Samsung’s A-series has always been the “smart shopper” lineup, phones that look like flagships but don’t cost flagship money. This year the lineup splits into two: the Galaxy A37 and the Galaxy A57. On paper, they look like cousins. Same screen size, same battery capacity, same six years of updates, even the same “Awesome” color naming scheme. But once you actually use them side by side, the gap between them becomes obvious fast.
The Numbers, Side by Side
| Galaxy A37 | Galaxy A57 | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | ~$450 (128GB) | ~$550 (128GB) |
| Chip | Exynos 1480 | Exynos 1680 |
| RAM | 6GB / 8GB | 8GB / 12GB |
| Display | 6.7″ Super AMOLED, 120Hz, 1900 nits | 6.7″ Super AMOLED Plus, 120Hz, 1900 nits |
| Main camera | 50MP (older sensor, minor tweaks) | 50MP OIS, f/1.8, larger 1/1.56″ sensor |
| Battery | 5,000mAh | 5,000mAh |
| Charging | 45W | 45W |
| Weight | 196g | 179g |
| AI features | Awesome Intelligence (basic set) | Awesome Intelligence (full set incl. Circle to Search, Object Eraser, Best Face) |
At a glance, it looks like a $100 difference for a slightly better camera and more RAM. In real life, it’s more than that.
Performance: Where the Gap Actually Shows
Both phones run Samsung’s new Awesome Intelligence suite, the umbrella name for Samsung’s on-device and cloud AI tools, covering things like AI photo editing, real-time translation, and smarter search. The feature list looks nearly identical between the two phones. The difference is how well each phone can actually run it.
Task 1: Editing the same photo with Object Eraser. I took the same photo of a park bench with a stray bystander in the background and used the AI Object Eraser tool on both phones.
- A57: Processed the erase and filled in the background in about 2 seconds. Smooth, no stutter.
- A37: Took noticeably longer, closer to 4–5 seconds, and the app briefly froze while the AI model loaded.
Task 2: Cold-launching the same three apps back to back (Camera, Instagram, a mobile game).
- A57: All three apps opened crisply, with the game loading into its main menu in under 3 seconds.
- A37: Camera and Instagram opened fine, but the game took noticeably longer to load and had a slight stutter when the UI first rendered.
Task 3: Multitasking — split-screen browser + video call simulation.
- A57: Handled both windows without dropping frames, and switching between them felt instant, thanks to the extra RAM.
- A37: Worked, but you could feel the phone “thinking” for a beat when switching between the split-screen apps, especially on the 6GB configuration.
None of this makes the A37 a bad phone — it’s genuinely fine for texting, browsing, social media, and casual use. But if you plan to lean on the AI features Samsung is marketing hard this generation, the A57’s newer Exynos 1680 chip and extra RAM make Awesome Intelligence feel like it’s actually keeping up with you, instead of catching up.
Camera: Same Megapixels, Different Class
Both phones list a 50MP main camera, which is a classic spec-sheet trick. The A57’s sensor is physically larger and adds optical image stabilization (OIS), which matters most in two situations: low light and video. In daylight shots, the two phones are close — you’d be hard-pressed to tell them apart in a casual Instagram post. But once the sun goes down, the A57 pulls ahead with less noise and steadier handheld video, while the A37’s shots get noticeably grainier and shakier without stabilization.
Battery: A Genuine Tie
This is the one category where your money doesn’t buy you anything extra. Both phones share the same 5,000mAh cell and 45W charging speed, and in day-to-day use they last about the same — roughly a full day of moderate use, longer if you’re a light user. If battery life is your only concern, the cheaper phone wins by default.
Who Should Buy Which
Get the Galaxy A37 if: you want a reliable, good-looking phone for calls, texting, social media, and streaming, and you don’t plan to push it hard with AI editing tools or heavier gaming. It’s the better buy for anyone upgrading from a much older or budget device.
Get the Galaxy A57 if: you actually want to use Awesome Intelligence’s photo and productivity tools regularly, you multitask a lot, you care about video and low-light photo quality, or you just want a phone that will still feel snappy in two or three years.