Samsung Galaxy A34 5G: Should You Buy This Smartphone Instead of the Nothing Phone 1?

On this week's episode of Orbital, we discuss the Samsung Galaxy A34 5G's pros, cons and its alternatives in India.

Written by Pranav Hegde, Edited by David Delima | Updated: 19 May 2023 13:49 IST

Samsung Galaxy A34 5G: Should You Buy This Smartphone Instead of the Nothing Phone 1?

Samsung Galaxy A34 5G was launched in India on March 16

Samsung Galaxy A34 5G was recently launched in India alongside the more premium Galaxy A54 5G. The Galaxy A34 5G is a successor to the Galaxy A33 5G, which debuted last year in India. The Samsung Galaxy A34 5G gets upgrades over its predecessor in a few key areas. It is powered by a new processor, and features a triple-camera setup and a smooth 120Hz display. The smartphone has been launched in India with two storage options. Samsung Galaxy A34 5G is also the most affordable smartphone currently in India to feature an IP67 rating.

On this week's episode of the Gadgets 360 podcast Orbital, host Siddharth Suvarna got together with resident smartphone expert Pranav Hegde— that's me — to discuss Samsung's new Galaxy A-series smartphone, the Galaxy A34 5G. We discussed the phone's pros and cons and also recommended a few alternatives.

We start off with the price of the phone. The Samsung Galaxy A34 5G has been launched in India with 8GB of RAM as standard. The 128GB variant is priced at Rs 30,999, whereas the 256GB variant is priced at Rs 32,999. We highlight the new features of the Galaxy A34 5G, such as its IP67 rating, which lets one use the device under water for about 30 minutes at a depth of up to 1 metre. The Galaxy A34 5G also resembles the rear panel design of the Galaxy S23 5G (Review), giving it a premium look.

Samsung Galaxy A34 5G Review: Jack of All Trades

We also discussed about the smooth 120Hz AMOLED display that offers a great viewing experience. Unfortunately, there is no HDR10+ support but you do get WideVine L1 DRM. Also, the Galaxy A34 5G features a Dimensity 1080 SoC, which is decent for gaming but in case you are into competitive gaming, we suggest considering the iQoo Neo 7 5G (Review) or the Poco F5.

During our review, we did experience a few stutters across the user interface while using the Samsung Galaxy A34 5G, which runs Android 13-based One UI 5.1 out-of-the-box. He hopes that Samsung fixes this issue soon in an upcoming update. Speaking of, the Galaxy A34 5G is promised to get four major Android updates and security patches for five years, which is the best in this segment.

We then moved to the camera performance, talking about the triple-camera setup, wherein the primary camera offers detailed images with boosted colours. The ultra-wide camera is not as good in low light, but you get good colours in general. The 5-megapixel macro sensor is reasonably good, but you need stable hands and good lighting to get the best results.

Lastly, the phone offers great battery life, details of which are mentioned in our Samsung Galaxy A34 review.

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Samsung Galaxy A34 5G

REVIEW
KEY SPECS
NEWS

Design
Display
Software
Performance
Battery Life
Camera
Value for Money

Good
Good build quality, IP67 rating
Bright and smooth display
Decent performance unit
Great battery life
Five years of software support
Good daylight camera performance

Bad
Minor software lag
Low-light camera performance could have been better
No bundled charger
Waterdrop-style notch looks dated

Read detailed Samsung Galaxy A34 5G review

Display 6.60-inch

Processor 2.6 MHz octa-core

Front Camera 13-megapixel

Rear Camera 48-megapixel + 8-megapixel + 5-megapixel

RAM 6GB, 8GB

Storage 128GB, 256GB

Battery Capacity 5000mAh

OS Android 13

Resolution 2340x1080 pixels

More Samsung mobiles Samsung mobiles price in India

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Pranav Hegde Email Pranav Hegde

Pranav Hegde writes about everything tech. He is a part of the Reviews team at Gadgets 360 and writes majorly about smartphones. Pranav has been a part of the industry for four years now. Other than writing about consumer tech, Pranav is also passionate about photography and enjoys bike rides to picturesque locations. He is available on Twitter as @PranavHegdeHere and on email at pranavh@ndtv.com. More