Samsung Galaxy A37 review: A reliable mid-ranger that plays it safe

I found it difficult reviewing the S26 Ultra alongside the more budget-friendly Galaxy A37 this year. The S26 Ultra, with its impressive Privacy Screen and mind-blowing Space Zoom capabilities, outshone the A37 in every regard except price tag.

Logically, that’s what it’s supposed to do, right? You’re supposed to be inspired by the flagship features, but settle for the more affordable implementation of the technology in the cheaper phone.

The A37 is a capable phone. It lets you browse the web, send messages, scroll through social media and take pretty good photos, without missing much of a beat.

Compared to last year’s A36, there’s not a lot of visual difference, but internally, there’s a bit of extra grunt there to enable some additional AI functionality.

The question is whether or not the $599 feels like good value for money here. With the A57 just $150 more for the same amount of storage, but with a faster processor and superior camera array, I can’t help but think the A37 is maybe $100 too expensive.

What makes the Galaxy A37 stand out?

Samsung’s big selling point for the 2026 A series is the trickling down of some AI features from the more premium S-series.

Depending on how you use your phone, that may or may not excite you. If you like editing your photos using AI to remove distractions, or transcribing voice recordings, these updates could be worth looking at.

If you don’t, then this year’s big improvements aren’t going to sway you to buy the A37.

Compared to last year’s A36, the A37 gets a brighter display, slightly improved IP rating to IP68 and improved photo processing. The internal chipset is a bit more powerful and efficient as well.

The A37 also boasts 45 Watts of wired fast charging – though you’ll need to supply your own wall plug to enjoy those speeds.

And like last year’s model, Samsung is offering six years of software updates, for both OS updates and security, so you’ll be using this phone well into the 2030s

Samsung Galaxy A37 specs

Design and build quality

It’s been a long time since Samsung has made a “bad” phone. For all its “budget” design, it still feels remarkably solid in your hand.

The phone is built around the 6.7-inch FHD+ Super AMOLED+ display. With a variable refresh rate up to 120 Hz and vision booster tech, the phone is bright and vibrant.

Compared to the S-series, there is a very noticeable bezel around the screen, though. It adds to the feeling of heft in the phone, which matches the price tag, but does distract from the overall impressions of the device.

The glossy glass finish also contributes to the phone’s sturdiness, with the phone available in either Lavender or Charcoal. I tested the Charcoal, which is harmless, but hardly inspiring.

The phone is rated IP68 this year, up from last year’s IP67 rating. That means you should be able to drop it in water up to 1.5 metres deep for 30 minutes, and it will still work, though I still wouldn’t recommend taking it swimming.

The dimensions for the A37 here are effectively the same as last year’s A36, though the A37 does carry an extra gram of weight.

The button layout is consistent with Samsung’s other smartphones, with power and volume on the right-hand side, and nothing on the top or left of the phone. Down the bottom there’s the USB-C port and the SIM-card slot, though eSIM is definitely the way to go these days.

The triple camera array on the back of the phone does protrude from the back of the device, which has the unfortunate effect of making the phone not sit flat on a desk. A case may fix that, but given Google and Apple’s move to a camera bar across the top, which solves this problem, surely it’s only a matter of time before Samsung does the same.

Inside the phone, you get an Exynos 1480 processor with 6 GB RAM. The A37 only comes with 128 GB of storage.

Display performance

Samsung’s AMOLED+ displays always look fantastic, and the A37 is no exception here. 6.7 inches on the diagonal, with every one of the FHD+ resolution’s pixels looking bright and vibrant when needed.

The adaptive refresh rate allows the phone to offer an always-on display function, which is a nice inclusion at this price bracket.

Notably, the display this year can be significantly brighter than the A36, hitting 1900 nits of peak brightness. I can confirm that in full sunlight, you can still make out what’s on the screen, which is particularly useful when taking photos during the day.

The main screen – and the glass back – is Gorilla Glass Victus+, so there’s a real durability about the display this year. Combined with the brightness and added clarity from Samsung’s Vision Booster, which enhances the visibility of the screen by adjusting brightness and contrast of the screen depending on ambient lighting, the A37 display looks fantastic.

The bezel, as I already mentioned, is pretty chunky. It’s definitely noticeable, and while it’s part of the sacrifice when you buy a phone under $600, I still found it distracting.

Camera performance

Samsung has boosted the camera performance of the A37 this year. The main 50 MP sensor has larger pixels, allowing it to capture more light for better results in low-light conditions.

Samsung has also improved the image processing, which should deliver better images from the A37’s camera array.

And the images are fine. But as I said at the start, I reviewed this alongside the S26 Ultra. While the price tags show that the camera performance won’t be close to each other, testing them at the same time illustrates just how much you sacrifice with the A37.

Taking photos, focus times and (obviously) zoom quality are all noticeably worse in the A series. It’s not a terrible experience by any means. But it’s not an overwhelmingly positive one, either.

Performance and software

Samsung has jumped back to Exynos for its processor of choice this year, after dabbling with Snapdragon last year in the A36.

Geekbench 6 Benchmark performance is roughly on par with the Galaxy A55 from a couple of years ago, which feels about right.

In day to day use, that means it’s perfectly fine for email, social media and browsing the web.

For more intense tasks, it can definitely miss a beat. I spent a bit of time playing Fortnite, plugged in to the BackBone Pro, and while it was definitely good enough to play, there were multiple times it staggered and dropped frames.

That’s not a surprise, really. This is a sub-$600 phone, after all. But worth noting if you do enjoy playing more demanding games.

From a software perspective, Samsung did make a reasonable song and dance about the trickling down of useful AI features to this year’s A series. In practical terms, that means simpler photo editing and things like transcribing.

As someone who writes a lot and has quite a few meetings, the transcription feature is much more exciting. It’s not a new technology, by any means, but having that capability in a phone at this price is impressive.

You can download any number of languages, including Australian English, which means you can transcribe different languages as well. It won’t translate, but it’s a start.

In terms of editing photos – it turns the process into a one-button affair, which is good. But the results are a mixed bag.

Take this photo of a bug on my window. The AI editing feature offered to remove reflections, which, I thought, would be great. But in the end it removed the sunlight from outside, the grooves from my concrete patio and left the reflections.

Which is pretty indicative of my feelings towards Samsung’s push for AI, really. It can be useful occasionally, but it’s not reliable, so not worth buying the product for. It’s nice to have as an option, but far from necessary.

Battery life and connectivity

Samsung claims you’ll get up to two days from the A37’s 5,000 mAh battery. I don’t know about that. I could get through a day comfortably enough, but I wouldn’t want to risk pushing to two days for my usage patterns.

Of course, battery life does depend a lot on how you use the device. For me, the A37 was on par with most mid-range devices I’ve tested.

You do get 45 wired fast charging support, which is a nice feature to have, so long as you have a 45W fast charger in your arsenal. If you want to buy Samsung’s 45W charger, you’re looking at $84 RRP.

From a connectivity standpoint, you get Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.3, and 5G. It’s more than enough. There’s no wireless charging, but that’s not really a surprise at this price point.

Verdict

The Galaxy A37 is a solid, if unremarkable, phone. It has a solid screen, decent processor and reasonable camera performance. It’s solidly built from robust materials, and can manage most tasks easily.

The biggest question here is whether it’s worth the $599 asking price. Especially given the 128 GB A57 model is just $150 more, and has a more powerful processor and better camera.

This is the juggle of cheaper phones. Finding that balance between price and features. And while I think the A37 is a good phone, I believe it’s probably $100 too expensive.

At $499, this would be exceptional value. At $599, it doesn’t quite do enough to make itself stand out.

Buy the Samsung Galaxy A37 if:

• You want a reliable daily driver under $600 with a bright display, IP68 water resistance, and six years of software updates baked in.
• Long-term value matters to you: This phone will receive security patches well into the 2030s, which is rare at this price.
• You're a light-to-moderate user who needs email, social media, and decent photos without paying flagship prices.

Skip the Samsung Galaxy A37 if:

• You can stretch to $749: the A57 gives you a faster processor and better cameras for $150 more, which makes the A37 difficult to recommend at $599.
• Mobile gaming features in your regular routine — the Exynos 1480 drops frames in demanding titles, and that's unlikely to change with updates.
• Storage is a concern — 128 GB is the only option, with no microSD slot to expand it.

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Nick Broughall

Nick Broughall is an award-winning technology journalist with 20+ years experience, previously Editor at Finder, Gizmodo and TechRadar. He founded BTTR Reviews and regularly contributes to News.com.au's Checkout section.