Review Summary
Expert Rating
Just a couple of months after launching its premium Galaxy S-series lineup, Samsung has introduced its latest A-series devices in India. The new Samsung Galaxy A36 and Galaxy A56 (review) come with key upgrades and a range of AI-powered features, thanks to the AI-ready One UI 7.
My focus today is on the Samsung Galaxy A36, which starts at Rs 32,999 for the base 8GB+128GB variant and goes up against some strong contenders in this price segment like the Vivo V50 (review) and Redmi Note 14 Pro+ (review). I’ve had my hands on the smartphone for some time now and I’ll be taking you through its highs, its lows, and whether it’s worth the asking price.
Table of Contents
Verdict
The Samsung Galaxy A36 offers good value, especially for those who prioritise a refined software experience, a premium design, an immersive multimedia experience, and a reliable camera setup. These strengths make it a well-rounded option in this segment. The phone, however, does not offer expandable storage, which could matter to many users in its segment. While it handles everyday tasks without stutters, the Galaxy A36 isn’t a powerhouse for playing intense games for an extended period.
Design and display
| Smartphone | Thickness | Weight | IP Rating |
| Samsung Galaxy A36 | 7.4 mm | 195 grams | IP67 |
| Vivo V50 | 7.67 mm | 199 grams | IP68 + IP69 |
| Redmi Note 14 Pro+ | 8.85 mm | 210 grams | IP68 |
There isn’t a major shift in design philosophy when comparing the Samsung Galaxy A36 to its predecessor, the Galaxy A35. The biggest change is in the camera module, which moves from individual camera rings to a vertically stacked pill-shaped layout. While this new design gives the phone a fresh look, it does cause some wobbling when placed on a flat surface. A case helps with that (not included in the box), which also offers a better grip over its glossy surface.
The phone comes in a few different colours, and I got the Awesome Lavender variant for review. The back panel has a subtle gradient that catches the light nicely, adding a bit of flair to the overall look. The device retains the IP67 water and dust resistance like its predecessor, which is good, although competitors are catching up by offering IP68 and even IP69 ratings now. Overall, the Galaxy A-series has finally created an identity of its own with the new camera design and doesn’t resemble the S series anymore, which could be a step in the right direction to help users differentiate among its budget, mid-budget, and premium smartphones.
| Smartphone | Display | Peak brightness |
| Samsung Galaxy A36 | 6.68-inch Super AMOLED | 1,200 nits |
| Vivo V50 | 6.77-inch AMOLED | 4,500 nits |
| Redmi Note 14 Pro+ | 6.67-inch Super AMOLED | 3,000 nits |
The Galaxy A36’s in-hand ergonomics is quite comfortable, and it’s noticeably lighter (about 7 grams) than its predecessor. As for the display, Samsung has gone with a slightly larger 6.7-inch Super AMOLED panel, featuring an FHD+ resolution (2340 x 1080p), a 120Hz refresh rate, 1200 nits of brightness, and HDR10+ support.
Samsung has long been known for offering some of the best displays in its price segment, and that remains true here. The visuals are sharp and vibrant, and the stereo speakers do a great job of enhancing the multimedia experience. The display also remains legible under direct sunlight, thanks to the improved brightness level.
There’s also an in-display fingerprint sensor, which works well but feels a bit slower compared to some other phones in this segment.
Cameras
The camera setup on the Galaxy A36 remains mostly unchanged compared to the last-gen model. It carries over the same 50MP primary camera, 8MP ultra-wide lens, and 5MP macro lens from its predecessor. Interestingly, the selfie camera has been downgraded to 12MP from the Galaxy A35’s 13MP sensor. There’s no telephoto camera either, which is becoming common among smartphones in the sub-Rs 35K segment.
In daylight, the cameras produce good-looking images with decent dynamic range, realistic colour reproduction, and solid edge detection. However, ultrawide shots lack detail and often appear fuzzy.
Low-light performance is where the cameras struggle. Even with night mode enabled, images tend to be soft, with noticeable noise creeping into darker areas. The selfie camera is hit-or-miss in daylight as it smooths out the skin a little too much and sometimes struggles with colour balance. The Galaxy A36 performs best when taking standard shots in well-lit conditions and portraits, where it gets colours and details just right.
You also get a few AI-powered features like Object Eraser and Edit Suggestions, which can help enhance your images by removing unwanted objects, or even people. The Object Eraser, in particular, works quite well, though it may take a couple of tries to get it just right. There’s also Custom Filters, which lets you replicate the look of a sample image by adjusting colour temperature, contrast, film grain, and saturation, essentially helping you match the ‘vibe’ of a photo effortlessly.
I compared the phone’s cameras against its chief rivals, the Vivo V50 and Redmi Note 14 Pro+ and here’s how it fares:
Daylight
The Samsung Galaxy A36 takes a more neutral approach to colour processing, delivering realistic colours in daylight shots. In contrast, the Vivo V50 boosts saturation and contrast, making images appear more vibrant and visually appealing. When it comes to detail and sharpness, both phones are quite evenly matched. However, the Vivo V50 does a better job of preserving shadows, whereas the Galaxy A36 tends to blow them out, making its images appear flatter in comparison.
The Redmi Note 14 Pro+ takes a different approach with a warmer colour profile, rich greens, and deep yellows that add to its visual appeal. Like the Galaxy A36, it also tends to blow out shadows, though more aggressively, which can make darker areas lose depth. Although, it holds a clear advantage over both the Vivo V50 and Galaxy A36 in terms of detail and sharpness.
Ultra-wide
Both the Samsung Galaxy A36 and Vivo V50 maintain consistent colour science in ultrawide shots compared to their primary camera images. The key difference lies in detail and sharpness—while the Galaxy A36 uses an 8MP ultrawide lens, the Vivo V50 benefits from a high-resolution 50MP sensor, with a perceptible improvement in clarity and detail.
Against the Redmi Note 14 Pro+, the Galaxy A36 squares up well, with both offering similar colour reproduction. However, the Note 14 Pro+ manages slightly better sharpness, despite also using an 8MP lens. That said, the Galaxy A36 has an advantage when it comes to edge distortion, as its ultra-wide shots exhibit less warping than those from the Note 14 Pro+.
Portrait
The Vivo V50 takes a heavy-handed approach to colour processing in portrait mode, oversaturating images and making skin tones appear unnaturally vibrant. The Galaxy A36, on the other hand, keeps skin tones realistic and true-to-life. However, its portrait shots lack the same level of detail and sharpness as the Vivo counterpart.
The Redmi Note 14 Pro+ exhibits similar aggressive colour tuning, though it manages to keep skin tones slightly more natural. It also increases contrast significantly, giving portraits a more dramatic look. The Galaxy A36 remains the most accurate in terms of colour reproduction and has a slight edge in facial detail, as the Redmi Note 14 Pro+ tends to smooth out textures.
Selfie
Neither the Vivo V50 nor the Samsung Galaxy A36 delivers accurate colours in selfies. The Vivo V50 leans towards warm tones, while the Galaxy A36 shifts towards cooler shades. However, the V50 offers better overall colour balance, whereas the A36 struggles with high exposure, causing selfies to look washed out. In terms of facial details, both phones apply skin smoothing, but the Vivo V50 retains more texture.
The Redmi Note 14 Pro+ also lacks colour accuracy in selfies, adopting a warm profile. Detail-wise, it falls slightly behind both the Galaxy A36 and Vivo V50, as they offer better sharpness and richer facial textures.
Low-light
With night mode enabled, the Vivo V50 takes an aggressive approach to colour tuning, brightening the scene significantly and making it appear far more vibrant than in reality. That aside, it does an excellent job of retaining details and maintaining strong edge detection. The Galaxy A36, while better at balancing colours, struggles to capture the same level of sharpness and detail as the Vivo V50 in night shots.
The Redmi Note 14 Pro+ delivers the most colour-accurate low-light images of the three. It enhances contrast and highlights to improve exposure without making colours appear artificially rich. It also outperforms the Galaxy A36 in detail and sharpness when shooting in low light.
Performance and software
Unlike its predecessor, which used an Exynos chipset, the Galaxy A36 comes with the Snapdragon 6 Gen 3 SoC, paired with up to 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage. However, Samsung has dropped expandable storage this time, which is a puzzling choice considering the Galaxy A35 had it.
Performance-wise, the Galaxy A36 feels fairly average for its price segment. There are several competitors, like the Vivo T3 Ultra and Vivo V50, that offer more powerful chipsets. That said, the phone handles everyday tasks well, whether it’s social media browsing, texting, video calls, or light gaming. It can even run moderately demanding titles like COD: Mobile and BGMI without much trouble.
You can take a look to see how it compares against its direct rivals.
When it comes to software, you get UI 7 based on Android 15 out of the box. The OS is extremely smooth to use and feels really swift. It also helps that the app drawer is rather compact and devoid of many pre-installed apps, which makes it feel more premium. However, the lock screen glance can push personalised ads, which may or may not be useful to users. The good news? Samsung remains thoughtful by offering an option to tweak these settings-something you won’t always find on rival Android phones.
Intelligent search features like Google’s Circle to Search and AI Select make it easier to browse and search information online. The latter is also useful for creating GIFs out of videos playing on the display, finding relevant context for a text online, etc. Then there’s your regular ensemble of Samsung exclusive offerings like Samsung’s Pay feature and Knox security, among other things. The cherry on top is the 6-year OS and security updates, taking it head and shoulders over other competitors in this price segment.
| Smartphone | Pre-installed apps | Software support |
| Samsung Galaxy A36 | 52 | 6 OS upgrades + 6 years security |
| Vivo V50 | 51 | 3 OS upgrades + 4 years security |
| Redmi Note 14 Pro+ | 66 | 3 OS upgrades + 4 years security |
Battery and charging
The Galaxy A36 sticks with the same 5,000mAh battery as its predecessor, but this time, charging speeds have been bumped up to 45W. As tradition has it, Samsung provides no compatible charger in the box, so you’ll have to get one separately.
Unlike many brands that are shifting to larger 600,0mAh+ silicon-carbon batteries, Samsung has stuck to a more conservative approach. As a result, battery life takes a hit compared to competitors.
In our battery benchmark test, the Galaxy A36 delivered below-average results, and real-world performance mirrored that. During our two-hour lab test, which included streaming and gaming, the battery dropped by 29 percent, whereas competitors like the Vivo V50 and Redmi Note 14 Pro+ saw only 23 percent and 20 percent drops, respectively.
| Smartphone | Battery | Charging time |
| Samsung Galaxy A36 | 5,000mAh | 64 minutes (45W) |
| Vivo V50 | 6,000mAh | 39 minutes (90W) |
| Redmi Note 14 Pro+ | 6,200mAh | 52 minutes (90W) |
With my moderate usage, I got around 7 hours of screen-on time on the Galaxy A36. While that’s not bad, it’s not quite competitive by today’s standards. On the charging front, there’s some good news – the device takes just over an hour to charge fully from 20 percent. That’s a decent speed, though still a bit behind competitors that not only have larger batteries but also charge faster.
Final Verdict
The Galaxy A36 starts at Rs 32,999 for the 8GB+128GB variant, with the top-end 12GB+256GB model priced at Rs 38,999. For what it offers, the A36 holds good value – especially if you prioritise a polished software experience (with AI features) and a premium-looking design. Its cameras are reliable, though low-light performance could have been better. And, as expected from a Samsung device, the multimedia experience remains one of its biggest strengths.
Its closest competitors are the Vivo V50 (review) and Redmi Note 14 Pro+ (review). The Vivo V50 has an advantage with higher performance and slightly better cameras, though its software experience isn’t as refined. The Redmi Note 14 Pro+ also offers longer battery life, faster charging, and a more durable build, while its camera performance is on par with the A36.
At the end of the day, the Galaxy A36’s biggest advantage lies in its software experience, unmatched long-term support, great multimedia performance, premium design, and reliable cameras – making it a well-rounded, jack-of-all-trades option in this segment.
Editor’s Rating 7.8/10
Reasons to buy:
- The Galaxy A36 offers an excellent multimedia experience, making it a great choice for streaming and entertainment.
- Samsung’s One UI 7 provides a smooth, refined, and feature-rich software experience.
- The phone’s camera setup is reliable, delivering good results in most lighting conditions.
- With six years of software support, the Galaxy A36 promises long-term usability and security updates.
Reasons not to buy:
- The lack of expandable storage may be a drawback for users.
- While the performance is adequate for everyday tasks, it falls short compared to some competitors in this price range.
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