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Samsung’s new Galaxy A34 5G and Galaxy A54 5G look identical, and I’m not going to lie and say that I’ve actually mistaken one for the other, especially since we got both phones for review at the same time. Same floating windows, same blocky design — thankfully they didn’t give us the same colours for both the Galaxy A34 and A54!
Our review unit was in Lime, which is a funky colour that is certainly far from boring. After a good two weeks with the phone, we’re ready to deliver our opinions on the phone.
Samsung Galaxy A34 Specifications
- Processor: Octa-core, Mediatek Dimensity 1080 (6 nm)
- OS: Android
- Display: 6.6” Super AMOLED, 1080 x 2340 (FHD+) @ 120 Hz
- Memory: up to 8GB + 256GB, extendable up to 1TB
- Rear Camera: 48.0 MP + 8.0 MP + 5.0 MP
- Front Camera: 13.0 MP
- Video capabilities: UHD 4K (3840 x 2160)@30fps
- Battery: 5000mAh
- Weight: 199g
- Dimensions: 161.3 x 78.1 x 8.2mm
Design & Display
The sides and back cover on the Samsung Galaxy A34 5G are fully plastic, unlike the Galaxy A54, but it doesn’t really look or feel cheap, which is a great plus. Samsung calls this colour the Awesome Lime, and it certainly adds a bright pop of colour to your outfit.
Because of this, it’s a slight bit lighter than the Galaxy A53 5G, despite being slightly bigger. It does still have the same screen size though, so all that extra dimension is taken up by a frankly unsightly bezel on all sides of the phone, an issue I also had with the Galaxy A54.
Obviously, being a step down from the Galaxy A54, it would be hard to expect a similarly brilliant display, but the Galaxy A34 still sports a 6.6” AMOLED display with Full HD+ brightness and 120Hz refresh rate. For its price, this display is pretty impressive.
The colours may not be the most vibrant, but it’s certainly bright enough to be used even under direct sunlight, as the screen goes up to 1000 nits. Everything is decently sharp and detailed, and the high refresh rate makes scrolling buttery smooth.
Unfortunately, though, the under-display fingerprint sensor didn’t quite impress. It’s situated a little lower than what you would find on other phones, which makes it a little awkward ergonomically speaking. I got used to the placement quickly enough, but the sensor is pretty unresponsive. I had to put some pressure on it in order to get it to scan, and that doesn’t happen on my Galaxy S22.
Performance & Battery
Instead of a Snapdragon like the Galaxy S23 or an Exynos like the Galaxy A54, Samsung has opted to power the Galaxy A34 with a MediaTek Dimensity 1080 chipset. A little out of the left field, considering it’s in the same range and line as the Galaxy A54, but it certainly works well.
There’s really nothing much to say about the performance than a simple “it works”. The Galaxy A34 can run Genshin Impact with scratchy graphics at the lowest settings, but the gameplay still runs. For FPS games like PUBG, you can see your enemies and shoot them.
Overheating is still an issue, like all Samsung phones, especially when in use for long periods of time, but not to the point of discomfort. Otherwise, though, it makes for a great daily driver as it’s good enough for casual gaming and social media scrolling.
Battery life is great, lasting for a little over a day and a half with regular usage. It’s also managed to run PUBG for a good five hours with about 23% leftover, which was a pleasant surprise.
Camera
The Galaxy A34’s cameras don’t have much of an upgrade compared to the Galaxy A33, which was quite a disappointment, considering the leaps in technology Samsung displayed on the Galaxy S23 Series. Of course, it’s unrealistic for us to impose flagship expectations on this low midrange, but still, we believe that Samsung can do better.
The triple camera setup is comprised of a 48MP shooter, flanked by an 8MP ultrawide and 5MP macro camera. The 5MP macro is pretty much useless; unless you have perfect lighting all the time, extreme close-ups are going to be very grainy.
That aside, the 48MP main camera is actually pretty good. It takes a good amount of detail with great balance during the day, producing pretty great quality pictures as long as the lighting is good. Even during the night, it captures some pretty good photos as long as Night Mode is on.
Portrait Mode allows for some pretty good selfies with the 13MP front-facing selfie camera, but again, it requires you to have the right lighting. Samsung’s image optimization mojo does a pretty good job of separating the background from the subject as well.
