The Galaxy A34 ships with the latest One UI 5.1 with an Android 13 underneath. Samsung is promising up to four generations of OS updates and up to five years of security updates on the A34, which is quite an ambitious goal, but also very vaguely worded. So, there’s that.
You are getting the same general UX and even most of the features of the Galaxy S series, which is great to see on a mid-range device. The good news to all Galaxy users is that list of software features reserved for the flagships has been shrinking in recent years and currently includes niche things like Samsung DeX.
You can choose between a few clock styles of the Always-on Display or opt for an Image Clock. Music info is also supported. The AoD can be always-off, always-on, scheduled, shown only when new notifications are available, or you can opt for tap-to-show for 10s.
For most, the under-display fingerprint reader will likely be the primary method of unlocking, but you can still use face unlock either instead of or alongside it. It can be more convenient in certain situations, but it generally is less secure since it's just using the selfie camera. You can have the fingerprint icon displayed on the AoD or not, and you can have the reader itself always on or only available after you wake up the screen.
Security options • Biometrics • Fingerprint settings • Fingerprint settings • Fingerprint enrollment
The experience when dealing with the fundamentals is straightforward and familiar. The app drawer, notification shade, recent apps, lock screen, and home screen are all business as usual, as is the general Settings menu.
The accent color palette is automatically generated based on your wallpaper, and the system gives you a wide choice of color combinations and that palette can also be applied to app icons.
One UI 5.1 basics: Lockscreen • Homescreen • App drawer • Notifications • Quick settings • Task switcher
Widgets can now be stacked, and you can switch between stacked widgets with a simple swipe. Keep in mind that not all widgets support stacking, so app developers might have to get around that pretty soon.
Modes and routines, a feature similar to Apple's Focus, is present too. You can choose a mode based on what you are doing right now and execute certain actions, change sound profiles, display settings, notifications, etc. For instance, the driving Routines profile can be set up to turn on DnD mode and launch Spotify automatically. You can even trigger certain Routines with actions of your choice, such as turning on the hotspot or airplane mode.
Familiar proprietary Samsung features include the Edge panels - the panes that appear when you swipe in from the side and provide tools and shortcuts to apps and contacts. Game launcher, the hub for all your games, also provides options for limiting distraction when gaming is here to stay as well. An in-house Gallery app and a proprietary file manager are both present, as well as Samsung's Internet web browser. Split-screen multitasking is also an option.
Edge panel • Game Launcher • Gallery • File manager • Split-screen
Instead of rocking one of Samsung's own in-house developed chips, the Galaxy A34 is equipped with a MediaTek Dimensity 1080. It's a fine mid-range part made on an efficient 6nm node and rocking an octa-core CPU setup with two big Cortex-A78 cores clocked at up to 2.6 GHz and six Cortex-A55 ones working at up to 2.0 GHz. For graphics, there is a Mali-G68 MC4 GPU on board. Network connectivity is provided by a 5G NR Sub-6 onboard modem, capable of SA and NSA operation.
The Galaxy A34 can be had in one of the following memory and storage configurations: 128GB 6GB RAM, 128GB 8GB RAM and 256GB 8GB RAM. For the sake of thoroughness, we should mention our review unit is a base model with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of expandable storage.
Let's kick things off with some CPU loads and GeekBench. We can see the Dimensity 1080 holding its own pretty well. Samsung is generally making the most out of the part, as evidenced by the close results of other handsets equipped with the same chip, like the Xiaomi Redmi Note 12 Pro/Pro+ and the Realme 10 Pro+.
Higher is better
Higher is better
It is pretty interesting to compare Samsung's new Exynos 1380 chip, as found in the Galaxy A54 and the Dimensity 1080 inside the Galaxy A34. We can clearly see that the two chips are not far apart in CPU performance, but the 1080 does outpace the 1380 in single-core scenarios due to the higher clock speed of its bit Cortex-A78 units, whereas the Exynos 1380 clearly has the multi-core edge due to its four Cortex-A78 cores, instead of two, like in the Dimensity 1080.
AnTuTu and its much more compound set of tests place the Galaxy A54 and A34 pretty close on the chart as well. So, generally speaking, you are not really giving up a lot of performance by going for the lower-end A34 instead of its A54 sibling.
Higher is better
The Galaxy A34 and A54 are also pretty comparable in terms of GPU setup. Both phones and their respective chips have a Mali-G68 GPU. The main difference is that the A34 and its Dimensity 1080 have four GPU cores, whereas the A54 and Exynos 1380 have five of the same GPU cores. The difference in actual performance between the two phones is small but noticeable. Since they have the exact same display resolution, we can even compare their on-screen test results directly.
Higher is better
Higher is better
Higher is better
Higher is better
As we continue down the list of benchmarks with increasingly lower intensity, we still find the Galaxy A34 around the middle of the pack, as expected. There are definitely at least a few devices in the same price range that offer much better graphical performance, in case that's what you are after.
Higher is better
Higher is better
Lowering the test intensity further still, we finally see the Galaxy A34 break through the 60fps barrier in OpenGL ES 3.0 tests. Remember, these loads are purely synthetic and not representative of real-world game engine behavior. In practice, the A34 has enough power for almost every casual game out there and can even deliver a decent experience in some higher-end titles.
Higher is better
Higher is better
Higher is better
Higher is better
Finally, we have 3DMark, which is a bit less favorable towards the Galaxy A34 and its Dimensity 1080 chip, placing their performance very close to last year's Galaxy A53 and A33 and their Exynos 1280 chips. Consequently, the new Exynos 1380 inside the Galaxy A54 gets a noticeable, even if fairly modest, uptick in performance.
Higher is better
Higher is better
On the topic of thermals and thermal-throttling, the Galaxy A34 deserves plenty of praise. The phone runs incredibly cool both inside and out, with no noticeable heat buildup.
It throttles its performance very little, even with unrealistic torture loads of a full hour. Even after the full 60 minutes of testing, the A34 was perfectly comfortable to hold too. The Dimensity 1080 inside the A34 is very well-cooled.
All things considered, the Dimensity 1080 appears to be a good choice for the Galaxy A34. It offers decent performance levels not far behind those on the Galaxy A54 with the new Exynos 1380 mid-range chipset. In practical terms, the A34 is smooth, snappy and responsive, especially when operating at a 120Hz refresh rate. The phone had no issues with any day-to-day tasks we threw at it and even had enough performance to power some pleasant gaming experiences. Plus, the A34 kept perfectly cool under load, which is a big plus.
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