Samsung Galaxy M34 5G Review: Strong contender in the budget segment

Samsung Galaxy M34 5G Review Summary:

Editor’s rating: 3.5/5

Tech giant Samsung has been paying lots of attention to its mid-range smartphones these days. The catalog mostly includes Samsung F-Series and M-Series mobile phones. Keeping up with the trend, Samsung has launched Galaxy M34 5G in the country. The price of the smartphone starts from Rs. 18,999. Though there are quite a few other options available in this price range, if you want Samsung’s reliability, then the recently launched M34 5G can be something to consider.

These days, many smartphones in the same price range come with 67W/80W charging, an adapter inside the box, a protective cover, and more features. In such a scenario, will Samsung’s Galaxy M34 be able to make its mark? To find out the answer to this question, we used the Samsung Galaxy M34 5G for some days and recorded the experience in this article.

Samsung Galaxy M34 5G comes with 120Hz refresh rate, AMOLED display, 50MP camera with OIS, and 6000mAh battery. We used it as a primary device for some days and you should dive into our review straightway to know what we feel about this one.

Jump To..

• Unboxing
• Price and availability
• Design
• Display
• Performance
• Camera
• Battery
• Should you buy Samsung Galaxy M34 5G?

Samsung Galaxy M34 5G: Price & Availability In India

The Samsung Galaxy M34 5G comes in Midnight Blue, Prism Silver, and Waterfall Blue shades. There are 2 storage configurations available-

• 6GB RAM+128GB storage- Rs. 18,999
• 8GB RAM+128GB storage- Rs. 20,999

The sale started on July 15 via Amazon.in, Samsung.com and offline stores across the country.

Samsung Galaxy M34 5G Specs

Specs	Samsung Galaxy M34 5G
Software	Android 13 with One UI 5.1
Display	6.5-inch FHD+ curved AMOLED panel with 120Hz refresh rate
SoC	Exynos 1280
RAM	8GB
Storage	128GB
Rear cameras	50MP+8MP+2MP
Front Camera	16MP
Battery	6000mAh
Charging	25W
Thickness	8.8mm
Weight	208 grams
Connectivity	5G, 4G LTE, Bluetooth 5.2, dual-band WiFi, USB Type-C

Samsung Galaxy M34 5G Unboxing

Just like all other mid-range devices from Samsung, this one too comes inside a white cardboard box. At the top of the box is an image of Galaxy M34 while the backside has some key specs. There is no adapter inside the box so it is very sleek. The box contains-

• Samsung Galaxy M34 5G
• USB Type-C cable
• SIM ejector tool
• Quick guide
• Safety guide

Samsung Galaxy M34 5G Review: Design

Samsung has kept the design of the Galaxy M34 5G very minimalistic and simple. The design of the camera module at the back is inspired by Galaxy S23 Series, just like all other Samsung devices launched in 2023 so far. The only difference is that the camera lenses of Galaxy M34 5G are more protruded than other smartphones. The rear panel is made of polycarbonate which doesn’t look premium in any way but is sturdy and strong. There is no metal frame as the side panels are made of plastic and they merge into the display seamlessly. This glossy back panel looks good but is a smudge magnet due to its finish. We have the Midnight Blue variant for review purposes and the back panel caught smudges very often. However, getting rid of those smudges was very easy too.

After talking about the rear panel, let us talk about the display of the device. There is a Samsung AMOLED panel which is decent for this price point but doesn’t look good in terms of design. There is a waterdrop notch for the selfie camera and the bezels on the chin are very thick. The screen comes with Corning Gorilla Glass 5 protection which is good.

The Galaxy M34 5G is on the thicker side (8.8mm) but it is very comfortable to hold in hand. Most of the other smartphones in this price range might be sleeker, but there’s always a fear of them slipping away from the grip. Using this one without a protective cover did not make us feel as if this device could slip from the hand. The Galaxy M34 5G also has Samsung’s strong build quality.

The Samsung Galaxy M34 5G has a good build quality but the design is pretty much bland. If you want a sustainable device, then it can be a good option.

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Samsung Galaxy M34 5G Review: Display

Samsung Galaxy M34 5G sports an amazing 6.5-inch Super AMOLED display with Full HD+ resolution and 120Hz refresh rate. A high refresh rate ensures buttery smooth visuals.

The display has good viewing angles and the colors are vibrant and accurate. The brightness level is decent as well. 1000 nits peak brightness makes sure that the visuals are clearly visible in outdoor conditions. The display also comes with Samsung Vision Booster technology that changes the brightness levels and saturation according to the situation.

Content consumption produces good visuals however the absence of HDR is slightly disappointing. Widevine L1 support allows watching HD content. I did not like the waterdrop notch, but then that depends on individual choice. For protection, there is a Gorilla Glass 5 that guards the display against accidental drops and minor scratches.

Samsung Galaxy M34 5G Review: Camera

Samsung Galaxy M34 5G features a triple camera setup at the back. It includes a 50MP primary camera with OIS, 8MP ultrawide camera, and a 2MP macro lens. While the macro lens is common, 8MP ultrawide camera is mostly not found at this price.

Pictures clicked with 50MP primary have accurate colors and are rich in texture. The clicks are filled with details and the dynamic range is decent. Sometimes colors appear too bright like in the shot below, the sky was not as blue as it is appearing to be. All in all, images clicked with the primary camera were ok.

Talking about the 8MP ultrawide lens, the shots taken from this lens have good colors but the detailing is lesser than the primary camera. The wide-angle lens clicks good photos in daylight but in low-light conditions, performance drops by a few notches.

A 2MP macro lens is pretty much useless. There is a Nightography feature as well using which brightness levels in low-light photos increases a little, but there is still much scope for improvement in terms of low-light photography.

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Samsung Galaxy M34 5G Review: Performance

Samsung Galaxy M34 5G is powered by an octa-core Samsung Exynos 1280 chipset. This one is a 5nm chipset with 2 primary Cortex A78 cores with 2.4GHz clock speed and the remaining 6 Cortex A55 cores with 2.0GHz clock speed. The variant we received had 6GB RAM with Samsung’s RAM Plus feature that allows up to 6GB more RAM.  There is 128GB storage onboard and an option to expand the storage with a microSD card slot.

Considering the price point of the smartphone, the results of benchmark tests are decent. We used the Galaxy M34 5G for a while and the smartphone performs everyday tasks well. This includes scrolling through social feeds, simultaneous usage of apps, content streaming, light gaming, and more. I have talked about light gaming here as it can run heavy games like COD or Asphalt 9 but the device starts heating up after around 30 minutes of gaming. Frames start dropping so one has to play with medium graphics and frame rates.

Benchmarking results are given below.

Talking about the software, the Galaxy M34 5G runs Android 13 with Samsung One Ui 5.1 out of the box. The OS offers loads of customization options and the interface is simple and easy to use. Samsung has promised 4 major Android updates for Galaxy M34 5G while most of the other smartphones offer 2 or 3 updates in this price range. This makes Galaxy M34 slightly better than its competitors. The only downside is loads of bloatware that comes pre-installed on the smartphone. This can be removed as per one’s needs.

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Samsung Galaxy M34 5G Review: Battery

In terms of battery, Samsung’s mid-rangers are always very impressive and Galaxy M34 5G is no less. It packs a huge 6000mAh battery under the hood which gives a good battery backup. For an average user, this battery easily lasts for over 2 days at a stretch. If you are a heavy user, then charge the smartphone before you leave home and then you won’t need to charge it again till nightfall.

My usage included gaming, content streaming, official work, reading articles, calling, browsing social media apps like Reels on Instagram, and more. Even with all this usage, the Galaxy M34 5G easily lasted for 2 days.

The areas where Samsung lags behind are slow charging and missing adapter inside the box. There is a mere 25W wired fast charging with the newly launched device which means it takes around 2 hours to charge from 0 to 100%. 2 hours is a long time in today’s fast-moving world.

Samsung Galaxy M34 5G Review Verdict: Should you buy it?

The Samsung Galaxy M34 5G offers many good features along with some niggles here and there. Battery life is better than most of the phones found in this price range. There is Samsung’s AMOLED display with 120Hz refresh rate and, strong build quality also make 2 strong reasons for buying this smartphone. The camera is also decent and fulfills all needs of a regular user.

There are some things that force one to think twice before buying this smartphone. These include underwhelming low-light photography, waterdrop notch, and, loads of bloatware. Although it is one of those few smartphones that comes with 4 years of software updates and 5 years of security updates, plus there is Samsung’s reliability as well.

So, if you need a 20k budget smartphone that is strong and sustainable, fulfills everyday needs, and also allows you to entertain yourselves, then Samsung Galaxy M34 5G is a decent choice. However, if you want the best camera and a stylish design, then there are other options to look forward to.