Pros:
– Fantastic display with 120Hz refresh rate
– Value for money
– Performs well in regular day-to-day usage
– Samsung’s Update cycle
– Excellent camera for the price
Cons:
– Teardrop notch makes the device old and outdated
– Tons of preinstalled apps and bloatware
– Still uses a 25W charging standard
– No charger in the box
Price: Rs 20,999 for the tested 8GB + 128GB unit
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Samsung has been pushing out a ton of budget smartphones off late. The Galaxy M34 is their latest entry into an already saturated smartphone market segment. And even though there are tons of options around Rs 20,000, recommending one wholeheartedly, becomes a lot more difficult – these days, smartphones in that price segment don’t really stand out that much.
The Galaxy M34 is a pleasant departure from that though. The M series was launched in 2019, and since then, it has been a fan favourite among people who want to have the best that Samsung has to offer but don’t want to spend as much as they would have had to for the F series.
The Galaxy M34 has a pretty awesome camera that works really well, comes with a massive 6000 mAh battery that will last you more than two days, and has an SoC that gets the job done. However, it also has a display that has some thick bezels and still carries a tear-drop notch.
Samsung has also priced the device very competitively. For Rs 18,999, you get the 6GB + 128GB configuration. Spend an additional Rs 2,000, and you’ll get the 8GB version, which is the one to get. So how does the M34 stand up as a device? Is it worth spending your hard-earned money on? We find out.
Samsung Galaxy M34 5G Review: The design
The Samsung Galaxy M34 continues with the same design philosophy that we have seen in all of Samsung’s phones this year. It has a unique and recognizable design with circular camera modules placed vertically. Because it does not have a camera island as such, it stands out from most other smartphone brands.
We received the Midnight Blue colour, although there is also a Prism Silver, and Waterfall Blue colourways. The Prism Silver, in my opinion, looks particularly stunning.
The rear panel of the Samsung Galaxy M34 is made of polycarbonate and has a glossy finish to it. Because of this it looks like glass and easily collects a ton of fingerprints and smudges. The dark colour of our unit made the smudges look much worse. In lighter shades, it shouldn’t be that big an issue. Although it is pretty easy to wipe off, the phone gets all smudgy within minutes of use.
The camera modules have an elegant appearance, similar to other Samsung devices we have reviewed this year. The Samsung branding at the bottom is also nicely done and not too prominent.
The sides of the phone are also made of plastic. At the bottom, you’ll find the USB-C port, surprisingly, a 3.5 mm headphone jack, and the mono speaker which comes with Dolby Atmos support. The speaker, although loud, doesn’t provide the same experience as stereo speakers.
On the right side, there are the volume buttons and power button. The power button also functions as a fingerprint sensor, which is quick and pretty accurate. On the left side, there is the SIM tray that can hold either two nano SIM cards or one nano SIM card and an SD card.
The appearance of the Samsung Galaxy M34 is not as appealing from the font, especially when you look at the screen. The thick bezels, the teardrop notch and a pretty thick chin at the bottom give it a pretty outdated look that reminds us of older phones from the past. This is quite a shame considering just how gorgeous the display actually is.
Samsung says that in their surveys, they have found that people don’t really mind the teardrop notch and the thick bezels on their budget phones. Nonetheless, I think they should move on from this design philosophy, considering what their competitors are offering.
Samsung Galaxy M34 5G Review: The display
The Samsung Galaxy M34 features a stunning 6.5-inch Super AMOLED FHD+ display with a resolution of 1080 x 2340 pixels, set in a 19.5:9 ratio. It also supports a 120Hz refresh rate, which delivers smooth and fluid visuals.
However, it lacks HDR support, which is disappointing. On the bright side, it does support Widevine L1, allowing you to enjoy HD content on streaming platforms. The display is protected by Gorilla Glass 5, offering resistance against scratches and accidental drops.
The screen of the M34 is actually very impressive thanks to its vibrant colours and wide viewing angles. It also boasts a high peak brightness of 1000 nits thanks to Samsung’s Vision Booster technology, which ensures excellent visibility even in bright conditions. The screen performs well under sunlight, and content consumption is enjoyable, providing stunning and immersive visuals. However, the large teardrop notch detracts from the overall immersive experience.
Samsung Galaxy M34 5G Review: The camera
The Samsung Galaxy M34 5G is equipped with a triple rear camera setup, featuring a 50MP primary camera with OIS, an 8MP ultrawide shooter, and a 2 MP macro camera, which to be perfectly honest is pointless. In daylight or proper lighting conditions, the primary camera captures detailed photos with vibrant colours and decent dynamic range.
However, it tends to occasionally blow up the highlights and crushing shadows a tad bit much.
The 8MP ultrawide shooter captures good images with similar colour reproduction as the main lens. However, there is some loss of detail in the corners, and the dynamic range can still lead to crushed shadows. The macro lens, although having a resolution of 2 MP, manages to capture acceptable shots with limited detail, but they are usable.
Close-up shots exhibit a pleasing bokeh effect, providing a natural look. However, some shots can appear slightly soft, especially in low-light conditions. Portrait photos generally look good, although the edge detection can be imperfect at times.
We also get the Nightography feature to the budget segment with the Galaxy M34, a feature typically found on their higher-end models. It enables slightly brighter low-light pictures, but there is a ton of room for improvement in low-light photography. The images, at times, appear soft.
You can check out some of the sample shots from the Samsung Galaxy M34’s camera here.
Samsung Galaxy M34 5G Review: The performance, software experience and UI
The Samsung Galaxy M34 5G is equipped with the Samsung Exynos 1280 SoC, a powerful 5 nm chipset. It consists of two Cortex-A78 cores running at 2.4 GHz and six Cortex-A55 cores running at 2 GHz. This chipset strikes a good balance between performance and efficiency. The model I reviewed had 8 GB of LPDDR4X RAM (+ 6 GB Virtual RAM) and 128 GB of UFS 2.2 storage, which can be expanded using a microSD card.
In benchmarks, the phone performed impressively. In real-life usage, it was smooth and responsive in day-to-day tasks, without any noticeable lag. The 120 Hz refresh rate enhances the fluidity of actions like screen scrolling. Gaming on the Galaxy M34 was also stutter-free, even when playing games like COD: Mobile on Medium Graphics at High Frame Rate. We played for over half an hour without experiencing significant frame drops, although the phone did warm up slightly.
Out of the box, the Samsung Galaxy M34 runs on Android 13 with Samsung’s OneUI 5.1 skin on top. OneUI offers numerous features and customization options, and the overall visual design is decent. However, the phone does come with preinstalled Samsung and third-party apps that can be considered bloatware.
There’s also the intrusive Glance feature on the lock screen, which can be disabled but requires navigating through the Settings menu under Wallpaper Services.
One of the standout features of Samsung’s latest phones is their update cycle, which is currently unmatched among Android smartphone manufacturers. Samsung promises 4 years of OS updates and 5 years of security updates, which is excellent news for users.
Samsung Galaxy M34 5G Review: The battery
This is another area where the device really stands out. The Samsung M34 packs a huge 6000 mAh battery. Because the Exynos SoC is super efficient, you get phenomenal battery life out of the device, if you use your device regularly.
Once completely charged, Samsung says that the device should last you about two days. However, in my testing, when I was not gaming but was mainly using the device to consume content, reply to office emails and messages, and was attending a ton of group calls and meetings, we lasted over two days. During periods when we were gaming, we were easily getting more than 10 hours of screen time.
The only downside is that the device does not come with a charger, only a USB-C cable. It otherwise supports 25W of fast charging, which to be honest, isn’t really fast considering what the competition is offering.
It took us about 2 hours to charge the device to 100 per cent using an 80W fast charger.
Samsung Galaxy M34 5G Review: Verdict
The Samsung Galaxy M34 gets a lot of things right for a smartphone at this price point. It’s fast, has a really good battery life, and the main camera takes pretty decent, Instagrammable photos that should cover your basic needs.
Priced below ₹20,000 (for the base variant), it offers great value for your money and holds its ground against the competition. The battery life is outstanding, so if that’s your main concern when buying a phone, go ahead and get it without hesitation.
However, there are a few downsides to consider. The dynamic range of the main and wide-angle cameras could be better, the display doesn’t have HDR support, there are a bunch of unnecessary preinstalled apps, and the teardrop notch looks outdated for the price in 2023.
But if you can overlook these small issues, the Samsung Galaxy M34 is a great deal for most ordinary users who are looking for a no-nonsense smartphone, and don’t care for the bells and whistles. Truly, a phone that we are comfortable recommending.
