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Samsung Galaxy A36 5G Review: Premium Features For $400?
May 26, 2025
Samsung Galaxy A36 is a mid-range Android smartphone that offers a premium design, build, and features at a budget price. Check out my Samsung Galaxy A36 5Ag revieiw to see if this $400 budget smartphone is the next phone for you. #samsunga36 #samsunga365g #samsunggalaxya36 #samsunggalaxya365g
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0:01
[Music]
0:08
If you're looking for an affordable
0:10
smartphone in the range of
0:13
$400, this is one of the contenders in
0:17
the
0:18
market. It's a slim, beautifully
0:21
designed device that I have used for
0:24
about two weeks now and I have my
0:26
verdict about it ready.
0:30
Let's look at a few striking things
0:32
about it. This nice slim design is
0:36
definitely something that is a huge
0:38
attraction for me. This is only
0:42
7.4 mm thick and I love that. I wish
0:46
that the display was a bit smaller than
0:49
the 6.7 in here, but I can live with it.
0:53
It's definitely handier than the 6.9 in
0:56
big slab that I have been living with
0:58
for over a year. There is something
1:01
about the design of this device that I
1:04
do not
1:05
like. This camera bump camera island
1:10
that juts out. It's just it doesn't work
1:14
for me. I wish that the rear camera was
1:17
flush with the back so that it doesn't
1:19
wobble because when you put this on the
1:23
table, it wobbles because of
1:29
this. Yes, some say that you could put a
1:32
case on it to solve that problem, but I
1:35
don't like putting cases on my phones. I
1:37
like my phones nude this way. That's my
1:42
complaint about that camera bump at the
1:45
back. Apart from that, everything else
1:48
about the design is lovely. I love the
1:51
slight what's it called? You know, the
1:54
raised section here for the power button
1:57
and the volume
1:58
buttons. The whole design. I love the
2:01
fact that the edges are flat. Everything
2:04
is flat and smooth and it feels
2:08
incredibly good in the hand. Of course,
2:11
it looks incredibly good to the eyes as
2:14
well. I have seen people see this and
2:16
they go like, "Oh, this is so
2:18
beautiful." Yes, clean lines everywhere.
2:22
I love it. I just wish
2:26
this. Let's move away from that. One of
2:29
the other things that I love about the
2:30
Samsung Galaxy A36 is that it has a
2:34
punch hole camera for the selfie. None
2:37
of that water drop thing that we see in
2:40
lower end Samsung
2:42
smartphones. The camera here is a 12 MP
2:46
unit and we have a 50 MP main camera, an
2:51
8 MP ultra wide and a 5 MP macro for
2:56
close-up shots. The Samsung Galaxy
2:59
A365G runs 1 UI7 based on Android 15 out
3:04
of the box. To all intents and purposes,
3:07
1 UI7 is still quite similar to One UI
3:11
6, the older versions of One UI. There
3:14
are a number of pretty much minor visual
3:18
changes, perhaps a lot of optimization
3:21
going on under the hood, but if you're
3:24
used to Samsung's user interface, uh
3:27
this is no different from it. Perhaps
3:30
the only difference is that the search
3:33
button has been moved to the bottom of
3:34
the screen here. And you're not going to
3:37
get lost using this if you're coming
3:40
from an older version of One
3:43
UI. It's all cute. It's all nice. It's
3:46
all sweet. Lots of customization
3:49
options, a shortcuts, quick access
3:52
toggles and buttons, wallpaper,
3:56
highlights, and shades and hues and all
3:59
that. I enjoy it. Or if you love to
4:02
customize your smartphone heavily,
4:06
Samsung is one of those brands. One UI7
4:09
has got you covered. You you can
4:11
customize this down to the heels. This
4:14
guy supports ESIM. You can use an ESIM
4:18
on your Samsung Galaxy A36 5G with your
4:22
network or with one of the travel eim
4:25
companies providing those services all
4:28
over the world. In all, the phone runs
4:32
smoothly. The processor is capable. This
4:36
is the unit with six GB of RAM, and it
4:41
runs smoothly. I keep saying that in
4:43
2025, the minimum amount of RAM required
4:47
for a phone to run really smooth is six.
4:51
If this had four, there'd be a
4:54
significant difference in how well and
4:56
how fast the apps run. If you can afford
4:59
it, get 6 GB of RAM. Don't don't do
5:02
four. Of course, if you can't afford it,
5:04
yes, you get good performance. It just
5:06
won't run as smooth as this
5:10
runs. The cameras on this guy are good,
5:14
this rear camera is quite good. While I
5:18
do not like the 5 megapixel macro lens,
5:21
I have used it to scan documents and
5:23
take close-ups, and it's pretty good as
5:25
well. I really haven't used the ultra
5:28
wide lens that much. I don't have a lot
5:32
of opinions on it, but the main lens,
5:35
the 50 megapixel camera is lovely. Gets
5:39
the job done once you get your lighting
5:42
and your setting
5:45
correctly, you're good. The selfie
5:48
camera is good. I think I prefer its
5:51
video capturing capabilities to its
5:55
photo taking capabilities. I don't think
5:58
that the selfies that I have gotten out
6:00
of this are fantastic, but I love the
6:03
quality of the video that I have gotten.
6:05
What of fast charging? Ah, my favorite
6:08
gripe about
6:09
this. Samsung says this guy supports 45
6:13
watt fast charging. There's a USBC port
6:15
there, and it does, but it's slower than
6:20
the 45 watt charging that you'd find in
6:24
competing devices from manufacturers
6:26
across the pond, especially the Chinese
6:29
manufacturers. Those guys have got
6:31
blazing fast 45 watt charging. I don't
6:33
know what game Samsung is playing, but I
6:37
know from experience that there are some
6:39
Samsung phones with 25 watt charging
6:42
that charge faster than some Samsung
6:45
phones with 45 watt charging. It's
6:48
crazy, but I'm serious. I'm not kidding.
6:51
There are actually Samsung phones with
6:54
25 watt charging that charge faster than
6:57
Samsung phones with 45 watt charging.
7:00
Yes, battery life is good. I have been
7:04
using a phone, a flip phone for over a
7:07
year that has a 4,000 mAh battery and I
7:10
have I have had to struggle with keeping
7:14
the phone alive while I am out and about
7:17
without access to a power source. I am
7:20
finally happy to be able to use a phone
7:23
and move around, be out and about and
7:26
not have to worry about battery life.
7:30
Battery life is good. It's not the best
7:33
in in its class, but it is good. It will
7:36
not have you worrying. This has
7:39
IP67 dust and water resistance. This can
7:43
survive drops into water for about 30
7:45
minutes if the depth of the water does
7:48
not exceed 1 m. It's great. Having
7:51
ingress protection of that level on a
7:55
$400 smartphone is fantastic. Is there
7:58
anything about this device that I wish
8:01
was
8:02
better? I'd say it wouldn't have been a
8:04
bad idea if the processor was a bit more
8:06
powerful, but to be honest, the
8:09
processor does a good job. And I don't
8:11
have anything to complain about. I'm
8:13
just
8:13
nitpicking. This camera bump again,
8:17
Samsung needs to get rid of it. And
8:19
honestly, I preferred the design where
8:22
each of the three cameras stood alone.
8:25
This grouping just doesn't work for me.
8:28
Again, I don't think it affects
8:30
performance or anything of the sort. But
8:33
let me give you a close look at the
8:35
device. Again, it's a beautiful
8:38
smartphone.
8:39
Wellcrafted, welld designed, and it gets
8:43
the job done. Of course, it's a 5G
8:45
smartphone. It supports eim. Does it
8:48
support wireless charging? No, it does
8:50
not. But there are third party cases
8:52
that you can use to add that
8:54
functionality to it. If you love putting
8:56
your phone in a case and you want
8:57
wireless charging, yes, you can get one
9:00
of those and enjoy that
9:04
functionality. The speaker is solid,
9:07
quite good. The volume is loud. I have
9:10
no problem with the screen. I love the
9:14
device. Some have complained that this
9:16
is a fingerprint magnet. At the back is
9:19
a fingerprint
9:21
magnet. I struggle to see the smudges
9:25
and fingerprints. I have consistently
9:28
perhaps in a different color the
9:31
fingerprints and smudges are more
9:33
visible. But this white
9:36
guy I am struggling to see anything. So
9:40
I'm okay with this. If you don't want
9:43
visible smudges and fingerprints all
9:45
over your phone, I think you should go
9:47
for the white. It does a good job of
9:50
hiding it. I did mention that the Galaxy
9:53
A36 5G ships with One UI 7 based on
9:59
Android
10:01
15. One of the beautiful things about
10:04
this is that it's getting 6 years of
10:06
software updates. Six solid years of
10:09
software updates. I'd like to hear from
10:12
owners of this phone in six years time.
10:15
If you buy it and and use it for 6
10:17
years, please call at me after 6 years.
10:19
I'd like to hear about your experience
10:22
with it year after year as it gets those
10:25
updates. Does it slow down? Does it
10:27
become less usable? Does it get better?
10:30
Because 6 years is a long time now. But
10:33
Apple pulls it off. Apple iPhones get
10:36
six years, five years of software
10:38
updates and don't do well. There are
10:42
cases where they they become unusable,
10:44
but they generally function well. So,
10:48
here is keeping fingers crossed that
10:50
Samsung is able to pull off the same
10:52
thing with all its phones, especially
10:55
this budget and entry-level smartphones.
10:58
The interesting thing is that a number
10:59
of lower-end devices to this, the Galaxy
11:02
A06 is included is also getting 6 years
11:07
of software updates. Samsung is shaking
11:10
the
11:11
table. They really shaking the table and
11:15
that's good to
11:16
see. Do I think that it's a good buy? I
11:19
think it is a good buy. For $400, it is
11:22
a good buy. What's not to like about it?
11:26
You are getting good performance, good
11:29
photography, good video recording and
11:32
all of that for about a third of the
11:36
cost of premium flagships. Is this
11:39
widely available? Yes, it's available in
11:42
the US, the whole of North America. It's
11:44
available in Europe. It's available all
11:47
over Africa. It's available all over
11:49
Asia. The good thing about wanting a
11:51
Samsung smartphone is that Samsung has
11:53
one of the widest and largest and most
11:56
extensive phone distribution networks in
11:58
the world. There are very few Samsung
12:00
phones that you're looking for that you
12:02
will not be able to find in many
12:04
countries. Ask your favorite retailer,
12:08
your carrier, your mobile network
12:09
operator for the Galaxy A365G.
12:13
Don't forget to like this video, follow
12:16
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12:18
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12:20
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12:23
more of this kind of content from Mr.
12:27
Mobility. That's it on my Samsung Galaxy
12:31
A365G review. Thanks for watching. I'll
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see you in my next video.