The Samsung Galaxy M36 marks a new dawn for the affordable Galaxy M series. Previously, this series was all about the practicality and inclusion of all essential features, despite its budget-friendly price. Now, with this new smartphone, Samsung has prioritised the design, durability, and cameras slightly more over performance and battery. Compared to its predecessor, it is now slimmer, more attractive, and more robust.
Samsung Galaxy M36
Rs 17,499
What Is Good?
- Colour-accurate cameras in varying lighting conditions
- Striking look and premium in-hand feel
- Adequate performance for everyday use
- Bright, vibrant display
What Is Bad?
- Battery life is underwhelming compared to its rivals
- Mono speaker
- Portrait photography and low-light camera performance need careful attention
- Several pre-installed apps
- Tear-drop notch
While this change in approach for a reputed budget series is great, most other brands have shifted their focus to providing the best-in-class price-to-value ratio with their recent affordable smartphones. Does this offbeat strategy succeed in making the Samsung Galaxy M36 a new go-to smartphone for cost-conscious consumers? Read my review to find out.
Design and Build Quality
Compared to all the Samsung smartphones launched in 2025, the Galaxy M36 appears familiar, yet looks quite different.
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- Colour Options: Velvet Black, Serene Green and Orange Haze (Reviewed)
- Weight: 197g
- Thickness: 7.7mm
- Port and Button Placements
- Bottom: Primary microphone, USB port, and speaker grille
- Top: Secondary microphone
- Right side: Power button and volume button
- Left side: SIM-card tray
The camera module in recent A-series smartphones, including the Galaxy A26 and A56, features a unified design with a black strip. However, the Galaxy M36’s camera module is highlighted by its rear colour-matched strip and separated into two parts, with the ultra-wide camera being a loner. This change imparts pleasing aesthetics to this smartphone. Its silver frame, with flushed buttons, further enhances its beauty.
That being said, the Orange Haze’s finish on the Galaxy M36 instantly deprives the joy of its appearance the minute you start using it. Tilting the smartphone slightly in a well-lit environment consistently triggers my OCD, as it reveals the cluster of fingerprints.
Holding the Galaxy M36 in hand feels surprisingly premium, considering its budget roots. I believe its somewhat hefty and boxy proportions are the prime suspect for this quality. But it feels less chunkier than the Galaxy M35, its predecessor. Bizarrely, Samsung hasn’t listed its IP rating, clearly suggesting that avoiding water bodies, as this smartphone’s owner, is a wiser decision.
Battery and Charging
Considering the golden era of high-endurance smartphones we live in, the Galaxy M36 feels stuck in past. Other smartphones from different companies feature a 5,500mAh battery or larger, whether they are standard or curved. However, the Galaxy M36’s 5,000mAh battery is a downgrade from its predecessor, unfortunately resulting in it being outperformed by almost all its rivals in our PCMark Battery test.
Realistically speaking, the Galaxy M36 lasted reasonably well for an entire day on my moderate real-world usage, including watching various YouTube videos and playing team death matches on BGMI. Once depleted, I used a 120W PD charger to fully charge its battery in 1 hour and 30 minutes.
Display and Audio Quality
Watching several YouTube videos and my favourite anime series has consistently diverted my attention from the archaic-looking tear-drop notch and thick bottom chin duo. Instead, it hooked me into the content I was watching, as they beautifully appeared with vivid colours and such richness in details.
- Size: 6.7-inch
- Type: Super AMOLED
- Resolution: 1080×2340 pixels
- Refresh Rate: 120Hz
- Display Protection: Corning Gorilla Glass Victus+
- Peak Brightness
- Tested: 1073 nits
- Minimum: 02 nits
By the way, using this smartphone is effortless under direct sunlight, as it becomes quite luminous even at 35 per cent brightness.
While the Galaxy M36’s mono speaker produces decent audio quality, the absence of stereo speakers is hard to justify here. The Realme P3, POCO M7 Pro, and many other devices currently provide them at an affordable price. Particularly, the POCO M7 Pro is Rs 4,500 cheaper. Given the asking price of Rs 17,499, people expect an uncompromising, comprehensive multimedia experience.
Performance and Software
Samsung has again opted for the battle-tested Exynos 1380 SoC on the Galaxy M36. I have called it “battle-tested” because it debuted with the Samsung Galaxy A54 in 2023 and subsequently appeared on the Galaxy A35, Galaxy M35, Galaxy A26, and Galaxy F36. Other brands have now moved on to the Qualcomm Snapdragon 6 Gen 4 and MediaTek Dimensity 7300 processors in their recent budget offerings. Phones with these processors have been observed delivering fast performance with top-notch battery efficiency.
Anyway, daily driving the Galaxy M36 went seamlessly, as all my tasks, including a few scrolls on the YouTube short feed and casual gaming, were executed without any hiccups.
| Hardware | Specifications |
| RAM | Up to 8GB |
| Storage | Up to 256GB |
| Storage Test | 43067 |
| CPU Throttling Test | 91 per cent of its max performance |
| Software Version | One UI 7, based on Android 15 |
| Connectivity Details | Bluetooth 5.3 and Wi-Fi 6 |
| Number of Software Updates | Six years of software updates and security patch updates |
Speaking of gaming, team death matches on Call of Duty: Mobile and BGMI typically run at around 60fps on the lowest graphical setting, which is acceptable.
However, certain smartphones, such as the Infinix Note 50x and CMF Phone 1, can run BGMI at a 90fps or higher frame rate, despite being similarly priced.
In real-world usage, the Galaxy M36 appears appealing. But its performance against its rival on the benchmark front somewhat diminishes its charm.
The Android 15-based OneUI 7 performs swiftly and reliably on the Galaxy M36. While it features app-opening animations, they happen unattractively quickly with jerky motion. They should occur with finesse, similar to how the ColorOS 15 or OxygenOS 15 handles them.
Being a budget offering, the Galaxy M36 is afflicted with several pre-installed apps. However, Samsung has attempted to offset this by introducing a few nifty AI-powered features, such as “Erase Reflections” and AI Smart Select. These features resemble blessings when you encounter a moment where you have to erase a photobomber from a once-in-a-million photograph, or you urgently need to extract text from an image for your assignment.
Camera
Photos from the Galaxy M36’s 50-megapixel primary camera frequently come out with nearly natural colours in daylight. Moreover, this camera successfully encompasses most details in these images. It also tends to balance darker and brighter parts of any image well.
| Cameras | Specifications |
| Primary camera | 50-megapixel, f/1.8 (OIS) |
| Secondary camera | 8-megapixel, ultra-wide, f/2.2 |
| Tertiary camera | 2-megapixel macro, f/2.4 |
| Selfie camera | 13-megapixel, f/2.4 |
| Video capabilities | Up to 4K at 30fps for the rear and front cameras |
However, taking portrait photos with this camera dampened my mood. Subject detection and background separation were inconsistent. The background blur often failed to cover the desired area and frequently encroached on the human subjects. It does retain the original human skin tone in these photographs, which honestly doesn’t matter when its primary function isn’t properly fulfilled.
Surprisingly, there isn’t any noticeable colour shift between the ultra-wide camera’s photographs and those of the main sensor. The macro snapper is no different. But they don’t match the primary camera’s calibre to retain details, due to their low megapixel count.
The low-light performance is acceptable, considering the cameras produce photographs with almost accurate colours and rich details in ample lighting.
However, with the reduction in light intensity at the photograph location, they tend to introduce grains in the darker parts of the images. Moreover, intricate details, such as facial hair, become hazy.
The front camera captures captivating selfies in ample lighting, while preserving most details. However, the CMF Phone 2 Pro remains a better choice for aspiring photographers under Rs 20,000, as its triple-camera setup includes a 50-megapixel telephoto lens and an 8-megapixel ultra-wide sensor, rather than a rudimentary macro lens.
Verdict
The Samsung Galaxy M36 is a compelling option for value-driven consumers who want Samsung’s trust and reliability. Its display, performance, design, and cameras are crafted to a satisfactory quality. All of them can provide a worry-free experience of using a budget smartphone.
However, looking deeper into the smartphone without favouring its brand image reveals its flaws, potentially repelling its consumers. Considering its asking price, the downgraded battery capacity becomes a pressing matter. As part of a reputable brand, featuring a mono-speaker instead of a stereo one can’t just be easily overlooked.
Other smartphones, such as the Realme P3 and CMF Phone 2 Pro, offer a superior multimedia experience, enhanced durability, improved performance, and stronger photography capabilities.
