Samsung Galaxy A37 and A57 hands-on: The cheaper phone might be a winner

Overview

Samsung Galaxy A37 and A57 hands-on: The cheaper phone might be a winner

The A37 and A57 are so close in terms of features and design that it basically comes down to price.

Details

The

450 Galaxy A37 (top) and

550 A57 (bottom) are the two newest members of Samsung's affordable A-series phone line. (Sam Rutherford for Engadget)

Late last year, Samsung launched its newest generation of affordable A-series phones, starting with the entry-level A17. Following the arrival of the flagship Galaxy S26 line, the company has returned to flesh out the rest of its midrange portfolio. The more affordable Galaxy A37 and Galaxy A57 sport some interesting upgrades, even when compared to some of their pricier siblings.

Before we dive into my hands-on impressions, I want to do a quick rundown of each phone's specs as that should help set up (or temper) expectations. As you'd expect based on their numbering, the A37 is the more affordable of the two with a base price of

450 for 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. You can also choose 8GB RAM and 256GB of storage for

540. Notably, when compared to the A17, the A37 features a much more recent and more powerful Exynos 1480 chip that brings a big jump in NPU performance and helps unlock much of the phone's newfound AI capabilities. It also comes with a large 6.7-inch AMOLED display, a 5,000m Ah battery and three rear cameras. However, two of those will likely get more use than the other as the A37 packs a 50-megapixel main camera and an 8MP ultra-wide, along with a 5MP macro shooter.

The Galaxy A37 will be available in four colors: charcoal, white, lavender and graygreen. However, the middle two are Samsung.com exclusives and the last one is only available from Best Buy. (Sam Rutherford for Engadget)

Meanwhile, the Galaxy A57 is a bit more expensive, starting at

550 for 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage, or

610 for the 8GB/256GB version. It also features a slightly more powerful Exynos 1680 processor and a higher-res 12MP sensor for its ultra-wide lens, but aside from that, it has the same general camera setup as A37 and the same size battery. One small difference is that the A57 has Bluetooth 6 connectivity and Wi-Fi 6E, but the A37 is still stuck with BT 5.3 and basic Wi-Fi 6.

For some reason, the A57 is only available in one color: navy. (Sam Rutherford for Engadget)

Both phones come with IP68 ratings for dust and water resistance (which is an upgrade from IP67 on the A36) and 120 Hz refresh rates. However, the most important shared trait is that while neither supports wireless charging, they can both take wired power at up to 45 watts, which is actually faster than a base Galaxy S26's limit of just 25 watts. Finally, in addition to six years of OS and security updates, the A37 and A57 are getting some trickle-down AI features from its flagship siblings. Those include improved support for Google's Circle to Search, Object Eraser and better transcription and translation capabilities in the Samsung Voice Recorder app.

Both phones have nearly identical designs, right down to the same screen size and number of cameras. That said, one area where Samsung cut corners on A37 is that it features a plastic frame instead of the A57’s aluminum. But even when you hold them side by side, it's rather difficult to discern between the two. There's no obvious difference in appearance or button layout, so the main way to tell the two apart is by feeling for the cooler touch you typically get from a metal chassis. Alternatively, if you look closely, you'll notice that the A37 has slightly thicker bezels around the outside of its screen.

Here's a closer look at the A37's color options. (Sam Rutherford for Engadget)

Compared to the Galaxy A17, the A37's Exynos 1480 felt significantly snappier and much better equipped for multitasking or AI-based tasks like removing unwanted objects from photos. Regardless, as the less expensive of Samsung's new midrange phone options, the company did a really good job disguising the major differences between the two new models.

To be honest, the A57 wasn't quite as appealing as the A37 due to its higher price and no additional features. The main tool it has that isn't available on its more affordable sibling is Samsung's Best Face camera tool, which allows the phone to analyze people's expressions so you can select your favorite reaction and put it in the photo you want. On paper, its Exynos 1680 chip should be a bit faster, but in normal use, it's really hard to tell. And unlike the A37, which comes in four colors (white, charcoal, lavender and gray/green, depending on the retailer), the A57 is only available in navy.

While they look the same, the A57 features an aluminum chassis instead of plastic like on the A37, which should be better for long term durability. (Sam Rutherford for Engadget)

As a more powerful and more premium alternative to the

200 A17, the A37 feels like a worthy upgrade for the money. It offers noticeably smoother performance along with a more elegant hole-punch selfie cam (instead of a waterdrop) and stereo speakers (instead of mono). Starting at

450, the A37 can also undercut the Pixel 10a while offering a larger 6.7-inch AMOLED display (versus 6.3 inches for the Pixel) and a smattering of equivalent AI features. And in some ways, the wider selection of colors just reinforces that Samsung is probably placing bigger bets on the A37's market prospects. If I were looking for an affordable Android phone with a big screen, I'd give more consideration to this new middle child in Samsung's A-series lineup.

Aside from bezels that are a tiny bit bigger, the Galaxy A37 (left) looks almost exactly the same as the more expensive Galaxy A57 (right). (Sam Rutherford for Engadget)

As for the A57, it's certainly not a bad phone, but starting at

550, it suffers from being in a much more competitive price bracket. For those who prefer smaller devices, the

500 Pixel 10a is cheaper while offering even better AI tools, a cleaner UI, wireless charging, a slightly larger battery and unmatched photo quality. However, the A57's biggest rival is arguably another Samsung phone: the Galaxy S25 FE. Aside from slower wired charging, it has an even nicer design, an extra year of software and security updates (seven total) and a proper telephoto camera instead of a macro lens. And while its MSRP is a bit higher at

650, it's regularly on sale for under

600 (or less), which effectively sidesteps the A57's biggest advantage.

That said, no matter which one you prefer, more options for affordable gadgets are always welcome — especially with the price of smartphones and PCs increasing due to the global RAM shortage.

The Galaxy A37 and A57 will officially go on sale April 9.

If you buy something through a link in this article, we may earn commission.

Key Takeaways

Samsung Galaxy A37 and A57 hands-on: The cheaper phone might be a winner
The A37 and A57 are so close in terms of features and design that it basically comes down to price
The
$450 Galaxy A37 (top) and$
550 A57 (bottom) are the two newest members of Samsung's affordable A-series phone line
Late last year, Samsung launched its newest generation of affordable A-series phones, starting with the entry-level A17
Before we dive into my hands-on impressions, I want to do a quick rundown of each phone's specs as that should help set up (or temper) expectations