Samsung Galaxy A36 5G vs Galaxy A12
63
out of 100
VS
37
out of 100
Here we compared two smartphones: the 6.7-inch Samsung Galaxy A36 5G (with Qualcomm Snapdragon 6 Gen 3 ) that was released on March 2, 2025, against the Samsung Galaxy A12, which is powered by MediaTek Helio P35 and came out 4 years and 4 months before. On this page, you will find tests, full specs, strengths, and weaknesses of each of the devices.
Select the amount of RAM to evaluate performance and value for money more precisely
Key differences
Reasons to consider the Samsung Galaxy A36 5G
- Waterproof body (IP67 classification)
- 4.1x better performance in AnTuTu Benchmark (844K versus 204K)
- Has 3x more RAM: 6GB versus 2GB
- Delivers 161% higher peak brightness (1237 against 474 nits)
- Higher display refresh rate – 120 Hz
- 43% higher pixel density (385 vs 270 PPI)
- Newer Bluetooth version (v5.4)
- Optical image stabilization
- Supports higher wattage charging (45W versus 15W)
- More recent OS version: Android 16 versus 13
- More energy-efficient CPU – Snapdragon 6 Gen 3
- Slow-motion recording at 240FPS
- Compatible with Wi-Fi 6 wireless networks
Reasons to consider the Samsung Galaxy A12
- Expandable storage via MicroSD card up to 1024GB
- Includes a 3.5 mm headphone audio jack port
Review
Display
Screen quality, color accuracy, brightness
Camera
Photo and video recording quality
Performance
CPU and memory performance (apps, system)
Gaming
Capabilities for playing modern games
Battery
Battery life, charging type and speed
Connectivity
Networks, ports, data transmission
Scores with a red asterisk (*) are approximate and may change in the future as we gather more data.
Select your primary usage scenario to get a more accurate NanoReview Score
Value for money (Beta)
Tests and specifications
Comparison table of technical specifications and testsDisplay
| Type | Super AMOLED | PLS TFT |
| Size | 6.7 inches | 6.5 inches |
| Resolution | 1080 x 2340 pixels | 720 x 1600 pixels |
| Aspect ratio | 19.5:9 | 20:9 |
| PPI | 385 ppi | 270 ppi |
| Refresh rate | 120 Hz | 60 Hz |
| Adaptive refresh rate | Yes (60-120 Hz) | No |
| Max rated brightness | 1200 nits | 450 nits |
| Max rated brightness in HDR | 1900 nits | - |
| HDR support | Yes, HDR10+ | No |
| Screen protection | Gorilla Glass Victus Plus | Tempered glass |
| Screen-to-body ratio | 86.5% | 82.1% |
| Display features | - DCI-P3 - Always-On Display |
- |
| RGB color space | 99.9% | 96.3% |
| PWM | 120 Hz | 337 Hz |
| Response time | 1 ms | 52 ms |
| Contrast | ∞ Infinity | 864:1 |
Screen space comparison
Galaxy A36 5G
6.7″ (19.5:9 ratio) = 17.1 in2
Galaxy A12
6.5″ (20:9 ratio) = 15.8 in2
~8% more screen space
Peak brightness test (auto)
Design and build
| Height | 162.9 mm (6.41 inches) | 164 mm (6.46 inches) |
| Width | 78.2 mm (3.08 inches) | 75.8 mm (2.98 inches) |
| Thickness | 7.4 mm (0.29 inches) | 8.9 mm (0.35 inches) |
| Weight | 195 g (6.88 oz) | 205 g (7.23 oz) |
| Waterproof | IP67 | No |
| Advanced cooling | Vapor chamber | - |
| Rear material | Glass | Plastic |
| Frame material | Plastic | Plastic |
| Colors | White, Black, Green, Purple | White, Black, Blue, Red |
| Fingerprint scanner | Yes, in-display | Yes, in-button |
| Repairability | Good (3.19/5) | - |
| Drop resistance | Good (C) · 90 drops | - |
Screen-to-body ratio
Performance
| Chipset | Qualcomm Snapdragon 6 Gen 3 | MediaTek Helio P35 |
| Max clock | 2400 MHz | 2300 MHz |
| CPU cores | 8 (4 + 4) | 8 (4 + 4) |
| Architecture | - 4 cores at 1.8 GHz: Cortex-A55 - 4 cores at 2.4 GHz: Cortex-A78 |
- 4 cores at 1.8 GHz: Cortex-A53 - 4 cores at 2.3 GHz: Cortex-A53 |
| Manufacturing | Samsung | TSMC |
| Lithography process | 4 nanometers | 12 nanometers |
| Neural processor (NPU) | Hexagon | No |
| Graphics | Adreno 710 | IMG PowerVR GE8320 |
| GPU shading units | 256 | 32 |
| GPU clock | 1010 MHz | 680 MHz |
| FLOPS | ~517.1 GFLOPS | ~43.5 GFLOPS |
Benchmarks
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Compute Score (GPU)
| Compute Score (GPU) | 3506 | - |
| Single-core score | 1004 | 300 |
| Multi-core score | 2919 | 824 |
AnTuTu Benchmark 11
| CPU | 311567 | 98355 |
| GPU | 134619 | 9461 |
| Memory | 162720 | 57623 |
| UX | 235541 | 38722 |
| Total score | 844447 | 204161 |
| Samples | [66 tests] | [2 tests] |
3DMark Steel Nomad Light
| Stability | 98% | - |
| Graphics test | 2 FPS | - |
| Graphics score | 315 | - |
PCMark 3.0
| Web score | 14144 | - |
| Video editing | 7296 | - |
| Photo editing | 24677 | - |
| Data manipulation | 10326 | - |
| Writing score | 14497 | - |
Recent User Tests
Samsung Galaxy A36 5G
| Date | Benchmark | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 📘 2026-09-24 (Omar_Syriangamerr) | AnTuTu 12 | 910885 |
| 📘 2026-09-18 (DANYEALL) | AnTuTu 12 | 1033807 |
| 📘 2026-09-15 (Jake) | AnTuTu 12 | 1006916 |
| 📘 2026-07-17 (loapeasontsa) | AnTuTu 11 | 832796 |
| 📘 2026-07-12 (Wan) | AnTuTu 11 | 834318 |
Samsung Galaxy A12
| Date | Benchmark | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 📘 2026-08-09 (Fintex) | AnTuTu 11 | 193141 |
| 📘 2026-06-12 -> Karlue392007 | CPU Throttle | 78% |
| 📘 2026-06-03 (Renzs) | AnTuTu 11 | 204161 |
Memory
| RAM size | 6 GB | 2 GB |
| Memory type | LPDDR4X | LPDDR4 |
| Memory clock | 2133 MHz | 1866 MHz |
| Channels | 2 | 2 |
| Storage size | 128 GB | 32 GB |
| Storage type | UFS 3.1 | eMMC 5.1 |
| Memory card | No | MicroSD |
| Memory card max size | - | Up to 1024 GB |
Software
| Operating system | Android 15 (Can be upgraded to Android 16) | Android 10.0 (Can be upgraded to Android 13) |
| ROM | One UI 8.5 | One UI Core 5.1 |
| OS size | 22.6 GB | 13 GB |
| OS updates | 6 years | 2 years |
| Security updates | 6 years | 4 years |
Battery
| Capacity | 5000 mAh | 5000 mAh |
| Max charge power | 45 W | 15 W |
| Battery type | Li-Ion | Li-Po |
| Replaceable | No | No |
| Wireless charging | No | No |
| Reverse charging | No | No |
| Bypass charging | No | - |
| Fast charging | Yes (60% in 30 min) | Yes (20% in 30 min) |
| Full charging time | 1:14 hr | 3:03 hr |
| Battery cycles | 2000 cycles | - |
| Web browsing | 10:13 hr | 11:00 hr |
| Watching video | 16:02 hr | 13:25 hr |
| Gaming | 04:55 hr | 06:03 hr |
| Standby | 115 hr | 133 hr |
General battery life
Smartphones With Long Battery Life (#138th place)
Main camera
| Matrix | 50 megapixels | 48 megapixels |
| Image resolution | 8192 x 6144 | 8000 x 6000 |
| Zoom | Digital | Digital |
| Flash | LED | LED |
| Stabilization | Optical | Digital |
| 8K video recording | No | No |
| 4K video recording | Up to 30FPS | No |
| 1080p video recording | Up to 60FPS | Up to 30FPS |
| Slow motion | 240 FPS (720p) | No |
| Angle of widest lens | 123° | 123° |
| Lenses | 1) Standard: 50 MP 2) Ultrawide: 8 MP 3) Macro: 5 MP |
1) Standard: 48 MP 2) Ultrawide: 5 MP 3) Macro: 2 MP 4) Depth: 2 MP |
| Camera features | - Bokeh mode - Pro mode |
- Bokeh mode - Pro mode |
| Image resolution | 50 MP | 48 MP |
| Aperture | f/1.8 | f/2.0 |
| Focal length | - | 26 mm |
| Sensor | Sony IMX882 | Samsung S5KGM2 |
| Sensor size | 1/1.96" (≈ 0.51 inch) | 1/2" (≈ 0.5 inch) |
| Pixel size | 0.8 micron | 0.8 micron |
| Autofocus | Phase autofocus | Phase autofocus |
| Stabilization | Optical | Digital |
| Image resolution | 8 MP | 5 MP |
| Aperture | f/2.2 | f/2.2 |
| Sensor | GalaxyCore GC08A3 | - |
| Sensor size | 1/4.0" (≈ 0.25 inch) | - |
| Pixel size | 1.12 micron | - |
| Stabilization | Digital | Digital |
| Image resolution | 5 MP | 2 MP |
| Aperture | f/2.4 | f/2.4 |
| Sensor | GalaxyCore GC05A3 | - |
| Stabilization | Digital | No |
DxOMark main camera tests
Photo quality
Video quality
Generic main camera score
| Samples | - | Photo samples of Samsung Galaxy A12 from DxOMark |
Selfie camera
| Megapixels | 12 megapixels | 8 megapixels |
| Image resolution | 3184 x 2388 | 3264 x 2448 |
| Aperture | f/2.2 | f/2.0 |
| Sensor | GalaxyCore GC12A2 | CMOS |
| Autofocus | No | No |
| Stabilization | Digital | Digital |
| Video resolution | 2160p (4K) at 30 FPS | 1080p (Full HD) at 30 FPS |
| Depth sensor (TOF 3D) | No | No |
Connectivity
| Wi-Fi standard | Wi-Fi 6 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax) | Wi-Fi 4 (802.11 b/g/n) |
| Wi-Fi features | - Dual Band - Wi-Fi MiMO - Wi-Fi Direct - Wi-Fi Hotspot - Wi-Fi Display |
- Dual Band - Wi-Fi Direct - Wi-Fi Hotspot |
| Bluetooth version | 5.4 | 5 |
| Bluetooth features | LE | PBAP/PAB, PAN, OPP, MAP, HSP, HID, HFP, DIP, AVRCP, A2DP |
| USB type | USB Type-C | USB Type-C |
| USB version | 2 | 2 |
| USB features | - Charging - USB-Storage mode - OTG |
- Charging - USB-Storage mode - OTG |
| DisplayPort | No | - |
| GPS | GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo, QZSS | GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo |
| NFC* | Yes | Yes |
| Infrared port | No | No |
| Number of SIM* | 2 | 2 |
| Type of SIM card | Nano | Nano |
| Multi SIM mode | Standby | Standby |
| eSIM support* | Yes | No |
| Hybrid slot | No | No |
| LTE Cat* | - | 7 |
| 5G support | Yes | No |
Sound
| Speakers | Stereo | Mono |
| Headphone audio jack | No | Yes |
| FM radio | No | Yes |
| Dolby Atmos | Yes | Yes |
Speakers test
Max loudness
Other
| Category | Mid-range | Budget |
| Announced | March 2025 | November 2020 |
| Release date | March 2025 | December 2020 |
| Launch price (MSRP) | $399 | $180 |
| Successor | - Samsung Galaxy A37 5G | - Samsung Galaxy A17 4G |
| SAR (head) | 0.53 W/kg | 0.67 W/kg |
| SAR (body) | 1.29 W/kg | 1.38 W/kg |
| Sensors | - Proximity sensor - Gyroscope - Accelerometer - Ambient light sensor - Compass - Fingerprint |
- Proximity sensor - Accelerometer - Ambient light sensor - Fingerprint |
| Bundled charger | Not included | - |
*Disclaimer! NFC, GSM network support, and some other specs can be different depending on the country.
Conclusion
After analyzing all the data, we think that the Samsung Galaxy A36 5G is definitely a better buy.
Cast your vote
Total votes: 22