I spent a morning with the Samsung Galaxy A57, and I'll be amazed if this isn't one of the best cheap phones of 2026

Date:
Wed, 25 Mar 2026 12:00:00 +0000

Description:
The Galaxy A57 is the latest entry in Samsung's increasingly impressive mid-range lineup here are my first impressions of the new device.

FULL STORY ======================================================================Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Reddit Pinterest Flipboard Threads Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter Tech Radar Get daily insight, inspiration and deals in your inbox Sign up for breaking news, reviews, opinion, top tech deals, and more. Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from
us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. You are now subscribed Your newsletter sign-up was
successful An account already exists for this email address, please log in. Subscribe to our newsletter The Galaxy Z Fold 7 notwithstanding, Samsung is clearly in its iterative upgrade era when it comes to smartphones (see the eminently familiar Galaxy S26 Ultra ), and the companys latest A-series
model, the Galaxy A57, continues the theme of refinement over reinvention.

Thats not necessarily a bad thing, especially as the Galaxy A56 remains one
of the best cheap phones you can buy, but it does mean the company's latest mid-range upgrade is a tale of subtle under-the-hood improvements rather than radical design tweaks. Sure, the Galaxy A57 is slightly thinner and lighter than its predecessor, and its available in some slick new colors (Awesome
Navy is, *sigh*, actually pretty awesome), but the most interesting changes are buried beneath the phone's aluminum frame and glossy Gorilla Glass
panels. Article continues below You may like The best Samsung phones 2026 I went hands-on with the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra and it has one killer
feature even Apple may want to steal I tested the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra and of course it's the best Android phone ever

Chief among them is Samsungs new Exynos 1680 chipset, which boasts better
CPU, GPU, and NPU performance than the Exynos 1580 in the Galaxy A56, as well as support for a new image signal processor (ISP) and LPDDR5X RAM. @techradar

original sound - TechRadar We described the Galaxy A56 as a jack-of-all-trades handset that could do with a bit more power in our Galaxy A56 review , and Samsung has clearly obliged that request in the Galaxy A57.
I still dont expect it to handle high-end mobile games anywhere near as well as the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5-equipped Galaxy S26 you can forget about playing Call of Duty : Mobile on the highest graphics settings but this new mid-ranger should deliver significantly improved benchmark results over the A56. Its got a 13% larger vapor chamber, too, which certainly wont harm its gaming performance.

As for storage and RAM capacities, the Galaxy A57 is available in a choice of either 256GB/8GB or 512GB/12GB in the UK, and 128/8GB or 256GB/8GB in the US. Presumably, Samsung is once again offering different storage options for different regions due to different market demands and regulations, but this variance does make analyzing the phone's new price a little tricky (more on this later). We're also awaiting further details on its Australian availability. Image 1 of 4 The Galaxy A57 in Awesome Navy (Image credit:
Lance Ulanoff / Future) The Galaxy A57 has a 6.7-inch Super AMOLED display (Image credit: Future / Axel Metz) The Galaxy A57 measures 6.9mm at its thinnest point (Image credit: Future / Axel Metz) The Galaxy A57 in Awesome Icyblue (Image credit: Future / Axel Metz) The A57 uses the same 5,000mAh battery as the A56, meaning you should get well over a day of use from a single charge. We managed to eke out around 28 hours of video playback from the A56 during testing, so Samsungs newer phone should fare just as well, if not better, thanks to its more efficient Exynos chipset. Get daily insight, inspiration and deals in your inbox Sign up for breaking news, reviews, opinion, top tech deals, and more. Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

And when you do come to charge the A57, you can expect to reach the 60% mark in 30 minutes via a 45W charger. That puts the phone on par with the flagship Galaxy S26 Plus for wired charging speed, though in keeping with previous A-series models theres no wireless charging to speak of.

Other omissions include the two big S26-exclusive features, Privacy Display and Super Steady with Horizontal Lock , and youll still have to fork over
more money for one of the best Samsung phones (or wait for the inevitable Galaxy S26 FE) if you want a dedicated telephoto lens. This is a mid-ranger, after all.

The Galaxy A57 does, however, sport a capable 50MP wide lens, a 12MP ultra-wide lens, and a 5MP macro lens, which is a relatively versatile combination if youre not shooting at a great distance. The phones new image signal processor (ISP) also brings Low Noise Mode to the A series for the first time, and switching between its ultra-wide and main lenses is now smoother than before. What to read next 'This is one feature we can't wait to try' 6 major Galaxy S26 updates for the Ultra and its siblings that could change how you use your phone The Galaxy S26 lineup makes one thing clear: Samsung wants you in the Ultra 9 things we learned from Samsungs first Galaxy Unpacked event of 2026 The Galaxy A57 has a 50MP wide lens, a 12MP ultra-wide lens, and a 5MP macro lens (Image credit: Future / Axel Metz) In other words, the A57 shouldnt be thought of as a total non-starter for keen mobile photographers, and its bright and crisp 6.7-inch Super AMOLED display which is bordered by slightly thinner bezels this time around is a dazzling canvas on which to display your snaps.

In terms of software, the Galaxy A57 gets the Awesome Intelligence suite of
AI features, rather than the full Galaxy AI package, which is again reserved for the best Samsung phones . Mind you, the gap between the two is now
smaller than ever you don't get generative tools like Drawing Assist on the A57, but you do get Object Eraser, AI Select, Voice Transcription, Auto Trim, Best Face, and more.

Both Bixby and Circle to Search have been upgraded, too, and so the most useful software tools are present and correct. It no longer feels like you have to pay top dollar to get a truly AI-capable smartphone in 2026. 'A
device for everybody' Samsung hasnt messed with its winning A-series formula in the Galaxy A57; instead, it's focused on boosting chipset performance and image processing to lessen the gap between its mid-range handsets and the premium S series.

The A57 is a device for everybody," Kadesh Beckford, Smartphone Product Specialist at Samsung MX, told me at a pre-briefing event for the Galaxy A57. "It's thinner and lighter than before you can feel the changes but there isn't any form of compromise on performance or battery. We've actually increased the [size of the] vapor cooling system, and weve added a faster processor and extremely fast RAM, all while refining the phones design with thinner bezels. It's a device for every situation." The Galaxy A57 in Gray, Lilac, Navy, and Icyblue (Image credit: Future / Axel Metz) The only real criticism I have of this years A-series model is the price hike. The Galaxy A57 starts at $549.99 / 529, where last years A56 started at $499 / 499. Now, $50 / 30 isnt a massive increase in itself, especially as youre getting more storage for your money in the UK, but that 499 price already represented a 60 increase over the starting price of the Galaxy A55, which wasn't made available in the US. The A57, then, costs almost 100 more than its
predecessor once removed, which is a pretty hefty jump for just two generations.

Still, as value goes, the Galaxy A57 looks set to be another easy recommendation for users who dont need outrageous zoom capabilities or benchmark-breaking power. It begins shipping on April 10 in a choice of Awesome Gray, Navy, Icyblue, and Lilac (though the US only gets Navy).

Stay tuned for our full review of the phone as well as its cheaper sibling, the Galaxy A37 in the coming weeks. Follow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our expert news, reviews, and opinion in your feeds. Make sure to click the Follow button!

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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/phones/samsung-galaxy-phones/samsung-galaxy-a57-hand s-on


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