Earlier this week, I got to meet two of the three new Galaxy A-series phones Samsung is introducing in 2025; the Galaxy A36 and Galaxy A56 (there’s also a Galaxy A26, which wasn’t shown off at the event).
While the company’s mid-range phone line may not command the same degree of bombast as its flagship Galaxy S25 series, this generation looks sleeker and more capable than ever before.
In the case of the Galaxy A36, it loses out on the A56’s brushed metal frame (it’s instead silver plastic), has a smaller 50Mp sensor leading its rear camera array, alongside a more modest 8MP ultrawide and 5MP macro snapper, while running on Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 6 Gen 3 chipset, to the A56’s Exynos 1580 silicon. But that’s about as far as the compromises go.
It’s battery where the A36 casts a shadow over the company’s current flagship
Like its pricier sibling, it sports a 6.7-inch Full HD+ 120Hz AMOLED panel that’s 20% brighter than the one found on its predecessor, set within slimmer bezels.
Despite being markedly thinner than the Galaxy A35 (7.4mm, down from 8.2), Samsung has also managed to cram in a 45% larger vapour chamber, which should help with sustained performance and gaming too.
But it’s the battery where the A36 casts a shadow over the company’s current flagship, as it not only boasts a larger 5,000mAh cell (compared to 4,000mAh on the base S25), but like the Galaxy S25+ and S25 Ultra, sports upgraded 45W Super Fast Charging 2.0 as well.
S25 owners will have typically recouped about 56% charge after 30 minutes, while A36 (and A56) users can expect to have refilled two-thirds of their phones’ batteries in the same time frame, and that’s in spite of both models toting 25% larger cells.
Although that Snapdragon 6 Gen 3 doesn’t offer much in the way of additional headroom over the Exynos 1380 chip that powered last year’s equivalent entry (Samsung cites a 6% overall improvement), there’s otherwise a lot to like about the A36.
Principle among them is the move to One UI 7.0, making these new A-series entries the first of Samsung’s phones after the Galaxy S25 line to come running the company’s latest (and most well-received in recent memory) OS, out the box.
AI is, of course, the most tangible difference to the user experience here, with the latest iteration of Google’s Circle-to-Search experience, alongside elements of the Samsung’s own Galaxy AI feature set, here referred to as (for better or worse) ‘Awesome AI’. You’ll find AI Select in the Edge panel menu by default and the Now Bar on your lock screen, for example, just as on an S25.
More significantly, this new A-series raises the bar among the best mid-range phones in the Android space, by toting an unmatched six years of both OS and security updates (up from four and five respectively, on the A35).
One area where the Galaxy A36 shines more than the A56 (somewhat literally) is with its finishes. Although both devices come backed by reflective Gorilla Glass Plus (which also protects their displays), the A36’s four colourways feature a chromatic rainbow treatment, which stands out in relation to the flat colours up for grabs on the A56.
Tempted? Both 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 are available now.
There’s no 128GB variant this year (unless you’re a B2B customer), meaning prices remain consistent with last year’s 256GB-toting A35.
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