Pros & Cons
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- Impressive performance
- Long battery life
- Bright screen
- Durable build
- Six years of OS and security updates
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- Only 128GB of storage
- Limited AI features
Samsung Galaxy A36 5G Specs
| Battery Life (As Tested) | 16 hours, 40 minutes |
| Camera Resolution (Rear; Front-Facing) | 50MP, 8MP, 5MP; 12MP |
| CPU | Qualcomm Snapdragon 6 Gen 3 |
| Dimensions | 6.41 by 3.08 by 0.29 inches |
| Operating System | Android 15 |
| Screen Resolution | 2,340 by 1,080 pixels |
| Screen Size | 6.7 |
The Samsung Galaxy A36 refines the successful Galaxy A35 formula with a slightly larger screen and new AI features. Priced at $399.99, it’s a highly dependable midrange Android phone that delivers smooth performance and excellent battery life. It's easy to recommend, especially if you're looking for something that will last for years to come, as the A36's durable build and Samsung's software update policy both bode well for long-term use. That said, if you can stretch your budget, the Google Pixel 9a (starting at $499.99) remains our Editors' Choice in this price range thanks to its superior cameras, greater storage options, and more powerful AI capabilities.
Design: Familiar Samsung Styling
The A36 resembles any number of Galaxy phones from the last couple of years, thanks to its rounded rectangular shape and mostly flat sides. There's nothing wrong with the design, but Samsung has recycled it a lot, and the A36 borders on generic. The phone comes in Awesome Black or Awesome Lavender. The back of the black model I tested is a shiny fingerprint magnet.
(Credit: Iyaz Akhtar)The phone measures 6.41 by 3.08 by 0.29 inches (HWD) and weighs 6.88 ounces, making it taller, but thinner and lighter than the Galaxy A35 (6.37 by 3.07 by 0.32 inches, 7.37 ounces). The Pixel 9a is more compact, but thicker (6.09 by 2.89 by 0.35 inches, 6.56 ounces). It feels well-built, with smooth edges, though its width stretches my hand more than I’d like.
The A36's front and rear are covered with tough Gorilla Glass Victus+, though its frame is made of plastic. The large display has a uniform bezel on the top and sides, with a thicker chin at the bottom. The fingerprint sensor is under the display and proved reliable in testing.
(Credit: Iyaz Akhtar)A volume rocker and power button are on the right side in a raised part of the frame. The buttons have pleasing travel and spacing. A SIM tray, USB-C (v2.0) port, and down-firing speaker are on the bottom edge. The left side is bare, and there are two mic holes on the top edge. There is no 3.5mm headphone jack. Disappointingly, the A36 loses the microSD card slot of the A35, which means you're limited to the 128GB of onboard storage. The triple camera array is housed on the back surface in a raised, pill-shaped bump. The phone's front-facing camera is visible at the top of the display.
(Credit: Iyaz Akhtar)The phone has an IP67 rating, meaning it is dust- and water-tight like the A35. The Pixel 9a features an even better water protection rating of IP68, which mostly means it can sit in deeper water for longer.
Display: Big, Bright, and Smooth
(Credit: Iyaz Akhtar)The A36 features a 6.7-inch Super AMOLED screen with a resolution of 2,340 by 1,080 pixels, a refresh rate of 120Hz, and a peak brightness of 1,900 nits. The screen is larger and brighter than the A35's 6.6-inch display and its peak brightness of 1,000 nits, though the resolution and refresh rate are the same.
The Pixel 9a's 6.3-inch display is smaller but has a slightly higher resolution of 2,434 by 1,080 pixels, a refresh rate up to 120Hz, and a brighter peak of 2,700 nits.
The A36 displays smooth animations and is bright enough to easily handle most indoor and outdoor conditions. However, the front glass is reflective, which can sometimes hinder visibility.
Performance: Plenty of Pep for Most Tasks
The A36 is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 6 Gen 3 processor with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. There are no other storage options. Samsung says it increased the A36's vapor chamber by 15% compared with the previous generation.
(Credit: Geekbench/PCMark/GFXBench/PCMag)For benchmark testing, I pit the A36 against the Galaxy A35 (Samsung Exynos 1380 chip, 6GB of RAM) and the Pixel 9a (Google Tensor G4 chip, 8GB of RAM).
In Geekbench 6, which measures raw CPU power, the Galaxy A36 scored 1,028 on the single-core test and 2,968 on the multi-core test. This is close to the A35's scores of 1,010 and 2,790, but much lower than the Pixel 9a's scores of 1,704 and 4,425.
On the PCMark Work 3.0 test, which measures how a phone performs general mobile tasks, the A36 scored 13,159. That's a solid improvement on the A35's score of 11,785 and marginally better than the Pixel 9a's 12,857.
To assess graphics performance, I use the GFXBench Aztec Ruins test. The A36 produced a result of 20 frames per second (fps), a small improvement from the A35's 19fps, but well below the Pixel 9a's 68fps.
(Credit: Iyaz Akhtar)For real-world gaming performance, I test with the resource-intensive Genshin Impact. The A36 handled the game smoothly on medium settings at 60fps. Raising the graphics to high settings introduced some frame drops and occasional slowdowns. After 20 minutes of gameplay, the area near the rear camera became warm but stayed comfortable.
Battery: The Biggest Improvement
This phone has a large 5,000mAh battery that charges at up to 45W when plugged in, though it doesn't support wireless charging. There is no charger is in the box, so you must supply your own.
In a battery rundown test, in which I stream a 1080p video over Wi-Fi with the display at full brightness, the A36 lasted an excellent 16 hours and 40 minutes. This is an enormous increase compared with the A35 (10 hours, 50 minutes) and significantly longer than the Pixel 9a (13 hours, 15 minutes)
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When connected to a compatible fast charger, the A36 battery reached 38% in 15 minutes, 65% in 30 minutes, and 100% in 1 hour and 10 minutes.
Connections: Broad 5G Support
The phone supports 5G (C-band, mmWave, and sub-6GHz), Bluetooth 5.4, NFC, and Wi-Fi 6 for connectivity. It supports one physical SIM card and one eSIM.
(Credit: Iyaz Akhtar)On T-Mobile's 5G UC network in New York City, the A36 reached a maximum download speed of 421Mbps and a maximum upload speed of 59.7Mbps. For comparison, a Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 reached 577Mbps down and 70.3Mbps up when tested in the same location.
When connected to a Wi-Fi 6 access point, the A36 reached peak speeds of 536Mbps down and 22.8Mbps up, while the Fold 6 hit 354Mbps down and 22.8Mbps up. When I took the phones to the limit of my Wi-Fi network, both performed well. The A36 reached 379Mbps down and 23.0Mbps up, while the Z Fold 6 reached 335Mbps down and 23.1Mbps up.
Audio: Loud and Clear, But Lacking Depth
Call quality is satisfactory. In a test recording, my voice sounds clear and easy to understand, though the A36 cannot fully remove loud background music.
(Credit: Iyaz Akhtar)The earpiece speaker reached 89.2dB with the decibel meter right on top of it, while the speakerphone hit 72.4dB with the meter positioned six inches away. I find volumes at or around 70dB easy to hear, so the earpiece and speakerphone handily meet that criterion.
(Credit: Iyaz Akhtar)I use the same six-inch test to measure media playback volume. When playing Metallica's "Enter Sandman," the A36 reached a maximum volume of 93.4dB, though the audio was on the thin side. The lowest notes of The Knife's "Silent Shout" weren't easily audible through the phone's speakers, so you'll want to get a pair of Bluetooth earbuds for richer sound.
Cameras: Vivid Shots With the Samsung Look
The Galaxy A36 has the same rear cameras as the A35: a 50MP f/1.8 main shooter, an 8MP f/2.2 ultra-wide lens, and a 5MP f/2.4 macro camera.
(Credit: Iyaz Akhtar)Colors and details are somewhat inconsistent between the main and ultra-wide cameras of the A36. They still produce the classic Samsung look, with colors that tend to be oversaturated and brighter than reality.
The A36's main camera takes 12.5MP images by default using pixel binning, though you can shoot in full resolution if you wish. As expected, 50MP images retain a greater level of detail compared with 12.5MP shots.
In this ultra-wide shot below, you can see different green coloration in the trees compared with images from the main camera (above). It's not a huge difference, but it is noticeable.
The 5MP macro lens takes fine photos. It captures small details like scratches on this watch, but the images look dark compared with those of the other cameras.
The A36 moves to a 12MP f/1.8 selfie camera instead of the 13MP f/2.2 camera in the A35. The new selfie camera captures details well and features the same Samsung processing. Portrait mode does a good job separating hair from the background, but had trouble with my glasses.
For video, both front and rear cameras top out at a resolution of 4K and a frame rate of 30fps. They capture good color and detail, though the footage appears brighter than what your eyes see in real life. There is no optical image stabilization, so you may want to invest in a gimbal if you plan to shoot action video.
Software: A Small Taste of AI
The A36 ships with Android 15 and Samsung's One UI atop it, which adds customized software like enhanced multitasking and some AI features. Samsung backs the A36 with six years of OS and security updates, an improvement on the A35, which receives four years of OS updates and five years of security. The Pixel 9a, on the other hand, gets feature and security updates for seven years.
(Credit: Iyaz Akhtar)Samsung markets its AI tools for its A series devices as Awesome Intelligence, which is distinct from the Galaxy AI it uses for premium products. The A36 is the first A phone to come with Circle to Search by Google (which lets you search for things on the screen). Awesome Intelligence also includes an object eraser in the Gallery app and AI Select that lets you select text or images on the screen. All the AI features function as expected, though the toolset is limited compared with what Galaxy AI offers on Samsung's pricey flagship phones.
(Credit: Iyaz Akhtar)