Samsung Galaxy A36 5G A Series, 128GB Unlocked Android Smartphone, AMOLED Display, Rugged Design, 5G Connectivity, Affordable Performance, US Version, 2025, US 1 Yr Warranty, Awesome Black

I'm far from a phone enthusiast. My phones have all been relatively mid range Moto G phones over the years and I've been reasonably happy with them. My Moto G Stylus (2022) was working fine after almost three years, but was done with security updates and started exhibiting some quirky behaviors like extremely long restarts, a finicky fingerprint reader, and a bit of slow down overall. Given that electronics are about to skyrocket in price, I figured rather than waiting until it was completely unusable, I'd be proactive in getting a new phone until (hopefully) all this instability calms down.My wife's Moto G Power from 2020 was in rough shape, so I looked at the new mid range Moto G line and was somewhat unimpressed, especially at the continued lack of longer support. When I stumbled upon the A36 for the same price as the Moto G Stylus 5G from the previous year, I figured I'd give it a shot. With a decent SOC, camera, etc. and six years of OS and security updates from Samsung being promised, it seemed like it was time to move away from Moto. We both have Samsung tablets we've been happy with, so I wasn't concerned about One UI being much different from the more vanilla Android the Moto phones have. She loved her A36 so much right out of the box, I figured I'd get one too. Once I had (painlessly) moved everything over from my old phone using the transfer app, I was equally happy.The fast charging is awesome. The battery hasn't even dipped below 50% for my average day, and I now get 5G with my carrier, which has some speed perks with it. This thing also syncs up much quicker with our wireless Android Auto. I use an adapter with my Honda--ironically the Moto one--and my wife's newer Subaru has wireless natively, but was hit or miss and ran so slow with her old Moto, but no more!She opted for the purple color, which is nice, and I just went for black because I'm boring. They're nice looking phones. The sound is loud and clear and I have no complaints, though I have probably heard better. In general, this is a solid mid-range phone that will hopefully last me the full six years it has for support. I've already recommended it to my my brother who still uses a flip phone but can't stand how terrible it is since he had to switch with the 3G shutdown. For those that don't need latest and greatest, this is a solid pick.

I'm moving for the first time in five years or more from Motorola to Samsung, and so far overall I'm pretty happy. My only complaint is that for some reason the phone isn't picking up saved passwords from Google/Android, and wants me to create an entirely new list of saved passwords in the Samsung environment. That's fine for my least secure accounts with pretty simple passwords, but not so great (and honestly sometimes not even feasible) for my accounts with 20+ digit randomly generated passwords. Otherwise, my only issue is that I really, really miss the Moto gestures, like being able to turn on the flashlight with a shake, and send the phone into silent mode by placing it flat face down.

I got 2 of these SAMSUNG Galaxy A36 5G devices (one BLACK, one LAVENDER)to replace my 2 2021 SAMSUNG Galaxy A32 5G devices(ONLY because the A32 security updates ended andthe A36 purportedly provides 6 years of Android OS upgrades and security updates).Overall, I’m adequately satisfied and recommend the A36(despite its weaknesses and frustrations).Hereinbelow I’ve provided ratings (based on 5 stars)for each individual aspect of my PROS & CONS.PROS:1. (4/5) My 2 A36 devices perform exactly as described in Samsung’s technical specifications and in 4 critical reviews.2. (5/5) The 6.7" FHD+ Super AMOLED display is AWESOME (super-bright, crisp, clear).3. (4/5) For the A36, Samsung provides BOTH 6 years of Android OS upgradesAND 6 years of security updates (which may NOT be realistic IN ACTUALITYfor the reasons detailed hereinbelow in CONS).CONS:1. (2/5) Battery drain is much faster/greater in A36 than A32when both are used in exactly the same way(even though all background actions are turned OFFin both the A32 & A36 and all unused apps are in DEEP SLEEP).-- When brand new, the A32 lasted 3-4 days.-- Used exactly the same way, the brand new A36 lasts only 1-2 days(even though the A36 CPU and GPU are somewhat moreenergy-efficient than the A32 CPU and GPU).-- INEXPLICABLE2. (2/5) Even though Samsung advertises/features 45W fast charging in the A36,it is NOT sensible to use 45W fast charging on a regular basis.WHY NOT?A. I used a Samsung 45W FAST charger and another Samsung 15W chargerto charge my new Samsung Galaxy A36.-- With the 45W charger, it took ca. 39 minutes to charge my A36 from ca. 30% to 100%.-- With the 15W charger, it took ca. 67 minutes to charge my A36 from ca. 29% to 100%.B. 45W/15W = 3 times the NOMINAL charging rate67minutes/39minutes ==> ONLY 1.72 times the ACTUAL charging rate[i.e., the 45W charger took 58% (NOT 1/3) of the time needed by the 15W charger].C. ALSO, 67minutes - 39minutes ==> 28 minutes saved.That minimal time-saving is not significant for me,especially when one considers the potentially-disastrousBATTERY-LIFESPAN DAMAGE from charging a lithium batteryat 45W vs 15W (SEE SUMMARY TABLE hereinbelow),especially if the A36’s NON-user-REPLACEABLE batterywere to die before the 6 years of ANDROID OS and security updates(viz., long after the 1-year warranty will have already expired andone is forced to buy another new device).===============SUMMARY TABLE:===============Charging Rate_____(20–85% @ 45W)___(0–100% @ 45W)___(20–85% @ 15W)___(0–100% @15W)Charging Cycles_____~1600–2000_________~500–700________~1800–2200________~600–900Lifespan (years)______~4.5–5.5_____________~1.5–2.5__________~5–6______________~2–3===============Bottom-line REASONS why it’s OPTIMAL to use ONLY a 15W chargerto charge ANY Lithium-ion BATTERY from 20%–85% ONLY:-- Avoids high-voltage wear (85–100%)-- Avoids low-voltage stress (<15–20%)-- Provides solid use (1-2 days between charges)-- Maximizes BATTERY lifespan without requiring micromanagement-- Well-matched with adaptive charging features-- Minimal risk of lithium plating3. (1/5) A36 warranty is ONLY 1 year (even though Samsung purportedlyprovides 6 years of ANDROID OS upgrades and security updates)AND the battery is NOT user-replaceable.Consequently, one MUST effectively buy a new deviceif A36 battery dies after 1st warranty year.Moreover, as is self-evident in the SUMMARY TABLE above,the advertised/featured 45W fast charging SHORTENS battery lifespanto approximately 1-2 years, especially since 45W fast charginggenerates heat and accelerates battery wear,especially if used daily and/or in warm environments.-- PLEASE NOTE that ALL the latter realities areINCOMPATIBLE with 6 years of REAL A36 support by Samsung.WHY/HOW?A. Samsung officially supports the A36 with 6 years of Android OS upgradesand 6 years of security patches.Consequently, this creates a user expectation of device longevity(i.e., that the phone will remain usable for at least 6 years).B. However, in ACTUALITY, the reality of having ONLY a 1-Year WarrantyAND a Non-user-Replaceable Battery is that after 1 year,the non-user-replaceable battery is no longer covered under warranty.Moreover, even though the battery can technically be replaced in service centers,Samsung does not make this convenient or affordable.Consequently, if the A36 battery degrades or dies(which seems highly likely in 1-2 years with 45W fast charging),Samsung's solution seems to be “buy a new phone”.SO WHAT'S THE INCOMPATIBILITY?C. Samsung is advertising 6 years of software support for a devicewhose core hardware component (battery)may realistically fail in 1-2 years (especially with 45W FAST charging).Without a convenient or affordable official battery replacement program,most users will have to replace the device entirely,thus making the 6-year support promise UNrealistic.4. (1/5) Samsung’s “Easy Setup” is NOT easy(it’s GLITCHY and UNRELIABLE and cost me a LOT OF WASTED TIME).Consequently, I gave up and started over again by using the trivially-EASYSamsung and Google and WhatsApp BACKUP/RESTORE functionalitiesto quickly/easily MIRROR onto each new A36 EVERYTHING that I have on each A32.5. (2/5) The A36’s SETTINGS’ sub-sub-sub-submenus are CONVOLUTED andUNNECESSARILY complicated compared to the A32’s SETTINGS’ functionalities.-- In order to ensure everything is setup as one wishes in the A36,one MUST click EVERY setting to locate functionalities that are nowHIDDEN/BURIED in the A36 but were immediately visible/findable in the A32.-- WHY? Samsung?6. (1/5) Digital assistants (like Google’s Gemini, Samsung’s Bixby, etc.) are SECURITY RISKS.Consequently, I don’t use them at all, BUT Google has made it almost impossibleto deactivate Gemini in Android 15 without adversely affecting functionality.The best I could do is to NOT give Gemini a voice by selectingGoogle Assistant instead AND canceling all their active listening.

The A36 is considered a midrange phone, but it feels top notch. It has all the features that you could want in a phone, and feels really well built. The only downside is the lack of an SD card slot, but with 128gb of storage, it's not really an issue. A full charge lasts all day and then some, playing music or YouTube videos with the screen off (Premium YouTube required) and several hours watching YouTube videos with the screen on. I haven't tried wireless charging, but hooking it up to a fast charger gets the phone from flat dead to 80% in about an hour. If you have a USB-C laptop charger, that can be even faster. The phone can handle up to 145w fast charging, but unless it's close to 0% charged you won't see a crazy difference between the 100+ watt charger and a 20 watt charger. I think that's to protect the battery from overload. It's a great piece of technology for a fair price, and performs as well as phones 2-3 times it's price for the average user.