Earlier this week, I bought to satisfy two of the three new Galaxy A-series telephones Samsung is introducing in 2025; the Galaxy A36 and Galaxy A56 (there’s additionally a Galaxy A26, which wasn’t proven off on the occasion).
Whereas the corporate’s mid-range telephone line could not command the identical diploma of bombast as its flagship Galaxy S25 collection, this era appears sleeker and extra succesful than ever earlier than.
Within the case of the Galaxy A36, it loses out on the A56’s brushed metallic body (it’s as an alternative silver plastic), has a smaller 50Mp sensor main its rear digicam array, alongside a extra modest 8MP ultrawide and 5MP macro snapper, whereas operating on Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 6 Gen 3 chipset, to the A56’s Exynos 1580 silicon. However that’s about so far as the compromises go.
It’s battery the place the A36 casts a shadow over the corporate’s present flagship
Like its pricier sibling, it sports activities a 6.7-inch Full HD+ 120Hz AMOLED panel that’s 20% brighter than the one discovered on its predecessor, set inside slimmer bezels.
Regardless of being markedly thinner than the Galaxy A35 (7.4mm, down from 8.2), Samsung has additionally managed to cram in a forty five% bigger vapour chamber, which ought to assist with sustained efficiency and gaming too.
However it’s the battery the place the A36 casts a shadow over the corporate’s present flagship, because it not solely boasts a bigger 5,000mAh cell (in comparison with 4,000mAh on the bottom S25), however just like the Galaxy S25+ and S25 Extremely, sports activities upgraded 45W Tremendous Quick Charging 2.0 as properly.
S25 house owners could have sometimes recouped about 56% cost after half-hour, whereas A36 (and A56) customers can anticipate to have refilled two-thirds of tinheritor telephones’ batteries in the identical time-frame, and that’s regardless of each fashions toting 25% bigger cells.
Though that Snapdragon 6 Gen 3 doesn’t provide a lot in the best way of extra headroom over the Exynos 1380 chip that powered final yr’s equal entry (Samsung cites a 6% general enchancment), there’s in any other case rather a lot to love concerning the A36.
Precept amongst them is the transfer to One UI 7.0, making these new A-series entries the primary of Samsung’s telephones after the Galaxy S25 line to return operating the corporate’s newest (and most well-received in latest reminiscence) OS, out the field.
AI is, in fact, probably the most tangible distinction to the consumer expertise right here, with the newest iteration of Google’s Circle-to-Search expertise, alongside parts of the Samsung’s personal Galaxy AI characteristic set, right here known as (for higher or worse) ‘Superior AI’. You’ll discover AI Choose within the Edge panel menu by default and the Now Bar in your lock display, for instance, simply as on an S25.
Extra considerably, this new A-series raises the bar among the many finest mid-range telephones within the Android area, by toting an unmatched six years of each OS and safety updates (up from 4 and 5 respectively, on the A35).
One space the place the Galaxy A36 shines greater than the A56 (considerably actually) is with its finishes. Though each gadgets come backed by reflective Gorilla Glass Plus (which additionally protects their shows), the A36’s 4 colourways characteristic a chromatic rainbow remedy, which stands out in relation to the flat colors up for grabs on the A56.
Tempted? Each the Samsung Galaxy A36 and Galaxy A56 go on sale on 19 March, with the A36 coming in at £399, which affords you 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage. Pre-orders can be found now.
There’s no 128GB variant this yr (until you’re a B2B buyer), which means costs stay in step with final yr’s 256GB-toting A35.