After a salvo of Galaxy S25 premium smartphones, Samsung focuses on the mid -range with the Galaxy A. Among them, the A36 manages to find the right balance. But is he really in the spot?

After a salvo of Galaxy S25 premium smartphones, Samsung focuses on the mid -range with the Galaxy A. Among them, the A36 manages to find the right balance. But is he really in the spot?

Fifteen years already that the range of Galaxy smartphones has appeared in the Samsung catalog. It consists today of five models, from A06 to less than € 100 to A56 from 499 euros, including the A36 invoiced from 399 euros that we test here. A mid -range mobile that has a lot to do on an ultra competitive sector.

Here, all manufacturers play elbows to seduce an ever more demanding audience but with a tight budget. Thus, in this price range, we find the Redmi Note 14 Pro+ 5G of Xiaomi, the Oppo Reno 13Fs 5G, the Poco X7 Pro, the Magic 7 Lite of Honor, Realme 14 Pro 5G or even the Nothing 3a to name a few of the most recent.

Beautiful people, therefore, to whom the Galaxy A36 must stand up. However, the Korean firm seems serene. A bit like Apple, it continues to bet more on its brand image than on real advances for this range. The Galaxy A36 therefore evolves gently compared to its predecessor The A35 5G released last year. Sufficient to seduce in 2025 in the face of long -tooth competition? We tested the Galaxy A36 5G for ten days. Here is our verdict.

Design and screen: small evolutions without revolution

While we imagined Samsung wanting to harmonize the designs between the Galaxy S family (high -end) and the Galaxy A, just to identify the mobile at the first glance, here is the Korean changes its rifle. The back of the device is now flanked by a single photo block grouping the three modules vertically. Previously, each of them was isolated (which is still the case on the S25 range). It is not a revolution but rather a step back. Why not.

Another observation, the back is covered, like the screen, by the way, with Cornilla Glass Victus+glass. Pretty at first glance, he hastened, however, collecting all possible fingerprints. A shell (not supplied) is therefore essential to avoid the phenomenon. Finally, the device takes advantage of an IP67 certification to withstand dust and immersion in water by 1 m background for 30 minutes. Not bad if most of its competitors display an IP68 index for better water resistance.

On the screen side, good news. On the one hand, its size increases, subtly, going from 6.6 inches to the A35 5G to 6.7 inches now. The definition remains confined on its side to FHD+, i.e. 1080 x 2340 pixels. The refreshment rate does not move either and remains at 120 Hz as much as possible. On the other hand, Samsung passes the maximum brightness from 1000 nits to 1,200 nits. A little more appreciable on paper but which is not really felt on a daily basis. The screen remains very readable but beware of the sun’s rays which can sometimes disturb the display.

Our regret: the presence of a fairly pronounced chin at the bottom of the screen and rather thick borders all around. Too bad because most smartphones playing in the same category now manage to limit this phenomenon.

Performances: sufficient for most daily uses

Technical sheet

The Galaxy A36 is distinguished from other family members by its engine. This is the only one to rely on a Qualcomm SOC, in this case a Snapdragon 6 Gen 3. The others carry an Exynos house processor. This sock is not a lightning lightning but is generally enough to properly run the most popular apps. Our model has 8 GB of RAM and 256 GB of storage space. Please note: the slot for a microSD memory card has disappeared. It is therefore no longer possible to extend the storage of the device after purchase. Damage.

The results of the various benchmarks to which we submitted it testify to good responsiveness. The device does not heat either. Navigation in the interface remains fluid and smoothly. A good point.

As for the games, it should not be asked too much. There is still a good partner if you are not too demanding. With our Reference title Genshin Impact, we were able to play 30 frames per second for a level of graphics set to the average.

Interface: One UI 7 and IA functions on board

Like the S25 range, this A36 is hosted by Android 15 supported by the ONEUI 7 overlay which should land on Samsung smartphones released last year in early April. We therefore find some new crossed functions during our test of the ultra galaxy S25 such as the Nowbar which, like Dynamic Island on iOS, presents information in real time in a small pill at the base of the screen (score of an in progress, route to follow, etc.). Homemade AI, the Galaxy AI is also there by limiting itself to this model, to basic functions as surrounding to search, magic eraser, the application of filters, the selection of elements of an image or even reading aloud. And, while he was believed to be relegated to oblivion, Bixby, the vocal assistant of Samsung, always squat the bitch button. If Gemini, Google’s AI is present, it has not yet managed to dislodge Bixby from its throne. Damage.

Finally, and it’s appreciable, Samsung pushes monitoring of software updates and security corrections at 6 years. The Galaxy A36 is distinguished on this point from the competition which remains shy in this price range by generally offering 3 to 4 years of updates.

Photo: We don’t touch anything and it’s a shame

This is one of the points that disappoints the most on this Galaxy A36. Not that he is a bad student to grasp shots but Samsung has not changed the frame since last year. And the firm is therefore behind the competition which does not skimp to perfect its mobiles in this area. We therefore have on the back of a main sensor of 50 Mpx (f/1.8), an ultra-angle of 8 Mpx (f/2.2) and a 5 MP macro sensor (F/2.4). On the front, only the selfie camera evolves. It goes from a 13 Mpx sensor to a 12 MP module but which benefits from a HDR mode. A very light frame with dated modules therefore. The addition of an optical telephoto lens, even 2x would have been a real plus. Too bad.

It is therefore without surprise that we see the same qualities and faults of last year with the A35 5G. By day the device is doing pretty well. The colors remain faithful to reality. The level of details also remains very correct and the light well managed. It is satisfactory for basic use.

In the absence of an optical zoom, therefore, we fall back on the digital zoom that does what it can. After the 2x (you can climb up to 10x), the details are lost and the software processing applies too pronounced smoothing.

The ultra-angle does not shine by its quality either. The brightness takes a blow in the wing and the colors tarnish.

The portrait mode is doing pretty well with a well -managed cutout and a bokeh effect applied correctly.

At night, the Galaxy A36 is struggling. The exposure time lengthens in the process of the risk of blurring. But when the conditions are good, the treatment applied by Samsung delivers good results.

Autonomy and recharge: in progress, thanks to one UI 7

The battery has not varied an iota from the A35 5G either. Samsung opts here for the minimum formula or 5000 mAh. Nevertheless, the combination of SOC Snapdragon and One-Iu 7 seems to work well. With our PCMARK test, the device held a little more than 2 p.m. while keeping 17% of battery in reserve. It is better than the A35 that had dropped us after almost 12 hours of work. What to hold a good day and a half wide.

On the recharge side, the device accepts a power of 45W. The charger is of course not delivered. Connected to our 100W Anker charger, the Galaxy A36 recovered 68 % battery in 30 minutes, 89 % in 45 minutes and finally 100 % in 65 minutes. It is much better than the A35 5G which limited the recharging to 25W.

Samsung Galaxy A36 5G: A safe bet?

The Galaxy A36 5G is not a bad smartphone. It checks all the boxes of a mid -range model with a neat look, a comfortable screen, very correct performance, a suitable photo shutter and satisfactory autonomy. Everything would be for the best if Samsung was the only manufacturer to offer a device in this price range.

But this is not the case. And Chinese competition, particularly fierce, he lasses the pawn in several aspects. If Samsung excels with its S range in photo, the Korean is in clear decline on this range A facing much better equipped mobiles. The AMOLED screen, of good quality also takes a stroke of old by looking at the slabs by edge that we regularly come across elsewhere.

For the price, we will find better at Xiaomi, Honor or Realme with a level of finish which has nothing to envy to the Samsung proposal. In short, the Korean must pull himself together if he does not want to be permanently exceeded. The brand image, which plays a lot on reliability, is not everything.