Samsung Galaxy A53 5G vs A36 5G

Here we compared two mid-range smartphones: the 6.5-inch Samsung Galaxy A53 5G (with Exynos 1280) that was released on March 17, 2022, against the Samsung Galaxy A36 5G, which is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 6 Gen 3 and came out 3 years after. 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
Memory

Key differences

An overview of the main advantages of each smartphone
Reasons to consider the Samsung Galaxy A53 5G
  • Expandable storage via MicroSD card up to 1024GB
Reasons to consider the Samsung Galaxy A36 5G
  • 36% better performance in AnTuTu Benchmark (844K versus 621K)
  • Delivers 48% higher peak brightness (1240 against 837 nits)
  • Shows 12% longer battery life (24:52 vs 22:13 hours)
  • Newer Bluetooth version (v5.4)
  • Compatible with Wi-Fi 6 wireless networks
  • Has 50% more RAM: 6GB versus 4GB
  • The phone is 3 years newer
  • Supports higher wattage charging (45W versus 25W)
  • Faster storage type - UFS 3.1 versus UFS 2.2
  • Ready for eSIM technology

Review

Evaluation of Samsung Galaxy A53 5G and A36 5G crucial features
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.
NanoReview Score
Final comparison evaluation
Select your primary usage scenario to get a more accurate NanoReview Score
📱 Primary usage:

Value for money (Beta)

Should I update?
No 82% Yes
Yes, this is a clear and meaningful upgrade.
Updating from Samsung Galaxy A53 5G to Samsung Galaxy A36 5G is a clear step forward, and the improvements should be easy to notice.
Main improvements: camera, display, and battery life.

Tests and specifications

Comparison table of technical specifications and tests

Display

Type Super AMOLED Super AMOLED
Size 6.5 inches 6.7 inches
Resolution 1080 x 2400 pixels 1080 x 2340 pixels
Aspect ratio 20:9 19.5:9
PPI 405 ppi 385 ppi
Refresh rate 120 Hz 120 Hz
Adaptive refresh rate Yes (60-120 Hz) Yes (60-120 Hz)
Max rated brightness 500 nits 1200 nits
Max rated brightness in HDR 830 nits 1900 nits
HDR support Yes, HDR10 Yes, HDR10+
Screen protection Corning Gorilla Glass 5 Gorilla Glass Victus Plus
Screen-to-body ratio 85.5% 86.5%
Display features - DCI-P3
- Always-On Display
- DCI-P3
- Always-On Display
Display tests
RGB color space 97.6% 99.9%
PWM 250 Hz 120 Hz
Response time 9 ms 1 ms
Contrast ∞ Infinity ∞ Infinity
Screen space comparison
Galaxy A36 5G
6.7″ (19.5:9 ratio) = 17.1 in2
Galaxy A53 5G
6.5″ (20:9 ratio) = 15.8 in2
~8% more screen space
Peak brightness test (auto)
837 nits
1240 nits
Sources: NotebookCheck [3], [4]

Design and build

Height 159.6 mm (6.28 inches) 162.9 mm (6.41 inches)
Width 74.8 mm (2.94 inches) 78.2 mm (3.08 inches)
Thickness 8.1 mm (0.32 inches) 7.4 mm (0.29 inches)
Weight 189 g (6.67 oz) 195 g (6.88 oz)
Waterproof IP67 IP67
Advanced cooling - Vapor chamber
Rear material Plastic Glass
Frame material Plastic Plastic
Colors White, Black, Blue, Yellow White, Black, Green, Purple
Fingerprint scanner Yes, in-display Yes, in-display
Repairability - Good (3.19/5)
Drop resistance - Good (C) · 90 drops
Screen-to-body ratio
86.5%

Performance

Chipset specifications of Samsung Galaxy A53 5G and Samsung Galaxy A36 5G
SoC
Chipset Samsung Exynos 1280 Qualcomm Snapdragon 6 Gen 3
Max clock 2400 MHz 2400 MHz
CPU cores 8 (2 + 6) 8 (4 + 4)
Architecture - 6 cores at 2 GHz: Cortex-A55
- 2 cores at 2.4 GHz: Cortex-A78
- 4 cores at 1.8 GHz: Cortex-A55
- 4 cores at 2.4 GHz: Cortex-A78
Manufacturing Samsung Samsung
Lithography process 5 nanometers 4 nanometers
Neural processor (NPU) Yes Hexagon
GPU
Graphics Mali-G68 MP4 Adreno 710
GPU shading units 128 256
GPU clock 897 MHz 1010 MHz
FLOPS ~229.6 GFLOPS ~517.1 GFLOPS

Benchmarks

Benchmark comparison of Samsung Galaxy A53 5G and Samsung Galaxy A36 5G
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
2919
Compute Score (GPU)
3506
Compute Score (GPU) 2341 3506
Single-core score 940 1004
Multi-core score 1974 2919
Sources: Geekbench [3], [4]
AnTuTu Benchmark 11
621907
844447
CPU 252449 311567
GPU 71629 134619
Memory 101323 162720
UX 196506 235541
Total score 621907 844447
Samples [7 tests] [66 tests]
3DMark Steel Nomad Light
Stability - 98%
Graphics test - 2 FPS
Graphics score - 315
3DMark Wild Life Extreme
Stability 99% 97%
Graphics test 3 FPS -
Graphics score 635 -
Sources: 3DMark [5], [6]
PCMark 3.0
13090
Web score 11160 14144
Video editing 8207 7296
Photo editing 23379 24677
Data manipulation 9873 10326
Writing score 14914 14497

Recent User Tests

The latest benchmark tests that have been submitted by users
Samsung Galaxy A53 5G
DateBenchmarkResult
📘 2026-08-16 -> SacredGold14GeekBench CPU856 / 2016
📘 2026-05-15 (mD)AnTuTu639223
📘 2026-05-08 (Devenkci)AnTuTu655361
📘 2026-03-03 (nightbet)AnTuTu621907
📘 2026-02-27 (nightbet)AnTuTu617754
Samsung Galaxy A36 5G
DateBenchmarkResult
📘 2026-07-17 (loapeasontsa)AnTuTu832796
📘 2026-07-12 (Wan)AnTuTu834318
📘 2026-07-05 (Ням ням)AnTuTu862730
📘 2026-06-30 (Danyeall)AnTuTu873714
📘 2026-06-27 (kaio renan santos eleito 2026)AnTuTu891094

Memory

RAM
RAM size 4 GB 6 GB
Memory type LPDDR4X LPDDR4X
Memory clock 2133 MHz 2133 MHz
Channels 2 2
Storage
Storage size 128 GB 128 GB
Storage type UFS 2.2 UFS 3.1
Memory card MicroSD No
Memory card max size Up to 1024 GB -

Software

Operating system Android 12 (Can be upgraded to Android 16) Android 15 (Can be upgraded to Android 16)
ROM One UI 8.0 One UI 8.5
OS size 36 GB 22.6 GB
OS updates 4 years 6 years
Security updates 5 years 6 years

Battery

Capacity 5000 mAh 5000 mAh
Max charge power 25 W 45 W
Battery type Li-Po Li-Ion
Replaceable No No
Wireless charging No No
Reverse charging No No
Bypass charging - No
Fast charging Yes (45% in 30 min) Yes (60% in 30 min)
Full charging time 1:24 hr 1:14 hr
Battery cycles - 2000 cycles
Battery life tests
Web browsing 08:09 hr 10:13 hr
Watching video 12:55 hr 16:02 hr
Gaming 04:59 hr 04:55 hr
Standby 117 hr 115 hr
General battery life
22:13 hr
24:52 hr

Main camera

Matrix 64 megapixels 50 megapixels
Image resolution 9000 x 7000 8192 x 6144
Zoom Digital Digital
Flash LED LED
Stabilization Optical Optical
8K video recording No No
4K video recording Up to 30FPS Up to 30FPS
1080p video recording Up to 60FPS Up to 60FPS
Slow motion 240 FPS (720p) 240 FPS (720p)
Angle of widest lens 123° 123°
Lenses 1) Standard: 64 MP
2) Ultrawide: 12 MP
3) Macro: 5 MP
4) Depth: 5 MP
1) Standard: 50 MP
2) Ultrawide: 8 MP
3) Macro: 5 MP
Camera features - Bokeh mode
- Pro mode
- Bokeh mode
- Pro mode
Standard lens
Image resolution 64 MP 50 MP
Aperture f/1.8 f/1.8
Focal length 26 mm -
Sensor Samsung S5KGW1P Sony IMX882
Sensor size 1/1.72" (≈ 0.58 inch) 1/1.96" (≈ 0.51 inch)
Pixel size 0.8 micron 0.8 micron
Autofocus Phase autofocus Phase autofocus
Stabilization Optical Optical
Ultra-wide lens
Image resolution 12 MP 8 MP
Aperture f/2.2 f/2.2
Focal length 13 mm -
Sensor - GalaxyCore GC08A3
Sensor size 1/4.0" (≈ 0.25 inch) 1/4.0" (≈ 0.25 inch)
Pixel size 1.12 micron 1.12 micron
Stabilization Digital Digital
Macro lens
Image resolution 5 MP 5 MP
Aperture f/2.4 f/2.4
Sensor - GalaxyCore GC05A3
Stabilization No Digital

DxOMark main camera tests

Photo quality
Video quality
Generic main camera score
Bokeh 55 -
Preview 55 -
Zoom 82 -
Samples Photo samples of Samsung Galaxy A53 5G from DxOMark -

Selfie camera

Megapixels 32 megapixels 12 megapixels
Image resolution 6464 x 4864 3184 x 2388
Aperture f/2.2 f/2.2
Focal length 26 mm -
Sensor CMOS GalaxyCore GC12A2
Sensor size 1/2.8" (≈ 0.36 inch) -
Pixel size 0.8 micron -
Autofocus No No
Stabilization Digital Digital
Video resolution 2160p (4K) at 30 FPS 2160p (4K) at 30 FPS
Depth sensor (TOF 3D) No No

Connectivity

Wi-Fi standard Wi-Fi 5 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac) Wi-Fi 6 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax)
Wi-Fi features - Dual Band
- Wi-Fi MiMO
- Wi-Fi Direct
- Wi-Fi Hotspot
- Wi-Fi Display
- Dual Band
- Wi-Fi MiMO
- Wi-Fi Direct
- Wi-Fi Hotspot
- Wi-Fi Display
Bluetooth version 5.1 5.4
Bluetooth features PBAP/PAB, PAN, OPP, MAP, HSP, HID, HFP, DIP, AVRCP, A2DP LE
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, QZSS
NFC* Depends on the region Yes
Infrared port No No
Network
Number of SIM* 2 2
Type of SIM card Nano Nano
Multi SIM mode Standby Standby
eSIM support* No Yes
Hybrid slot Yes No
LTE Cat* 18 -
5G support Yes Yes

Sound

Speakers Stereo Stereo
Headphone audio jack No No
FM radio - No
Dolby Atmos Yes Yes
Speakers test
Max loudness
86.1 dB
90.5 dB

Other

Category Mid-range Mid-range
Announced March 2022 March 2025
Release date April 2022 March 2025
Launch price (MSRP) $449 $399
Successor - Samsung Galaxy A57 5G - Samsung Galaxy A37 5G
SAR (head) - 0.53 W/kg
SAR (body) - 1.29 W/kg
Sensors - Hall-effect sensor
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient light sensor
- Compass
- Fingerprint
- Proximity sensor
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient light sensor
- Compass
- Fingerprint
Bundled charger Not included 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

So, which phone would you choose?
13 (17.6%)
61 (82.4%)
Total votes: 74

User opinions

You can share your opinion or ask a question in the comments below
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Avatar
DRE May 16, 2026 at 02:50 AM
i HAVE HAD A A535G SINCE 2022 AND WHILE ITS NOTHING TO BRAG ON, ITS BEEN A GOOD PHONE AND WORKED FOR ME UNTIL I NEEDED A E SIM... tHE PRICE IS THE THING...YOU CANT BEAT THE GOOD OF THIS PHONE FOR THE MONEY THESE DAYS. OR THOSE DAYS WHEN THEY WERE NEW....OS 16 ui 8 AND 1 MORE YR OF SECURITY ud... KEEPING UP WITH THE SAMSUNGS bUT i ALSO HAVE TO SAY i USED MY S9 PLUS FOR A COUPLE MONTHS THIS YEAR AND i STILL THINK THAT PHONE IS THE BEST! KICKS ALL THE S PHONES ASSES! i LOVE YOU CAN TOUCH THE BACK TO FINGERPRINT... HANDS DOWN THE BEST!! 5/15/26
0 Reply
Avatar
Binoo April 20, 2025 at 07:54 AM
So which is better for me i want to buy either A36 or A53
+11 Reply
Avatar
Augu December 19, 2025 at 05:51 PM
A36 is much better lol
+1 Reply