Samsung Galaxy A36 preview: Mid-range goodness, but can it hold off its rivals?
Galaxy A36 5G Intro
The spring crop of Galaxy mid-rangers is nearly upon us, and this year, we get not one, not two, but three new phones: the Galaxy A56 5G, Galaxy A26 5G, and last but not least, the Galaxy A36 5G.
Samsung's latest Galaxy A36 is coming to the US on March 26, and although the slightly more impressive Galaxy A56 5G will eventually arrive state-side, the Galaxy A36 maximizes value by delivering a very similar feature set at a lower price tag. The phone starts at $399, and that's a very competitive pricing for a device that could bring the fight to the Pixel 9a and the iPhone 16e.
But what makes the Galaxy A36 5G so intriguing and how does it fit in Samsung's roster? Let's explore!
Table of Contents:
Galaxy A36 5G Specs
An decent mid-ranger
| Galaxy A36 5G | Galaxy A56 5G |
|---|---|
| Size and Weight 162.6 х 77.9 х 7.4mm | Size and Weight 161.7 x 78.0 x 8.2 mm, 209gr |
| Display 6.7-inch Super AMOLED 1200 nits brightness 120Hz | Display 6.6-inch Super AMOLED 500 nits of brightness 120Hz |
| Processor Snapdragon 6 Gen 3 (5nm) | Processor Exynos 1380 (5nm) |
| Software Android 15 (One UI 7) | Software Android 14 (One UI 6.1.1) |
| Cameras 50MP main 8MP ultrawide 5MP macro 12MP front | Cameras 50MP main 8MP ultrawide 5MP macro 13MP front |
| Battery Size 5.000 mAh | Battery Size 5.000 mAh |
| Charging Speeds 45W wired | Charging Speeds 25W wired |
| Prices $399 | Prices $399 |
Galaxy A36 5G Design and Display
Minor changes
Familiar looks (Image by PhoneArena)
The Galaxy A36 5G carries on with the pretty familiar and straightforward design language employed by most mid-range Samsung phones. We get a plastic frame with a decidedly flat design all around, with Gorilla Victus+ at the front and rear of the handset.
The single most important design change can be seen at the rear, where the standard three camera lenses on most current Samsung phones are nowhere to be found; in their place, we get an elongated camera island that reminds us of phones from the previous decade.
Size-wise, the new Galaxy is thinner than its predecessor by nearly a full millimeter. Although it's a minor difference in overall dimensions, it's nice to see a mid-range phone lose some weight, provided that the newly acquired thinness hasn't affected the inner hardware.
A fairly standard mid-range design language (Image by PhoneArena)
Oh, and the so-called Key Island design feature is still here. It houses both the power and volume buttons in a raised bezel, which is something only available on the Galaxy A-series.
The Galaxy A36 comes in Lavender, Black, White, and Lime colors. We appreciate the variety, but the colors aren't very
A rather bleak color selection (Image by PhoneArena)
The display of the phone has grown ever-so-slightly, and we get marginally thinner bezels at the top and the sides with the Galaxy A36. It features a 6.64-inch display, while its predecessor boasted a 6.6-inch screen.
It's an okay display (Image by PhoneArena)
The display is still a Super AMOLED one and boasts FHD+ resolution, as well as capable of refreshing at up to 120 times a second for the smoothest experience. The major improvement here is in the peak brightness department, though: the Galaxy A36 can hit significantly brighter, at up to 1,200 nits as per Samsung. That's a significant and most welcome departure from the older Galaxy A35, which could only hit around 500 nits or so.
In real life, it's an okay display, just like most of Samsung's AMOLEDs have been over the years. It's fairly legible outside, surely not as much as a flagship phone, but we have to readjust our expectations accordingly.
In terms of biometrics, the Galaxy A36 most certainly relies on an optical in-display fingerprint scanner. Picture-based Face Unlock is also available, but here goes the usual reminder it's far from secure as other boimetric methods.
Galaxy A36 5G Camera
Still a triple camera, and still a macro on board
Has anyone ever used the macro camera on a Galaxy A phone? Tell us in the comments! (Image by PhoneArena)
The Galaxy A36 arrives with generally the same triple camera setup as its predecessor, with a 50MP main camera, 8MP ultrawide, and a 5MP macro camera, which honestly should have been left out. The only minor hardware difference is in the front-camera department, where the new phone boasts a 12MP camera, while the Galaxy A35 had a13MP snapper.
So, without any major improvements, what's actually new with this camera?
Samsung has reined in what it calls Awesome Intelligence to bolster the audio-visual capabilities of the Galaxy A36. The device features its own version of the object eraser feature that's available on the regular Galaxies. Well, great presents come in small packages, it seems.
Back to the camera itself, how does the image quality compare? Here's how the new Galaxy A36 fares against its predecessor in terms of camera quality.
Galaxy A36 vs Galaxy A56 Camera Quality
More Galaxy 36 vs Galaxy A35 camera samples
Galaxy A36 5G Performance & Benchmarks
Acceptable mid-range performance
Similar performance (Image by PhoneArena)
Equipped with a 5nm Snapdragon 6 Gen 3, the new Galaxy A36 is just as fast as its predecessor, which featured the Exynos 1380 chip. Intriguingly, that's three years in a row where Samsung is playing musical chairs with Qualcomm, MediaTek, and its own Exynos lineup as far as chip supplier for the A3x series is considered.
What's even more intriguing is that performance remains steadfast and mostly unchanged––which is good news for Galaxy A35 and Galaxy A34 users.
According to our benchmark tests, the Galaxy A36 is just as fast as its predecessor, even loses by a couple of points in the standardized Geekbench 6 test.
Where the new phone excels is in the graphics department. It achieves slightly higher results in the 3DMark Extreme stress test that we ran. However, albeit higher, the results are still very low in the grand scheme of things and definitely wouldn't deliver an outstanding gaming experience, just the bare minimum.
The phone comes with 8GB of RAM, which is in the lower end for Android devices these days, but totally acceptable on a mid-ranger. It's also an upgrade considering the Galaxy A35 features 6GB of RAM in its entry-level version. Both phones feature 128GB and 256GB of storage.
The Galaxy A36 5G loses the microSD card support its predecessor had, though. That's right, no more storage expansion for Samsung's mid-range star, it seems!
Galaxy A36 5G Software
Awesome Intelligence is the value Galaxy AI (Image by PhoneArena)
What's good here though is that Samsung will support the phone for six years with major Android updates and security patches.
In terms of software, we get Android 15 and One UI 7, which is great, considering that even Samsung's 2024 crop of flagship still doesn't have One UI 7! The phone boasts its own lighter version of Galaxy AI, called here Awesome Intelligence.
The available AI features are:
- AI Select: Google Circle to Search, but accessible from the utility side panel on the screen;
- Custom Filters: Automatically creates a filter based on a photo you've taken.
- Edit Suggestions: A photo-editing advisor that will suggest edits in the Gallery app.
- Object Eraser: Lets you remove unwanted subjects and people from your photos.
- Read Aloud: Speaks web pages aloud in the Samsung Internet browser
Galaxy A36 5G Battery
#NoChanges
5,000mAh is where it's at (Image by PhoneArena)
The Galaxy A36 arrives with a 5,000mAh battery, which is, drumroll please... just as larger as the one on the Galaxy A35! That's a relief considering the phone is a millimeter thinner, in another reality we could have been given a smaller battery, so a minor win here.
Provided that the chip in the new phone isn't drastically more efficient, we will most certainly get a very similar battery life as the Galaxy A35. That's not bad, though: Samsung's mid-ranger from last year was quite a durable performer, so the awesome battery life will most likely remain a staple feature.
What's surprising here is the much faster wired charging. Samsung has put 45W charging on the Galaxy A36, which is a feature reserevd for only the most premium Samsugn flagships. Even the standard Galaxy S25 doesn't have 45W wired charging, but uses slower 25W. Nice!
However, wireless charging is still not available here, but hey, we won't complain given the speed increase.
Should you buy it?
It's a sensible "more of the same", and that's okay (Image by PhoneArena)
See, it's natural for just about anyone to always lust after the most premium and spec'd-out flagships. It's just human nature to be awed by shiny things.
However, the Galaxy A36 5G isn't a bad phone just because it's a value offering. From my brief time with its, it shapes up to be a decent proposition in the sub-$400 category. Yes, it will start at $399 when it hits the shelves on March 26, and that's a fairly attractive price tag for a Galaxy mid-ranger.
Some issues that are immediately obvious when you take the phone is the slightly lackluster performace (it doesn't take long for the phone to lag a little) and it's camera, which only has the bare minimum, but for $400, you can't fault Samsung for cutting that many corners.
Should you buy the Galaxy A36 5G? If you're on a tight budget, there are certainly worse ways to spend your money.
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