Any search for a low-cost midrange phone will lead you to a Google Pixel 8a vs. Samsung Galaxy A35 comparison. Google and Samsung are top Android device makers, and their smartphone expertise extends down into midrange models that cost less than flagship offerings but still manage to deliver on some key features.
On paper, the Pixel 8a enjoys a big edge, as it uses the same silicon found in the previous year's Google flagships. That gives it the same AI features and photo processing capabilities found in more expensive, if older, phones.
After previously offering its Galaxy A5x phones as its top midrange offering, Samsung didn't make this year's Galaxy A55 available in the U.S. Instead, the Galaxy A35 emerged as the option for U.S. bargain hunters. It lacks some of the power of the Galaxy A55, but it beats the Pixel 8a on price.
Does the Galaxy A35 deliver enough value to beat out the Pixel 8a as our pick for best cheap phone under $500? Or can Google maintain its position as the go-to choice for budget-minded shoppers? Our Google Pixel 8a vs. Samsung Galaxy A35 face-off gets to the bottom of those questions.
Google Pixel 8a vs. Samsung Galaxy A35: Specs
Google Pixel 8a vs. Samsung Galaxy A35: Price
I've already mentioned the price difference between the two phones, but just to confirm the Galaxy A35 costs $399. That gets you a phone with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. The base model of the Pixel 8a also comes with 128GB of storage but 8GB of RAM, and it starts at $499.
Upgrading to 256GB of storage on the Pixel 8a raises the price of that phone to $559, though that option is only available if you get the Obsidian model. There's no 256GB version of the Galaxy A35 available in the U.S.
Cell phone deals can bring down the price of the Pixel 8a, but that also applies to the Galaxy A35, too. In other words, except for rare occasions, you're going to pay less for Samsung's phone.
Winner: Samsung Galaxy A35
Google Pixel 8a vs. Samsung Galaxy A35: Design
Though they're midrange phones, the Galaxy A35 and Pixel 8a take their design cues from the flagship phones that Samsung and Google make. That's why the Galaxy A35 features a descending row of rear camera lenses while the Pixel 8a features a horizontal camera bar that extends across the length of the phone.
We can argue about which is the better aesthetic choice. I'm partial to the Pixel 8a's look, though I appreciate the raised edge on the side of the Galaxy A35 that houses the power button and volume toggles. What's less in dispute is that the glossy back of my Awesome Navy Galaxy A35 picked up fingerprints and smudges in a way that matte back of the Pixel 8a did not.
Both phones features IP67 water and dust resistance ratings, and neither one offers a headphone jack. The Galaxy A35 is noticeably taller and wider, the result of offering a larger screen. I prefer my phones more compact, which adds to the Pixel 8a's edge in my estimation. Your tastes may vary, but even if you prefer larger phones, you may not care for the half-an-ounce of extra weight the Galaxy A35 carries.
Besides Awesome Navy, U.S. shoppers can get the Galaxy A35 in Awesome Lilac. (Two more colors are available in other markets.) The Pixel 8a offers you a choice of Obsidian, Porcelain, Bay and Aloe.
Winner: Google Pixel 8a
Google Pixel 8a vs. Samsung Galaxy A35: Display
As noted above, you get a lot more screen space with the Galaxy A35, which boasts a 6.6-inch AMOLED panel to the 6.1-inch OLED screen on the Pixel 8a. That definitely comes in handy when streaming videos or playing games. Each phone offers a 120Hz refresh rate for more immersive scrolling.
Based on our testing, the Pixel 8a can get a touch brighter — 1,329 nits to 1,317 nits on the Galaxy A35. But that kind of difference is not something you're going to notice, especially when both phones' screens are perfectly visible outdoors in bright sunlight.
The Galaxy A35 offers the more colorful screen both in my anecdotal testing, and according to our lab results, where the default settings of the Samsung phone posted higher percentages of both the sRGB and DCI-P3 color spectrums than the Pixel 8a managed. While colors were equally accurate on the phones' screens when we measured the Natural setting, in their default setting, the Galaxy A35 offered slightly more accurate colors.
Winner: Samsung Galaxy A35
Google Pixel 8a vs. Samsung Galaxy A35: Cameras
Both the Pixel 8a and Galaxy A35 offer similar camera setups, with main and ultrawide shooters on the back of the phone. You won't find a telephoto lens on either handset, though that's not a surprise for phones that cost less than $500.
In the case of the Pixel 8a, you get a 64MP main lens along with a 13MP ultrawide camera; up front, Google's phone features a 13MP selfie cam. The sensors on the Galaxy A35 feature lower resolutions — 50MP on the main lens and 8MP on the ultrawide camera. Samsung adds a dedicated 5MP macro sensor, while the Pixel 8a doesn't even have a macro feature. Up front, the Galaxy A35 features a 13MP camera of its own.
I pitted the camera capabilities of both phones against one another in a 200-photo Pixel 8a vs. Galaxy A35 camera face-off, and at the risk of spoiling the mystery, the Pixel 8a came out head and shoulders above the Galaxy A35. Google's phone handles dynamic range better, and it performs well in low light. The Galaxy A35 does favor brighter colors, sometimes to the benefit of the shot, but occasionally to the point of over-saturation.
This shot of a Blue Hawaii cocktail next to a tiki mug highlights the Galaxy A35's photo output at its best. The lighter shade of blue in the A35's version of the cocktail shows off a glint of the citrus juice in the bottom of the glass, and the cherry has better definition than in the Pixel 8a shot. If all of the Galaxy A35's photos looked like this, the Pixel 8a would have serious competition for the title of best camera phone under $500.
But the A35's camera performance is more inconsistent. This shot of a kayak gets a little overexposed because of the beam of sunlight breaking into the shot. The Pixel 8a applies much better balance to the photo, so its colors remain consistent throughout the image.
A ferris wheel shot as the sun began setting also shows off the superiority of the Pixel 8a cameras. Google's phone manages to reflect the sunlight with warmer colors on the ferris wheel itself. The Galaxy A35's tendency to ratchet up the brightness of colors doesn't serve it very well here, as the ferris wheel takes on an unnatural shade of yellow, rather than the more natural look the 8a achieves.
None of the night shots I took with the Galaxy A35 really measured up to what the Pixel 8a can do, and this photo of some stuffed animals drives that point home. The A35 has a hard time lighting up the scene, so a lot of the stuffies are lost in shadow, and that tendency to overcompensate with color flares up again with the weird glow around the flowers. In the Pixel 8a photo, more details emerge out of the darkness, and there's a consistent tone to the colors, even if they're not as bright as what the Galaxy A35 produces.
I don't want to give the impression that the Galaxy A35 cameras don't perform well. They're solid enough, but not as consistently dependable as what the Pixel 8a produces. That said, there are a handful of areas where the Galaxy A35 finishes ahead of the Pixel's camera performance.
Chiefly, that A35 has a much better time with skin tones than the Pixel 8a does. Google's photo software likes to smooth out faces in a way that comes across as unnatural to my eye. In this selfie, my skin looks a lot less wrinkled in the Pixel 8a photo, whereas the Galaxy A35 presents a much truer-to-life portrait. I do think the Pixel 8a gets the color of my hat more correct, though.
Winner: Google Pixel 8a
Google Pixel 8a vs. Samsung Galaxy A35: Performance
It isn't often that a Tensor-powered Google phone wins a benchmark face-off — Google's chips are designed to bolster AI features not win speed contests. But that's what happens when we put the Pixel 8a and Galaxy A35 through a battery of tests. The Tensor G3 inside the Pixel 8a is a capable chip, but it probably helps that the Galaxy A35 uses the older Exynos 1380 system-on chip. That's the same silicon that powered last year's Galaxy A54, for example.
In Geekbench 6, which measures a chip's single and multicore processing capabilities, the Pixel 8a posted better results than the Galaxy A35. The Pixel 8a's 1,581 score was 55% faster than what the Galaxy A35 posted. In the multicore test, the Pixel 8a beat the Galaxy A35 by 39%. Graphics tests using 3DMark's Wild Life Unlimited to measure frames per second output produced a similar mismatch. The Pixel 8a posted a 53.8 fps result, compared to 16.8 fps for the Galaxy A35.
That's not to say the Galaxy A35 is a noticeable slow poke. It switches between apps seamlessly enough, and even when I ran PUBG Mobile on the Samsung phone, I didn't spot dropped frames or laggy graphics. But the Pixel 8a is undeniably faster as we found out when transcoding video using Adobe Premiere Rush. The Pixel 8a needed 56 seconds to transcode a video clip, while the Galaxy A35 took 1 minute and 9 seconds.
Winner: Google Pixel 8a
Google Pixel 8a vs. Samsung Galaxy A35: Battery life and charging
The Galaxy A35 has a bigger battery than the power pack inside the Pixel 8a — 5,000 mAh compared to 4,492 mAh. But whether it's because of the larger display or less power-efficient chip, the Galaxy A35 doesn't make use of that extra capacity.
In our battery test, where we have phones surf the web over cellular until they run out of power, the Galaxy A35 lasted 11 hours and 9 minutes. That's about an hour better than the average smartphone, but it's a little bit short of the 11 hours and 22 minutes that the Pixel 8a held out for. Neither phone is a world beater when it comes to longevity, but the Pixel 8a will give you a little bit extra on a charge.
At least Samsung can point to better recharging, even though there's not much difference in the Galaxy A35's 25W wired charging speed and the 18W that the Pixel 8a supports. Still, that was enough to see the A35 get to a 53% charge, well ahead of the Pixel 8a's 33% result.
If there's a difference maker in this category, it comes down to wireless charging. The Pixel 8a supports it, the Galaxy A35 does not. That one capability separates two otherwise evenly matched phones.
Winner: Google Pixel 8a
Google Pixel 8a vs. Samsung Galaxy A35: Software
The Galaxy A35 is the rare sub-$400 phone that offers a few AI-powered features. Specifically, the A35 supports Circle to Search, which debuted on the Galaxy S24 earlier this year. With Circle to Search, you can circle or tap on a picture in any app like Chrome or Gallery, and that will launch an online search for more details. It's a clever way of looking up information about points of interest a photo or shopping for an eye-catching item you've spotted.
As polished as the Circle to Search feature is, it just doesn't compare to the depth of AI capabilities on board the Pixel 8a. Because of the Tensor G3 chip powering the phone, the Pixel 8a can do just about anything last year's Pixel 8 flagship can. That includes photo retouching features like Magic Editor and Best Take — the latter of which can swap out faces in group shots so that everyone's looking their best.
The Pixel 8a also supports productivity-boosting features such as Live Translate and Call Assist, where the on-board assistant can field your phone calls to find out what the call is about and provide contextual responses of your choosing. It's a really slick tool to find out which incoming calls are truly important. Oh, and Circle to Search is available on the Pixel 8a as well.
Because the Pixel 8a is from Google, you'll get access to Android updates right away. The Pixel 8a can already run Android 15, while the Galaxy A35 is still awaiting that update via the forthcoming One Ui 7 release. As for software support, Google promises seven years of software and security updates to Pixel 8a owners, while Galaxy A35 owners can count on four years of software updates and an additional year of security support.
Winner: Google Pixel 8a
Google Pixel 8a vs. Samsung Galaxy A35: Verdict
Despite its higher price tag, the Pixel 8a clearly delivers more value than the Galaxy A35. In the categories where it tops Samsung's phone, the Pixel 8a is demonstrably better — it captures better photos, offers more AI features and promises more extensive software support. The Galaxy A35 may have the better screen, but it's only marginally better and not enough to overcome the Pixel 8a's other advantages.
The good news for anyone especially sensitive to price is that the Galaxy A35 still delivers a lot for a smaller outlay. Besides that bright, colorful screen, you do get a durable design, better than average battery life and more AI-powered features than you'd expect for a phone this cheap. Even the cameras — one area where the Pixel 8a clearly dominates — produce good shots, though with greater inconsistency.
Still, if you can swing the extra $100, the Pixel 8a more than justifies its higher price tag. Between the excellent camera performance and Tensor-powered features, there's a lot to like about this $499 midrange phone from Google.
