Home Phone comparison Samsung Galaxy A36 5G and Samsung Galaxy S26 (Snapdragon) - Which is better?

Samsung Galaxy A36 5G vs Samsung Galaxy S26 (Snapdragon)

68 out 100
Samsung Galaxy A36 5G
VS
88 out 100
Samsung Galaxy S26 (Snapdragon)
Samsung Galaxy A36 5G
Samsung Galaxy S26 (Snapdragon)

Compared 2 smartphones : Samsung Galaxy A36 5G Manufactured in March, 2025, with display 6.7 with chipsetQualcomm Snapdragon 6 Gen 3, vs Samsung Galaxy S26 (Snapdragon), Manufactured in March, 2026 with chipsetQualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5. 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 battery capacity: 5000mAh vs 4300mAh
Reasons to choose Samsung Galaxy S26 (Snapdragon)
  • Higher pixel density: 411ppi
  • Lighter design: 167g vs 195g
  • Supports newer USB: 3.2 vs 2
  • Supports DisplayPort

Versions

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

Review

Key Specs Samsung Galaxy A36 5G and Samsung Galaxy S26 (Snapdragon)
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
Galaxy S26 (Snapdragon)

Display

Display quality comparison
Type Super AMOLED Dynamic AMOLED
Size 6.7 in 6.3 in
Resolution 1080x2340 pixels 1080x2340 pixels
Aspect ratio 19.5:9 19.5:9
Pixel density 385 ppi 411 ppi
Refresh rate 120 Hz 120 Hz
Adaptive refresh rate Yes (60-120 Hz) Yes (1-120 Hz)
Max brightness 1200 nits n/a
HDR support Yes HDR10+ Yes, HDR10+
Touch Sampling Rate n/a 240 Hz
Screen-to-body ratio 86.5 % 90.9 %
Features - DCI-P3
- Always-On Display		 - DCI-P3
- Always-On Display
Display test
Peak brightness (auto)
Samsung Galaxy A36 5G
1245 nits
Samsung Galaxy S26 (Snapdragon)
n/a
sRGB gamut99.9 %n/a
PWM (Flicker)120 Hzn/a
Response time1 msn/a
Contrast∞ Infiniten/a
Sources: NotebookCheck [Samsung Galaxy A36 5G]

Design & Build

Design and ergonomics comparison
Height 162.9 mm (6.41 in) 149.6 mm (5.89 in)
Width 78.2 mm (3.08 in) 71.7 mm (2.82 in)
Thickness 7.4 mm (0.29 in) 7.2 mm (0.28 in)
Weight 195 g (6.88 oz) 167 g (5.89 oz)
Water resistance IP67 IP68
Cooling system Vapor chamber Vapor chamber
Back panel Glass Glass
Frame Plastic Metal
Colors - White
- Black
- Green
- Purple		 - White
- Black
- Blue
- Pink
- Purple
Fingerprint sensor Yes In-Display Yes, In-Display
Screen-to-body ratio
Samsung Galaxy A36 5G
86.5 %
Samsung Galaxy S26 (Snapdragon)
90.9 %

Performance

Testing Samsung Galaxy A36 5G and Samsung Galaxy S26 (Snapdragon) In benchmarks
Processor
Chipset Qualcomm Snapdragon 6 Gen 3 Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5
Max Frequency 2400 MHz 4740 MHz
CPU Cores 8 (4 + 4) 8 (2 + 6)
Architecture - 4/1.8 (Cortex-A55)
- 4/2.4 (Cortex-A78)		 - 6/3.63 (Oryon Gen 3 Performance)
- 2/4.61 (Oryon Gen 3 Prime)
Process Samsung TSMC
Transistor Size 4 nm 3 nm
Neural Processor Hexagon Hexagon
Graphics Adreno 710 Adreno 840
GPU Cores 256 1536
GPU Frequency 940 MHz 1200 MHz
FLOPS 481.3 GFLOPS 3686.4 GFLOPS
GeekBench v6
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Samsung Galaxy A36 5G
1020
Samsung Galaxy S26 (Snapdragon)
3378
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Samsung Galaxy A36 5G
2975
Samsung Galaxy S26 (Snapdragon)
11097
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)10203378
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)297511097
Geekbench Compute (GPU)3504n/a
Sources: Geekbench v6 [Samsung Galaxy A36 5G], [Samsung Galaxy S26 (Snapdragon)]
AnTuTu 10
AnTuTu 10
Samsung Galaxy A36 5G
634886
Samsung Galaxy S26 (Snapdragon)
3586464
CPU2026541039672
GPU1405751390228
Memory145358419821
UX146299736743
NanoReview Score6348863586464

Memory

RAM
RAM Size 6 GB 12 GB
Memory Type LPDDR4X LPDDR5X
Memory Frequency 2133 MHz 5300 MHz
Channels 2 4
Storage
Storage Capacity128 GB256 GB
Storage TypeUFS 2.2UFS 4.1
Memory CardNoNo

Software

OS Android 15 Android 16
OS Size 22.6 GB 31.6 GB
UI Skin One UI 7.0 One UI 8.5

Battery

Volume 5000 mAh 4300 mAh
Max Charging Power 45 W 25 W
Battery Type Li-ion Li-ion
Removable No No
Wireless Charging No Yes (15 W)
Reverse Charging No Yes, (Wireless)
Fast Charging Yes (60% in 30 min) Yes
Full Charge Time 1:14 h n/a
Battery Life Test
Battery Life
Samsung Galaxy A36 5G
24:52
Samsung Galaxy S26 (Snapdragon)
n/a
Web Browsing10:13 hn/a
Video Playback16:02 hn/a
Games04:55 hn/a
Standby Mode115 hn/a

Main camera

Matrix 50 MP 50 MP
Photo resolution 8192x6144 pixels 8160x6120 pixels
Zoom Digital Optical, 3x
Flash LED LED
Stabilization Optical Optical
8K Recording No Yes (Up to 30 fps)
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: 50 MP
Telephoto: 10 MP
Ultra-wide: 12 MP
Features - Bokeh effect
- Pro mode		 - Bokeh effect
- Pro mode
- RAW support
Main lens
Matrix50 MP50 MP
Aperturef/1.8f/1.8
Focal lengthn/a24 mm
SensorSony IMX882Samsung ISOCELL S5KGN3
Sensor size1/1.961/1.56 (0.64)
Pixel size0.8 μm1 μm
AutofocusPhase autofocusPhase autofocus (Dual Pixel)
StabilizationOpticalOptical
Telephoto
Matrixn/a10 MP
Aperturen/af/2.4
Focal lengthn/a67 mm
Sensorn/aSamsung ISOCELL S5K3K1
Sensor sizen/a1/3.94 (0.25)
Pixel sizen/a1 μm
Stabilizationn/aOptical
Ultra-wide lens
Matrix8 MP12 MP
Aperturef/2.2f/2.2
Focal lengthn/a13 mm
SensorGalaxyCore GC08A3Sony IMX564
Sensor size1/4.01/2.55 (0.39)
Pixel size1.12 μm1.4 μm
StabilizationDigitalDigital

Front camera

Matrix 12 MP 12 MP
Photo resolution 3184x2388 pixels 4000x3000 pixels
Aperture f/2.2 f/2.2
Focal length n/a 26 mm
Sensor GalaxyCore GC12A2 Samsung S5K3LU
Sensor size n/a 1/3.2 (0.31)
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 No

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 5.4
Bluetooth features LE LE
USB type USB Type-C USB Type-C
USB version 2 3.2
USB features - Charging
- USB Storage Mode
- OTG		 - Charging
- USB Storage Mode
- OTG
DisplayPort No Yes, DP 1.2
GPS - GPS
- GLONASS
- Beidou
- Galileo
- QZSS		 - GPS
- GLONASS
- Beidou
- Galileo
- QZSS
NFC* Yes Yes
Infrared Port No No
Connectivity
SIM Count*21
SIM TypeNanoNano
SIM ModeDual SIM StandbyDual SIM Standby
eSIM Support *YesYes
Hybrid SlotNoNo
2G BandsGSM850, GSM900, DCS1800, PCS1900GSM850, GSM900, DCS1800, PCS1900
3G BandsUMTS B1 (2100), B2 (1900), B4 (AWS), B5 (850), B8 (900)UMTS B1(2100), B2(1900), B4(AWS), 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/B2/B3/B4/B5/B7/B8/B12/B13/B14/B18/B19/B20/B25/B26/B28/B29/B30/B38/B39/B40/B41/B48/B66/B71)
5G SupportYesYes

Sound

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
Samsung Galaxy S26 (Snapdragon)
n/a

Other

Class Mid-range Flagship
Announced March, 2025 yr February, 2026 yr
Release Date March, 2025 yr March, 2026 yr
MSRP ($) 399 899
Sensors - Proximity Sensor
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient Light Sensor
- Compass
- Fingerprint sensor		 - Hall Sensor
- Barometer
- Proximity Sensor
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient Light Sensor
- Compass
- Fingerprint sensor
Charger Included No No
* Attention! Config, frequencies, NFC, and other specs may vary by region.

Results

After analyzing the data, we consider Samsung Galaxy S26 (Snapdragon) the clear winner in this comparison.

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