Samsung Galaxy A57 Review – Balanced Midrange Workhorse Walks the Talk

Samsung’s flagship foldables like the Galaxy Z series and their flagship Galaxy S series continue to take most of the limelight though their midrange Galaxy A series line-up retains enduring popularity as they integrate many features from their flagship phones while keeping prices relatively modest.

However, this time around, the new Galaxy A57 has had a bit of a price bump though you now have 12GB RAM across the board and your choice of either 256GB or 512GB of storage.

 

At launch, we managed to get our hands on a sample of their latest midrange workhorse the Galaxy A57 alongside its sibling the Galaxy A37 for testing. After taking it for an extensive spin, here’s our Samsung Galaxy A57 review where we suss out if its improvements are worth its increased price tag.

Samsung Galaxy A57 review – Build and Design

In terms of build and design, the Samsung Galaxy A57 doesn’t wander all too far from the design language laid down by its forebears. Though it is more refined with a chassis that shaves down its screen bezels, is 19g lighter and 0.5mm thinner than the prior Galaxy A56 while retaining a similarly sized Super AMOLED display and 5,000mAh battery. 

However, it doesn’t visually differ much from the Galaxy A56 and you would be hard pressed to tell them apart save for a slightly different look to the rear camera housing though closer inspection reveals a slimmer chassis and a lighter build.

The backplate of our Galaxy A57 review sample comes in a dark shade of blue that Samsung has referred to as Awesome Navy though you can also acquire it in a lighter Icyblue, Awesome Gray and Awesome Lilac. The backplate of the phone comes primarily in this finish with a subtle Samsung logo emblazoned on the lower quadrant with the upper portion dominated by a triple camera array housed in a pill-shaped camera housing. 

While the left and top portion of the phone are otherwise unremarkable, the right hosts a power button and volume rocker set on a slightly elevated island. The base comes with a USB-C port, a SIM card tray and a speaker grille. 

Up front, the Galaxy A57 retains a similar 6.7-inch FHD+ Super AMOLED+ display with a 120Hz refresh rate. On paper, the panel features up to 1,900 nits peak brightness. The top portion features a single punch hole for the 12MP selfie camera that is otherwise unaltered from the prior Galaxy A56 along with a slit for the earpiece and second speaker. 

Of note is that the Galaxy A57 now has an improved IP68 dust and water resistance rating versus its predecessor’s IP67 rating. With an IP68 rating, the Galaxy A57 is able to resist dust and immersion in up to 1.5 metres of fresh water for up to 30 minutes.

Both the front and rear of the phone retain the use of Gorilla Glass Victus+ which offers a measure of resistance against scratches and minor drops. However, the finish on both the front and rear are fingerprint magnets that are easily prone to smudging. 

That quibble aside, the Galaxy A57 looks and feels well made with an even heft and good ergonomics with its power and volume rocker buttons placed within easy reach of your thumb when held. 

@hitechcentury We got a firsthand look at the new Samsung Galaxy A57 that is the slimmest Galaxy A5 series phone ever and has massively improved Nightography low light imaging. It also has an impressive six years of OS and security updates too! Prices start from RM2,399 RRP in Malaysia with special double storage rebates and PWP specials. @samsungmalaysia  Unboxing the new Samsung Galaxy A57 in Awesome Navy. #galaxya575g  #NgamAtNight #NgamLaju #AYETetapNgam @samsungmalaysia ♬ original sound – Hitech Century

Unfortunately, Samsung doesn’t add many freebies with the phone and all you get is a SIM eject pin and a USB-C cable.

Samsung Galaxy A57 Review – Performance and Benchmarks

The Samsung Galaxy A57 is the first smartphone to run the brand’s own new Exynos 1680 octacore processor. The new chipset  is built on a 4nm process and consists of a single 2.9GHz Cortex prime core, a quartet of 2.6GHz Cortex performance cores and a trio of 1.95GHz Cortex A520 cores,  an Xclipse 550 GPU and is officially rated 16.7 TOPS for AI-related tasks.

Intended as the successor to last year’s Exynos 1580 that ran on the Galaxy A56, the Exynos 1680 processor in our Galaxy A57 review sample is officially rated to offer 33% better AI performance, 15% better graphics and overall 15% better CPU performance.

Our Samsung Galaxy A57 review sample for the Malaysia market packs 12GB of flagship-grade LPDDR5X RAM paired with fast 512GB UFS 3.1 storage which ensures fast multitasking and equally swift read-write speeds 

The phone runs Android 16 with Samsung’s latest OneUI 8.5 overlay which has 4GB of RAM Plus virtual RAM assigned by default off the onboard storage with the option to assign up to 8GB of RAM Plus. 

Combined, this makes the Galaxy A57 an overall faster and more capable performer compared to many midrange phones. Unlike many competing midrange phones, the Galaxy A57 like its predecessors features 6 OS and 6 years of security updates, ensuring that it is safe and secure until Android 21 and safe until 2032.

For Malaysia, the Galaxy A57 only appears with 12GB RAM and either 256GB or 512GB storage with your choice of multiple colourways – here’s how it stacks up on paper:

Price	RM2,399 (512GB), RM2,249 (256GB)
Display	6.7-inch Super AMOLED+ FHD+, 1080 x 2,340 pixels, 120Hz refresh rate, 1,900 nits peak brightness
Processor	Exynos 1680
OS	Android 16 w/ One UI 8.5
Memory	12GB RAM / 512GB storage
Cameras	50MP f/1.8 w/ OIS + 12MP f/2.2 ultra wide angle + 5MP f/2.4 macro camera [rear]  12MP f/2.2 [front]
Battery	5,000mAh w/ 45W wired
Size/Weight	161.5 x 76.8 x 6.9mm / 179g

When subjected to synthetic benchmarks, here’s our Samsung Galaxy A57 review unit fared with the default 4GB RAM Plus virtual RAM:

3D Mark Steel Nomad Light	776
3D Mark Steel Nomad Light Unlimited	791
3D Mark WildLife Extreme	1,708
3D Mark WildLife Extreme Unlimited	1,751
Geekbench 6 Single Core	1,217
Geekbench 6 Multi Core	4,034
Geekbench 6 OpenCL	6,770
Geekbench 6 Vulkan	7,813
Geekbench AI (CPU quanticised)	2,883
Geekbench AI (GPU quanticised)	846
PCMark Work 3.0 Performance	14,502
PCMark Battery Life	17 hours 49 mins

When compared to its predecessor the Galaxy A56, our Galaxy A57 review sample offers improved single, multicore and graphics as well as AI performance across the board. In the Steel Nomad Light Stress test, the Exynos 1680 has improved best and lowest loop scores though it has slightly less stability with 799 and 626 points with 78.4% stability.

Comparatively speaking, it’s not going to outperform a Galaxy S-series phone, even an older one like the Galaxy S22 Ultra but it still gives a good accounting of itself in its price range especially in regards to energy efficiency.

The latest Google Gemini features like Circle to Search with Google and Gemini assistant are all present and you get access to Samsung’s other AI features like Best Face mode and other mainstays like Object Eraser and Edit Suggestions are present though more sophisticated features like Audio Eraser are still exclusive to their higher end Galaxy S and Z series flagship phones.

In day to day performance, the Galaxy A57 proved to be a solid workhorse capable of tackling the tasks expected of a midrange phone including web browsing, content streaming and non-competitive gaming light Genshin Impact or Call of Duty Mobile on default settings. It will also comfortably handle video editing for short videos on CapCut without issue.

While it looks similar on paper, the 6.7-inch Super AMOLED+ display is an improved design that  integrates more subpixels in the panel, offering better image clarity and energy efficiency. It’s a bit of an evolutionary tangent, seeing as it’s not commonly used with the last time this panel type seeing service being the prior Galaxy A73 that was launched way back in 2022.

Origins aside, the display on our Galaxy A57 review sample was able to offer excellent colour rendition and detail with clarity under daylight conditions though it doesn’t seem to differ all too much in image quality compared to the Super AMOLED panel in the prior Galaxy A56.

The provided stereo speakers aren’t all too different from the ones used in the prior model and served up good volume and detail for gaming and movie watching duties alike.

In terms of battery life, the efficiency of the new Exynos 1680 chipset did not disappoint and while the phone has an equivalent 5,000mAh battery as the Galaxy A56, it managed to offer even longer battery life with the PCMark test offering an impressive 17 hours and 49 minutes. In practical terms, it was able to offer about two days of normal usage though this will vary if you are a heavy gamer or are binge watching an entire season worth of dramas in one sitting.

While the hardware and spec boosts are welcome updates, the biggest updates for the Galaxy A57 are its cameras.

Samsung Galaxy A57 Review – Cameras

On paper, the camera specifications for the Galaxy A57 are practically identical to the prior Galaxy A56 with a primary 50MP camera that has optical image stabilisation, a 12MP ultra wide angle camera and a 5MP macro camera with a 12MP camera for selfies up front inset into a punch hole. 

According to Samsung, the ultra wide camera has improved ISP for less noise especially in low light shots while the main camera has 1.0 um big pixels which also helps in low light conditions.

In terms of capabilities, the rear camera has a lossless 2x zoom by cropping the main camera sensor with up to 10x digital zoom and the ability to capture up to 4K@30fps video that also allows for up to 10x digital zoom. The front camera lacks digital zoom but has an ultra wide setting and 1x zoom for selfies and up to 4K@30fps video. 

When compared to its predecessor, the Galaxy A57 offers equivalent performance in daylight with good colour rendition, detail and dynamic range out to 2x zoom.

When compared side by side, the Galaxy A57 has noticeably better performance in lower light conditions from both the main and ultrawide angle cameras compared to the Galaxy A56, with the improved ISP and larger main camera sensor eking out more detail from shadows while retaining decent colours out to 2x zoom. Colours between the ultra wide and main camera are fortunately consistent for the most part.

There’s also some slight quirks with the ISP especially with neon signage with the phone delivering a purple haze in one scenario. While the Galaxy A57 does have a night mode that adds a slight delay to shots by getting a longer exposure to let in more light, it doesn’t offer radically different outcomes to just shooting on auto with some occasionally aggressive overprocessing to the point that a black sky shot at night turned grey.

The provision of a macro camera is helpful but it only sees use in a specific range of scenarios. By and large, you’ll get your best results at up to 2x zoom for stills while retaining good sharpness and detail; beyond that shots get softer and start losing detail. 

Selfies with the front camera offer accurate skin tones and decent detail but aren’t radical improvements from the front camera used in the Galaxy A56.

 

 

The lack of 4K@60fps video capture is to be expected for a midrange phone seeing its intended price point but the rear cameras otherwise deliver smooth 4K@30fps and 1080p@60fps video which is more than sufficient for most users. 

 

Compared to competitors in its price range, the Galaxy A57’s rear cameras still pull their weight. While rivals offer more robust hardware, the cameras remain reliable all-rounders for everyday use.

If you’re sticking to the usual subjects like food shots, selfie shots, scenery and family and group shots in day time and low light while sticking to below 2x zoom, the Galaxy A57’s cameras performs in a reliable, consistent fashion.

Should You Buy Samsung Galaxy A57?

The Samsung Galaxy A57 is a solid if pricey midrange all-rounder that delivers capable performance in almost every aspect of its design. It has a large and vibrant display protected by tough Gorilla Glass Victus+, a tough chassis with IP68 dust and water resistance, offers solid performance, a good set of cameras and has excellent battery life.

Most importantly, it offers a respectable 6 OS and 6 years security updates, something that many of its rivals have yet to offer. It doesn’t exactly break new ground but the Galaxy A57 is a solid bet for anyone who needs a quality midrange phone that will last for at least 6 years.

Samsung Galaxy A57 review sample courtesy of Samsung Malaysia. For more details visit https://www.samsung.com/my/smartphones/galaxy-a/galaxy-a57-5g-awesome-navy-512gb-sm-a576bdbuxme/buy/