While Samsung’s most advanced new member of the mid-range Galaxy A handset family is still not available stateside, the slightly humbler 5G-enabled A36 and A26 can now be purchased directly from their manufacturer’s official US website, as well as major retailers like Amazon and Best Buy.
Priced at $399.99 with no strings attached, the Qualcomm Snapdragon 6 Gen 3-powered Galaxy A36 5G can be knocked down to as little as $249.99 when ordered from Samsung with the right device trade-in, but if you don’t want to go through that hassle, you should probably take advantage of Amazon or Best Buy’s sweet launch promotion while it’s available.
Both retailers are ready to give you a $50 gift card if you hurry, and although that’s arguably not as good as an outright smartphone discount, it definitely sweetens a deal… that kind of needed this little boost. After all, the Galaxy A36 doesn’t exactly look like the greatest budget 5G phone of 2025 (at least on paper), facing such stiff competition as the Motorola Edge (2024), Google Pixel 8a, Google Pixel 9a (when it comes out), and soon enough, the Motorola Edge (2025), aka Edge 60.
With a neat freebie bundled in, the 6.7-inch mid-ranger is… a bit more appealing than “usual”, and if you’re willing to give it a chance, the A36 5G might just impress you with its decidedly high-quality 120Hz refresh rate-capable Super AMOLED display, presumably solid battery life, blazing fast 45W charging, and pretty much unrivaled long-term software support.
Believe it or not, this budget-friendly device runs an Android (and One UI) version out of the box that the high-end Galaxy S24 series hasn’t yet received as a stable upgrade in the US, and on top of that, Samsung promises you’ll get six, count’em, six (hopefully) timely OS promotions over the next six years.
That’s clearly something Motorola Edge (2024) users and future Edge (2025) owners cannot hope to come close to, almost matching Google’s Pixel 8a software support guarantee and looking like the Galaxy A36‘s biggest selling point, possibly followed by an extensive set of AI features and capabilities.
