Samsung Galaxy A37 & A57 Review: Is the $50 Price Hike Worth It?

The $50 Tax: Is Samsung’s New Galaxy A-Series Still a Smart Buy?

The tech world, much like the rest of the economy, seems to be playing by new rules these days. For years, the Samsung Galaxy A-series was the gold standard for anyone who wanted a high-quality smartphone experience without the eye-watering four-digit price tag of a flagship. You knew what you were getting: a great screen, a dependable battery, and the comfort of the Samsung brand for a price that felt like a steal.

But with the arrival of the Galaxy A37 and Galaxy A57, that narrative is shifting. On the surface, they are the predictable mid-range successors we’ve come to expect—incremental upgrades in a familiar chassis. But there is a catch that’s hard to ignore. Samsung has introduced a $50 price bump across the board. The Galaxy A37 now starts at $449, and the Galaxy A57 lands at a crisp $499. As someone who has spent years sifting through the endless stream of phone releases, this isn’t just a minor adjustment for inflation. It feels like a sign that the "budget-friendly" mid-range era is being rebranded as "premium-lite," and that makes choosing a new phone—especially for gifting—a much trickier proposition.

The Reality of the $50 Hike

Let’s be honest: that extra $50 stings. When you’re shopping in the mid-range market, fifty dollars is often the difference between buying the phone outright or having to finance it. Samsung is leaning on the general economic climate as justification, and to be fair, they aren’t entirely wrong. Global supply chains remain volatile, and the cost of raw components for high-refresh-rate displays and 5G modems hasn’t exactly plummeted.

However, as consumers, we have to ask what we are actually getting for that extra cash. If you look at the leap from last year’s models (the A36 and A56) to these new versions, the word "incremental" feels like an understatement.

The Spec Sheet Reality Check

To understand why this price hike is so controversial, you have to look at what hasn’t changed. The Galaxy A57 still features a 5,000mAh battery—a capacity Samsung has used for years. It still supports 25W wired charging, which, in 2026, feels glacially slow when competitors are offering full charges in under thirty minutes. The display remains a 6.6-inch Super AMOLED with a 120Hz refresh rate. It’s a beautiful screen, don’t get me wrong, but it’s essentially the same panel we saw two generations ago.