Home Phone comparison Samsung Galaxy A36 5G and Samsung Galaxy M21 - Which is better?

Samsung Galaxy A36 5G vs Samsung Galaxy M21

68 out 100
Samsung Galaxy A36 5G
VS
45 out 100
Samsung Galaxy M21
Samsung Galaxy A36 5G
Samsung Galaxy M21

Compared 2 smartphones : Samsung Galaxy A36 5G Manufactured in March, 2025, with display 6.7 with chipsetQualcomm Snapdragon 6 Gen 3, vs Samsung Galaxy M21, Manufactured in March, 2020with chipsetSamsung Exynos 7 Octa 9611. Below are specs, tests, pros and cons for each device

  1. Differences
  2. Review
  3. Specs
  4. Benchmarks
  5. Battery Life
  6. Cameras
  7. Comments (0)

Key Differences

Device key advantages
Reasons to choose Samsung Galaxy A36 5G
  • Larger display: 6.7in
  • Higher refresh rate: 120Hz
  • Newer Bluetooth version: 5.4 vs 5
  • Built-in eSIM
Reasons to choose Samsung Galaxy M21
  • Higher pixel density: 403ppi
  • Lighter design: 188g vs 195g
  • Higher battery capacity: 6000mAh vs 5000mAh

Versions

Available versions and configurations
Memory Options - 6/128 GB
- 6/256 GB
- 8/128 GB
- 8/256 GB
- 12/256 GB		 - 4/64 GB
- 6/128 GB

Review

Key Specs Samsung Galaxy A36 5G and Samsung Galaxy M21
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.
Customize your score
Function
Importance (Weight)
Display:
Camera:
Performance:
Gaming:
Battery:
Connectivity:
Higher weight means greater impact on NanoReview score.

Tests & specs

Specs & test comparison
Smartphones:
Samsung Galaxy A36 5G
vs
Samsung Galaxy M21

Display

Display quality comparison
Type Super AMOLED Super AMOLED
Size 6.7 in 6.4 in
Resolution 1080x2340 pixels 1080x2340 pixels
Aspect ratio 19.5:9 19.5:9
Pixel density 385 ppi 403 ppi
Refresh rate 120 Hz 60 Hz
Adaptive refresh rate Yes (60-120 Hz) No
Max brightness 1200 nits 630 nits
HDR support Yes HDR10+ No
Screen-to-body ratio 86.5 % 84.2 %
Features - DCI-P3
- Always-On Display		 Always-On Display
Display test
Peak brightness (auto)
Samsung Galaxy A36 5G
1245 nits
Samsung Galaxy M21
608 nits
sRGB gamut99.9 %141.3 %
PWM (Flicker)120 Hz215 Hz
Response time1 ms9 ms
Contrast∞ Infinite∞ Infinite
Sources: NotebookCheck [Samsung Galaxy A36 5G], [Samsung Galaxy M21]

Design & Build

Design and ergonomics comparison
Height 162.9 mm (6.41 in) 159 mm (6.26 in)
Width 78.2 mm (3.08 in) 75.1 mm (2.96 in)
Thickness 7.4 mm (0.29 in) 8.9 mm (0.35 in)
Weight 195 g (6.88 oz) 188 g (6.63 oz)
Water resistance IP67 No
Cooling system Vapor chamber n/a
Back panel Glass Plastic
Frame Plastic Plastic
Colors - White
- Black
- Green
- Purple		 - Black
- Blue
- Green
Fingerprint sensor Yes In-Display Yes rear
Screen-to-body ratio
Samsung Galaxy A36 5G
86.5 %
Samsung Galaxy M21
84.2 %

Performance

Testing Samsung Galaxy A36 5G and Samsung Galaxy M21 In benchmarks
Processor
Chipset Qualcomm Snapdragon 6 Gen 3 Samsung Exynos 7 Octa 9611
Max Frequency 2400 MHz 2300 MHz
CPU Cores 8 (4 + 4) 8 (4 + 4)
Architecture - 4/1.8 (Cortex-A55)
- 4/2.4 (Cortex-A78)		 - 4/1.7 (Cortex-A53)
- 4/2.3 (Cortex-A73)
Process Samsung Samsung
Transistor Size 4 nm 10 nm
Neural Processor Hexagon Yes
Graphics Adreno 710 Mali-G72 MP3
GPU Cores 256 54
GPU Frequency 940 MHz 850 MHz
FLOPS 481.3 GFLOPS 113.8 GFLOPS
GeekBench v6
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Samsung Galaxy A36 5G
1020
Samsung Galaxy M21
514
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Samsung Galaxy A36 5G
2975
Samsung Galaxy M21
1558
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)1020514
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)29751558
Geekbench Compute (GPU)3504n/a
Sources: Geekbench v6 [Samsung Galaxy A36 5G]
AnTuTu 10
AnTuTu 10
Samsung Galaxy A36 5G
634886
Samsung Galaxy M21
266455
CPU20265476468
GPU14057545756
Memory14535870269
UX14629973962
NanoReview Score634886266455
3DMark Wild Life
3DMark Wild Life
Samsung Galaxy A36 5G
n/a
Samsung Galaxy M21
816
Max Surface Temp.n/a44.1 °C
Stabilityn/a73 %
Graphics Testn/a4 fps
Graphics Scoren/a816
Sources: 3DMark [Samsung Galaxy M21]

Memory

RAM
RAM Size 6 GB - 4 GB
- 6 GB
Memory Type LPDDR4X LPDDR4X
Memory Frequency 2133 MHz 1866 MHz
Channels 2 2
Storage
Storage Capacity128 GB- 64 GB
- 128 GB
Storage TypeUFS 2.2UFS 2.1
Memory CardNoMicroSD

Software

OS Android 15 Android 10.0 (Upgradeable to Android 12.0)
OS Size 22.6 GB 14.5 GB
UI Skin One UI 7.0 One Ui 4.1

Battery

Volume 5000 mAh 6000 mAh
Max Charging Power 45 W 15 W
Battery Type Li-ion Li-ion
Removable No No
Wireless Charging No No
Reverse Charging No No
Fast Charging Yes (60% in 30 min) Yes Samsung Adaptive Fast Charge (25% in 30 min)
Full Charge Time 1:14 h 2:35 h
Battery Life Test
Battery Life
Samsung Galaxy A36 5G
24:52
Samsung Galaxy M21
24:03
Web Browsing10:13 h10:07 h
Video Playback16:02 h13:59 h
Games04:55 h05:35 h
Standby Mode115 h115 h

Main camera

Matrix 50 MP 48 MP
Photo resolution 8192x6144 pixels 8000x6000 pixels
Zoom Digital Digital
Flash LED LED
Stabilization Optical Digital
8K Recording No No
4K Recording Yes (Up to 30 fps) Yes (Up to 30 fps)
1080p Recording Yes (Up to 60 fps) Yes (Up to 30 fps)
Slow Motion 240 fps (720p) 240 fps (720p)
Wide-angle lens 123 ° 123 °
Lenses count Standard: 50 MP
Ultra-wide: 8 MP
Macro: 5 MP		 Standard: 48 MP
Ultra-wide: 8 MP
Depth: 5 MP
Features - Bokeh effect
- Pro mode		 - Bokeh effect
- Pro mode
Main lens
Matrix50 MP48 MP
Aperturef/1.8f/2.0
Focal lengthn/a26 mm
SensorSony IMX882Samsung S5KGM2
Sensor size1/1.961/2.0
Pixel size0.8 μm0.8 μm
AutofocusPhase autofocusPhase autofocus
StabilizationOpticalDigital
Ultra-wide lens
Matrix8 MP8 MP
Aperturef/2.2f/2.2
Focal lengthn/a12 mm
SensorGalaxyCore GC08A3n/a
Sensor size1/4.01/4.0
Pixel size1.12 μm1.12 μm
StabilizationDigitalDigital

Front camera

Matrix 12 MP 20 MP
Photo resolution 3184x2388 pixels 5184x3888 pixels
Aperture f/2.2 f/2.0
Focal length n/a 26 mm
Sensor GalaxyCore GC12A2 CMOS
Autofocus No No
Stabilization Digital Digital
Video resolution 2160p (4K) at 30 fps 1080p (Full HD) at 30 fps
TOF 3D sensor No No

Connectivity

Wi-Fi version Wi-Fi 6 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax) Wi-Fi 5 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac)
Wi-Fi features - Dual Band
- Wi-Fi MiMO
- Wi-Fi Direct
- Wi-Fi Hotspot
- Wi-Fi Display		 - Dual Band
- Wi-Fi Direct
- Wi-Fi Hotspot
Bluetooth version 5.4 5
Bluetooth features LE PBAP/PAB, PAN, OPP, MAP, HSP, HID, HFP, DIP, AVRCP, A2DP
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 n/a
GPS - GPS
- GLONASS
- Beidou
- Galileo
- QZSS		 - GPS
- GLONASS
- Beidou
- Galileo
NFC* Yes Yes
Infrared Port No No
Connectivity
SIM Count*22
SIM TypeNanoNano
SIM ModeDual SIM StandbyDual SIM Standby
eSIM Support *YesNo
Hybrid SlotNoNo
2G BandsGSM850, GSM900, DCS1800, PCS1900GSM850, GSM900, DCS1800, PCS1900
3G BandsUMTS B1 (2100), B2 (1900), B4 (AWS), B5 (850), B8 (900)B1 (2100), B2 (1900), B5(850), B8 (900)
LTE Bands*LTE (B1/B2/B3/B4/B5/B7/B8/B12/B17/B20/B25/B26/B28/B38/B40/B41/B66)LTE (B1/B3/B5/B7/B8/B20/B38/B40/B41)
LTE categoryn/a12
5G SupportYesNo

Sound

Speakers n/a Mono
3.5 mm Jack No Yes
FM Radio No Yes
Dolby Atmos Yes Yes
Speaker Test
Max Volume
Samsung Galaxy A36 5G
90.5 dB
Samsung Galaxy M21
83.8 dB

Other

Class Mid-range Mid-range
Announced March, 2025 yr March, 2020 yr
Release Date March, 2025 yr March, 2020 yr
Launch Price ($) n/a 210
MSRP ($) 399 n/a
Sensors - Proximity Sensor
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient Light Sensor
- Compass
- Fingerprint sensor		 - Proximity Sensor
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient Light Sensor
- Compass
- Fingerprint sensor
Charger Included No n/a
* Attention! Config, frequencies, NFC, and other specs may vary by region.

Results

After analyzing the data, we consider Samsung Galaxy A36 5G the clear winner in this comparison.

Survey

Which smartphone would you pick?
2 (66.67%)
1 (33.33%)
Total Votes: 3

User comments

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