Samsung Galaxy A36 5G vs Sony Xperia 1 V | TechTalkTown
Samsung Galaxy A36 5G vs Sony Xperia 1 V
Samsung Galaxy A36 5G
Samsung
7.4
Long-supported budget Galaxy
Sony Xperia 1 V
Sony
7.5
Niche $1,400 creator-focused flagship
Samsung Galaxy A36 5G
What Reviewers Agree On
Samsung's six-year OS and security update commitment is the longest in the budget Android segment and a class-leading reason to buy at this price.
The 6.7-inch FHD+ Super AMOLED with 120Hz refresh and ~1,900-nit peak HDR brightness punches above the phone's price bracket and is one of the best displays under $400.
Build quality is exemplary for the price — dual Gorilla Glass Victus+ front and back, IP67 dust/water resistance and a thinner, lighter chassis than the A35.
Wired charging has jumped from 25W to 45W, taking the 5,000 mAh battery from 0 to ~60-66% in 30 minutes and a full charge in ~68-70 minutes.
Real-world battery life from the 5,000 mAh cell easily lasts a full day, with reviewers regularly ending with 20-40% remaining.
Pros & Cons
Samsung Galaxy A36 5G
Pros
Samsung's six-year OS and security update commitment is the longest in the budget Android segment and a class-leading reason to buy at this price.
The 6.7-inch FHD+ Super AMOLED with 120Hz refresh and ~1,900-nit peak HDR brightness punches above the phone's price bracket and is one of the best displays under $400.
Build quality is exemplary for the price — dual Gorilla Glass Victus+ front and back, IP67 dust/water resistance and a thinner, lighter chassis than the A35.
Wired charging has jumped from 25W to 45W, taking the 5,000 mAh battery from 0 to ~60-66% in 30 minutes and a full charge in ~68-70 minutes.
Detailed Comparison
Design & Build
Samsung Galaxy A36 5G
Samsung gave the A36 a real glow-up in materials this generation: Gorilla Glass Victus+ on both the front and back, a thinner and lighter chassis than the A35, and IP67 dust/water resistance. The frame is still plastic, which keeps the A36 a step below the A56's aluminium-and-glass build, but reviewers consistently say it doesn't feel cheap. The unified camera island replaces the separate-lens look of the A35 and is divisive — some say it looks dated, others find it sleek and more S-series-like.
Build is dual Gorilla Glass Victus+ front and back with IP67 dust/water resistance, and the phone is now 14 grams lighter at 195g compared to the 209g A35.
The piano-black colorway attracts smudges and dust easily, and next to the Moto G Stylus or Nothing Phone (3a) under $400 the design feels generic and devoid of personality.
The A36's plastic frame and plastic camera surround feel a clear step below the A56's aluminium frame and flat metal camera surround, and the extra $100 for the A56 buys a noticeably more premium feel in hand.
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Awesome Intelligence (Circle to Search, AI Select, Object Eraser, Edit Suggestions, custom filters) brings a meaningful slice of Galaxy AI features down to the A-series without the bloat seen on the S25 line.
Deal Breakers
The Snapdragon 6 Gen 3 is barely an upgrade over 2022's Snapdragon 6 Gen 1 and benchmarks at or below the outgoing Exynos 1380 in the cheaper A35 — multiple reviewers reported stutters, with one Wired test finding the carrier-locked A36 actually slower than the $100-cheaper A26.
Samsung removed the microSD card slot that the A35 still had, so 128 GB or 256 GB is the storage ceiling — repeatedly flagged on Reddit as a deal-breaker for long-term-update buyers.
No wireless charging — competitors like Motorola's Moto G Power and Moto G Stylus 2025 offer it at the same or lower price.
The rear cameras are the exact same hardware as the A35 (50MP main, 8MP ultrawide, 5MP macro) with only a new ISP and Awesome Intelligence software changes; ultrawide and low-light output remain noisy.
USB 2.0 only and Wi-Fi 6 only (no 6 GHz / Wi-Fi 6E) — connectivity is dated for a 2025 phone you're meant to keep for six years.
The optical under-display fingerprint sensor is slow and inconsistent compared to the A26's side-mounted capacitive sensor, requiring multiple taps to unlock.
Sony Xperia 1 V
What Reviewers Agree On
Best-in-class 6.5" 4K 21:9 OLED display — cinema aspect ratio plus 4K resolution makes it the best smartphone for watching movies in 2023.
Retains headphone jack and microSD — only 2023 flagship with both, a major draw for audio purists and storage hoarders.
Dedicated 2-stage camera shutter button + Photo Pro / Video Pro apps deliver DSLR-style manual control no rival matches.
New 1/1.35" Exmor T main sensor (1.7× larger than Xperia 1 IV) materially improves low-light vs predecessor.
5,000mAh battery + Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 efficiency delivers strong 1.5-day endurance for moderate use.
Deal Breakers
$1,399 launch price is $400 above Galaxy S23 Ultra and $200 above iPhone 15 Pro Max — value proposition fails for non-creator buyers.
Auto/HDR camera processing trails iPhone 15 Pro Max and Pixel 8 Pro — point-and-shoot quality is not flagship-tier.
30W wired charging is slow vs OnePlus 11's 80W (~25 min full) and Galaxy S23 Ultra's 45W — half-hour-to-50% baseline only.
Real-world battery life from the 5,000 mAh cell easily lasts a full day, with reviewers regularly ending with 20-40% remaining.
Awesome Intelligence (Circle to Search, AI Select, Object Eraser, Edit Suggestions, custom filters) brings a meaningful slice of Galaxy AI features down to the A-series without the bloat seen on the S25 line.
Cons
The Snapdragon 6 Gen 3 is barely an upgrade over 2022's Snapdragon 6 Gen 1 and benchmarks at or below the outgoing Exynos 1380 in the cheaper A35 — multiple reviewers reported stutters, with one Wired test finding the carrier-locked A36 actually slower than the $100-cheaper A26.
Samsung removed the microSD card slot that the A35 still had, so 128 GB or 256 GB is the storage ceiling — repeatedly flagged on Reddit as a deal-breaker for long-term-update buyers.
No wireless charging — competitors like Motorola's Moto G Power and Moto G Stylus 2025 offer it at the same or lower price.
The rear cameras are the exact same hardware as the A35 (50MP main, 8MP ultrawide, 5MP macro) with only a new ISP and Awesome Intelligence software changes; ultrawide and low-light output remain noisy.
USB 2.0 only and Wi-Fi 6 only (no 6 GHz / Wi-Fi 6E) — connectivity is dated for a 2025 phone you're meant to keep for six years.
The optical under-display fingerprint sensor is slow and inconsistent compared to the A26's side-mounted capacitive sensor, requiring multiple taps to unlock.
Sony Xperia 1 V
Pros
Best-in-class 6.5" 4K 21:9 OLED display — cinema aspect ratio plus 4K resolution makes it the best smartphone for watching movies in 2023.
Retains headphone jack and microSD — only 2023 flagship with both, a major draw for audio purists and storage hoarders.
Dedicated 2-stage camera shutter button + Photo Pro / Video Pro apps deliver DSLR-style manual control no rival matches.
New 1/1.35" Exmor T main sensor (1.7× larger than Xperia 1 IV) materially improves low-light vs predecessor.
5,000mAh battery + Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 efficiency delivers strong 1.5-day endurance for moderate use.
Cons
$1,399 launch price is $400 above Galaxy S23 Ultra and $200 above iPhone 15 Pro Max — value proposition fails for non-creator buyers.
Auto/HDR camera processing trails iPhone 15 Pro Max and Pixel 8 Pro — point-and-shoot quality is not flagship-tier.
30W wired charging is slow vs OnePlus 11's 80W (~25 min full) and Galaxy S23 Ultra's 45W — half-hour-to-50% baseline only.
Despite the plastic frame and plastic rear, the A36's build quality is exemplary, gaps are even, and it does not feel cheap.
The three rear lenses have been unified into a single oblong camera island, and the A-series no longer looks like an S-series phone — a draw for some, a downgrade for others.
The Awesome Lavender colorway has a holographic rainbow finish that shifts color depending on the angle and adds genuine character to an otherwise utilitarian design.
Reddit's r/Android sums up the build verdict as 'Superb build, dual Gorilla Glass, IP67' — a rare community pro for a budget Galaxy.
Sony Xperia 1 V
Tall narrow 21:9 footprint with flat sides, side-mounted fingerprint, dedicated shutter button, headphone jack and microSD — the most differentiated industrial design of any 2023 flagship.
Flat 6.5" 21:9 display with flat boxy edges — distinctive industrial design vs curved-edge rivals.
Right edge packs side-mounted fingerprint scanner, volume rocker, plus dedicated 2-stage camera shutter button.
Retains 3.5mm headphone jack + microSD expansion — only flagship in 2023 with both.
IP65/68 dust + water resistance per Sony — flagship-tier ingress protection.
Display
Samsung Galaxy A36 5G
The 6.7-inch FHD+ Super AMOLED at 120Hz is the standout reason to buy this phone for the money. Notebookcheck measured peak HDR brightness above 2,000 cd/m² and GSMArena clocked 1,230 nits in auto mode — better than most rivals in this bracket. The catch is a 120Hz/240Hz low-frequency PWM dimming pattern that can bother PWM-sensitive eyes, and the bezels are still wider than the cheapest competition.
Peak HDR brightness measured over 2,000 cd/m² in lab testing — exceptional for a sub-$400 phone and even brighter than Samsung's claimed 1,900-nit spec.
The display gets nice and bright for sunny-day use, though colors can look slightly washed out at peak auto brightness.
GSMArena measured the panel at 430 nits manual and 1,230 nits auto, up from the A35's roughly 1,000 nits, and the adaptive 120Hz dynamically drops to 60Hz to save battery.
In HDR, Short Circuit's lab not only met Samsung's 1,900-nit claim but exceeded it, making for an excellent HDR viewing experience on an OLED panel.
OLED PWM dimming runs at only 120Hz with a 240Hz secondary frequency — too low for PWM-sensitive users who may experience eye strain or headaches.
The screen looks crisp and large for the money, but there is still no official HDR video support flagged by reviewers as a budget compromise.
After a year of use, the 6.7-inch 120Hz Super AMOLED still feels like a full-flagship display in everyday use — bright, smooth, and great for video.
Notebookcheck and Tech Daily both flag that the bezels — particularly along the lower edge — are still wider than what you get on similarly priced Xiaomi or Nothing phones.
Sony Xperia 1 V
The 6.5-inch 4K 21:9 OLED is the headline differentiator — no other 2023 flagship matches the cinema aspect ratio or the true 4K resolution at this size.
6.5" 4K 21:9 OLED 120Hz HDR — only smartphone in 2023 delivering true 4K at this aspect ratio.
Creator Mode delivers accurate colors 'as the directors intended' — best smartphone for watching movies.
21:9 aspect ratio is divisive — perfect for cinema content but letterboxed on most apps and 16:9 video.
Display gets dazzling 4K resolution that makes watching movies feel cinematic — long, narrow form factor pockets easily.
Performance
Samsung Galaxy A36 5G
The A36's Snapdragon 6 Gen 3 is the phone's most consistent weak point. Notebookcheck found it benchmarks roughly the same as the Snapdragon 6 Gen 1 from 2022, and in many tests the older Exynos 1380 in last year's A35 was actually faster. Wired's review went further: the carrier-locked A36 actually felt slower in daily use than the $100-cheaper Galaxy A26 sitting next to it. Reviewers agree it's still fast enough for everyday browsing, social, and light gaming, but anyone who games heavily should look elsewhere.
The carrier-locked AT&T A36 produced visible stutters and felt sluggish out of the box, with the Snapdragon 6 Gen 3 actually scoring lower in benchmarks than the Exynos 1380 in the $100-cheaper A26.
Aside from slightly higher clock rates, the Snapdragon 6 Gen 3 is functionally the same chipset as 2022's Snapdragon 6 Gen 1, and the Nothing Phone (3a)'s Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 is roughly 10-15% ahead in Geekbench.
Benchmarks on the Snapdragon 6 Gen 3 are roughly the same as last year's A35, with only a minor boost in raw graphics — overall performance is adequate for daily tasks and light gaming.
Geekbench 6 results land at roughly 1,019 single-core and 2,947 multi-core after a year of updates — clearly on the lower end of the $400 bracket compared to phones like the Galaxy S25 FE.
Genshin Impact ran at an average 43fps on lowest graphics in lab testing, but only 24fps at high settings — playable but not what gamers should buy this phone for.
The Snapdragon 6 Gen 3 has about half to a third of the gaming performance of a couple-generations-old flagship — daily browsing and social are fine, but heavy 3D games will struggle.
Despite the modest chipset the A36 doesn't get hot under sustained load and survived the prolonged 3DMark Wild Life stress test without significant throttling.
Long-time A-series user on r/Android reports the A36 'is just as stuttery as the A35 and A54' — small generational chip refreshes don't seem to be moving the needle.
Sony Xperia 1 V
Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 + 12GB RAM delivers flagship-class performance; thermal management improved over the Xperia 1 IV but still throttles under sustained load.
Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 + 12GB RAM — flagship-tier benchmarks aligned with Galaxy S23 family.
Thermal management improved vs the IV but still observes 'significant thermal throttling' in prolonged stress tests.
Real-world performance is better than the synthetic stress tests suggest — display refresh rate never throttled.
Battery & Charging
Samsung Galaxy A36 5G
The 5,000 mAh battery is unchanged from the A35 but the bigger story is charging: 45W wired charging (up from 25W) now hits 60-66% in 30 minutes and full in around 68 minutes — faster than the Galaxy S25 itself. Real-world battery life lands around a full day with 20-40% to spare. The catch: no wireless charging, no charger in the box, and you'll need a separate 45W brick with a 5A-rated cable to hit the advertised speeds.
The 5,000 mAh battery comfortably lasts a day, with Wired regularly ending with 30-40% remaining and occasional heavy-use days dropping to 20% by 11pm.
Samsung's quoted charging math — 30 minutes to 65% and full in 68 minutes — matches what reviewers measured in practice and is faster than the Galaxy S25 itself.
Active-use battery score of 11 hours 38 minutes in GSMArena's standardised test is decent for the class, but actually a touch below last year's A35.
There's no charger in the box, and you'll need a Samsung 45W brick (or compatible USB-PD adapter) with a 5A-rated cable — the 3A cable Samsung ships won't unlock full 45W speed.
No wireless charging at all — Motorola's $300 Moto G Power and $400 Moto G Stylus 2025 both offer it at this price.
After a year of use Dave2D's retrospective measured the A36 charging from 0 to 66% in 30 minutes with no degradation in real-world battery longevity.
The charge bump from 25W to 45W is more about wall-clock time than the spec itself — a full charge is only about 12 minutes faster than the A35 in head-to-head testing.
Sony Xperia 1 V
5,000mAh + Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 efficiency delivers strong real-world endurance — but Sony's 30W wired charging is now firmly behind OnePlus's 80W and Samsung's 45W flagship peers.
5,000mAh battery delivers up to 20 hours of continuous 4K playback per Sony's claim.
Real-world: ~50% remaining after average day of web browsing, messaging, calls, and gaming — strong endurance.
30W wired + PD3.0/PPS — 50% in ~30 min. Slow vs OnePlus 11's 80W and S23 Ultra's 45W.
Wireless + reverse wireless charging supported — feature parity with S23 family for the basics.
Value vs Competition
Samsung Galaxy A36 5G
At $399 the A36 sits in an awkward spot — pricier than its $300 sibling the Galaxy A26 (which Wired argues is the better buy thanks to a more responsive Exynos 1380), $100 cheaper than the much more polished Galaxy A56, and shoulder-to-shoulder with the Nothing Phone (3a), Motorola Moto G Stylus 2025 and Xiaomi Poco X7 Pro — all of which offer something the A36 doesn't (better chip, wireless charging, microSD, more interesting design). The reason to choose the A36 is the six-year update window plus carrier promotions, not the spec sheet.
Most people will not pay full $399 — Samsung and carriers run aggressive launch promos, trade-in offers up to $150 off, and bundle deals on Buds FE and Watch FE.
Wired's verdict: 'I would buy a Moto G Stylus 2025 or Nothing Phone (3a) before the Galaxy A26 or Galaxy A36' — Samsung is coasting on brand and carrier reach rather than spec leadership.
If you can stretch $100 more, the Galaxy A56 brings aluminium+glass build, a larger 1/1.56" main sensor, 12MP ultrawide, Exynos 1580 chip and Best Face mode — and Trusted Reviews calls the upgrade meaningful.
Notebookcheck names the Nothing Phone (3a) and Xiaomi Poco X7 Pro as the alternatives to consider if you don't want to lock yourself to the Snapdragon 6 Gen 3 — both offer better performance per dollar.
The A36 cracked Counterpoint Research's global top 10 best-selling smartphones in Q1 2026 — the budget Galaxy thesis is working on a global scale even if Western reviewers are lukewarm.
r/Android's top community reply is blunt: '€380 is €100 too much. You can find Edge 50 Neo under €300 and various other better options.' — sentiment cooler than the spec sheet would suggest.
One year in, even Dave2D's retrospective calls the $399 MSRP 'a little bit on the expensive side' and recommends scoring a deal on the Galaxy S25 FE or stepping down to the cheaper A17 5G instead.
For the buyer who actually values the six-year update window over chip performance, the A36 is the only budget Galaxy with this support length — and that alone is the case for the price.
Sony Xperia 1 V
The $1,399 price is the make-or-break factor — meaningfully above Galaxy S23 Ultra ($1,199) and iPhone 15 Pro Max ($1,199), and limited US distribution shrinks the addressable market further.
$1,400 price tag is a true flagship spend going up against Apple iPhone 14, Galaxy S23 Ultra, Z Fold 4, Pixel Fold.
Notebookcheck verdict: 'more camera replacement and DSLR companion than smartphone' — niche positioning explicit.
Most-cited fan critique: 'too expensive for what it offers, especially in camera department' — value debate is the central tension.
If long battery life is the priority, Galaxy S23 Ultra or Xiaomi 13 Ultra offer more endurance at lower prices.