29 Sept 2025
The Samsung Galaxy A36 is a new mid-range phone that initially appears simple but offers tempting features for its price range. This review delves into its design, screen quality, camera capabilities, hardware performance, software advancements, battery life, and overall market value.
The Galaxy A36 features a simple, flat design consistent with other A-series phones, incorporating a plastic frame and Gorilla Glass Victus Plus on both the front and back. A minor design change places the three previously separate cameras into a single, elongated strip, reminiscent of older phone aesthetics, and the phone is approximately one millimeter thinner than its predecessor, the A35.
The device boasts a high-quality Super AMOLED display with Full HD+ resolution and a variable refresh rate from 60 to 120 Hz, offering significantly improved brightness over the A35 for comfortable outdoor use. For security, it includes an under-display optical fingerprint sensor that functions well, along with less secure camera-based facial recognition lacking a 3D sensor.
The camera setup consists of a 50-megapixel main sensor, an 8-megapixel ultrawide lens, and a 5-megapixel macro lens, with the macro lens considered largely ineffectual. Daytime photos from the main camera exhibit decent quality but often have warmer colors and can appear overly sharp, leading to an artificial look, while the ultrawide camera produces ordinary results, and a functional 2x digital zoom is available. The A36's camera performance, particularly at night, is noted to be slightly superior to the A56, although overall camera and video quality are sufficient for basic use rather than professional content production.
The selfie camera features a 12-megapixel sensor, a slight reduction from 13 megapixels, yet it provides adequate quality for video calls and casual photos. Video recording quality has declined compared to the A35, featuring more muted colors and a reduced dynamic range in low light, with 4K video capture exclusively available through the main camera.
Powering the A36 is a Snapdragon S chipset, delivering performance roughly on par with the A35's Exynos 1380, resulting in generally good but not exceptionally fast operation, with some noticeable lag when running multiple applications or graphic-intensive games. Benchmarks show a modest improvement over the A35, such as a 6% increase in the Antutu score, but the difference is not substantial enough to warrant an upgrade from an A35. The phone includes 8GB of RAM, an upgrade from the A35's base model, and offers 128GB or 256GB of internal storage, but crucially, it lacks a microSD slot for expandable memory.
The Galaxy A36 ships with Android 15 and incorporates a lighter version of Galaxy AI called Asm Intelligence, which provides simplified AI functionalities such as AI Select and Circle in Search. Samsung promises six years of Android updates and security patches, a significant duration for a mid-range device, though its practical benefit for weak hardware and delayed updates is questioned.
The device retains a 5,000 mAh battery capacity, matching the A35 despite the A36's thinner profile, and demonstrates good endurance, lasting up to two hours longer than the A35 in web browsing tests. A key feature is its 45-watt fast charging capability, which allows a full charge in approximately 74 minutes, surpassing even the standard Galaxy S25, though wireless charging is absent, and the 45-watt charger must be purchased separately.
The stereo speakers offer acceptable audio quality but exhibit noticeable noise and distortion at higher volumes, and the wireless audio connection is not particularly robust. Haptic feedback is described as slow and light, lacking precision and sharpness.
Positioned as a balanced and safe mid-range option at around $400, the Galaxy A36 is a suitable choice for users seeking a device with a simple design, updated software, decent battery life, and basic support, provided they can overlook its mediocre camera, average performance, and absence of microSD expansion. However, current market pricing makes the A55, which is generally considered a superior phone (even to the A56), a more logical and cost-effective alternative at a lower price point.
The Galaxy A36 is an unpretentious phone; it is not going to surprise you, nor is it going to disappoint you.
| Aspect | Detail | Evaluation |
|---|---|---|
| Design | Simple, flat design with plastic frame and Gorilla Glass Victus Plus; slightly thinner than A35. | Neutral |
| Display | High-quality Super AMOLED, Full HD+, 60-120Hz, significantly improved brightness for sunlight visibility. | Pro |
| Main Camera Quality | Decent quality in daylight, but colors can be too warm or overly sharp, creating an artificial look. | Mixed |
| Macro Camera | The 5-megapixel macro lens is largely useless for a mid-range phone. | Con |
| Performance | Snapdragon S chipset offers good overall performance, but noticeable lag occurs with heavy multitasking or gaming; modest improvement over A35. | Mixed |
| Expandable Storage | Lack of a microSD slot for memory expansion. | Con |
| Software Updates | Six years of Android updates and security patches are promised, but the practical value for mid-range hardware and delayed updates is limited. | Mixed |
| Battery Life | 5,000 mAh capacity maintained despite a thinner design, offering longer web browsing endurance than the A35. | Pro |
| Fast Charging | Supports 45-watt fast charging, fully charging in about 74 minutes, but the charger must be purchased separately. | Mixed |
| Wireless Charging | Wireless charging is not supported. | Con |
| Market Value | Considered a balanced choice around $400, but the A55 offers better features at a lower price point, making it a more logical alternative. | Mixed |
