Samsung Galaxy A36 5G vs Apple iPhone 16 Plus

Compared 2 smartphones : Samsung Galaxy A36 5G Manufactured in March, 2025, with display 6.7 with chipsetQualcomm Snapdragon 6 Gen 3, vs Apple iPhone 16 Plus, Manufactured in September, 2024with chipsetApple A18. Below are specs, tests, pros and cons for each device

Key Differences

Device key advantages
Reasons to choose Samsung Galaxy A36 5G
  • Higher refresh rate: 120Hz
  • Lighter design: 195g vs 199g
  • Higher battery capacity: 5000mAh vs 4674mAh
  • Newer Bluetooth version: 5.4 vs 5.3
  • Fingerprint scanner
Reasons to choose Apple iPhone 16 Plus
  • Higher pixel density: 460ppi
  • Supports DisplayPort

Versions

Available versions and configurations
Memory Options - 6/128 GB
- 6/256 GB
- 8/128 GB
- 8/256 GB
- 12/256 GB
- 8/128 GB
- 8/256 GB
- 8/512 GB

Review

Key Specs Samsung Galaxy A36 5G and Apple iPhone 16 Plus
Display
Color accuracy, sharpness & brightness
Camera
Main & front camera tests
Performance
App & system performance
Games
3D gaming performance
Battery
Battery life, charging speed & type
Connectivity
Connectivity features
NanoReview Score
Overall score by NanoReview
Adjust each parameter’s importance to find the best match for you.
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Function
Importance (Weight)
Display:
Camera:
Performance:
Gaming:
Battery:
Connectivity:
Higher weight means greater impact on NanoReview score.

Tests & specs

Specs & test comparison

Display

Display quality comparison
Type Super AMOLED OLED
Size 6.7 in 6.7 in
Resolution 1080x2340 pixels 1290x2796 pixels
Aspect ratio 19.5:9 19.5:9
Pixel density 385 ppi 460 ppi
Refresh rate 120 Hz 60 Hz
Adaptive refresh rate Yes (60-120 Hz) No
Max brightness 1200 nits 2000 nits
HDR support Yes HDR10+ Yes Dolby Vision
Screen-to-body ratio 86.5 % 88 %
Features - DCI-P3
- Always-On Display
DCI-P3
Display test
Peak brightness (auto)
Samsung Galaxy A36 5G
1245 nits
Apple iPhone 16 Plus
1815 nits
sRGB gamut99.9 %99.8 %
PWM (Flicker)120 Hz256 Hz
Response time1 ms4 ms
Contrast∞ Infinite∞ Infinite

Design & Build

Design and ergonomics comparison
Height 162.9 mm (6.41 in) 160.9 mm (6.33 in)
Width 78.2 mm (3.08 in) 77.8 mm (3.06 in)
Thickness 7.4 mm (0.29 in) 7.8 mm (0.31 in)
Weight 195 g (6.88 oz) 199 g (7.02 oz)
Water resistance IP67 IP68
Cooling system Vapor chamber n/a
Back panel Glass Glass
Frame Plastic Metal
Colors - White
- Black
- Green
- Purple
- White
- Black
- Blue
- Green
- Pink
Fingerprint sensor Yes In-Display No
Screen-to-body ratio
Samsung Galaxy A36 5G
86.5 %
Apple iPhone 16 Plus
88 %

Performance

Testing Samsung Galaxy A36 5G and Apple iPhone 16 Plus In benchmarks
Processor
Chipset Qualcomm Snapdragon 6 Gen 3 Apple A18
Max Frequency 2400 MHz 4040 MHz
CPU Cores 8 (4 + 4) 6 (2 + 4)
Architecture - 4/1.8 (Cortex-A55)
- 4/2.4 (Cortex-A78)
- 4/2.42 (Sawtooth)
- 2/4.05 (Everest)
Process Samsung TSMC
Transistor Size 4 nm 3 nm
Neural Processor Hexagon Neural Engine
Graphics Adreno 710 Apple A18 GPU
GPU Cores 256 640
GPU Frequency 940 MHz 1490 MHz
FLOPS 481.3 GFLOPS 1907 GFLOPS
GeekBench v6
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Samsung Galaxy A36 5G
1020
Apple iPhone 16 Plus
3256
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Samsung Galaxy A36 5G
2975
Apple iPhone 16 Plus
8096
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)10203256
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)29758096
Geekbench Compute (GPU)350428158
AnTuTu 10
AnTuTu 10
Samsung Galaxy A36 5G
634886
Apple iPhone 16 Plus
1622118
CPU202654417158
GPU140575694070
Memory145358177712
UX146299333173
NanoReview Score6348861622118
3DMark Wild Life

Memory

RAM
RAM Size 6 GB 8 GB
Memory Type LPDDR4X LPDDR5X
Memory Frequency 2133 MHz n/a
Channels 2 4
Storage
Storage Capacity128 GB- 128 GB
- 256 GB
- 512 GB
Storage TypeUFS 2.2NVMe
Memory CardNoNo

Software

OS Android 15 iOS 18 (Upgradeable to iOS 18.3.2)
OS Size 22.6 GB 18 GB
UI Skin One UI 7.0 n/a

Battery

Volume 5000 mAh 4674 mAh
Max Charging Power 45 W 30 W
Battery Type Li-ion Li-ion
Removable No No
Wireless Charging No Yes (15 W)
Reverse Charging No Yes
Fast Charging Yes (60% in 30 min) Yes (55% in 30 min)
Full Charge Time 1:14 h 1:39 h
Battery Life Test
Battery Life
Samsung Galaxy A36 5G
24:52
Apple iPhone 16 Plus
34:32
Web Browsing10:13 h15:57 h
Video Playback16:02 h21:26 h
Games04:55 h07:34 h
Standby Mode115 h148 h

Main camera

Matrix 50 MP 48 MP
Photo resolution 8192x6144 pixels 8064x6048 pixels
Zoom Digital Digital
Flash LED Dual LED
Stabilization Optical Optical
8K Recording No No
4K Recording Yes (Up to 30 fps) Yes (Up to 60 fps)
1080p Recording Yes (Up to 60 fps) Yes (Up to 60 fps)
Slow Motion 240 fps (720p) 240 fps (1080p)
Wide-angle lens 123 ° 120 °
Lenses count Standard: 50 MP
Ultra-wide: 8 MP
Macro: 5 MP
Standard: 48 MP
Ultra-wide: 12 MP
Features - Bokeh effect
- Pro mode
- Bokeh effect
- Pro mode
Main lens
Matrix50 MP48 MP
Aperturef/1.8f/1.6
Focal lengthn/a26 mm
SensorSony IMX882n/a
Sensor size1/1.961/1.56
Pixel size0.8 μm1 μm
AutofocusPhase autofocusPhase autofocus (Dual Pixel)
StabilizationOpticalOptical
Ultra-wide lens
Matrix8 MP12 MP
Aperturef/2.2f/2.2
Focal lengthn/a13 mm
SensorGalaxyCore GC08A3n/a
Sensor size1/4.0n/a
Pixel size1.12 μm0.7 μm
StabilizationDigitalDigital

Front camera

Matrix 12 MP 12 MP
Photo resolution 3184x2388 pixels 4032x3024 pixels
Aperture f/2.2 f/1.9
Focal length n/a 23 mm
Sensor GalaxyCore GC12A2 Sony IMX714
Sensor size n/a 1/3.6
Pixel size n/a 1.12 μm
Autofocus No Phase autofocus
Stabilization Digital Digital
Video resolution 2160p (4K) at 30 fps 2160p (4K) at 60 fps
TOF 3D sensor No Yes

Connectivity

Wi-Fi version Wi-Fi 6 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax) Wi-Fi 7 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax/be)
Wi-Fi features - Dual Band
- Wi-Fi MiMO
- Wi-Fi Direct
- Wi-Fi Hotspot
- Wi-Fi Display
- Dual Band
- Wi-Fi MiMO
- Wi-Fi Direct
- Wi-Fi Hotspot
- Wi-Fi Display
Bluetooth version 5.4 5.3
Bluetooth features LE LE
USB type USB Type-C USB Type-C
USB version 2 2
USB features - Charging
- USB Storage Mode
- OTG
- Charging
- USB Storage Mode
- OTG
DisplayPort No Yes
GPS - GPS
- GLONASS
- Beidou
- Galileo
- QZSS
- GPS
- GLONASS
- Beidou
- Galileo
- QZSS
NFC* Yes Yes
Infrared Port No No
Connectivity
SIM Count*2n/a
SIM TypeNanoNano
SIM ModeDual SIM Standbyn/a
eSIM Support *YesYes
Hybrid SlotNoNo
2G BandsGSM850, GSM900, DCS1800, PCS1900GSM/EDGE (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz)
3G BandsUMTS B1 (2100), B2 (1900), B4 (AWS), B5 (850), B8 (900)UMTS/HSPA+/DC‑HSDPA (850, 900, 1700/2100, 1900, 2100 MHz)
LTE Bands*LTE (B1/B2/B3/B4/B5/B7/B8/B12/B17/B20/B25/B26/B28/B38/B40/B41/B66)LTE (B1/B2/B3/B4/B5/B7/B8/B12/B13/B14/B17/B18/B19/B20/B25/B26/B28/B29/B30/B32/B34/B38/B39/B40/B41/B42/B48/B53/B66/B71)
5G SupportYesYes

Sound

Speakers n/a Stereo
3.5 mm Jack No No
FM Radio No No
Dolby Atmos Yes Yes
Speaker Test
Max Volume
Samsung Galaxy A36 5G
90.5 dB
Apple iPhone 16 Plus
80.1 dB

Other

Class Mid-range Flagship
Announced March, 2025 yr September, 2024 yr
Release Date March, 2025 yr September, 2024 yr
Launch Price ($) n/a 899
MSRP ($) 399 n/a
Sensors - Proximity Sensor
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient Light Sensor
- Compass
- Fingerprint sensor
- Proximity Sensor
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient Light Sensor
- Compass
- Face Sensor
Charger Included No No

Note

Apple iPhone 16 Plus:

In the USA, the smartphone only supports eSIM, while the international model has 1 physical slot + eSIM. In China, a model with only two physical SIM cards is available.

* Attention! Config, frequencies, NFC, and other specs may vary by region.

Results

After analyzing the data, we consider Apple iPhone 16 Plus the clear winner in this comparison.

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