Samsung launched the Galaxy A37 5G smartphone in March as the successor to the Galaxy A36 5G. This gets a faster Exynos 1480 SoC and a familiar design and comes with IP68 ratings while retaining the same screen and battery. The price has also increased. Is this a good upgrade compared to the Galaxy A36 5G? Let us dive into the review to find out.
| Box Contents |
| Camera |
| Battery Life |
| Conclusion |
Box Contents
- Samsung Galaxy A37 5G 12GB + 256GB in Awesome Lavender color
- USB Type-C to C cable
- SIM ejector tool
- User manual
Display, Hardware and Design
The phone comes with a 6.7-inch Full HD+ Infinity-O Super AMOLED display with a resolution of 1080×2340 pixels at about 384 PPI. The display looks bright, thanks to 1900 nits of peak brightness and up to 1200 nits of HBM (high brightness mode), the same as the A36. It also has good colour reproduction, and the screen is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass Victus+ protection.
It has a 120Hz refresh rate screen that offers a fluid user experience with smoother animations, scrolling and gaming. Similar to the other Samsung phones, there is an Eye comfort shield that limits blue light emitted by the screen. There is also dark mode. You can choose from Vivid or Natural screen modes based on your preference or set the white balance manually.
The phone doesn’t have DC dimming or a low-brightness anti-flicker mode that is present in some AMOLED-screen phones in the price range. I didn’t notice any screen flicker issues in low brightness on the phone. It doesn’t have a notification LED, but there is an always-on display option.
On the top, there is a 12-megapixel camera, and the earpiece is present on the top edge, which doubles up as a secondary speaker. The punch hole is small, and it is not intrusive.
The phone still has huge bottom bezels, and the side bezels are also bigger compared to the competitors. The phone has an in-display optical fingerprint sensor.
Coming to the button placements, the power button and the volume rockers are present on the right side. There is nothing on the left side. The dual SIM slot, primary microphone, USB Type-C port and the loudspeaker grill are on the bottom. The secondary microphone is on the top. The phone doesn’t have a 3.5mm audio jack. The A37 continues to feature a plastic frame, but it looks like metal with its matte finish.
On the back, there is a triple camera module arranged vertically, and this time the camera deco has a silver ring. There is a single LED flash next to it. It is just 7.4 mm thin and weighs 196 grams, same as the A36.
It also comes in Awesome Charcoal, and Awesome Graygreen colours in India. The phone has IP68 ratings for dust and water resistance compared to IP67 ratings in the older models.
Since it has a glossy glass back, it attracts fingerprints easily. The back also has Gorilla Glass Victus+ protection. I have been using the phone without a case, and it didn’t slip out of my hands even once.
Camera
- 50MP rear camera with 1/1.56″ senosor, f/1.8 aperture, OIS
- 8MP ultra-wide angle camera with f/2.2 aperture
- 5MP macro sensor with f/2.4 aperture
- 12MP front camera with f/2.2 aperture
Even though there is no major change in the camera setup, there are some minor changes in the UI with One UI 8.5. You can choose the 50MP option from the aspect ratio settings on the top, and the default output is 12MP instead of 12.5MP after pixel binning. It also has AR stickers, a scene optimizer, panorama, hyperlapse, food, dual rec, and more modes.
Coming to the image quality, daylight shots look good with a good amount of detail and dynamic range and detailing, and the image looks better than the A36 since it has a bigger 1/1.56″ sensor instead of a 1/1.95″ sensor in it. Ultra-wide shots from the 8MP camera are decent and could be better in low-light.
2X macro shots from the main camera are good, and there is a dedicated macro camera mode with a 5MP camera which is average, and you have to keep it at a 3-5cm distance. Live focus is good at detecting the edges. Low-light performance is better than the A36, again, due to the bigger sensor.
50-megapixel shots have a good amount of details, but the image size is huge. The 12-megapixel front camera is similar.
Check out some camera samples.
It can record videos at a maximum of 4K resolution at 30 fps from both front, rear and ultra-wide cameras. The rear camera can also shoot 1080p 60fps videos, but the stabilization works only in 30fps when it’s enabled in the settings. The phone lacks 10-bit HDR recording, which is present in the A57.
Software, UI and Apps
Coming to the software, the phone runs on Android 16 with One UI 8.5, and it was launched with the January 2026 Android security patch and recently got the May 2026 Android security patch. Similar to the other latest Samsung devices, the company has confirmed 6 OS updates and 6 years of security updates for the A37 5G.
Unlike the AI features in the flagship S series phones, the A37 5G only gets some AI features such as generative wallpapers; the voice transcription feature in the Voice Recorder app AI Select, accessible via the Edge Panel, to extract text, create content, and utilize Drag & Drop functionality in Multi-Window layouts; a better Object Eraser tool for more natural background removal; and Best Face for continuous shooting optimization in group photos, as well as an “Auto Trim” tool for video editing. With the One UI 8 Now Bar that was introduced with One UI 7, it delivers customized insights and suggestions via curated AI information, supporting task management and daily routines.
The device maintenance option lets you manage your device’s battery life, storage, RAM usage, and security all in one place. Out of 256GB (UFS 3.1) storage in our unit, 224.15GB is free. Out of 12GB LPDDR5X RAM, about 11.15GB is usable and 6GB is free when default apps are running in the background.
There is also a RAM Plus feature, which uses the internal memory of the phone to expand the RAM by an extra 12GB, in addition to the existing 12GB of RAM. This is enabled automatically, but you can turn it off.
Apart from the usual set of utility apps and Google apps, the smartphone comes with Netflix, Truecaller, Spotify, Snapchat and Microsoft apps such as Microsoft 365, OneDrive, Outlook and LinkedIn. You get the option to install apps when you are setting up the phone, which you can choose not to. It also has Samsung Wallet via NFC. The phone doesn’t have ads but shows notifications of new Samsung products occasionally.
Fingerprint sensor and Face unlock
The phone has an in-display fingerprint sensor that immediately unlocks the phone even when the phone is locked. It is good, but not as fast as a physical fingerprint scanner. You can add up to 3 fingerprints, and adding a fingerprint is easy. It has support for face recognition, which doesn’t work well if the lighting is poor in the room or if you are wearing hats or heavy makeup. Both these are protected by Knox security.
Music Player and Multimedia
YouTube Music is the default music player. It has equalizer, Dolby Atmos, UHQ upscaler, and Adapt that can be enabled from the settings. All these improve the audio when listening through earphones, and Dolby Atmos also works with speakers. It doesn’t have FM radio support. That said, audio through earphones is good. Loudspeaker output from the stereo speakers is good as well.
The phone comes with Widevine L1 support out-of-the-box so that you can enjoy HD content on Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Hotstar and other streaming apps. There is also HDR playback support for YouTube, but not for Netflix.
Dual SIM and Connectivity
The Galaxy A37 5G has support for N1, N3, N5, N7, N8, N20, N28, N38, N40, N41, N66, N77 and N78 network bands in India. There is dual SIM 5G, and Airtel and Jio 5G work out of the box. There is also 4G Voice-over-LTE (VoLTE) and support for LTE-A, or Carrier Aggregation, and VoNR support for Jio. It doesn’t have eSIM support, which is present in the A57.
Other connectivity options include Wi-Fi 802.11 ac (2.4GHz + 5GHz), Wi-Fi Calling or Vo-Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.3 and GPS with GLONASS. It has support for USB OTG and NFC that works with supported payment apps.
The Galaxy A37 5G’s head SAR is 0.966 W/Kg, which is well under the limit of 1.6 W/kg (over 1 g) for India.
Performance and Benchmarks
The Galaxy A37 5G is powered by new Exynos 1480 4nm SoC which was first used the A55 that was released back in 2024. This has 4 x 2.75GHz Cortex-A78 performance CPUs and 4 x 2.5GHz Cortex-A55 efficiency CPUs. I didn’t face any performance issues; it was smooth. It promises 12% CPU performance improvement compared to Snapdragon 6 Gen 3.
There is an AMD-powered Xclipse 530 GPU for the first time in a mid-range Samsung phone, and the company says it offers 19% performance improvements compared to the Adreno 710 GPU in the Snapdragon 6 Gen 3 used in the A36. Even though the performance is good, it is not optimized for gaming, since you only get low or medium graphics in games like COD. In low graphics, you get max frame rate, but in games like Genshin Impact, the frame rate is low. It also has vapor chamber cooling, but the size is not mentioned.
In the 3D Mark Wildlife stress test, it scored 99.8%, which is good, and the temperature shot up from 32 to 37 degrees. That said, check out some synthetic benchmark scores below.
Battery life
The Galaxy A37 5G retains the 5000mAh battery from the last 4 generations. I got about 6 hours of screen on time, mostly on Wi-Fi and occasionally on 5G, with over 2 days of use in 120Hz refresh rate, thanks to the One UI 8.5 optimization. It should last for a day easily even with heavy use.
Samsung doesn’t offer a charger in the box, but the phone supports 45W charging. With the official 45W PPS fast charger, it takes about 1 hour and 15 minutes for 100%, and 50% took about 22 minutes. It is still less compared to the competitors.
Conclusion
The Samsung Galaxy A37 5G represents a subtle yet meaningful shift for Samsung’s mid-range lineup. By bringing features like an IP68 rating, a larger primary camera sensor, and a premium glass back down from the previous year’s A55 flagship territory, Samsung has made the A37 feel more premium than its predecessor. The promise of 6 years of OS and security updates also ensures the phone remains a viable long-term investment.
However, the significant price hike at launch pushes the A37 5G into a highly competitive segment. While the Exynos 1480 provides smooth day-to-day performance and excellent battery efficiency, it struggles to compete with rivals in pure gaming performance. Furthermore, the lack of a bundled charger and the aging secondary cameras remain minor frustrations.
If you are coming from an older device and looking for a durable, reliable daily driver with an excellent screen, robust water resistance, and unmatched software longevity, the Galaxy A37 5G is a solid choice—especially now that market price cuts have brought it down to a much more reasonable price. However, if you are a heavy gamer or already own the Galaxy A36 5G, the minor performance gains and higher price tag mean you can safely skip this generation or look at a better option from the competitors in the same price bracket.
Pricing and availability
The Galaxy A37 5G 8GB + 128GB model is priced at Rs. 41,999, the 8GB + 256GB model costs Rs. 47,999, and the 12GB + 256GB was launched at Rs. 52,999. Now it is available at as low as Rs. 36,999. It is available from Samsung exclusive and partner stores, Samsung.com, and other online platforms.
Pros
- 120Hz AMOLED display is good
- Premium glass back design with IP68 dust and water resistance
- Reliable day-to-day performance and effective vapor chamber cooling
- Promise of 6 OS updates and 6 years of security updates
- Dependable battery life with faster 45W charging support
- Upgraded 1/1.56″ main sensor improves low-light photography
Cons
- Average ultra-wide camera
- Old chipset
- Significant price increase compared to the previous generation at launch