The good news about the Galaxy A36 starts with the fact that the $400 mid-ranger looks identical Galaxy S24 FE from the front, which is a compliment to the cheaper device and perhaps a little insulting to those who paid for the flagship. In fact, the latest design leak for the Galaxy A36 indicates that the A36 will bring the most notable design update since the Galaxy A33, which is truly something remarkable given how conservative Samsung has become when it comes to design upgrades over the past few years.

Anyway, judging by the leaked images, it seems to me that the Galaxy A36’s screen edges may have the same dimensions as on the significantly more expensive one Galaxy S24 FE flagship, which would be great given the A35’s thick bezels.

But even more surprisingly (at least to me), the design update seems to include a thinner body, which is fully in line with 2025 smartphone trends (7.4mm on the Galaxy A36 vs 8.2mm on the Galaxy A35), but not in line with Samsung’s slow design upgrade “policy”. That’s a positive plot twist!

World’s first: Galaxy A36 will be the first $400 phone ever to offer 6 years of OS and security updates (Android 15 to Android 21)

Another big upgrade on the Galaxy A36 is the fact that it will launch with Android 15 / One UI 7 complete. A UI 7 has yet to debut on Galaxy S24 series, but it’s rumored to be Samsung’s most fluid user interface ever (of course, we’ll have to wait and see how it goes).

But what’s pretty safe to assume is that the Galaxy A36 will provide a whopping 6 years of OS updates, which is a first for a $400 phone (at launch).

Of course, the question of whether the Galaxy A36 will (properly) manage to update to Android 21 is more than valid, but Samsung’s commitment is still a big deal for those planning to keep/pass on their Galaxy A36 for years to come.

The jump from 4 to 6 years of Android updates on the mid-range “A” series will make the Galaxy A36 (and A56) great deals 1-2 years after launch as well.

Galaxy A36: Samsung’s popular $400 Galaxy “A” series phone finally looks the part, but is this enough to make up for the lack of any meaningful hardware upgrades?

Identical chipset (but from Qualcomm), and presumably the same camera, screen and battery as the Galaxy A35 and A34?

Ultimately, while all the design-related and software upgrades sound good, the leak also says that Samsung will most likely use the Snapdragon 7s Gen 2 instead of an Exynos chip for the A36, which would be a first for the A3x series.

The bad news, however, is that the reason for the switch to this particular Qualcomm chip is most likely cost-cutting.

The Exynos 1380 and Snapdragon 7s Gen 2 are practically equally powerful, with the former powering the current Galaxy A35. So I don’t think this is the positive SoC upgrade we were hoping for – even if we’re looking at a Qualcomm chip.

On the other hand, the more expensive Galaxy A56 is expected to get a recently announced Exynos 1580, which makes you wonder… Why wouldn’t Samsung give the A36 the Exynos 1480 (from the A55? That’s what happened last year in the transition from the A34/54 to the A35 /55 series.

Galaxy A36: Is the design update trying to distract from the aging internal hardware?

Aside from the SoC, the leak doesn’t mention camera, battery or screen specs, but I really hope we’ll finally see some upgrades there as the A35 used the same cameras, screen and battery as the A34.

That said, knowing how conservative Samsung has become when it comes to hardware upgrades (probably influenced by Apple?!), I won’t be shocked to see the same relatively mediocre camera, display and battery hardware in the A36.

I say “relatively” mediocre, because I’m sure the A36 will do well at $1,000 Galaxy S25+ – especially considering the huge price difference. However, if Samsung were to keep these hardware parts unchanged, the Galaxy A36 might seem quite outdated next to something like a Xiaomi Redmi Note 14 Pro+, which has a decent 2.5x zoom camera, a very bright screen and a crazy 6,200 mAh battery with 90W charging.

So… Where do YOU ​​stand on this one? Is Samsung doing enough to make the Galaxy A36 appealing given the competition? Or is the design update meant to distract from the aging internal hardware?