Samsung Galaxy A36 5G vs Galaxy A35 5G: Main differences
Intro
Samsung has just announced a new mid-range phone, the Galaxy A36, which will take the relay from the older Galaxy A35 and carry the mid-range effort through 2025.
How has Samsung improved the winning formula?
Galaxy A36 vs Galaxy A35 differences:
| Galaxy A36 5G | Galaxy A35 5G |
|---|---|
| Much thinner phone overall (7.4mm) | Standard Galaxy design with 8.2mm thick body |
| Larger 6.7-inch display | Slightly smaller 6.6-inch display |
| 1,200 nits of brightness | Just 500 nits of brightness |
| Six years of software support | Four years of software support (three remaning) |
| Unified camera island | Separate camera lenses |
| Snapdragon 6 Gen 3 on board | Samsung's own Exynos 1380 chipset and 6GB/8GB RAM |
| Much faster 45W wired charging | Slower 25W wired charging |
Table of Contents:
Read more:
- Galaxy A36 and A56 expected features, prices, specs, and upgrades
- Samsung Galaxy A56 vs Galaxy A36 preview: Almost the same phone
- Samsung Galaxy A36 5G vs Galaxy S24 FE: Main differences to expect
- Samsung Galaxy A36 5G vs Galaxy S25: Can the mid-ranger potentially stand a chance?
- Samsung Galaxy A36 5G vs Galaxy A16 5G: Twice the price, double the phone?
Design and Size
Change for the sake of change
The most important new change that might befall the Galaxy A36 5G is a diet. Yes, Samsung will be slimming down the Galaxy A36 to a thinness of just 7.4mm, nearly a full millimeter thinner than the Galaxy A35's 8.2mm.
The biggest intergenerational change can be seen at the back, where Samsung has moved from the separate camera lens design on the Galaxy A35 and employs a unified camera island comprising all three camera lenses at the rear.
Not a design change that might have been done with any particular reason in mind, but hey, it looks different enough.
Aside from that, the design hasn't changed much.
The Key Island design element, which unifies the power and volume keys, is here to stay.
Interestingly, this design stands out a bit from the rest of Samsung's phones. The Galaxy S25 series, for example, uses separate camera lenses, just like the Galaxy S24 range, and the Galaxy A series now look like the outliers.
Aside from that, there aren't any other major changes between the Galaxy A36 and the Galaxy A35.
Display Differences
There's an ever so slight screen size increase: the new phone will have a 6.64-inch screen, while the Galaxy A35 had a 6.60-inch display, but this change is very incremental.
We expect the Galaxy A36 to retain the Super AMOLED screen. It will feature dynamic refresh rate, but there's no way of telling if it will adopt the Galaxy A35's 60-120Hz screen or adopt a smoother 10-120Hz refresh rate.
We could probably see a slightly brighter display on the Galaxy A36, too. Other than that, our guess is as good as yours as to what might be coming.
Performance and Software
Many potential changes
The Galaxy A36 uses the Snapdragon 6 Gen 3, a 5nm chipset that will surely strike a good balance between speed and power-savings. Efficiency is key with mid-range devices, after all.
This return to the Qualcomm fold will be another generational change after Samsung went from the MediaTek Dimensity 1080 with the Galaxy A34 to the Exynos 1380 with the Galaxy A35. It's now Qualcomm's turn once again in the driver's seat, though with some uncertainties involved.
In our initial tests, the Galaxy A36 and Galaxy A35 are on par in terms of CPU tasks, but the newer phone has the upper hand in terms of GPU performance.
Other than that, we will likely get either 6GB or 8GB as the bare minimum and a souped-up 12GB RAM version. Storage will likely start from 128GB and go up to 256GB in the higher tiers. A 512GB version is likely out of the question: that feels a bit too premium for a mid-range phone.
There is a microSD card slot on board the Galaxy A36.
In terms of software support, we will get six years of support for this new midranger. We know Samsung has committed to seven years of software support for its more premium phones, but honestly, six years of support for a mid-range phone is quite decent!
Camera
Room for improvement
Aside from the design change at the rear, we probably won't get any substantial updates in terms of the hardware underneath the three cameras.
We get a 50MP main, an 8MP ultrawide, and finally, a 5MP macro is sadly completing the camera setup. At the front, we have a 12MP camera.
The Galaxy A35 had that 50MP main, 8MP ultrawide, a 5MP macro camera, and a 13MP front-facing camera, which does the job, but doesn't impress with anything in particular.
More Galaxy 36 vs Galaxy A35 camera samples
Battery Life and Charging
5,000mAh or smaller?
The Galaxy A35 had a standard 5,000mAh battery, which is great, but the thinner Galaxy A36 also has one on board, which is altogether great news!
Coupled with the Snapdragon 6 Gen 3, this large battery will likely outlast many a phone out there.
Charging-wise, we've got an intriguing upgrade to 45W of wired charging, which is more than you get on the Galaxy S25, for example.
Specs Comparison
Here's how the Galaxy A36 5G vs Galaxy A35 5G specs will likely compare once the former goes official:
| Galaxy A36 5G | Galaxy A35 5G | |
|---|---|---|
| Size, weight | 162.6 х 77.9 х 7.4mm | 161.7 x 78.0 x 8.2 mm, 209gr |
| Screen | 6.7" Super AMOLED 1,200 nits of brightness 120Hz | 6.6" Super AMOLED 500 nits of brightness 120Hzs |
| Processor | Snapdragon 6 Gen 3 (5nm) | Exynos 1380 (5nm) |
| RAM, Storage | 6GB/8GB RAM 128GB/256GB No microSD slot | 6GB/128GB 6GB/256GB 8GB/128GB 8GB/256GB 12GB/256GB microSD slot |
| Cameras | 50MP main 8MP ultrawide 5MP macro 12MP front | 50MP main 8MP ultrawide 5MP macro 13MP front |
| Battery | 5,000mAh | 5,000mAh |
| Charging | USB-C 45W wired No wireless | USB-C 25W wired No wireless |
Summary
Samsung hasn't changed a winning team with the Galaxy A36 5G. If anything, it has only made the squad stronger.
The Galaxy A36 5G could very well become one of the more successful mid-range phones of 2025.
At the moment, it's shaping up to be a great-value mid-ranger, but one that doesn't outperform its price tag.
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