Samsung’s midrange A-series has always been the safe play — familiar design, reliable software, and occasional flagship spillover. This year the company nudged that formula: the Galaxy A57 and A37 keep the family look but come with slimmer bezels, improved chips and camera processing, IP68 water resistance, six years of updates — and $50 higher price tags than their predecessors.
A quick snapshot
- Price: Galaxy A57 starts at $550 (8GB/128GB), Galaxy A37 starts at $450 (6GB/128GB). Both available April 9.
- Screens: 6.7-inch Super AMOLED, 120 Hz, up to 1,900 nits peak.
- Chips: A57 uses Exynos 1680; A37 moves to Exynos 1480.
- Battery and charging: 5,000 mAh with 45W Super Fast Charging 2.0.
- Durability & software: IP68 and six years of software/security updates.
- Buy the A57 if you want a near-flagship feel in a midrange price bracket: lighter hand-feel, better sustained performance, improved camera processing and extra connectivity like Wi‑Fi 6E.
- Consider the A37 if your budget is tighter and you prioritize battery life and a big screen over thin bezels and metal frames — but know you’re trading some smoothness and future-proofing.
A slimmer A57, a more modest A37
If you hold both phones the difference is obvious. The A57 has a metal frame, Gorilla Glass Victus+ front and back, thinner bezels and a lighter, more modern feel — Samsung trimmed it to 6.9 mm and about 179 g. The A37 is still substantial, using a plastic frame and thicker bezels; think of it as the practical, lower-cost sibling.
Both phones use 6.7-inch AMOLED panels and run One UI 8.5 on Android 16, so the software experience will be recognizably Samsung. The A57’s sleeker build and base 8GB of LPDDR5X memory make it the smoother long-term pick; the A37 starts at 6GB and feels a touch more constrained in daily scrolling and multitasking.
Notable internals: small CPU gains, big NPU headline
The headline chip changes are conservative but useful. The A37 moves from last year’s Snapdragon 6 Gen 3 to Samsung’s Exynos 1480 — Samsung claims sizable neural-processing improvements (helpful for on-device AI tasks). The A57 upgrades to an Exynos 1680, which brings modest CPU and GPU boosts over the prior Exynos 1580 and a bigger jump in ISP performance for photos and video.
Camera upgrades are less about new sensors and more about smarter processing. Both phones keep a 50MP main shooter and add faster shutter response, cleaner night shots and improved portrait segmentation thanks to refreshed ISP algorithms. The A57’s transitions between lenses feel smoother than the A37’s camera pipeline.
Connectivity and features worth flagging
The A57 adds Wi‑Fi 6E and Bluetooth 6.0 support. Both phones finally move to IP68 water and dust resistance (an upgrade from IP67 on prior A-series models), and Samsung promises six years of OS and security updates — a rare midrange commitment that improves long-term value.
If you were hoping the A-series would inherit every premium S‑series feature, not so fast. Some newer software goodies found on the Galaxy S26 family, like Gemini Task Automation and the seamless Quick Share-to-AirDrop integration, aren’t present on these A phones. (Samsung’s S26 lineup has been getting AirDrop-like Quick Share features — see the company’s moves to bridge that gap Galaxy S26 will get AirDrop via Quick Share and Samsung lets Galaxy S26 talk AirDrop.)
Why the price bump?
A $50 increase for each model is the story many buyers will notice. Samsung pointed to market realities indirectly: supply issues for memory, geopolitical uncertainty and rising component costs are squeezing margins across the industry. Analysts (including IDC) say higher memory prices and broader economic pressure explain why even modest midcycle updates can come with steeper tags.
How they stack up against the competition
Samsung hasn’t lost its edge: brand recognition, frequent carrier promotions and deep sale discounts mean these A phones will probably look like bargains during events. But competition in 2026 is fiercer. The Pixel 10a undercuts on price while adding useful software perks (and wireless charging), Nothing’s Phone (4a) Pro brings flair and a stronger camera package, and Motorola’s refreshed G lineup continues to undercut on cost.
Who should consider each phone?
Samsung still plays the discount game well, so if you can time a purchase around a sale or carrier promotion the effective price drops dramatically. For many shoppers that’s when the A-series truly shines.
Quiet, iterative updates — but meaningful ones
These aren’t dramatic reinventions. Samsung’s A57 and A37 are incremental upgrades: a thinner A57 that leans into premium cues, a rebalanced A37 with a better NPU, and a joint promise of longer support and improved water resistance. That combination matters more than it sounds; six years of updates and durability upgrades push the midrange toward longevity, not just low cost. Whether that justifies the extra $50 depends on how much you value those longer-term comforts versus upfront price and rival features.
