Samsung Galaxy A37 5G review.

A $599.99 phone with a 2024 chip and a 2032 update date

Here's the money fact. The Galaxy A37 launched in the US at around US$450, but in Canada Best Buy lists the 128GB model at $599.99 and Samsung.ca's own listing data showed $679.99 on October 31, 2026, the date these prices were gathered. That's a lot for a phone that reviewers at Android Authority, GSMArena and TBreak all call slow. The 256GB model is $699.99 at Best Buy and $799.99 at Samsung.ca. Amazon.ca wouldn't load when the prices were gathered, so there's no number for it here. Check it before you buy.

What you get for that money is a good screen, IP68 water resistance, a decent main camera and a promise of six OS upgrades. Samsung Canada lists security updates until March 31, 2032. Almost no other phone near this price makes a promise that long.

This is a research review built from Samsung's pages, Best Buy Canada listings and independent reviews. Cameron hasn't used an A37. The question: is the update promise worth a slow chip, or should you spend the same money on something faster?

Two real upgrades over the A36, and who should leave their old phone alone

Android Authority calls the A37 an incremental update, and the spec sheet agrees. The screen is the same 6.7-inch 120Hz Super AMOLED, the weight is the same 196 g, and the chip is a lightly improved Exynos 1480. The two changes that matter are IP68 dust and water resistance, and a bigger 50MP main sensor that Android Authority says matches the size in the pricier Galaxy A57.

Smaller wins exist. GSMArena says battery endurance improved despite the same 5,000 mAh cell, and Tech Advisor measured about two extra hours of PCMark runtime over the A36. Engadget likes that the A37 comes in more colours than the A57. Samsung Canada, though, only lists Awesome Charcoal, so colour choice depends on where you shop.

If you own an A36, skip this one. You'd pay $600 for water resistance and a modest camera bump. If you have an A34 or older, or a phone that's lost security updates, the upgrade is real, but only on a good sale.

Why every review calls a $600 phone sluggish

Performance is where reviewers agree most. Android Authority says the A37 is a bit quicker than the A36 but still stalls, with delays when the keyboard opens and when you flip between camera modes. TBreak describes stuttering animations and lag in the notification shade and settings. GSMArena's verdict calls the chipset weak for the price.

TBreak put numbers on it. Its Geekbench 6 multi-core run gave the A37 3,198 points against 4,076 for the Honor 600 and 3,345 for the Nothing Phone 4a. In 3DMark Wild Life Extreme the A37 scored 1,041, about half the Honor's 2,057. Those rivals aren't sold in Canada the way they are in the Gulf, but the point carries over: you can buy faster silicon for similar money.

There's one good note. TBreak says the chip stays cool and steady under sustained load. Android Authority disagrees a little, saying the phone got warm after 15 to 20 minutes of heavy use and ran hot during wired Android Auto. If you plug into a car every day, that's worth knowing. A phone that lags and heats up on the same cable you use every morning is a daily irritation, not a one-off.

The 6GB trap: why the $599.99 model is the wrong one to buy

Samsung sells the A37 as 6GB with 128GB, or 8GB with 256GB. Tech Advisor tested the 8GB model and says it feels like the Nothing Phone (4a) in daily use, but it warns that the 6GB version may be a frustrating experience. It also says the 8GB version is the one it would recommend.

That puts you in an awkward spot in Canada. The 8GB/256GB model is $699.99 at Best Buy and $799.99 at Samsung.ca. At that price you're within a few dollars of the Galaxy A57's $699.99 Best Buy price for the 128GB model, and that phone has a faster chip and a thinner body, according to Tech Advisor.

Practically, that means the only sensible A37 buy is the 128GB model on a deep discount. Best Buy's marketplace and open-box listings were showing prices from about $420 to $550 for the 128GB phone, but those are third-party or open-box sellers, so check the warranty before you jump.

The battery finally behaves, but the charging claim needs checking

Battery is the A37's best hardware story. Engadget's video loop ran 29 hours 10 minutes, about an hour longer than the Pixel 10a. GSMArena's active-use score landed near 14 hours, better than the A36 on the same capacity, and the review singled out streaming video as a strength. Tech Advisor logged a PCMark Work run of roughly 13 hours 36 minutes and about 16 hours of real use from 7am to 11pm with 20 to 30% left.

That's a full day for most people, and a day and a half if you're light. On a commute with a few hours of Spotify, a bit of maps and a lot of scrolling, you'd probably get home with charge to spare. Samsung's two-day claim is optimistic, per Tech Advisor.

Charging reviews disagree. GSMArena measured about 34% after 15 minutes and 62 to 64% after 30, with a full charge in roughly 1 hour 12 minutes. Tech Advisor, using a 45W GaN charger, got about 10% every 10 minutes. TBreak reports no charger comes in the box, so budget about $30 to $50 for a proper 45W USB-C one. There's no wireless charging at all.

A 1,900-nit screen you only get some of the time, and a camera that overdoes the sharpening

The display is the same panel as last year. GSMArena measured about 1,294 nits in auto mode on a bright full-screen white and about 1,904 nits on a small peak window, but only 489 nits when you set brightness manually to maximum. Tech Advisor and Android Authority both wanted more brightness in direct sun, and Android Authority adds that the glossy finish makes glare worse. GSMArena also notes the screen doesn't play HDR video.

The main camera is what changed. Engadget says low-light shots from the 50MP sensor compete with the Pixel 10a, though Samsung oversharpens while the Pixel gets better white balance and texture. TBreak agrees on the sharpening, calling daylight shots punchy but a bit artificial, and says the phone struggles at 2x and 4x zoom and in night shots beyond 1x.

The 8MP ultrawide is fine in daylight, and nobody likes the 5MP macro. Video tops out at 4K 30fps. For family photos and the odd vacation snap it's plenty. If you shoot a lot of low-light or zoomed pictures, the Pixel is the better bet.

Six years of updates: the best reason to buy it, and a bet on slow hardware

Samsung promises six OS upgrades. The phone ships on Android 16 with One UI 8.5, and Samsung Canada lists security updates valid until March 31, 2032. Android Authority says it's the biggest software advantage here but doubts the hardware will still feel okay late in the decade.

That doubt is fair. A chip that stutters in year one won't get faster, and each Android release tends to add weight. Think of the promise as protection against security holes, not against slowness. If you plan to keep a phone for five or six years, a faster chip would age better, even with fewer updates.

The AI side is lighter than on flagship Galaxy phones. Android Authority mentions Gemini, Circle to Search and Object Eraser, calls the Object Eraser results inconsistent, and notes many flagship Galaxy AI tools are missing.

Galaxy A57, Pixel 10a, iPhone 17e: who beats the A37 and for how much

Best Buy Canada's listings on October 31, 2026 set the comparison. The Galaxy A37 is $599.99. The Galaxy A57 is $699.99 for the 128GB model. Tech Advisor says the A57 has the same display specs, a faster chip and a thinner body, so the extra $100 buys the performance the A37 lacks. If you want a Samsung mid-ranger, the A57 is the pick unless a discount drops the A37 to about $450.

Check the Pixel 10a price yourself before you decide. The Best Buy Canada listing we saw was far out of line with the US$499 launch price Android Authority cites, so we aren't quoting a Canadian figure for it. Engadget's reviewer still prefers the Pixel for image quality and a flatter back, so if you find it near the A37's price, it's the harder one to ignore.

The iPhone 17e starts at $999.99 for 256GB. It's a different tier of money, so it only makes sense if you're set on Apple. The Galaxy S26 FE is $1,049.99 for 128GB. For a similar budget to the A37, the answer is usually the A57 or a discounted older Pixel, such as the Pixel 9a.

What it costs to own an A37 in Canada

Samsung Canada's warranty page gives Galaxy A-series phones 12 months from purchase, covering manufacturing defects only. Batteries are treated as consumables unless stated otherwise, and phones bought outside Canada may fall under the original country's terms. That's shorter than the update promise, so a battery that fades in year three is on you.

Storage is the other cost. There's no microSD slot, and Samsung lists 107.1GB free on the 128GB model. If you shoot lots of 4K video, plan on cloud storage or the 256GB model. Add a charger (none in the box, per TBreak) and a case, and the real price of the base phone is closer to $650.

Reviewers also flag the optical fingerprint reader. Engadget says it needed several taps until the fingerprint was re-enrolled, and TBreak calls it unreliable with slow face unlock. It's a small thing, but it's the kind of annoyance you hit a hundred times a day. A phone you unlock that often should do it on the first try, and a $600 price tag raises the bar.

One more cost is resale. Best Buy's own listings hint at how fast the price drops: a brand-new 128GB A37 from a marketplace seller was sitting around $417 to $443, and refurbished units were $340 to $420, against $599.99 for a new Best Buy unit. If you buy at full price, expect to take a real hit when you sell.

Who should buy the A37, who should skip it, and what to get instead

Buy it if you find the 128GB model for roughly $450 or less, you want a Samsung phone, and updates and IP68 matter more than speed. Parents buying a first phone for a teenager are a good fit: it's sturdy, water resistant and supported until 2032.

Skip it at $599.99 or $679.99. At those prices the Galaxy A57 at $699.99 is the better Samsung, and Tech Advisor and GSMArena both say shoppers focused on value can do better. Skip it too if you game, use wired Android Auto every day, or keep phones for five years and care how they feel in year four.

Buy instead: the A57 if you want Samsung and can afford it, a Pixel if you can find a Canadian deal that narrows the gap, or an iPhone 17e if you want Apple. Read the Galaxy S26 FE review on this site if your budget is closer to $1,000.