Gets the job done, but only just

Samsung’s Galaxy A series has long been the safe bet among mid-range Android phones for buyers who want something dependable without diving into lesser-known brands. In markets like the US, where mid-range options are surprisingly scarce, that reputation carries even more weight. The Galaxy A36 5G continues that tradition — but only just. It looks the part, ticks most of the usual boxes, and on paper, it sounds like a perfectly reasonable buy for $399. But after using it for a few weeks, I found myself wondering if dependable has quietly become disappointing.

If you’ve seen a Galaxy A series phone in the last few years, you’ll feel right at home with the A36 5G’s rectangular slab build with a flat back and flat side rails. That said, there are a few noteworthy refinements. The A36 5G now features Gorilla Glass Victus Plus on both the front and back, a welcome upgrade that adds a layer of durability. It’s also IP67 rated, which means it can handle splashes, rain, and accidental submersion without trouble.

The A36 5G is nearly identical in height and width to its predecessor, the Galaxy A35 5G, but it’s noticeably thinner (by almost a millimeter) and about 10 grams lighter. It’s a small difference, but one you can feel. The phone sits better in the hand and doesn’t feel overly bulky. That said, it’s still a big phone overall, and not one I’d call comfortable for one-handed use.

There’s one obvious design change, though: the rear camera layout. Instead of Samsung’s now-standard floating camera rings, the A36 5G brings back the older, elongated camera island. It’s the same look Samsung moved away from a couple of years ago. Maybe recycling designs is good for the planet, too?

The Awesome Black color option I have, unfortunately, lives up to its name only in irony. The glossy finish attracts fingerprints relentlessly, as you’ve probably already noticed from the photos so far — this makes the phone look perpetually smudged unless you carry a cleaning cloth with you. If you’re planning to slap a case on it, this won’t matter much. But if you like your phone naked, I’d suggest going for the Lavender variant instead, which should be easier on the eyes and the smudges.

The A36 5G continues the trend of Samsung quietly trimming away beloved features from its A series phones. The headphone jack’s long gone, but now the microSD card slot has joined it in the graveyard. You’re locked into 128GB of internal storage in the US (some regions do have a 256GB option available, too), with support for one physical SIM and an eSIM.

The front of the Galaxy A36 5G is dominated by its 6.7-inch Super AMOLED display, which is a slight bump up from the 6.6-inch panel on the A35 5G. It’s a 1,080 x 2,340 resolution screen with a 120Hz refresh rate, and there’s a small punch-hole cutout for the selfie camera. Samsung has made one meaningful upgrade here: the peak brightness is now rated at 1,200 nits, up from 1,000 nits on the A35 5G.

In real-world use, that’s enough to make the phone perfectly usable outdoors, although the highly reflective surface did trouble me at times. The screen itself is not flagship-level bright, but it was enough for reading messages or checking Google Maps when I was out and about. Indoors, the AMOLED panel delivers rich contrast and punchy colors, and while HDR isn’t officially supported in apps like Netflix, the screen still makes streaming content look vibrant and crisp.

The stereo speaker setup (combining a bottom-firing driver with the earpiece) enhances the multimedia experience, delivering decent audio for casual viewing.

The phone comes with an in-display fingerprint scanner, which technically “works,” but that is about the nicest thing I can say about it. We’re talking a full two-second delay every single time, which sounds minor until you’re standing at a crosswalk desperately trying to check Google Maps while the light counts down. After a few days with the A36 5G, I started instinctively reaching for my pattern before even attempting the fingerprint sensor.

I’ve been testing the Galaxy A26 5G alongside the A36 5G, and its side-mounted physical fingerprint scanner has always felt significantly faster and more reliable. I get that in-display scanners still feel more futuristic, but I’d rather have something that just works. There’s also 2D face unlock if you want it, but it’s software-based, so it’s not particularly secure.

Performance is where things really start to fall apart

Unfortunately, that slow unlock experience was just the beginning. The deeper I got into daily use, the more I realized that sluggishness is baked into almost every part of the Galaxy A36 5G.

Almost every interaction, whether it’s swiping through the UI, scrolling in apps, or launching something as basic as the camera, comes with a noticeable delay. Animations often stutter, apps routinely take three to five seconds to load, and even light multitasking (like jumping from Google Maps to Spotify to pick a song) can cause the phone to stutter or freeze up momentarily. If you’re hoping to quickly snap a photo of something you just passed on the street, chances are the A36 5G won’t keep up.

Samsung has swapped out its in-house Exynos 1380 for Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 6 Gen 3 (4nm), paired with an Adreno 710 GPU. It’s an eight-core setup, much like last year’s chip, and on paper, it actually offers a weaker CPU setup. That plays out in the benchmarks, with the real-world PCMark test and the CPU-based Geekbench 6 tests coming in at lower scores than the A35 5G.

I’ve also been using the cheaper Galaxy A26 5G alongside the A36 5G, and if I didn’t know which was which, I’d have a hard time telling the difference in performance. The A26 is $100 cheaper, yet the day-to-day experience felt nearly identical. In fact, there were moments when the A26 5G felt more responsive during basic tasks.

I recently reviewed the Moto G Power (2025), which runs on a technically weaker chipset, and even that felt more fluid in day-to-day situations like swiping away your notifications or clicking pictures. Samsung’s One UI 7 may just be too heavy for a mid-range chip like this, or maybe it simply hasn’t been properly optimized for budget-tier devices yet.

Given how sluggish the phone felt across basic tasks, I wasn’t expecting much from gaming, but that’s where the A36 5G actually surprised me in a good way. I loaded up PUBG Mobile and found the phone could run the game at 60fps with graphics set to HD. That’s not something I anticipated, considering how much the system struggles elsewhere. Even more surprising was how smooth the experience was: no overheating, no significant frame drops, and no signs of thermal throttling during my 40-minute session. GPU performance is one area where the A36 5G is an improvement over its predecessor in benchmarks, too, but I’m not sure the minor bump is worth the general sluggishness elsewhere, especially when other phones in the price tier are getting better and better.

Battery life remains a reliable strength

The Galaxy A36 5G packs a 5,000mAh cell, something that has become the standard for budget and mid-range Android phones over the past several years. While a bigger battery would’ve been welcome, it’s worth highlighting that Samsung managed to maintain the same capacity while making the phone thinner and lighter than its predecessor.

The phone comfortably lasted more than a full day during moderate to heavy use in my tests. On a particularly busy day involving an Instagram livestream, some 4K video recording, and extended Google Maps navigation during a trip through Oakland, I still made it home with about 20% left — and a screen-on time of just about four hours.

On lighter days, I averaged around five hours of screen time across roughly a day and a half. It’s not outstanding by modern standards, but it’s dependable enough that you won’t be reaching for the charger before bedtime.

One feature you won’t find here is wireless charging. The good news is that wired charging has gotten a notable boost: the Galaxy A36 5G now supports 45W charging. That’s more than you get on the base Galaxy S25 or even the $1,800 Galaxy Z Fold 6.

The A36 5G takes just over an hour to fully charge using a compatible 45W charger. For comparison, using a standard 25W Samsung adapter stretched that time out by around 20 extra minutes. As expected, there’s no charger in the box, so you’ll need to pick up a compatible Power Delivery PPS charger separately.

It was a pleasant surprise to see the Galaxy A36 5G shipping with One UI 7 right out of the box, especially when Samsung’s 2024 flagships are still stuck on One UI 6. And while the overall performance didn’t do it any favors, I genuinely enjoyed getting my first proper look at what One UI 7 has to offer.

It is one of the more noticeable updates to Samsung’s software in recent years, and while it still looks and feels very much like One UI,  there are thoughtful refinements throughout. You get all the familiar customization options — themes, widgets, color palettes — and a few new tricks as well. The quick settings and notifications panels have been split, so swiping down from the left brings up notifications while the right side shows toggles. If that feels like overkill, there’s a setting to merge them back.

Samsung’s new “Now Bar” also makes an appearance. It works a bit like Apple’s Dynamic Island, showing you live updates on the lock screen when you’re using other apps, music playback, or background tasks. It looks fresh, and it’s actually useful.

What I liked most, though, is how the UI has been reworked for easier one-handed use. The search bar in the app drawer is now at the bottom, and core Samsung apps like the Camera have had their controls pulled closer to your thumb. It makes the phone feel just a little more thoughtful in day-to-day use.

You don’t get the full set of Galaxy AI tools here, but Samsung is offering a trimmed-down batch under the “Awesome Intelligence” label. You can also set Google Gemini as your default assistant, which means access to all the usual Gemini-powered features baked into Android.

Samsung is promising six years of software support for the Galaxy A36 5G, including OS updates and security patches. It’s an impressive update promise at this price and a step above what you get from brands like Motorola. Google now offers similar support for the Pixel A series, but Samsung still deserves credit for bringing that level of longevity to its mid-range devices.

That said, with the way this phone currently runs, I’m not sure anyone would want to hold onto it for six years. Two or three seems more realistic, unless you’re planning to use it as a secondary phone down the line. As for regular phone duties, I had no issues. I tested the A36 5G with a T-Mobile SIM in the Bay Area, and reception, call quality, and Wi-Fi performance were all solid throughout.

Samsung hasn’t changed much in the camera department on the Galaxy A36 5G. It’s practically the same budget phone camera setup as the A35 5G — a 50MP primary camera, 8MP ultrawide, and a 5MP fixed-focus macro lens that continues to serve more as spec filler. The only real change is a new 12MP selfie shooter, replacing the 13MP unit from last year.

The primary and front cameras are both solid, even if there’s nothing particularly standout about them. Photos come out well-detailed with well-balanced dynamic range, and that classic Samsung color tuning — slightly boosted, but not cartoonish. It’s not aiming for lifelike tones, but the results are punchy and pleasing to the eye. The primary sensor holds up decently in low light too, especially with Night Mode enabled, although the improvements are subtle at best.

The ultrawide camera, as expected, is a noticeable step down. It works fine in bright daylight but quickly loses sharpness in anything less than ideal conditions. As for the macro lens… well, let’s just say Samsung hasn’t meaningfully improved its macro cameras since I first saw them in 2020, and it shows. It’s there, it exists, and that’s about it.

The phone takes really good portrait photos as well, with pleasant skin tones and convincing background blur. I miss the option to shoot 2x portraits, something which many phones can do now without needing a dedicated telephoto lens.

Video is another area where the A36 5G holds its ground. The main and selfie cameras can shoot at 4K 30fps, and footage from the main sensor looks good in daylight, with stable results and solid dynamic range. There’s a Super Steady mode too, which uses the ultrawide camera to reduce shake, but it drops resolution to 1080p, and image quality takes a significant hit.

I also ran some side-by-side comparisons with the Galaxy A26 5G, and honestly, the results were surprisingly close. The A36 5G sometimes leans warmer in its color science, while the A26 5G tends to produce cooler-looking images, so your preference might come down to the scene you’re shooting. Although the A36 5G has a slightly larger main sensor and does capture marginally more detail if you’re the kind of person who zooms in to pixel peep. It also has a slight edge in 4K video quality.

My only gripe with the A36 5G’s cameras wasn’t the photos it takes, but how long it takes to take them. I usually like to check my photos right after I take them and snap a follow-up if needed. However, on the A36 5G, tapping the image preview after taking a shot takes a solid five seconds to load. Then, jumping back to the camera app adds another few seconds. That lag adds up quickly and makes the whole process feel unresponsive, especially when you’re trying to shoot something on the move.

You can check out all the full-res camera samples I took from the Galaxy A36 5G here.

The Galaxy A36 5G checks most of the boxes that Samsung’s mid-range phones are known for. It has a large AMOLED screen that’s great for watching content, a reliable all-day battery, decent cameras, and even enough power to run graphically intensive games.

You also get IP67 water resistance, faster 45W wired charging, and a slightly thinner, lighter body compared to 2024’s A35 5G. And of course, the standout talking point is six years of software support, which is undeniably impressive for a phone in this price range. But here’s the problem: the experience just doesn’t hold up in daily use.

Throughout my time with the Galaxy A36 5G, the sluggish performance was really hard to ignore. Routine tasks like scrolling through notifications and swiping between home screens feel like they’re too heavy for the phone, opening and switching apps take several seconds longer than they should, and it all adds up.

Using the A36 5G made me understand why Samsung still gets teased for having laggy software. It’s frustrating because One UI has come a long way over the years. On Samsung’s better phones, even some of its cheaper ones, it’s fast, fluid, and generally enjoyable to use. But this phone doesn’t reflect that. If this is someone’s first Samsung experience, I honestly wouldn’t blame them for being scared off for good.

There are brief moments when the A36 5G runs smoother, but those are the exception. That inconsistency doesn’t inspire much confidence, especially when this is how the phone behaves fresh out of the box. Hopefully, this is just a software optimization issue that Samsung can improve in a future update, but the underperformance in CPU benchmarks doesn’t leave me convinced that Samsung made the right choice to switch to a chip that can handle games better, but isn’t working for basic multitasking.

If someone outside the US asked me whether to buy the Galaxy A36 5G, the answer would be a firm no. At this price point, you’ll find several better-performing options from brands like OnePlus, Motorola, Xiaomi, realme, and others — many of which offer stronger cameras and snappier performance for the same or even less money.

In the US, however, the story’s a bit more complicated. The Galaxy A36 5G costs $400, and choices in that range are fairly limited. The Nothing Phone 3a ($379.99 at Amazon) is an interesting alternative, but it’s not easy to get stateside. If you can stretch your budget, I’d strongly recommend the Pixel 9a ($499 at Amazon) or even last year’s Pixel 8a ($499 at Amazon) if you can get one on sale. Both phones offer much smoother performance, better cameras, and equally strong software support, though you’ll have to live with a smaller (but brighter) display and slower charging.

If you’re committed to Samsung, try looking for discounts on the Galaxy S24 FE ($552.54 at Amazon). It won’t cost a whole lot more if you wait for the right sale and will deliver a much better experience overall. And if your budget can’t budge, the Galaxy A35 5G ($359.99 at Amazon) is still worth considering. It offers a near-identical experience to the A36 5G, minus the extended update support and the latest One UI version. Alternatively, hold out for the Galaxy A56 5G — unlike in 2024, Samsung is bringing its top-end A series phone to the US in 2025, but it hasn’t confirmed when at the time of this writing.

Overall, the Galaxy A36 5G isn’t a bad phone, but its sluggish performance holds it back in a big way. It’s capable of doing the basics and will appeal to users who value Samsung’s ecosystem and long-term support. But unless you’re extremely patient or only need a very basic device, there are better options out there.