I give Samsung a lot of schtick for their mobile devices, not because they’re not good but because they’re kinda boring.
As the de facto global face of Android and the world’s leading smartphone manufacturer, I have high expectations for the brand, not all of which they live up to.
The biggest issue I have with Samsung products is that the more things change, the more they stay the same, which is exactly the case with the A34 5G.
Unlike previous years where Samsung unveiled an A3X, A5X and A7x handset, this year the company has wisely narrowed down its offerings (in SA at least) to focus on the A34 and A54 as the stars of this year’s mid-range lineup.
Like the rest of Samsung’s 2023 smartphone lineup, the A34 5G has been designed to resemble the S23 flagship series, if only in passing.
Gone is the A33’s gentle camera bump in favour of individual camera lenses protruding from the back of the very noticeable lime green handset.
The most obvious giveaway that this is a mid-range device, other than the noticeably plastic body, is the Infinity U cutout in the display.
The display itself is a 6.6-inch 120Hz FHD+ OLED panel, an upgrade from the 6.4-inch, 90Hz panel on the A33 5G.
As expected, viewing angles and colour reproduction are great, however, the display does tend to be a bit dim during initial use (this can easily be fixed in settings).
Thankfully, Samsung opted to include dual speakers on the device, making it perfect for showing someone a video or getting all the sound effects from your favourite game.
Gaming is possible on this device thanks to the MediaTek Dimensity 1080 CPU combined with 6GB RAM, however, don’t expect to be playing Genshin Impact with the same clarity and speed as you would on the S23 Ultra. This handset is meant for playing graphically intense games on the lowest settings or swapping to something not as graphically intense.
The camera is one of the big selling points for any smartphone and while the A34 5G isn’t going to win any awards for its camera array, images taken with the device are decent enough, at least in well-lit conditions.
When it comes to lowlight and nighttime conditions, the A34 5G struggles. There’s plenty of shutter lag with the automatic night mode resulting in blurry images and if your image comes out clear, you’ll see a lot of noise across the image (not only in darker sections of the image).
You’ll be able to shoot 4K videos at 30fps on both the selfie shooter and the main camera sensor on the back of the device.
In terms of battery, the A34 5G is easily able to make it through a full day of usage. I frequently ended up with anywhere between 10 – 20% battery left depending on the type of usage.
Where Samsung falls short is the 25W charging speed resulting in the device taking over an hour to charge. You’ll also need to supply your own charging brick as Samsung has elected to ship only the handset, a SIM ejector tool and a USB-C charging cable in the box.
Where Samsung hasn’t skimped is on the amount of pre-installed apps. Not only are there the usual Samsung equivalent of Google apps, but on this device – during setup – it asks you to identify yourself as male, female or other and then to select which age range you fall into so that apps can be recommended to you. I’ve never seen this on a Samsung handset before and this kinda cheapens the software experience for me.
Overall the Samsung Galaxy A33 5G is a decent enough mid-ranger, however, the minor upgrades are disappointing and result in a device that is barely any better than its predecessor and even includes the same IP67 rating.
This incremental upgrade approach isn’t limited to Samsung’s mid-rangers but can be found across its entire mobile lineup. When Chinese smartphone manufacturers are including faster charging speeds, refreshed designs, improved internals and better cameras, you can’t help but ask if Samsung should continue being the default choice for anyone looking for a well-rounded, affordable Android handset. What saves the company is its commitment to longer software and security updates than its competitors as well as the Samsung ecosystem of devices.
The Galaxy A34 5G is a well-rounded device that may not necessarily exceed at one particular thing but rather does a good enough job at the things you use every day.
What surprises me is that for a phone that is meant to stand out, the A34 5G is incredibly forgettable.
