Samsung Galaxy A36 5G (128GB / 8GB RAM)

The Samsung Galaxy A36 5G has a non-folding, standard-form design measuring 162.9 mm tall, 78.2 mm wide, and 7.4 mm thick, with a total volume of 94.27 cm³ and a weight of 195 g. It carries an IP67 rating, classifying it as waterproof and capable of withstanding water exposure under defined conditions. The build does not fall into the rugged device category, so while it offers solid water resistance, it is not engineered to meet the more demanding standards associated with purpose-built rugged hardware.

The A36 5G features a 6.7″ OLED/AMOLED touchscreen with a resolution of 1080 x 2340 px and a pixel density of 385 ppi, paired with a 120Hz refresh rate for smooth on-screen motion. Typical brightness sits at 1200 nits, and the display supports both HDR10 and HDR10+ for compatible content, though Dolby Vision is not supported. The screen is protected by Gorilla Glass Victus and includes an Always-On Display mode, while there is no secondary screen on the device.

The A36 5G is driven by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 6 Gen 3 chipset built on a 4 nm process, featuring an 8-thread CPU configuration split across four cores at 2.4 GHz and four at 1.8 GHz using big.LITTLE and HMP architecture, with a 7W TDP. Graphics are handled by an integrated Adreno 710 GPU running at 800 MHz, supporting DirectX 12, OpenGL 3.2, OpenGL ES 3.2, and OpenCL 2, with output limited to a single display. The device comes with 128GB of internal storage (eMMC 5.1) and 8GB of DDR5 RAM running at 2750 MHz across two memory channels, yielding a maximum memory bandwidth of 25.6 GB/s and a maximum supported memory amount of 12GB. Benchmark results include an AnTuTu score of 619,557, a Geekbench 6 single-core score of 1007, and a multi-core score of 2917. The chipset also integrates LTE, supports 64-bit processing, and includes hardware security features such as NX bit and TrustZone.

The A36 5G sports a triple-lens rear camera system with a 50 MP main sensor (f/1.8), an 8 MP lens (f/2.2), and a 5 MP lens (f/2.4), all built on a CMOS sensor without back-side illumination. Optical image stabilization is present, and autofocus options include phase-detection and touch autofocus for photos, as well as continuous autofocus during video recording, though laser autofocus is not available. The main camera records video at up to 2160p at 30 fps and supports slow-motion recording, while HDR mode, burst shooting, timelapse, and in-camera panoramas round out the feature set; HDR10 and Dolby Vision recording are not supported, nor is 3D capture or 360° panorama. Manual controls cover exposure, ISO, focus, and white balance, but manual shutter speed is absent, and the camera does not shoot in RAW format. A single LED flash is included on the rear — not a dual-tone or RGB unit — while the 12 MP front camera (f/2.2) is a single-lens setup with no front-facing flash and is not positioned under the display.

The A36 5G runs Android 15 and includes a solid set of privacy controls, covering clipboard warnings, location privacy options, and camera/microphone access management, though Mail Privacy Protection and cross-site tracking blocking are not present. App tracking can be blocked, and on-device machine learning is supported. On the customization side, the OS offers theme customization, dynamic theming, dark mode, an extra dim mode, and home screen widgets, while focus modes and Quick Start are not available. Productivity features include split-screen multitasking, Picture-in-Picture, full-page screenshots, a media picker, sharing intents, the ability to play games while they are still downloading, and app offloading to free up space. Notification controls are fully customizable, and the system supports multi-user profiles, a child lock, offline voice recognition, voice commands, and device position tracking. Wi-Fi password sharing is not supported, and the device does not receive direct OS updates from the vendor, nor can it function as a PC.

The A36 5G is equipped with a 5000 mAh rechargeable, non-removable battery that supports 45W wired fast charging, allowing for quicker top-ups when needed. Wireless charging is not available, and no charger is included in the box. A battery level indicator is present, giving users a clear readout of remaining charge at a glance.

The A36 5G includes stereo speakers but omits a 3.5 mm headphone jack, so wired headphones require an adapter or a USB-C connection. High-quality wireless audio codecs LDAC and aptX Lossless are not supported, and there is no built-in radio tuner.

The A36 5G supports 5G connectivity along with Wi-Fi 4, Wi-Fi 5, and Wi-Fi 6, and offers flexible SIM options including single SIM, dual SIM, single eSIM, or dual eSIM configurations. Bluetooth 5.3 and NFC are both present, while the USB Type-C port runs on USB 2.0, and there is no HDMI output or external memory slot. Peak cellular speeds reach 2900 Mbit/s for downloads and 1600 Mbit/s for uploads. For navigation, the device includes GPS, Galileo, and a compass, and its sensor suite covers a gyroscope and accelerometer, though a barometer, infrared sensor, heart rate monitor, and ANT+ support are absent. Biometric security is handled by a fingerprint scanner; 3D facial recognition and an iris scanner are not included, and no stylus ships with the device. Features such as crash detection, emergency SOS via satellite, DLNA certification, motion tracking, optical tracking, and a built-in projector are also not part of the package.

The A36 5G includes a video light for illuminating subjects during video recording. The display is flat rather than curved, uses no e-paper technology, and is not protected by sapphire glass.