Samsung’s Galaxy A series duo went on sale in India last month. The younger sibling, Galaxy A37, was priced at Rs 41,999 at the time of launch, but it is currently retailing for Rs 36,999 (Rs 33,110 on Amazon). At this price point, it is a worthy midrange contender that may just deliver more value for money than the Galaxy A57 (our review here). The updates on this smartphone are incremental. It gets a new chip under its hood, a better main camera, faster storage, and improved water resistance. We used it for a week to find out if it is the A series model to buy this year. Here is our review of the Samsung Galaxy A37.
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In This Article
Samsung Galaxy A37 Review: Design and Display
Box Contents
- Smartphone
- USB-C to USB-C cable
- SIM ejector
- Quick start guide
The design of the Galaxy A37 remains unchanged from last year’s model (our review here). The glass back panel has Gorilla Glass Victus+ protection. The blacked-out vertical camera pill houses three lenses. Right outside this pill lies the lone LED flash. The Samsung lettering is positioned at the bottom of the panel. The glossy finish on the glass lends a nice in-hand feel to the device, but it tends to attract fingerprints.
The plastic frame houses the volume rocker and the side key on an elevated surface. The SIM tray, primary microphone, USB-C port, and speaker grille are placed at the bottom. Up top lie the noise-cancelling microphone and secondary speaker. The Galaxy A37 is just as sleek as its predecessor, measuring 7.4mm along the sides. Samsung has improved its water resistance, and it now carries an IP68 rating as a result. The device is immersible up to 1.5m in water for up to 30 minutes.
No changes have been made to the display, but that doesn’t gather any complaints from us. The Galaxy A37 has one of the smoothest AMOLED panels in the segment. The 6.7-inch panel has a silky touch response. It is able to reach a maximum refresh rate of 120Hz. While playing HDR content, it can hit a peak brightness of 1,900 nits. 1,200 nits in High Brightness Mode is enough to maintain legibility under harsh sunlight. The optical fingerprint scanner under the display works as intended.
We had a pleasant time streaming movies and TV shows on the Samsung Galaxy A37 during the review period. The AMOLED display produced brilliant visuals, replete with rich colours, sharp contrast, and impeccable details. The stereo speaker setup had a nice soundstage, but we would have preferred a slightly louder output.
Samsung Galaxy A37 Review: Performance and Cameras
At the core of the Galaxy A37 lies Samsung’s in-house Exynos 1480 chipset. The smartphone comes in 3 RAM (LPDDR5X) and storage (UFS 3.1) variants:
- 8GB + 128GB: Rs 36,999
- 8GB + 256GB: Rs 42,499
- 12GB + 256GB: Rs 47,999
We ran a couple of benchmarks on the device. Here is how it performed.
- AnTuTu 3D: 1,051,867
- Geekbench 6: 1,132 (single-core) | 3,437 (multi-core)
The Galaxy A37 has all the power you need to get through routine tasks like calling, instant messaging, emailing, web browsing, media streaming, and navigation without a hiccup. The UFS 3.1 storage configuration may feel like a small update on paper, but it elevated the performance of the phone. Apps don’t take time to load, and switching among them does not present any lag. Everything feels smooth and snappy. That’s all we need in a daily driver.
You can get a good gaming performance out of this device if you limit yourself to a 60fps frame rate and medium graphics. We played BGMI and Call of Duty Mobile, and were happy with the performance. The controls felt smooth, and the gaming visuals were rendered nicely. The back panel started getting warm after we hit the 15-minute mark, but we did not notice any throttling. Of course, if you’re chasing high frame rates, there are other gaming-centric phones out there for you.
Software duties on this device are handled by the Android 16-based One UI 8.5 OS. Samsung has promised 6 major upgrades and 6 years of security patches for the Galaxy A37, something that other midrange phones are unable to match. The software experience is quite fun once you get rid of the bloatware apps. One UI is one of the more vibrant skins around. The UI feels inviting and friendly. Everything is well-optimised for a seamless browsing experience. The home screen widgets make it easy to get key information regarding weather, upcoming events, and health metrics at a glance. The lock screen has plenty of customisation options.
The Galaxy A series does not get Samsung’s Galaxy AI suite, but it does pack useful AI features. You can find them in the ‘Intelligent features’ section after navigating to Settings>Advanced Features. The photo editor in the native Gallery app uses AI to offer edit suggestions. It also packs custom filters and an object eraser. Other AI features on this device include AI Select, Read Aloud, and Voice Transcription.
The Galaxy A37 packs a modest 5,000mAh battery. It pales in comparison to the massive 7,000mAh Si/C units on most of the midrange phones these days, but it holds enough juice to get you through the day without needing to plug in the charger. We ended most days with ~20% charge left in the tank after 5-6 hours of screen time. The smartphone supports 45W charging, but does not ship with an adapter. It took us an hour to fully charge the device.
The rear camera array comprises a 50MP primary shooter, an 8MP ultrawide lens, and a 5MP macro sensor that’s there to fill up the space. The primary shooter has a bigger sensor than the one on the previous model, while the ultrawide lens remained unchanged.
We were quite happy with the pictures captured by the 50MP main camera. The images were crisp, sharp, and showcased vibrant colours. The results are almost identical to the Galaxy A57. The bigger sensor came in clutch during nighttime, as it was able to let in more light. The images were mostly grain-free and packed with accurate colours.
Images taken with the 8MP ultrawide lens were visibly softer, but they retained the colour tone. We were happy with this camera’s performance in outdoor daylight conditions, as the pictures felt vibrant and life-like. In limited lighting conditions, the images came out grainy and noisy, but passable for the most part. The lack of autofocus is the real letdown here.
The native Camera app lets you shoot portraits in 1x and 2x zoom levels. We were particularly fond of the 2x portraits, even though the camera was digitally zooming into the subject. It did a fantastic job of separating the subject from the background, applying a good level of blur, and maintaining cutting-edge details. The 12MP front-facing camera captured clear selfies with natural skin tones and good processing. This camera, along with the primary shooter, can record 4K videos at 30fps. Meanwhile, the ultrawide lens can capture 1,080p footage at 30 and 60 fps.
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Verdict
At a time when smartphone prices are soaring through the roof due to rising input costs, the Samsung Galaxy A37 manages to offer good value for money. While the updates here are incremental, the smartphone does not make any damaging tradeoffs. It packs enough power to get you through your routine tasks without breaking a sweat. The AMOLED display is bright and smooth. The cameras are reliable in a multitude of lighting conditions. The software experience, along with the promise of 6 major OS upgrades, is our personal favourite thing about this phone.
Pros
- Smooth display
- Good main camera
- 6 major OS upgrades
Cons
- Ultrawide lens lacks autofocus
- No telephoto lens
