Is there a more competitive market than that between mid-range phones? If there is, I’m not aware of it. Samsung’s A-series phones are among the most popular in the world for their reliability and affordability. Is that enough in today’s age to stand out in an increasingly crowded ecosystem? Samsung may have increased the price of the Galaxy A37 compared to last year’s phone, but it largely remains a decent mid-range option, even though its tweaks are relatively minor.
Alongside its Galaxy A57 sibling, the A37 occupies the $600 to $800 space. It’s well beyond entry level, but still a couple of steps below the premium end of the market. What that gets you is a reliable phone that doesn’t shoot the lights out, but lasts a long time in terms of both battery life and software support.
While the Samsung Galaxy A37 doesn’t surprise in any way, its predictability is arguably its greatest strength. You know what you’re getting: a handset made for everyday use that doesn’t have any glaring weaknesses, nor one killer feature.
Table of contents
- Comparing the Samsung Galaxy A37 and Galaxy A57
- Specifications and price
- Design
- Performance
- Camera
- Who is the Samsung Galaxy A37 for?
![Samsung Galaxy A37 [AU Version] 5G A Series Mobile Phone, Awesome Intelligence, 128GB Storage, 6.7'' Display, Long Battery Life, Super Fast Charging, Awesome Lavender](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/318gt8LagOL.jpg)
Comparing the Samsung Galaxy A37 and Galaxy A57
Nearly every major Android brand sold in Australia has a phone available for $599 or reasonably close to it. Beyond Samsung, there’s Motorola, Oppo, and Nothing vying for valuable shelf space. But the easiest comparison to make is between the Samsung Galaxy A37 and the $150 more expensive Galaxy A57.
Announced and launched as a pair, Samsung positions one as being slightly better than the other. How different are they in reality, though? Some of the differences won’t mean too much to everyday users, like the slightly different display technology, or the Galaxy A37’s use of Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.3 versus Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 6.0.
In other areas, the differences are more tangible and easily recognised. The Galaxy A37 is noticeably heavier at 196g compared to the Galaxy A57’s 179g frame. Then on the inside, the Galaxy A37 relies on a smaller 6GB memory allocation (versus 8GB) and the slightly weaker Exynos 1480 chipset.
Functionally, though, both phones are much the same. Both have three cameras on the back, a 6.7-inch screen, and share many of the same software features.
There’s a quality gap, sure. The Galaxy A57 is slimmer, more powerful, and takes slightly nicer photos. That’s essentially the crux of what an extra $150 gets you.
Importantly, both phones get six years of operating system and security updates. That’s far beyond what comes with many other mid-range phones, and it should be the benchmark for similarly priced devices.
Samsung Galaxy A37 specifications and price
| Display | 6.7-inch Super AMOLED 1080 x 2340 resolution 120Hz refresh rate |
| Dimensions | 162.9 mm x 78.2 mm x 7.4 mm 196 grams |
| Processor | Samsung Exynos 1480 |
| Storage and memory | 128GB storage 6GB memory |
| Cameras | 50MP rear camera: f/1.8 8MP rear ultra-wide camera: f/2.2 5MP rear macro camera: f/2.4 12MP front camera: f/2.2 |
| Battery and charging | 5000mAh |
| Connectivity | USB-C 2.0 Wi-Fi 6 Bluetooth 5.3 Nano SIM eSIM NFC |
| Network bands | 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G (sub-6) |
| Software | One UI 8.5 (Android 16) Six years of OS and security updates |
| Durability | IP68 rating |
| Price (RRP) | $599 |
| Warranty | Two years |
| Official website | Samsung Australia |
Design
Samsung may have cut the bezels down on both of its A-series phones, but they’re still prominent on the Galaxy A37. Particularly along the top and bottom of the screen, the black borders stand out. Keep in mind, though, that my daily device is an iPhone 17 Pro Max, which sits in a much pricier category known for virtually borderless screens.
Like the Samsung Galaxy A35 I tested a couple of years ago, the Galaxy A37 is a bit slippery to hold. That won’t be an issue once a case goes on, but I found the smooth back lacking a bit of grip in my (admittedly sweaty) hands.
I really dig the ‘Awesome Lilac’ colour, though. It’s bright without being too in your face, and smudges are practically invisible unless you shine a light directly on the phone’s back.
Even though the Galaxy A37 is just under 20 grams heavier than the Galaxy A57, there’s a noticeable difference going from one to another. It’s not too heavy, but you’d be surprised by how 196g feels compared to 179g.
With that in mind, the A37 still feels nice in the hand, slight slipperiness aside. The power and volume buttons are within easy reach on the right-hand side, as is the fingerprint sensor on the bottom of the screen.
Its screen is also a winner for the price. AMOLED and variations thereof are pretty much par for the course among mid-range Android phones. And yet, Samsung’s take on the technology is particularly nice in terms of colours and brightness. At 120Hz, it’s nice and smooth, too.
Performance
There are times when the Samsung Galaxy A37 lags a little bit during daily use. Not enough to warrant tearing your hair out, but enough to be noticed. Particularly when first waking up or opening an app, there’s an occasional delay between your input and the phone responding. Once the Galaxy A37 gets its metaphorical gears turning, it’s a reasonably smooth experience.
Much of the slight sluggishness can be explained away by the mid-range Exynos 1480 chipset it uses. There’s also 6GB of physical memory at the phone’s disposal, the same allocation as previous models. However, this year’s phone uses the faster LPDDR5X variant. So, while the memory count is technically the same, it’s actually faster memory.
True as that might be, benchmarking tools show marginal improvements compared to the Galaxy A35 from two years ago. Most of the gains come from GPU performance, but not by a lot.
| Phone | CPU single-core | CPU multi-core | GPU |
| Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max | 3,768 | 9,443 | 45,451 |
| Apple iPhone 17 | 3,520 | 9,057 | 37,161 |
| Oppo Find X9 Pro | 3,165 | 9,418 | 20,447 |
| Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra | 2,360 | 8,911 | 14,671 |
| Apple iPhone 16e | 2,679 | 6,144 | 23,732 |
| Google Pixel 10 Pro | 2,317 | 6,455 | 3,233 |
| Oppo Reno 15 Pro | 1,555 | 6,330 | 11,828 |
| Motorola Edge 60 Pro | 1,432 | 4,695 | 9,107 |
| Google Pixel 10a | 1,730 | 4,501 | 8,795 |
| Samsung Galaxy A57 | 1,389 | 4,435 | 6,674 |
| Samsung Galaxy A56 | 1,364 | 3,898 | 6,539 |
| Samsung Galaxy A37 | 1,148 | 3,445 | 4,046 |
| Samsung Galaxy A55 | 1,153 | 3,428 | 3,086 |
| Motorola Edge 60 Fusion | 1,050 | 3,014 | 2,581 |
| Samsung Galaxy A35 | 1,011 | 2,897 | 3,001 |
It’s a similar story when putting the Galaxy A37 through its gaming paces. Using 3DMark’s suite of benchmarking tools, it didn’t light up the charts. Samsung’s mid-ranger can play games, that’s not a problem. However, it’s clear that spending $150 more on the Galaxy A57 gets nearly double the performance.
| Phone | Wild Life score | Wild Life Extreme score |
|---|---|---|
| Samsung Galaxy S25 FE | N/A | 4,399 |
| Apple iPhone 17e | N/A | 3,865 |
| Motorola Edge 60 Pro | N/A | 3,066 |
| Samsung Galaxy A57 | 6,180 | 1,781 |
| Samsung Galaxy A37 | 3,904 | 1,055 |
| Motorola Razr 60 | 3,597 | 1,008 |
Samsung Galaxy A37 battery life
A benefit of the Samsung Galaxy A37 not being a world-beating powerhouse is that it’s efficient. Because it doesn’t work as hard to begin with, the phone doesn’t drain its battery as quickly.
Case in point, the 20-minute Wild Life stress test in 3DMark drained only five per cent of the Galaxy A37’s battery compared to seven per cent of the Galaxy A57’s battery. Samsung’s cheaper phone also didn’t get as hot during the test, providing more stable performance over time.
It depends on what you use your phone for, of course, but the Galaxy A37 comfortably lasts a couple of days of general use on a full charge. Samsung claims that the Galaxy A57 lasts a bit longer, but that’s based on video playback, and not pushing the phone to its limit, like when gaming.
Camera
Ahead of the phone’s launch, Samsung shared that it had worked to reduce the amount of time between taking photos on the Galaxy A37. Not that I tried to capture high-speed movement that necessitated burst photography, but I didn’t notice any delays when taking a few snaps in quick succession. By that measure, I’m inclined to believe Samsung did a good job.
On the back of the phone, you’ll see a standard three-camera array, consisting of a 50MP main wide sensor, an 8MP ultra-wide lens, and a 5MP macro camera. A 12MP selfie camera rounds out the package, one that’s consistent with what you get from most $600 phones.
There’s a bit of colour difference between the ultra-wide and the main camera. By comparison, the ultra-wide shot of a footy stadium at night looks desaturated. Part of that is because the camera is trying to account for more points of exposure, like the shades at the top of the photo. Otherwise, the colours look appropriately vibrant on the Galaxy A37.
Like the Galaxy A57, there’s no telephoto lens to speak of. Although not devastating, given the price point, it means that digital zoom is your only option for getting a closer look. As for how that goes, I’ll let you take a squiz at the following image.
Elsewhere, the Galaxy A37’s cameras are serviceable, taking nice photos of everyday objects, and selfies look reasonably sharp. You can even get to within about 3cm of subjects by using the macro camera; it’s not as vibrant or sharp as the main camera, but it picked up particles on my Lego flower set that I couldn’t see from a cursory glance.
Who is the Samsung Galaxy A37 for?
You can’t ask for much more from a $600 phone. While the Samsung Galaxy A37 isn’t the most exciting device, it doesn’t throw any nasty surprises at you.
To use a sports analogy: the Galaxy A37 is a role player. Reliable and trustworthy, it specialises in getting the fundamentals right, rather than putting its name in lights. It has a great display, a good battery life, and Samsung’s promise of six years’ worth of operating system and security updates.
For $50 more than last year’s model, the improvements may not be drastic, yet they’re subtly beneficial for day-to-day use. Like all role players, the Samsung Galaxy A37 has its place on any team in need of an unassuming but hardworking contributor.
The post Samsung Galaxy A37 review: Maintaining the status quo appeared first on GadgetGuy.
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