb-c flash drive along with Samsung’s “Smart switch” app to backup my old phone (motorola) then transfer onto the A35. Esim setup was a breeze on US mobile’s warp (verizon) network – so long as you have *this model* of the A35, which is the US Version (The US Version is A356u, NOT the cheaper latin american/ international A356E.. and probably also the international A55 could have compatibility issues too.. I dont know – I believe the a55 is only available in an international version – Samsung wants you to buy thd s23 fe instead.. The US unlocked models will have the best compatibility with your carrier if u live in the US – yes they are more expensive… anyway I digress) So far this phone has been generally great. I have purchased another one to have two lines on the A35.