prologue
The Galaxy A34 is here and doing its best to continue building on its successful value formula.The A34 is the same as the A33 5G before it, but there are some notable differences.
A34 has grown significantly. The diagonal has increased from 6.4 inches on last year’s model to 6.6 inches, resulting in a larger and heavier body. This means the A34 is larger than the current Galaxy A54.
The new A34’s display is not only bigger, but faster with a 120Hz refresh rate. It also has a narrower width with a 19.5:9 aspect ratio and smaller bezels.
Another notable change is the chipset. Instead of relying on his in-house Exynos chipset like last year, Samsung has gone with the MediaTek Dimensity 1080 chip this time around. Considering the Galaxy A54 is powered by the new Samsung Exynos 1380 chip, this is one interesting development.
Samsung Galaxy A34 specs summary:
- body: 161.3×78.1×8.2mm, 199g; front glass (Gorilla Glass 5), plastic frame, plastic back. IP67 dust/water resistant (1m for 30 minutes).
- screen: 6.60″ Super AMOLED, 120Hz, 1080x2340px resolution, 19.5:9 aspect ratio, 390ppi.
- Chipset: Mediatek MT6877V Dimensity 1080 (6 nm): Octa-core (2×2.6 GHz Cortex-A78 & 6×2.0 GHz Cortex-A55); Mali-G68 MC4.
- memory: 128GB 6GB RAM, 128GB 8GB RAM, 256GB 8GB RAM. microSDXC (using shared SIM slot).
- OS/Software: Android 13, One UI 5.1.
- Rear camera: wide (main): 48MP, f/1.8, 26mm, 1/2.0″, 0.8µm, PDAF, OIS; super wide angle: 8MP, f/2.2, 123 degrees, 1/4.0″, 1.12µm; big: 5MP, f/2.4.
- Front camera: 13MP, f/2.2, (wide), 1/3.1″, 1.12µm.
- Video capture: rear camera: 4K@30fps, 1080p@30/60fps, 720p@480fps; front camera: 4K@30fps, 1080p@30fps.
- battery: 5000mAh; 25W wired.
- others: fingerprint reader (under-display, optical); stereo speakers; virtual proximity sensing;
Aside from these changes, the Galaxy A54 tries to stick strictly to the already established formula without any major deviations. Some key spec highlights include an IP67 ingress protection rating and a stereo speaker setup. The Galaxy A54 also retains a massive 5,000 mAh battery with 25W fast charging. Its cameras look largely unchanged from last year, with a 48MP main camera, 8MP ultra-wide angle, 5MP macro cam, and 13MP selfies.
So, in a nutshell, it’s the Galaxy A34. The question now is whether it’s as good as its predecessor, and whether it’s generally good value.
Unpacking
Like its predecessor, the Galaxy A34 comes in a thin two-piece cardboard box.
Samsung does not include a charger with the A34. This isn’t exactly a new development, but it’s worth mentioning, especially in the midrange.
A box inside a thin paper compartment contains a USB Type-C to Type-C cable. The cable supports Samsung’s 25W fast charging, so that bit is covered.
