Samsung Galaxy A37 vs Galaxy A57

The Galaxy A57 and Galaxy A37 have just hit the shelves and it’s only natural to pit these two brothers against each other. With a price of around 480 euros, the Samsung Galaxy A57 is certainly quite expensive, while the Samsung Galaxy A37 offers many of the same features at a more reasonable starting price of 380 euros.

So how much better can the Samsung Galaxy A57 deserve its price premium? Let’s look at this.

Summary:

To get started, you can compare the complete datasheets or continue directly with our editor’s rating in the following text.

The differences are not large, as you can see. The Galaxy A57 has a more premium build and a faster chipset, and these are probably the most important differences.

Size comparison

Both the Galaxy A57 and A37 feature similar sized screens and batteries, but the A57 is a bit more compact and noticeably lighter. This is because the Galaxy A57 is based on double Gorilla Glass Victus+ with an aluminum frame, while the A37 has a thicker plastic frame and a plastic back panel. But that’s not the whole story.

The Galaxy A57 uses a more premium Super AMOLED Plus panel, which may have helped with the thinner screen bezel and perhaps even overall thickness and weight.

Even though the two phones look the same, the A57 definitely looks more refined than the A37, which is why it wins in this category.

View the comparison

The display spec sheets of these two Galaxies are very similar. Looking at the equally good maximum brightness measurements, this impression becomes even more credible.

But this is not the case as the Galaxy A57 uses a Super AMOLED Plus panel, while the Galaxy A37 relies on a regular Super AMOLED.

Super AMOLED Plus panels have a regular RGB subpixel matrix, while Super AMOLED has the more popular Diamond Pentile matrix with fewer blue subpixels. In the past, there was an obvious difference between these two in terms of sharpness, because displays back then had a lower resolution. But now, even though there are more subpixels on this panel, you can’t see the theoretically sharper image on the A57 if you put it next to the A37 or A56.

And for this reason, even if there is more premium technology behind the Galaxy A57, for all intents and purposes these two screens can be considered the same.

Battery life

Both the Galaxy A57 and Galaxy A37 are powered by 5,000 mAh batteries. Both have similar displays, similar speakers, and not so different chipsets. And it was only natural that we got similarly solid battery life scores.

Charging speed

Both the Galaxy A57 and A37 not only have the same batteries, but also the same charging capabilities. They support up to 45W of wired fast charging, or as Samsung calls it, Fast Charging 2.0 (which is actually based on Power Delivery with PPS). You don’t need a 5A cable to get maximum charging power – the 3A cable included will allow you to get the most out of a compatible PD+PPS USB charger.

As you might imagine, both phones offer the same charging speed, and a full charge on either one takes around 70 minutes.

Test the speakers

Both Galaxies have the same hybrid stereo setup with a bottom-firing speaker and the amplified earpiece that doubles as another stereo speaker.

While the Galaxy A37 scored more points for volume, the Galaxy A57 actually sounds better with richer, deeper output. And for this reason we are inclined to give him the victory in this chapter.

Performance

The Galaxy A57 introduces a new chipset: the Exynos 1680 (4nm) produced by Samsung. This is a marginal upgrade over the Galaxy A56’s Exynos 1580, with CPU performance improvements of 12.5% ​​and GPU performance of 13.8%, as well as an NPU improvement of up to 42%. Key features include the upgrade of a high-efficiency CPU core to a high-performance one, a new GPU, and updated connectivity. The new chip has an octa-core processor with Cortex-A720 1×2.9 GHz and Cortex-A720 4×2.6 GHz and Cortex-A520 3×1.95 GHz. The GPU is Xclipse 550.

The Galaxy A37 is based on the Exynos 1480 chipset. This is actually not a new chip, but one that dates back to early 2024 and that we have already seen inside the Galaxy A55. It has four Cortex-A78 cores, clocked at up to 2.75 GHz, and four Cortex-A55 cores, running at up to 2.0 GHz. The integrated GPU is an Xclipse 530 “Titan”, based on RDNA 3. Unfortunately, it lacks some of the more modern Vulkan features available in the Xclipse 550.

Reference performance

The chipsets are set two years apart and the performance difference is noticeable. The Galaxy A57 scores 30% better in CPU and 70% better in benchmarks. The Galaxy A37 felt slightly slow in day-to-day operations, and the A57 will definitely feel faster in more demanding apps and games.

Additionally, the base Galaxy A37 has 6GB of RAM, which isn’t always enough, and the system will occasionally kill some apps to free up space. This did not happen with the Galaxy A57 and its 8 GB of RAM during our use.

Ultimately, the Galaxy A57 gets the biggest win here: it offers far better performance.

Camera comparison

The two Galaxies have similar camera systems, with some of the hardware identical. Both have the same main camera with a 1/1.56″ sensor and a 23mm equivalent focal length that also takes care of the zoom – there are no telephoto lenses here. Both have the same 5MP macro cameras, which we’re not necessarily fans of.

You may notice a bit of a difference between the ultrawides: the A37 uses an 8MP sensor, while the A57’s is 12MP, but both phones will take 12MP ultrawide shots. The most tangible difference here is coverage: the A57’s 13mm-equivalent lens produces noticeably wider photos than the A37’s 16mm one.

The selfie camera is apparently shared between the A37 and A57, although small differences in EXIF ​​data could indicate different hardware – either way, the core specs are the same.

Image quality

Daylight

Daylight photos at 1x are about the same between the two phones – and these are some solid photos for the class. Both have slightly soft shadow detail and a somewhat processed look to fine textures, but it’s all within reason.

Comparison in daylight, main camera (1x): Galaxy A37 • Galaxy A57

The 2x zoom photos from the A37 and A57 are also very similar, and while they don’t set any standards for sharpness, they’re still pretty good and certainly not something that sets the two phones apart.

Comparison in daylight, main camera (2x): Galaxy A37 • Galaxy A57

The A37’s 8MP ultrawide camera actually captures 13MP (!) files, compared to the A57’s 12MP camera. The A57 has an edge in pixel-level sharpness, of course, and it also has a noticeably wider focal length, so it might be a good idea to lean towards the A57 if the ultrawide camera is important to you. However, we think it’s a small difference.

Comparison in daylight, ultrawide camera (0.6x): Galaxy A37 • Galaxy A57

Low light

Low-light performance is quite good for both phones. We wouldn’t say either has a particular advantage overall, although the A57’s processing might produce slightly odd results on occasion (take that second scene for example), while the A37 was more consistent in our experience.

Low-light comparison, main camera (1x): Galaxy A37 • Galaxy A57

There is little to distinguish them at 2x.

Low-light comparison, main camera (2x): Galaxy A37 • Galaxy A57

Low-light photos taken by ultrawides are difficult to appreciate on either phone, with the A57’s slightly sharper results still being prone to color/exposure mishaps, while the A37’s shots are softer and noisier.

Low-light comparison, ultrawide camera: Galaxy A37 • Galaxy A57

Selfies

In good light, both phones take great selfies that look more or less the same. Detail and dynamic range are great, skin tones are beautiful. The A57 has a substantial advantage in low light, however, as the A37’s photos are noticeably softer.

Selfie comparison: Galaxy A37 • Galaxy A57

Video quality

Video recording capabilities are essentially the same between the two phones, aside from the A57’s 4K30 mode on the ultrawide camera – the A37 maxes out at 1080p30 on the ultrawide.

Both phones can record in 4K30 with their main cameras, or you can switch to 1080p60 if you want to sacrifice resolution for smoothness. The selfie cameras can also do 4K30 on both models (no 60fps mode on either).

Both phones capture great 4K video at 1x, with vivid colours, lots of contrast and great dynamic range. Detail is essentially the same, just the A57’s sharpness is slightly higher.

At 2x, the A57 is slightly better, and it also has an advantage on ultrawide: its 4K is nowhere near Well 4K, but it’s still 4K versus 1080p on the A37, plus the extra coverage could be considered a benefit in itself.

Daylight video screenshot, Galaxy A37: 0.6x • 1x • 2x

Daylight video screenshot, Galaxy A57: 0.6x • 1x • 2x

Neither ultrawide is good in the dark, while the main cameras perform decently and are more or less comparable at 1x, with perhaps the A57’s footage being a little less bad at 2x.

Low light video screenshot, Galaxy A37: 0.6x • 1x • 2x

Low light video screenshot, Galaxy A57: 0.6x • 1x • 2x

Verdict

If you’ve read our reviews, you’ll already know that we consider both the Galaxy A57 and Galaxy A37 not the best choices in their respective price categories. The two phones are quite expensive in the launch month and there are better, even cheaper offers.

Once prices stabilize, these Galaxies will be very attractive options, just as the A56 and A36 were. And speaking of those, the first flaw of these new Galaxies is the minimal upgrades over their respective predecessors, but that’s beyond the scope of this particular comparison.

However, the Galaxy A57 is the better phone because it is lighter and faster. And it also has the best ultrawide camera. And it has a real physical proximity sensor rather than a virtual one. And you get slightly more premium connectivity features like Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 6.0 connectivity.

On the other hand, the Galaxy A37 is cheaper and offers almost the same experience if you are not looking for gaming, video editing and/or heavy multitasking.

If it all boils down to the A57 or A37 dilemma, we think the A57 deserves the premium for its more premium build and faster hardware. But if neither is important to you, you can easily opt for the A37.

Also take a look at our comparison of the TikTok Galaxy A36 and A56.