Samsung Galaxy A36 and A57 5G: Price Increases and Modest Updates

Samsung has increased the price of its new midrange smartphones, the Galaxy A36 5G and Galaxy A57 5G, by $50 compared to last year’s models, despite offering only incremental hardware improvements. This price adjustment, along with the discontinuation of the Galaxy A26, reflects broader economic pressures and supply chain challenges impacting the smartphone industry.

Economic Factors Driving Price Increases

The price hikes are likely a response to current economic conditions, including tariffs, higher oil prices linked to geopolitical instability, and a shortage of memory components driving up RAM and storage costs. Industry analyst Jitesh Ubrani of IDC notes that price increases or reduced specifications are becoming commonplace, and consumers will need to adjust to this new reality. The primary bottleneck for brands is memory availability, and cost.

Consumer Priorities and Samsung’s Strategy

Samsung reports that consumers prioritize upgrading their phones out of necessity—due to breakage or obsolescence—and are less focused on advanced features like artificial intelligence. Value for money remains the primary purchase driver, followed by performance and battery life. Despite this, Samsung is proceeding with price increases, hoping the improvements will be compelling to consumers.

Pricing and Availability

The Galaxy A57 5G is priced at $550 with 8 GB of RAM and 128 GB of storage, and $610 with 256 GB of storage. The Galaxy A37 5G starts at $450 for 6 GB of RAM and 128 GB of storage, or $540 for 8 GB of RAM and 256 GB of storage. Both models are officially available for purchase starting April 9.

Key Hardware Updates

The main hardware upgrades center around processor performance. The Galaxy A37 5G is powered by Samsung’s Exynos 1480, offering a reported 14 percent improvement in CPU performance, 24 percent faster graphics, and a significant 167 percent boost in neural processing capabilities compared to the Qualcomm Snapdragon 6 Gen 3 chip found in last year’s Galaxy A36.

The Galaxy A57 5G features the Exynos 1680, a modest upgrade from the Exynos 1580 in the Galaxy A56, providing a 10 percent CPU performance increase, 7 percent faster graphics, and a 42 percent improvement in neural processing. Both phones retain the 5,000-mAh battery capacity and charging speeds of their predecessors, and do not offer wireless charging.