Samsung’s Galaxy A57 just got thinner, faster and more affordable

Samsung announced its two latest mid-range phones, the Galaxy A57 and A37. Both phones benefit from the move to IP68 water resistance and some improved AI features, but the biggest upgrades are reserved for the A57, which is now thinner, lighter and has a thinner bezel around the screen. Downside? They both also cost $50 more than their equivalent last year.

The $549.99 Galaxy A57 is Samsung’s direct competitor to $499 for Google Pixel 10A and $599 for iPhone 17E. To help it compete, Samsung has reduced the thickness of the phone to just 6.9mm, which is noticeably thinner than any alternative, while reducing the weight to 179 grams. This was achieved without abandoning the Gorilla Glass Victus+ or metal frame. The result is a phone that feels slim and sleek, even if I don’t think anyone would mistake it for a flagship. In the US, Samsung has made the boring decision to only launch the phone in dark blue, although other markets will also get grey, light blue and purple.

Samsung has also beefed up the water resistance of the A57, with a small bump of IP67 Last year A56 It now reaches IP68, and the bezel surrounding the screen is slimmed down, which helps contribute to the premium aesthetic. However, internal spec upgrades are minimal, such as a larger heatsink or jumping from the Exynos 1580 chip to the newer 1680 chip. This should result in faster performance and small improvements in image processing, but the phone’s other specifications remain largely the same.

The A57 is joined by the Galaxy A37 at $449.99. This wasn’t quite as sturdy and bendy, so it’s still 7.4mm thick – fairly thin regardless – and weighs 196g. It’s very difficult to differentiate it from the A57 aesthetically: the biggest giveaways are the slightly thicker body and the lack of antenna lines, a feature of this phone’s cheap plastic frame.

The A37 will launch in a full range of colors in the US, with charcoal, grey, green, white and lavender versions of the phone. It had some bumps in specs too, with the new Exynos 1480 chipset; A jump to the same 50MP, 1/1.56-inch main camera as the A57; And a display with a peak brightness of 1,900 nits that also matches the A57.

Both phones have 5,000 mAh batteries and 45W charging (faster than… Samsung flagship S26believe it or not, though the trade-off is the complete lack of wireless charging), and pair their main cameras with basic wide, macro, and selfie options. Both will get six years of Android OS upgrades and six years of security patches.

Both will also enjoy the same upgraded AI features since launch: a choice between Bixby and Gemini assistants, Upgrade the circuit to searchAnd AI transcription in the dialer and voicemail app. At least for now, neither of them have Upgrade task automation Which allows Gemini to book an Uber or order groceries, which was just rolled out to the S26 and Pixel 10 phones.

The new Galaxy phones will go on sale in the US on April 9, and in the UK from April 10. The A37 starts at $449.99/£399 for 6GB RAM and 128GB storage, rising to $539.99/£459 for RAM (8+256GB). The A57 has different configurations between markets, costing $549.99 for 8+128GB, $609.99/£529 for 8+256GB, and £699 for 12+512GB.

Photography by Dominic Preston/The Verge