Two midrangers with some serious trade-offs

• 

  Samsung Galaxy A35

  Modern amenities

  The Samsung Galaxy A35 offers a modern design, a good-looking display, and solid battery life at a midrange price. It looks and feels like a Galaxy should, but it’s held back a bit by its Exynos processor.

  Pros

  • Large OLED display
  • A modern feeling phone
  • All-day battery life

• 

  Apple iPhone SE (2022)

  Modern performance

  The Apple iPhone SE 2022 offers modern performance in a body that harkens back to the early days of smartphones. While its design may hold it back in various ways, the performance you get for the price is amazing.

  Pros

  • Very fast performance
  • Good battery life
  • Great build quality

  Cons

  • Design needs to be retired
  • Only has one camera
  • 64GB base storage

Price is one of the most important aspects when searching for a phone. If price didn’t matter, most shoppers reading this would likely buy one of the best Android phones currently available, but price does matter. Not everyone can or even wants to drop as much as $1,300 on something like a brand-new Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra.

Phones that fall into the midrange often offer premium designs, flagship performance, and beautiful displays. However, these phones typically make trade-offs to keep the price low, allowing them to excel in a few areas while underperforming in others. Two such phones are the Samsung Galaxy A35 and Apple iPhone SE 2022. But which model reigns supreme?

Price, availability, and specs

Of these two devices, the Samsung Galaxy A35 is the new kid on the block. The Galaxy A35 launched in March 2024 and carries a retail price of $400. Depending on where you live, the Galaxy A35 comes in a few colors. The A35 is available in Awesome Navy and Awesome Lilac in the US. It’s also available in Awesome Lemon and Awesome Iceblue outside the US. You can snag the Galaxy directly from Samsung, from retailers like Amazon, or carriers such as T-Mobile and AT&T.

The iPhone SE 2022 is much older, having launched way back in March 2022. The iPhone is available in multiple storage configurations: 64GB, 128GB, or 256GB, with a retail price of $429, $479, and $579 respectively. It’s available in Midnight, Starlight, and Product Red colorways. The iPhone is available directly from Apple, your favorite retailers like Amazon, and all the major US carriers.

• 	Samsung Galaxy A35	Apple iPhone SE (2022)
  SoC	Samsung Exynos 1380	A15 Bionic
  Display type	Super AMOLED, 120Hz	IPS LCD
  Display dimensions	6.6-inch	4.7″
  Display resolution	1080 x 2340 pixels	1334 x 750
  RAM	6GB	4GB
  Storage	128GB	64GB, 128GB, 256GB
  Battery	5,000mAh	2,018mAh
  Charge speed	25W wired	20W wired, 7.5W wireless
  Ports	USB Type-C	Lightning
  Front camera	13MP f/2.2	7 MP, f/2.2
  Rear camera	50MP f/1.8 (primary), 8MP f/2.2 (ultrawide), 5MP f/2.4 (macro)	12 MP, f/1.8 OIS main
  Wi-Fi connectivity	Wi-Fi 6	Wi-Fi 6
  Bluetooth	Bluetooth 5.3	Bluetooth 5.0
  Dimensions	161.7 x 78.0 x 8.2mm	138.4 x 67.3 x 7.3mm
  Weight	209g	144g
  IP Rating	IP67	IP67
  Colors	Awesome Navy, Awesome Lilac	Midnight, Starlight, Red

Design

Modern vs. old

Designs are subjective and tend to fluctuate over time, but there is no denying that the Galaxy A35 carries a more modern appeal. The front is dominated by its Gorilla Glass Victus-covered display, with a hole-punch camera at the top and some minor bezels. There’s also a triple camera setup, a plastic frame, and a glass exterior.

At the other end of the spectrum, the iPhone is a blast from the past. It carries a design that feels like it was ripped from the dawn of smartphones, because it was. The device’s front has its display sandwiched between incredibly thick bezels.

The bezel below the display features a home button, while the bezel above the display uses extra space to incorporate the camera and speaker. The home button doubles as a fingerprint reader, using Apple’s fast and reliable Touch ID system. The Galaxy A35 has a much more modern under-display optical fingerprint reader.

These two devices also have a stark difference in overall size and weight. The Galaxy A35 measures 161.7 x 78 x 8.2mm and tips the scales at 209g. Hailing from another era when phones were much smaller, the iPhone measures 138.4 x 67.3 x 7.3mm and weighs only 144g. Both devices carry an IP67 rating against dust and water ingress.

The older Apple device doesn’t have a USB-C port like the iPhone 15 Pro Max. Instead, it relies on its Lightning port for charging and data transfer. It’s not a huge deal if you are already in the Apple ecosystem, but if you have been rocking an Android for some time now, the USB-C port on the Galaxy A35 will be far more convenient.

Display

They aren’t in the same league

The display is another area where the Galaxy A35 excels compared to the iPhone SE. The A35 has a 6.6-inch, AMOLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate and 1000 nits of brightness. With a resolution of 2340 x 1080, the Galaxy A35 has a 390ppi pixel density for a sharp overall experience.

Apple’s device has a tiny screen by comparison. The iPhone has a 4.7-inch, IPS LCD panel with a 60Hz refresh rate and 625 nits of brightness. It has a lower resolution of 1334 x 750 with a 326ppi pixel density. Against the more modern A35, content on the iPhone will generally appear less sharp.

One important thing to keep in mind is the display size ratio. The A35 has a modern 19:5:9 ratio, while the iPhone has a much older display ratio of 16:9. So, certain apps and websites may have UI issues on the iPhone.

Software

Mature and reliable

Software is significantly different between these two devices. The Galaxy A35 has Android 14 and One UI 6.1. Samsung’s heavily themed version of Android is better than ever, although you do lose out on the recent Galaxy AI additions. Samsung’s skin has always been highly customizable, and in a first for A-series phones, it includes Knox Vault.

Since it’s a Samsung Android device, the Galaxy A35 has plenty of apps and some bloat. You get both Samsung’s and Google’s versions of apps, including multiple web browsers, and note-taking apps. But there’s a vastly superior notification system and better integration within the Google ecosystem.

The iPhone runs iOS 17.5, which has become far more Android-like over the years. It’s not a bad operating system at all, and it trades blows with Android. Sure, its notification system, file management, and app drawer system may be inferior, and it may not be your favorite OS, but there’s a reason why people flock to Apple devices.

Apple’s OS is generally a pleasurable experience, and it does many things well. The integration that Apple can incorporate across all its devices is head and shoulders above anything Android has. Love it or hate it, FaceTime and iMessage are easy-to-use features that many users rely on.

Software support has come close, but Apple is still further ahead in this department. The Galaxy A35 will get four years of OS updates and a fifth year of security updates. iPhones get anywhere from six to eight years of software support. It’s important to note that all iPhones get updates simultaneously. There is no waiting for the most recent software features; the same can’t be said for Android users.

Performance

Polar opposites

Where Samsung excelled with its design and display, it fumbles a bit in terms of performance. The Galaxy A35 has an Exynos 1380 processor, 6GB of RAM, and 128GB of storage. The storage can be expanded up to 1TB thanks to the Galaxy A35’s microSD slot.

The iPhone SE 2022 has a powerful A15 Bionic processor and 4GB of RAM. The RAM size may seem low, but thanks to some heavy optimization, it’s not a hindrance on iOS. The base model has a paltry 64GB of storage, but the iPhone can and should be bought with either 128GB or 256GB of storage.

To be blunt, the Galaxy isn’t in the same stratosphere as the iPhone in terms of performance. In Geekbench 6, the Exynos 1380 gets a single-core score of 984 and a multi-core score of 2778. The A15 gets a single-core score of 2245 and a multi-core score of 5402. 3DMark Wild Life shows a similar trend. The Exynos managed to get a score of 2819 and 16 FPS, while the A15 got a score of 9395 and 56 FPS.

So how do these benchmarks translate into real-world experiences? The Galaxy A35 will feel janky with everyday use and struggle to run the latest games. As noted in our review, the A35 is such an underperformer that it largely negates the fluidity of its 120Hz display. The iPhone is a performance beast in comparison, allowing you to easily run the latest apps and games.

Battery life

All-day goodness

The Galaxy A35 ships with a 5000mAh battery that will easily get you through an entire day of heavy use and up to two days with lighter use. It can be charged via USB-C at up to 25W. It’ll take you 30 minutes to go from 1 to 50%, 65 minutes to 90%, and 90 minutes to reach 100%.

Apple stuck a paltry 2018mAh battery into the iPhone SE 2022. Thanks to the small display and power efficiency of the A15 Bionic, the iPhone still offers solid battery life. You can easily get through a full day of usage or up to three days if you don’t interact with your phone very often.

The iPhone SE can be charged via its Lightning port at up to 20W or wirelessly at 7.5W. It can reach a 50% charge in 30 minutes and will take about 90 minutes to reach 100%.

Camera

These will do just fine

Samsung equipped the Galaxy A35 with a triple camera setup consisting of a 50MP, f/1.8 main camera, an 8MP, f/2.2 ultrawide camera, and a 5MP, f/2.4 macro camera. The main camera can record 4K video at 30fps or 1080p at up to 60fps. It also has a 13MP, f/2.2 selfie camera that can record up to 4K at 30fps.

For the most part, it’s a capable but average setup. It captures good photos with ample light, but the quality diminishes as the lighting dims. And an ultrawide camera allows for greater flexibility when setting up your shots. Like most budget devices with a macro lens, it can largely be ignored as it isn’t super useful.

The flexibility you get with the Galaxy is something you don’t get with the iPhone SE 2022. Apple equipped the iPhone with a single 12MP, f/1.8 camera that can record 4K video at up to 60fps. It also has a 7MP, f/2.2 selfie camera that can record video at 1080p, 30fps.

Images taken with the iPhone are quite good when the lighting is decent. Shots do become muddy when the lights dim, but taking quality shots is something that this device is more than capable of. You will feel the pinch a bit with the lack of an ultrawide. Taking pictures that require you to zoom out a bit, such as landscape images, will be difficult on this device. Instead, you must back up, if possible, to fit the entire image into your frame.

Which is right for you?

Choosing a winner here comes down to a couple of factors, and it will depend on what you value most in a smartphone. Do you care about the design and display or is performance your top priority? Do you prefer Android or are you firmly entrenched in the iOS camp?

Overall, the Samsung Galaxy A35 offers more bang for your buck and will likely please a larger audience. It has a much more modern design, a significantly better display, as well as a decent camera setup and battery life. Samsung also gives it plenty of software support, and it’s the cheapest of the two options. Still, I can’t help but wish Samsung went with a more performant processor as the Exynos 1380 is just woefully slow.

The iPhone SE 2022 may not offer the latest display or camera system, and it may have a dated design, but day-to-day performance will outclass the Galaxy A35. I may be in the minority, but I can’t stand janky phones and underperforming processors. It detracts from the user experience and annoys me to no end.

I can deal with a small display and a dated design for a superior-performing device. Its decent camera and battery life are also nice to have. As someone who rocks an Android and iPhone at all times, I have no issues with either OS. The iPhone is a bit more expensive, and the 64GB variant shouldn’t even be considered. But it’s still a good option for the budget-conscious.