Samsung Galaxy A37 Review: Samey but Solid

At a glance

Expert’s Rating

Price When Reviewed

From $449.99

Best Prices Today: Samsung Galaxy A37 5G

The Samsung Galaxy A37 is an inexpensive phone offering up the design language and some of the AI features from the firm’s flagship S series devices.

It’s not designed to blow you away with performance or next-gen tools, but what it does aim to deliver is that quintessential Samsung experience in a cheap package. This is why the Galaxy A-series phones are popular for the value-seeking average Joe.

There’s plenty of competition around the A37’s £399/$449 starting price, with the Honor 600 Lite, Nothing Phone (4a), Moto G86 5G, plus the now-discounted Oppo Reno 13, Google Pixel 9a, and Xiaomi Redmi Note 15 Pro all vying for attention.

And if you want a touch more power with a thinner design, Samsung also has the Galaxy A57 if you’re willing to part with a little more cash.

Samsung bills the A37 as a slim smartphone with enhanced cameras over its predecessor, a two-day battery, AI editing tools, and the latest One UI 8.5 interface. I’ve put the Galaxy A37 5G to the test for a few weeks with my SIM in it to see if it lives up to the billing.

Note: Our Galaxy A37 review sample was supplied by Three UK, but it had no say in how we reviewed the device.

Design & Build

• Identical design to predecessor
• IP67 dust and water resistance
• Volume key is too high up to be comfortable

You’d be hard-pressed to visually tell the Samsung Galaxy A37 apart from its predecessor (the Galaxy A36), with the new handset borrowing the same design and frame size.

The only discernible differences are an extra gram in weight on the Galaxy A37, which tips the scales at a pretty hefty 196g, along with its fresh palette of rather cheesily named colors; Awesome Charcoal, Awesome Lavender, Awesome White, and Awesome Graygreen.

My review unit was the rather muted ‘Awesome Charcoal’, with Lavender and Graygreen looking to be the more interesting hues for those wanting to stand out a little from the crowd.

While Samsung hasn’t wasted any time on a redesign, that’s not totally a bad thing. The Galaxy A37 looks good and is solidly built with Gorilla Glass Victus+ on the front and back, sandwiching a plastic frame that does a reasonable job of imitating metal in the hand – although it certainly lacks the premium polish of the flagship S series.

The raised ridge on the right of the phone that houses the volume and power keys – dubbed Key Island – makes it easy to find them when you slide a finger or thumb up the phone, although the volume key does feel a little too high up the side. Those with smaller hands might find it a bit of a stretch.

Another improvement Samsung has made over the A36 is the water resistance, with the Galaxy A37 offering IP67 protection, allowing the handset to survive a 1.5m dunk for 30 minutes. Bath time scrolling is a-go.

Screen & Speakers

• Colorful 6.7-inch display is great for media
• Not the brightest screen in its category
• Stereo speakers are great for the price

The A37’s large 6.7-inch display is colorful and vibrant with Samsung’s Super AMOLED technology ensuring colors get a boost. It’s the same as the screen used on its predecessor, the A36.

The Full HD resolution (1080 x 2340) gives you a pixel density of 385ppi, there’s a 120Hz refresh rate for smooth scrolling, and a brightness of 1200 nits, all of which match its more expensive, A-Series sibling, the Galaxy A57. Not bad considering the A37 is £100/$100 cheaper.

What all this means is you get a display which is bright and colorful enough for texting, streaming, gaming and more. In bright sunlight, it can become a little difficult to see though, with brightness not matching the likes of the Nothing Phone 4a or Moto G86.

Samsung quotes a 1900 nits peak brightness. If you want a phone you can see easily for extended periods in bright sunlight, the A37 might not work for you.

You also get stereo speakers here, located on the short edges of the device. They kick out decent volume and clarity considering the size of the phone and its price point. You won’t be disappointed, but there’s Bluetooth connectivity if you’d rather listen via an external speaker or set of headphones.

Specs & Performance

• Samsung Exynos 1480
• 6GB or 8GB of RAM
• 128GB or 256GB of storage

The Samsung Galaxy A37 uses the brand’s own Exynos 1480 chipset, a change from last year when the A36 came with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 6 Gen 3 chip.

Samsung’s lower mid-range chipset does the job, but the bigger point with the Galaxy A37 is with RAM. My review unit was the pricier 256GB of storage model, which comes with 8GB of storage.

If you’re after the entry-level model, which costs £399/$449.99, you’ll only get 6GB of RAM, and based on my experience with the pricier model, I’d be wary about recommending the cheaper configuration. In fact, Samsung UK doesn’t even sell this option at the time of writing.

Samsung doesn’t appear to have made any great strides with performance versus the A36 this phone replaces. The Galaxy A37 did handle everything I threw at it, but there’s noticeable lag when switching between apps, at times a sluggish interface, and longer wait times (compared to more powerful models) when loading intensive games. I was able to play Call of Duty Mobile on the high graphics setting and still be competitive in matches, though.

You shouldn’t expect flagship speed at this price point, but I’m concerned the lower RAM configuration might make the phone more than a little frustrating to use.

Taking a look at the benchmark results, the 8GB of RAM Galaxy A37 performs similarly to the Phone (4a), though the Nothing handset feels more fluid overall, while both phones outperform the Moto G86.

The Galaxy A