Samsung Galaxy A34 5G Review: Green Machine

At a look

Skilled’s Ranking

Execs

• Glorious 120Hz display screen
• Good cameras
• IP67 water resistance
• Lengthy software program updates

Cons

• Fingerprint reader not the very best
• No charger provided
• Gradual charging

Our Verdict

The Galaxy A34 is a superb different to an S23 if you happen to’re on a funds and ticks lots of containers. Battery life is nice, so if you happen to can reside with out actually quick charging (and a charger in any respect) it’s good worth, and arguably higher worth than the Galaxy A54.

Value When Reviewed

Unavailable within the US

Greatest Costs At the moment: Samsung Galaxy A34 5G

€389

Flagship telephones are costly, even on contract, however the excellent news is that there are cheaper choices that are completely good.

Samsung’s Galaxy A34 is a superb instance of this. It seems to be very similar to the flagship S23 – particularly within the Superior Lime color on overview right here – however prices lower than half the value at simply £349.

For lots of people, the A34 is all of the cellphone they want: it has an important display screen, lengthy battery life, good efficiency and takes completely first rate pictures.

And since it’s a Samsung, the cellphone shall be effectively supported with software program and safety updates for years to come back.

Design & construct

• Is available in lime, purple, silver and black
• Plastic rear and body
• Stereo audio system

The A34 is a big cellphone, one thing that appears to be the norm for many mid-range telephones now. It’s a bit greater than the Galaxy A54 measuring 161.3 x 78.1 x 8.2mm, however weighing just a few grams much less at a whisker below 200g.

It feels nice within the hand regardless of all of the plastic, and appears far more costly than it truly is. A lot of the enchantment comes from its similarity to the S23 and, at a look, most individuals will assume you’ve gotten Samsung’s newest and biggest mannequin. Which is nice if that kind of factor appeals to you.

Jim Martin / Foundry

Pleasingly, the black bezel across the display screen is (virtually) the identical thickness on all sides and the selfie digital camera sits symmetrically within the centre.

Though the body has a curved profile, its edges really feel a little bit sharp. The principle criticism, nevertheless, is that the again panel may be depressed a little bit and subsequently feels flimsy reasonably than strong.

It’s additionally a disgrace that, in contrast to most rival mid-range telephones, you don’t get a transparent case within the field. Actually, you get virtually nothing: only a USB-C to USB-C cable and a device to take away the SIM tray.

A case, then, is one thing you need to most likely order similtaneously the cellphone.

Impressively, Samsung has put high-quality haptics into the A34. This actually helps to make it really feel like a way more premium cellphone. The default depth for system vibrations is ready very low, so chances are you’ll suppose they’re disabled but it surely’s easy to regulate it.

Display screen & audio system

• 6.6in AMOLED show
• 120Hz refresh charge
• Stereo audio system

Though turning into extra widespread now, just a few years in the past you’d have had no proper to anticipate a display screen this good on a mid-range cellphone.

Jim Martin / Foundry

It’s a 6.6in AMOLED show with a 120Hz refresh charge. This implies scrolling is tremendous clean and hues are vibrant.

However that’s not all: it’s additionally very brilliant. Samsung claims it could possibly go as much as 1000 nits, and it’s actually simpler to see open air than lots of telephones, particularly at this worth.

It could not have the best decision round, however Full HD+ is excessive sufficient that the whole lot seems to be sharp and detailed.

There’s a fingerprint sensor constructed into the display screen. The optical tech didn’t work reliably throughout my testing, telling me the finger I had solely simply registered didn’t match. It labored more often than not after that, however not each time. You don’t have to make use of it, after all, however the face recognition isn’t as safe, and a PIN, password or sample is much less handy.

Jim Martin / Foundry

The Galaxy A34 additionally has stereo audio system, with the one on the high of the cellphone being virtually invisible. However they’re effectively balanced and loud at full quantity and nice for watching movies or listening to podcasts, although not a lot for music with little or no bass.

Specs & efficiency

• MediaTek Dimensity 1080
• 6/8GB RAM
• Principally clean efficiency

Unusually, Samsung has opted for a MediTek processor reasonably than one in all its personal Exynos chipsets for the Galaxy A34.

That is no dangerous factor, although, because the Dimensity 1080 has loads of energy and makes the A34 really feel quick and responsive normally use. There’s no stuttering as you swipe between residence screens or whereas navigating menus. And is has 5G help just like the A54.

It’s no gaming powerhouse, however there’s sufficient grunt for many video games, even when you must flip down the element ranges a bit to get clean body charges.

Jim Martin / Foundry

The high-refresh-rate show provides to the sensation of slick efficiency when scrolling by way of social media feeds. Little doubt the bottom 6GB of RAM helps, too, and it’s potential to search out 8GB variations of the A34 relying upon the place it the world you reside.

On the highest edge you’ll discover a dual-SIM tray. One of many slots can alternatively be used to increase the 128GB (or 256GB) of storage by as much as 1TB. If you wish to use two SIMs, each help 5G.

Cameras

• 48Mp major with OIS
• 8Mp ultra-wide
• 5Mp macro
• 13Mp selfie

They could appear like the cameras on the Galaxy S23, however the A34’s triple lenses cowl a extra mediocre number of sensors than Samsung’s flagship.

Jim Martin / Foundry

Nevertheless, this isn’t to say this cellphone can’t take good pictures: it completely can. And as Samsung house owners are already used to, the default settings produce extremely saturated, handsome footage which are able to share.

The principle digital camera takes, unsurprisingly, the very best pictures. Open air in brilliant mild, pictures are detailed and sharp. Indoors, that sharpness goes away and topics – youngsters and pets, say – want to remain nonetheless if you happen to don’t need them to be a blurry mess.

At night time or when there’s dim lighting, the A34’s cameras do wrestle in comparison with the very best telephones on the market and also you shouldn’t anticipate nice outcomes until you relaxation the cellphone on one thing strong and – once more – nothing within the scene is transferring.

Jim Martin / Foundry

The ultra-wide digital camera does an honest job contemplating its restricted decision and the software program performs its half in making certain colors look the identical as pictures from the principle digital camera. It’s actually helpful when you possibly can’t in any other case match everybody or the whole lot into the shot.

The digital camera app cheekily reveals a 2x button alongside 1x and 0.5x. This simply crops pictures taken with the principle digital camera however, to be honest, they nonetheless look moderately good.

The third digital camera is not a telephoto one, however a macro. It’s there to make up the numbers and it’s uncertain you’ll use it a lot after taking part in with it if you first get the cellphone, particularly as you don’t even want to change to it to get some good closeups from the principle digital camera, as demonstrated by the picture of the beetles within the slideshow above.

The selfie digital camera produces a noticeable beautifying impact as customary however you possibly can flip this off if you happen to want a pure look. The 13Mp digital camera doesn’t produce plenty of element, however that actually helps if you wish to cover some wrinkles. It’s enjoyable that Snapchat filters are constructed into the selfie mode, too.

Though carried out in software program, you possibly can regulate the sphere of view for the entrance digital camera, and it’ll ask you which of them view to make use of because the default. Software program can also be used for pseudo-bokeh if you use the Portrait mode: it isn’t nice at figuring out the topic and background, so the impact seems to be pretend when wisps of hair are by accident blurred out.

Video defaults to 1080p at 30fps, and movies shot utilizing this mode are high quality and have good stabilisation and affordable audio high quality.

Straying from these settings is unwise: 1080p at 60fps footage lacks stabilisation, and it will get worse if you happen to change to 4K.

Battery life & charging

• 5000mAh battery 
• 25W charging 
• No adapter included 

The Galaxy A34 has a 5000mAh battery, which is customary for many Samsung telephones. Because the Dimensity chipset doesn’t use a great deal of energy, this can be a cellphone which may final two days if you happen to don’t use it closely.

Even if you happen to do, you need to nonetheless get by way of a full day while not having to recharge. Solely utilizing battery-draining apps that use GPS resembling Google Maps for hours, or taking part in intensive video games will trigger the A34 to expire of juice a lot sooner.

PCMark for Android reported virtually equivalent battery life to the Galaxy A54 at 10 hours 59 minutes.

Jim Martin / Foundry

In case you have a 25W charger, the cellphone will “quick cost” utilizing the provided cable. Even then, it’s nowhere close to as fast because the quickest charging telephones. Anticipate round 15-20% cost in quarter-hour, roughly a 3rd in half-hour and a full cost in about two hours.

Usefully, it would present an estimate of how lengthy it would take for a full cost if you plug it in, so not less than you’ll know. There isn’t a wi-fi charging in any respect as you’d anticipate at this worth.

When you’re used to charging your cellphone in a single day, none of this is a matter in any respect, and the trade-offs are greater than affordable contemplating the value.

Software program & apps

• Android 13 
• One UI 5.1 
• 4 years of OS upgrades

Out of the field, the Galaxy A34 runs Android 13 with Samsung’s One UI 5.1 excessive. It’s straightforward on the eyes and intuitive sufficient to make use of.

Notifications are neat, and the short settings tray consists of shortcuts to manage Media Output (i.e. to which units sound and video are despatched) and Gadget Management, which incorporates shortcuts to Samsung SmartThings.

Jim Martin / Foundry

There isn’t an excessive amount of bloatware, however it’s irritating that – throughout setup – you’re informed that TikTok, Disney+ and Nextdoor are “important” apps and shall be downloaded if you connect with Wi-Fi.

There’s no choice to stop this from taking place, however you possibly can uninstall them later.

Because the A34 has an AMOLED display screen, you possibly can allow and customise the always-on show. By default it is on, however set to solely present the clock and notifications if you faucet the display screen. When you don’t thoughts the hit on battery life, you possibly can select for this to stay really all the time on, or to solely change off in a single day between the hours you set.

The excellent news is that this cellphone is handled the identical as Samsung’s flagships so far as software program updates are involved. The corporate guarantees 4 years of OS updates (which ought to take you to Android 16) and 5 years of safety updates.

It is a huge benefit over lots of different telephones, whose makers usually present two or three Android updates at most.

Jim Martin / Foundry

Value & availability

The Galaxy A34 prices £349 direct from Samsung in addition to different locations resembling Amazon, Argos and Currys. You can too pay an additional £50 and get the mannequin with 256GB as an alternative, though solely Samsung seems to supply the higher-capacity mannequin in all colors.

The A34 isn’t but accessible within the US, however its greater brother, the Galaxy A54 is. It prices $449.99 from Samsung, or carriers together with AT&T, Verizon, T Cellular and US Mobile.

At this worth, you may also contemplate the Redmi Observe 12 Professional, Poco X5 and OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite 5G.

Verdict

The Galaxy A34 is an excellent mid-range cellphone, particularly if you happen to particularly need a Samsung at a extra reasonably priced worth than an S-series mannequin.

You would all the time contemplate a refurbished cellphone to get final 12 months’s flagship at an enormous low cost, or check out our roundup of the very best mid-range telephones to see what the Chinese language producers supply for the same worth.

It’s potential, for instance, to get a cellphone with a sooner processor or with a charger (additionally sooner) and case for related or much less cash. However trade-offs elsewhere are inevitable.

Finally, the Galaxy A34 is nice worth and ticks the fitting containers for most individuals and, until you need barely higher cameras and efficiency, higher worth than the Galaxy A54.

Specs

• Android 13 with One UI 5.1
• 6.6in AMOLED, 2340 x 1080, 120Hz, 19.5:9 facet ratio
• Mediatek MT6877V Dimensity 1080 chipset
• 6/8GB RAM
• 128/256GB of storage (expandable through microSDXC)
• Cameras:
  • 48Mp f/1.8 OIS major digital camera
• Twin-SIM (microSDXC shares second slot)
• Stereo audio system
• NFC
• GPS
• Bluetooth 5.3
• Wi-Fi 6
• Below-display fingerprint sensor
• 5000mAh battery
• 25W wired charging
• USB-C charging port
• 161.3 x 78.1 x 8.2mm
• 199g