Samsung Galaxy M36 5G is Samsung’s budget smartphone that claims to offer a value proposition by offering a balance of price, features, AI and performance. I used the phone for a while, and here are my thoughts about the phone.
Appealing design Samsung usually run a little conservative when it comes to the design of the Galaxy M series phones. Well, not anymore. The Galaxy M36 feels different right from the get-go. The flat-frame design, slim 7.7mm profile, and bold colours—especially the Orange Haze variant—give it a more confident, premium stance. It’s still plastic, but the metallic finish plays a good trick on the eye. The new camera island is aligned with Samsung’s flagship language, and that makes the rear feel cleaner. In-hand, it’s comfortable, but the slightly tall placement of the volume and power buttons may bug small hands.
2/10
The display is pleasant to look at It is a Samsung phone, and budget or flagship – display is something that never disappoints and Galaxy M36 5G is no different. It is bright and colourful with deep blacks and brightness and good viewing angles. The 6.7-inch FHD+ Super AMOLED display with 120Hz refresh rate and Gorilla Glass Victus+ delivers vibrant visuals. I used it briefly under the sun, and it held up well in terms of brightness and contrast. However, the notch design over the punch hole might feel a little dated.
3/10
Solid internals and performance The Galaxy M36 5G is powered by Samsung’s in-house Exynos 1380 SoC. It’s not new but still very capable, especially for day-to-day usage. Apps load quickly, and navigation within OneUI 7.0 is smooth. The combination of processor performance, smooth display and an optimised user interface makes the phone a pleasing experience to use. You get options with 6GB or 8GB RAM (plus virtual RAM) and up to 256GB of internal storage. It’s UFS 2.2—not the fastest, but good enough for general usage. There’s also support for storage expansion via microSD, which remains a plus in this segment.
4/10
Samsung’s most affordable AI phone Samsung has not shied away from adding AI features to the Galaxy M36 5G. The phone comes with Circle to Search and Gemini Live in a sub-₹18,000 phone? That’s notable. Samsung is bringing its AI suite to the M series, and that includes AI editing tools and screen analysis features. I did try them, and the Circle to Search feature is as smooth and fast as it feels on the Galaxy S25 Ultra. The same is the case with Gemini Live here. While the overall speed of the results does depend on the network speed, the results were mostly fine and quick.
One UI 7 with long-term software support Out of the box, the Galaxy M36 5G runs Android 15 with OneUI 7.0. The real kicker? Six years of security updates and six major Android upgrades. That’s unheard of in this segment and sets a new standard for software support. Not only that, the UI is fast and responsive as well.
6/10
Camera that sticks to the essentials On the back, you get a 50MP primary shooter with OIS, an 8MP ultra-wide, and a 2MP macro. The primary camera seemed fast to focus, and photos in daylight were crisp with natural colour tones. The 13MP front camera is serviceable, though Samsung could’ve offered 4K recording support up front. The camera quality is on par with the competition in both daylight and low-light conditions. Though low-light photos need a little bit more polishing when it comes to optimising the grains. Samsung has also improved the portrait image quality on the Galaxy M36 5G, and it shows. The edge detection is almost perfect, and the gradual bokeh effect is something that sets it apart from the competition. The phone also supports 4K video recording, and the quality is adequate, if not the best in the segment.
7/10
Battery that lasts but charges slow A 5,000mAh battery in 2025 has started feeling small. But the battery alone can’t define the battery performance of the phone. A bigger battery with less optimised software can hamper the performance. One UI 7 is well optimised to deliver the optimal battery performance. In my testing, the Galaxy M36 5G lasted for almost a day and a half under medium usage. Heavy uses that include gaming for around 2 hours managed to get the phone’s battery to last the entire day without any worries. The 25W charging is also decent enough here.
8/10
What we think When it comes to offering value, the Galaxy M36 5G has been designed to do that. The phone comes with an octa-core processor, which optimises performance, and it can handle gaming, photo and video editing along with day-to-day tasks. The camera is also good enough for most users, where the portrait mode stands out.
Galaxy M36 5G Low light If you can see, the phone can capture quiet good photos in low light conditions. The details are fine and the brightness levels are also good and one can also make out that the picture has been captured at night.
10/10
Galaxy M36 5G Portrait image: When it comes to portrait photos, the background blur and the cutout is precise and accurate.
