Samsung Galaxy M35 5G Review: Will this affordable smartphone be the dark horse in the race?

Samsung launched the next in its M-Series last month. Samsung Galaxy M35 5G smartphone was launched in India in July, and it first reached consumers during Amazon’s great Freedom Festival sale. This budget smartphone starts at a price point of Rs. 17,999, and its features, like a massive 6000mAh battery and NFC support, have attracted smartphone buyers towards it.

Although the camera setup is similar to its predecessor, the Galaxy M34, the chipset has been upgraded. With all these specs, will the Galaxy M35 5G be able to rule Samsung fans’ hearts? And all this when smartphones like the OnePlus Nord CE 4 and iQOO Z9 are already available? Let us try to answer this question via our review.

Samsung Galaxy M35 Review – Design & Build

The design of the Samsung Galaxy M35 5G hasn’t changed much. Samsung is using a similar design language in 2024 phones, which was seen on Galaxy S-Series devices. Compared to its predecessor, the Galaxy M35 has received very few modifications in terms of design.

Upon holding the device in my hand, I felt it was pretty thick, but then it could be because I was using a smaller and sleeker device before it. In terms of weight, the Galaxy M35 feels bulky, its weight being 222 grams. However, since it packs a 6000mAh battery so weight is understandable. We received the dark blue color variant of the device, which has a plastic panel that looks like a textured finish but feels smooth when held in hand.

At the back, there are three camera sensors along with LED flash at the top and Samsung branding at the bottom. The smartphone isn’t a fingerprint magnet, but it does get smudged after a while. The downside is that Samsung doesn’t offer a protective case, and you will have to buy one yourself.

At the front is a 6.6-inch display with a punch-hole camera for selfies and a plastic frame between the rear panel and display. The right edge houses volume rockers and a power button, while the left edge has a SIM tray. At the bottom is a microphone, Type-C port, and speaker, while the top edge includes a secondary microphone.

The color of the smartphone has the power to attract young consumers, but if you don’t like dark shades, you can opt for light blue or grey.

Overall, the smartphone’s design is regular, and the build quality is decent. It is slightly bulky and has a thickness of 9.1mm, whereas, at the same price point, the OnePlus Nord CE 4 Lite and iQOO Z9 are more stylish, sleek, and lightweight.

Samsung Galaxy M35 Review – Display

Samsung Galaxy M35 5G flaunts a 6.6-inch FHD+ Infinity-O Super AMOLED display. The display supports 1000 nits brightness, which makes the device bright enough in outdoor and indoor conditions when the sunlight is average. However, when sunlight is harsh, the display does pose some problems. With the AMOLED panel, colors on the screen look good, and the user can easily identify dark colors.

By default, the device is configured to Vivid mode, enhancing colors to appear more vibrant and saturated. For those seeking a more realistic color representation, the Natural color profile offers a more balanced tone. A notable improvement is the elimination of the notch that was featured in the Galaxy M34. The device supports a refresh rate of 120Hz, ensuring smooth performance for animations and scrolling. During gaming and video playback, it operates at a 60Hz refresh rate.

Furthermore, it includes features such as Always On Display (AOD) and dark mode, along with Corning Gorilla Glass Victus+ for screen protection—an uncommon feature in phones priced under 20,000. While the bezels are slightly thicker compared to some competitors, Samsung devices generally provide superior color reproduction compared to other brands. If the bezels are not a concern, the display is quite appealing.

Samsung Galaxy M35 Review - Software

The Samsung Galaxy M35 5G runs Android 14-based One UI 6.1. Samsung also offers four years of OS upgrades and five years of security updates with this one. This means you will get an OS update until Android 19. No other brand offers these many updates at a sub-20k price point.

One UI is known for being intuitive and clean, with minimal bloatware, and the same is the case with Galaxy M35 as well. Any third-party app that comes pre-installed can be removed if not needed. Some notable software features that make the experience even better are Knox security, Samsung Wallet and NFC support, a Secure folder for sensitive data, and Game Booster mode for optimized performance during gaming sessions.

The One UI 6.1 has been designed to be user-friendly and super customizable. There are many features and settings you can use to tailor your experience. There is also a dark mode and various accessibility features that make Samsung Galaxy M35 a comfortable use.

Samsung Galaxy M35 Review – Performance

Samsung has packed the Galaxy M35 with an Exynos 1380 chipset, a 5 nm processor, as opposed to the Exynos 1280 that powered the Galaxy M34 smartphone. The chipset upgrade has also led to an increase in price, but that is acceptable. Paired with the chipset is 8GB RAM and 256GB storage, along with a micro SD card slot for expanding it even more.

Talking about performance, we have been using it for about 10 days now and didn’t encounter any significant issues. Opening and closing apps, multitasking, scrolling social media, using WhatsApp, emailing, and all other tasks were smooth. The Samsung Galaxy M35 5 G’s benchmarking results are better than those of the OnePlus Nord CE 4 Lite.

If you are a gamer, this phone isn’t for you. Light gaming can be done on this one, but that’s about it. We tried playing COD Mobile, which ran smoothly for half an hour, but the graphic settings and frame rates couldn’t be kept high simultaneously. The moment you set the frame rate to Max, graphics become low and vice versa. We played the game with a frame rate set to Max and low graphics, and it worked fine for 30 minutes. The device didn’t even get warm, and the refresh rate was 60Hz during the session.

Benchmarking test results are given below-

Samsung Galaxy M35 Review – Cameras

Samsung Galaxy M35 5G sports a triple camera setup at the back, which is rare at this price point since most smartphones under 20,000 comes with a dual rear camera setup. Within this budget, Samsung is offering a 50MP primary sensor with f/1.8 aperture and OIS along with an 8MP ultrawide sensor with f/2.2 aperture. The third lens is a 2MP macro sensor. At the front is a 13MP selfie camera with f/2.2 aperture.

Let’s start with the primary camera; this 50MP sensor clicks good photos in daylight as images have good amount of details and dynamic range. Although the colors are slightly boosted and vibrant, but pictures still look good. If we talk about night shots, the colors in these look different, and there is some noise as well. Even with OIS, stabilization becomes an issue while clicking night shots. Night Mode is also available, but it doesn’t make much of a difference. In totality, the camera setup of Galaxy M35 5G in this budget is acceptable in this budget.

Apart from scenes, photos of people also come out well, but what is essential is some amount of light. The best part about the camera is that it doesn’t affect the skin tone of the subject in the frame.

The 8MP ultrawide camera is very rare at this price point. The ultrawide angle camera gives good photos in natural lighting conditions; however, the edge detection is dicey.

The 13MP selfie sensor produces good images with natural skin tone. When lighting conditions are good, selfies are captured with enough amount of detailing. Edge detection is also a problem with the selfie camera.

Using the front as well as back camera, you can record 4k videos at 30fps. The rear camera can record 1080p videos at 60fps. The ultrawide camera can record 1080p videos at 30fps as well. There is a super steady mode, which makes stabilization in videos much better. While recording a video, you can even switch from the primary camera to the ultrawide camera or front camera. Considering the price, the video quality is also decent, but the contrast could have been better.

Samsung Galaxy M35 Review – Battery Life and Charging

The Samsung Galaxy M35 5G packs a 6000mAh battery under the hood. With heavy usage, it lasts an entire day without any issues. I benchmarked the device, running 4 to 5 tests along with half an hour of gaming, social media apps, WhatsApp, video streaming, and more. Still, there was 30% battery left. This was slightly less than its predecessor’s but still decent.

Samsung offers 25W fast charging support, which is one of the device’s biggest downsides. Also, you will have to buy the charger yourself. You can also use any charger that you already have, as most chargers offer a 25W charging speed. It takes around 1 hour and 30 minutes to recharge from 0 to 100%, which feels more modern.

Review Verdict: Should You Buy the Samsung Galaxy M35 5G?

Smartprix Rating: 7.5/10

Design and Build: 7/10

Display and Speakers: 8/10

Software and Haptics: 7/10

Performance: 8/10

Camera: 7/10

Battery Life and Charging: 7.5/10

Keeping the price of Rs. 17,999 in mind, the Samsung Galaxy M35 5G is a decent-budget phone with a long battery life. Along with long battery life, there is an AMOLED screen as well, coupled with 4 major OS updates, which is a rarity for a sub-20k device. The Exynos 1380 chipset gives a fast and smooth performance, along with running heavy titles with low graphics and a high frame rate. One more plus point about the device is NFC support, which is uncommon in this price segment.

The camera and fast charging could have been better. If Samsung had worked on them, the Galaxy M35 would have become even better. The device’s weight is 222 grams, which makes it feel heavy. If your priority is fast charging and photography and you have a budget of under 20,000, then you can go for the iQOO Z9 instead of this one.

First reviewed in August 2024.

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