The Galaxy A37 offers two stereo speakers. They deliver solid volume and clear playback for their size and price range.
Equipment & computing power
- Samsung Exynos 1480
- 8GB RAM
- 128 or 256 GB storage
The Samsung Galaxy A37 relies on the in-house Exynos 1480, a change from last year. The Snapdragon 6 Gen 3 from Qualcomm was used in the A36. The mid-range chip does its job reliably.
When it comes to internal storage, you can choose between 128 and 256 gigabytes. In Germany, both memory variants have 8 gigabytes of RAM installed.
John McCann / Foundry
Samsung has hardly improved the performance compared to its predecessor A36. The Galaxy A37 generally copes well in everyday life, but occasionally shows delays when switching between apps.
The interface seems a bit sluggish in places, and more demanding games take longer to load than more powerful devices. “Call of Duty Mobile” still runs stable in high graphics settings.
However, you shouldn’t expect fluid flagship performance in this price range. A look at the benchmarks shows a similar level to that of the Nothing Phone (4a) in the 8 gigabyte version. However, the Nothing device seems smoother overall in everyday use, while both models outperform the Moto G86.
The features also include Bluetooth 5.3, WLAN 5, NFC, GPS and dual SIM support.
Samsung Galaxy A37 5G Benchmarks
Cameras
- 50 MP main sensor
- 8-MP-Ultraweitwinkel
- 5-MP-Macro
- 12-MP-Selfie-Camera
The cameras of the Samsung Galaxy A37 are very similar to its predecessor. Samsung continues to rely on a 50-megapixel main camera, an 8-megapixel ultra-wide-angle camera and a 5-megapixel macro camera on the back. A 12-megapixel selfie camera is used on the front.
However, the set-up is not completely identical. The 50-megapixel main camera has been slightly improved and now uses a larger sensor and a revised image processor. Overall, the Galaxy A37 delivers solid photo quality without standing out from the crowd.
The main camera takes bright and clear photos with a decent level of detail in good light. Typically for Samsung, the colors appear a little stronger, which gives the images more brilliance overall.
John McCann / Foundry
The 5 megapixel telephoto camera enables twofold optical zoom with still usable image quality. Digitally you can enlarge up to 10x, but the sharpness decreases significantly. Stronger zoom is therefore only recommended to a limited extent.
At 4x magnification the images are still OK. Even moving subjects can be captured with enough detail, for example to be able to read labels on a boat.
With the 0.6x ultra wide-angle camera with eight megapixels, you can capture significantly more image content. Overall, the A37 delivers solid results here, even if the dynamic range and sharpness don’t quite match the main camera.
Portrait mode provides a pleasant background blur, but doesn’t always separate the subject cleanly. Inaccuracies can occur, especially with fine contours.
There is also a macro mode for close-ups in the “More” section of the camera app. Samsung recommends a distance of three to five centimeters. With a little patience and a steady hand, detailed results can be achieved, even if the quality varies depending on light, stability and focus performance.
John McCann / Foundry
The selfie camera also delivers good results in everyday life. Thanks to the wide angle mode, more fits into the picture. The portrait mode also works well here and usually separates the subject cleanly from the background. However, fine details such as flying hairs are not always recognized precisely.
As an improvement over its predecessor, Samsung offers an optimized Nightography mode on the Galaxy A37 for better shots in low light. This actually works well in practice. The shot of a dark, metal door with graffiti on a side street appeared significantly brighter than in reality.
When it comes to videos, the Galaxy A37 records up to 4K (3,840 × 2,160 pixels) at 30 frames per second. If you want a smoother display, you can switch to Full HD (1080p) with 60 frames per second. As with its predecessor, the recordings appear calm, stable and even overall.
Battery life & charging
- 5.000-mAh-Battery
- Easily enough for a whole day
- 0-60 percent charge in just 30 minutes
Samsung claims that the Galaxy A37 has a battery life of up to two days with its 5,000 mAh battery. In practice, however, this value is difficult to achieve.
With light use, about a day and a half is possible. With around four to six hours of screen time per day, the A37 had around 16 hours of runtime from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m., with a remaining battery of around 20 to 30 percent.
In the PCMark Work 3.0 battery test, the Galaxy A37 performed better than its two predecessors, the A36 and A35, and achieved a runtime of 13 hours and 36 minutes. This corresponds to an improvement of around two hours compared to the A36, but overall remains a rather average value.
John McCann / Foundry
Although it is difficult to achieve two full days of runtime with the A37, the device can easily last for a day and usually still has some reserve in the evening. The smartphone charges quite quickly with up to 45 watts. Unfortunately, a power supply is not included in the scope of delivery.
Samsung claims a charging time from 0 to 60 percent in around 30 minutes. In my test with a 45-watt GaN charger, the result was slightly lower, at around 10 percent per 10 minutes. There is no wireless charging on the Galaxy A37, which is not surprising in this price range.
User Interface & Apps
- One UI 8.5
- Android 16
- 6 years of OS and security updates
The Samsung Galaxy A37 comes with the in-house One UI 8.5 based on Android 16. Anyone who has used a Samsung smartphone in recent years will quickly find their way around. However, when switching from another Android device or an iPhone, the interface initially seems a bit unusual.
What is particularly noticeable are the duplicate apps. In addition to the Google apps, Samsung’s own applications are also preinstalled, such as calendars or the web browser.
John McCann / Foundry
Samsung is understandably pushing for its own apps to be used as standard. However, if necessary, these can easily be replaced with Google apps or other alternatives.
Overall, One UI offers many functions and numerous customization options. This means you can tailor the operation to your own preferences. As with its predecessor, the Galaxy A37 does without the extensive Galaxy AI functions of the S series. Functions such as “Now Bar” or “Now Brief” are not available here.
However, the device cannot function entirely without AI. In the gallery there is an object eraser for removing distracting image content. You can also create your own camera filters, and with “AI Select” you can mark and analyze screen content.
The smartphone will then suggest suitable actions for you. In addition, both the Google Assistant Gemini and Samsung’s Bixby are on board.
John McCann / Foundry
The Galaxy A37 comes with some pre-installed apps and games, i.e. typical bloatware. However, these can be uninstalled if necessary so that the app drawer remains tidy.
The long update supply is positive. Samsung promises six years of operating system and security updates, which is a strong argument in this price range. One UI 8.5 offers no surprises, but delivers all the important functions that you can expect from this device class in everyday life.
Price & Availability
The version with 128 gigabytes of internal memory is available from online retailer Amazon from 392.94 euros. The variant with 256 gigabytes of storage costs from 429.99 euros.
You can find more alternatives in our test of the best mid-range smartphones.
Conclusion
The Samsung Galaxy A37 5G is a solid entry into the Samsung world if you’re on a budget. It gives a good impression of the Samsung ecosystem with One UI 8.5, the well-known image processing and the AI functions.
In everyday life, the smartphone delivers exactly what you can expect in this price range, including decent battery life, a good display, usable cameras and enough power for apps and games. However, it doesn’t really stand out.
Ultimately, the Galaxy A37 is a reliable mid-range smartphone without any major weaknesses. If you’re not committed to Samsung and are looking for more variety, you’ll find more exciting alternatives from the competition.
Technical data
- One UI 8.5, based on Android 16
- 6.7-inch, FHD, Super AMOLED, 120 Hz, 1,900 nits peak brightness
- Fingerprint sensor
- Samsung Exynos 1480
- 8GB RAM
- 128 / 256 GB
- Cameras:
- 50 MP main sensor
- 8-MP-Ultraweitwinkel
- 5-MP-Macro
- 12-MP-Selfie-Camera
- Up to 4K at 30 fps (rear camera)
- Stereo speakers
- SIM & eSIM / Dual-eSIM
- Bluetooth 5.3
- 5.000-mAh-Battery
- 162,9 x 78,2 x 7,4 mm
- IP68 certified
- 196 g
- Farben: Awesome Charcoal, Awesome Lavender, Awesome White, Awesome Graygreen
(PC-Welt)
