Samsung’s $400 phones are falling behind, and the Galaxy A37 is its chance to fix that

In other words, a healthy jump, but not one that will realistically make the A37 feel that much different from its predecessor.

GPU Performance:



I’d be much more interested to see how a Galaxy A37 with a Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 would perform, which is what the Nothing Phone (3a) and (3a) Pro are rocking. Of course, Samsung can splurge a little extra and even go for the Qualcomm Snapdragon 7s Gen 4, which adds 7% better CPU and GPU performance.

A metal frame is overdue, and could elevate this series

The A36 looks nice, but it still feels cheap because of the plastic frame, especially when you hold the A56 or the Pixel 9a in your other hand. Samsung could easily make the A37 more attractive by using aluminum instead of plastic.

The rest of the design I’d argue is pretty good, though. The phone looks very similar to Samsung’s flagship models, which helps with its desirability. I also appreciate that Samsung includes an IP 67 certification, and the fact that it has shifted to more neutral colors than bright, saturated ones that used to be associated with more affordable phones.

No more macro!

Samsung is reportedly sticking with the same camera setup that it’s now used for years on the A3x series. I’m okay with the 50 MP main and 8 MP ultra-wide cameras — they do a decent job as long as you are not recording video.

But while I can excuse the poor video quality at this price point, I cannot excuse using the cheap tactic of adding a useless 5 MP macro camera instead of a useful telephoto one. Nothing could do it with the CMF Phone 2 Pro, so why can’t Samsung with the Galaxy A36?

And the A36 had two more issues Samsung needed to fix: the main camera skewed warm and often oversharpened images, and the ultra-wide was inconsistent and had poor dynamic range.

But if I had to pick a camera upgrade, I’d gladly sacrifice the pointless 5 MP macro for a dedicated telephoto camera. Sadly, I think Samsung is determined to keep the macro alive for yet another year.

Battery life is decent, but we want more in 2026

The Galaxy A36 delivered decent battery life. It is enough to get most people through a day, but it definitely doesn’t stand out compared to other phones we have tested at this price point:



For example, we estimated the Redmi Note 14 Pro and Xiaomi Poco F7 at around 7 hours and 10 minutes, while the Vivo V60 got around 9 hours. If Samsung wants its mid-range phone to be a true gateway to its ecosystem, the Galaxy A37 really has to up its game in the battery life department.

For starters, while a 5,000 mAh battery used to be considered big, the new norm has gone up in the last few years. Phones are getting batteries with 5,500 mAh capacities and higher, and this is the best way to significantly improve a phone’s battery life.

The A37 could be the mid-range value king if Samsung really wants it to be

We still don’t have much information on the Galaxy A37, which leaves a lot of room for hope. Samsung has been incrementally updating its more affordable mid-ranger for years now, but this series could easily dominate the $400 price segment if only Samsung:

• Replaces the macro camera with a telephoto one
• Eliminates the stutter and laggy user experience
• Improved the battery life by at least 30 minutes, or preferably an hour
• Got rid of the plastic frame

Besides the plastic frame, all of the above changes would undoubtedly make the Galaxy A37 the best budget phone for 2026, especially considering the outstanding display this series is already rocking and the incredible software support Samsung offers at this price point.

Then the Galaxy A37 can be a king — so good that it might even make pricier phones like the upcoming Pixel 10a sweat a little.