Huawei Nova Y73 VS Samsung Galaxy A36 5G

The most consequential design difference between these two phones lies in their water protection. The Huawei Nova Y73 carries an IP64 rating, meaning it is dust-tight and can handle splashes or rain from any direction — but it cannot survive submersion. The Samsung Galaxy A36 5G steps up to IP67, which adds the ability to withstand immersion in up to 1 metre of water for 30 minutes. In practice, this means the A36 offers genuine peace of mind around pools, sinks, or in heavy rain, whereas the Nova Y73 is really only safe in incidental moisture situations.

In terms of physical form, the A36 is the more compact and refined device despite having a slightly wider frame (78.2 mm vs 76.6 mm). It is meaningfully thinner at 7.4 mm compared to the Nova Y73's 8.3 mm, lighter at 195 g versus 203 g, and has a noticeably smaller overall volume — 94.3 cm³ against 105.6 cm³. The 0.9 mm thickness gap is perceptible in-hand and in a pocket, and the 8 g weight difference, while modest on paper, contributes to a less fatiguing grip over extended use.

Both phones share a standard rectangular, non-foldable form factor with no rugged reinforcement. However, the Samsung Galaxy A36 5G holds a clear overall edge in this category: it is slimmer, lighter, more volume-efficient, and — most importantly — offers a materially stronger water-resistance rating that translates to real-world durability advantages the Nova Y73 simply cannot match.

The display gap between these two phones is substantial, and it starts with the panel technology. The Nova Y73 uses an LCD IPS screen, while the Galaxy A36 5G features an OLED/AMOLED panel — a fundamental difference that affects contrast, color depth, and black levels. OLED displays produce true blacks by switching pixels off entirely, resulting in far richer visuals and better battery efficiency when rendering dark content. For everyday use — scrolling social media, watching video, or simply reading — the A36's screen will simply look more vivid and polished.

Sharpness tells an equally one-sided story. The A36 resolves at 1080 x 2340 px with a pixel density of 385 ppi, versus the Nova Y73's 720 x 1604 px at just 264 ppi. That 121 ppi gap is clearly visible: text edges appear crisper and fine detail in photos is noticeably more defined on the A36. Add a 120Hz refresh rate versus 90Hz, and animations and scrolling feel measurably smoother on the Samsung as well. The A36 also supports HDR10+ and features an Always-On Display, neither of which the Nova Y73 offers, further widening the gap for media consumption and daily convenience.

The Samsung Galaxy A36 5G wins this category decisively. Superior panel technology, significantly higher resolution, a faster refresh rate, HDR support, and branded damage-resistant glass combine to make it a comprehensively better display in virtually every measurable dimension. The Nova Y73's screen is functional, but it competes in an entirely different tier.

The chipset difference here is generational in the most literal sense. The Nova Y73 runs on the HiSilicon Kirin 710A, built on an aging 12 nm process, while the Galaxy A36 5G uses the Snapdragon 6 Gen 3 on a modern 4 nm node. A smaller semiconductor process means more transistors in less space, translating directly to better power efficiency and thermal performance — the A36's chip can sustain heavier workloads without throttling or draining the battery as aggressively.

Benchmark results make the performance chasm concrete. The A36 scores 2917 in Geekbench 6 multi-core and 1007 single-core, versus the Nova Y73's 1125 and 319 respectively. That is roughly a 2.6× advantage in multi-threaded tasks and over 3× in single-core performance — the metric most relevant to everyday responsiveness like app launches and UI interactions. The A36 also pairs its chip with 12 GB of RAM at 2750 MHz, against the Nova Y73's 8 GB at 2200 MHz, which means more apps stay loaded in the background and data moves to the CPU faster. Graphics capability follows the same pattern, with the A36's GPU clocked at 800 MHz versus 650 MHz on the Nova Y73.

Storage capacity is identical at 256 GB on both, and shared features like big.LITTLE architecture and 64-bit support are table stakes at this level. But on every meaningful performance metric, the Samsung Galaxy A36 5G holds an unambiguous and commanding advantage — this is not a marginal difference but a fundamental leap in processing capability that will be felt daily.

Both phones share a 50 MP primary sensor with an f/1.8 aperture, so the main lens starts on equal footing. Where they diverge sharply is system depth and stabilization. The Galaxy A36 5G fields a triple-camera array — 50 MP main, 8 MP ultrawide, and 5 MP macro — giving users compositional flexibility the Nova Y73 simply cannot match with its single rear lens. Versatility in photography is largely determined by having the right focal length for the moment, and the A36 covers significantly more ground.

Two other differences carry real-world weight. The A36 includes optical image stabilization (OIS) on the main camera, which physically compensates for hand movement during shots — particularly valuable in low light or when shooting video. The Nova Y73 has no OIS, meaning stabilization relies entirely on software, which is a meaningful disadvantage for handheld video or night photography. On video capability, the gap is equally clear: the A36 records at 4K (2160p) at 30 fps, while the Nova Y73 tops out at 1080p at 30 fps — a two-resolution-tier difference that matters for anyone who wants future-proof footage or detailed video content. The A36 also offers a higher-resolution 12 MP front camera versus 8 MP on the Nova Y73.

Given the broader lens system, OIS, superior video resolution, and higher front camera megapixel count, the Samsung Galaxy A36 5G holds a clear and well-rounded advantage in this category. The Nova Y73's single-camera setup is adequate for straightforward snapshots, but it lacks the tools to compete across diverse shooting conditions.

Android version is the headline differentiator here. The Nova Y73 ships on Android 12, while the Galaxy A36 5G runs Android 15 — a three-generation gap that is significant in terms of security patches, privacy architecture, and access to newer platform features. Older Android versions eventually fall outside Google's active security update window, making the Nova Y73 a less future-proof choice from day one. Neither phone receives direct OS updates according to the provided data, which means both depend on their manufacturer's update cadence, but starting three versions ahead gives the A36 a meaningful longevity buffer.

Beyond the version gap, the A36 adds a handful of practical features the Nova Y73 lacks. Battery health check lets users monitor degradation over time — a useful tool for managing long-term device performance. The media picker provides more granular control over which photos and files apps can access, a meaningful privacy refinement. The ability to offload apps frees up storage without losing app data, and notification permissions give users finer control over which apps can interrupt them. None of these are dramatic individually, but together they reflect a more polished and privacy-conscious software experience.

The vast majority of features — dark mode, dynamic theming, split screen, PiP, widgets, on-device ML, and voice commands — are present on both devices, confirming a solid shared baseline. Still, the Samsung Galaxy A36 5G earns a clear edge in this category through its substantially newer OS version and the additional user-facing features that come with it.

Raw capacity is where the Nova Y73 makes its strongest argument in this entire comparison. Its 6620 mAh battery dwarfs the Galaxy A36 5G's 5000 mAh cell — a 32% larger reservoir that, all else being equal, translates to meaningfully more screen time between charges. For users who prioritize going a full day or more without reaching for a charger, that gap is hard to ignore.

The crucial caveat, however, is that battery life is not determined by capacity alone. Power consumption matters equally, and the A36 carries significant efficiency advantages from other categories: its 4 nm Snapdragon 6 Gen 3 chip is far more power-efficient than the Nova Y73's 12 nm Kirin 710A, and its OLED display consumes less power than the Nova Y73's LCD panel when rendering dark content. These factors can meaningfully offset the raw mAh gap in real-world endurance. On charging speed, the two are nearly level — the A36 edges ahead at 45W versus 40W — a difference too small to be practically significant. Neither phone supports wireless charging.

This category presents a genuine trade-off rather than a clean winner. The Huawei Nova Y73 holds an unambiguous advantage in battery capacity on paper, but the A36's system-level efficiency may compensate in everyday use. Users who prioritize maximum charge reserves — heavy travelers, light users who rarely charge — will appreciate the Nova Y73's larger tank, while those whose usage patterns favor efficiency over raw capacity may find the A36 keeps up more than the numbers suggest.

Audio is a short story with one meaningful plot point. Both phones drop the 3.5 mm headphone jack, pushing users toward Bluetooth or USB-C audio, and neither supports advanced wireless codecs like LDAC or aptX Lossless — so wired and high-fidelity wireless listeners are equally underserved on both devices. There is no radio on either phone.

The single differentiator is that the Galaxy A36 5G features stereo speakers, while the Nova Y73 makes do with a mono speaker. For media consumption — watching videos, gaming, or listening to music without headphones — stereo output creates a noticeably wider soundstage and more immersive experience. Mono speakers collapse all audio into a single channel, which sounds comparatively flat and can be easily muffled depending on how the phone is held.

With so few data points in this category, the conclusion is straightforward: the Samsung Galaxy A36 5G has a clear edge solely on the strength of its stereo speaker setup. It is the only hardware distinction the specs reveal, but it is a practical one that affects everyday listening in a tangible way.

Cellular and wireless connectivity is where the Galaxy A36 5G pulls decisively ahead. Most obviously, it supports 5G — the Nova Y73 does not, topping out at 4G LTE with a maximum download speed of 600 Mbits/s versus the A36's 2900 Mbits/s. That is nearly a 5× gap in peak download throughput, and the upload difference is even more dramatic: 1600 Mbits/s on the A36 against just 150 Mbits/s on the Nova Y73. For users in 5G-covered areas, this translates to faster file transfers, smoother streaming at high quality, and more responsive cloud-dependent apps. The A36 also supports Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax) alongside Wi-Fi 5 and Wi-Fi 4, while the Nova Y73 is limited to Wi-Fi 4 (802.11n) — a standard that predates modern router capabilities and will bottleneck speeds on any current home or office network.

SIM flexibility and Bluetooth also favor the A36. It supports up to two physical SIMs or two eSIMs in various combinations, offering considerably more flexibility for travelers or dual-SIM users than the Nova Y73's fixed 2 SIM tray with no eSIM support. Bluetooth 5.3 on the A36 versus 5.1 on the Nova Y73 is a minor but real improvement in connection stability and efficiency. The A36 also includes a gyroscope, which the Nova Y73 lacks — relevant for gaming, AR applications, and accurate motion-based navigation.

The Nova Y73 counters with one unique feature: an infrared sensor, which allows it to function as a universal remote for TVs and appliances — a niche but genuinely useful tool the A36 does not offer. Shared features include NFC, GPS, USB Type-C, accelerometer, and compass. Despite the IR advantage, the Samsung Galaxy A36 5G holds a commanding overall edge in this category, with 5G support, superior Wi-Fi, eSIM capability, and a gyroscope making it the substantially more connected and future-ready device.

The miscellaneous spec group for these two phones is, in short, a dead heat. Every attribute listed — video light presence, absence of sapphire glass, flat display, and no e-paper screen — is identical across both devices. There are no differentiators here, meaningful or otherwise.

This is a complete tie. Neither the Huawei Nova Y73 nor the Samsung Galaxy A36 5G holds any advantage based on the provided data for this category, and users should look to the other specification groups to inform their decision.