iDevice review
Samsung Galaxy A57 review: a slim, sturdy phone with a great screen and so-so speed
A bright 120Hz display, a tough thin body and six years of updates, with a chip that slows down under pressure.
Thumbs up
- Slim, sturdy build with Victus+ glass
- Bright 120Hz AMOLED
- Excellent daylight photos
- IP68 dust and water resistance
- Six years of updates
Thumbs down
- Performance drops under load
- Can overheat and stall in Android Auto
- Average ultrawide
- 45W charger sold separately
Pick up the Galaxy A57 and it feels premium. It's 6.9mm thin and 179 grams (6.3 oz), with Gorilla Glass Victus+ on the front and back, and it feels sturdy and well balanced. It even shrugs off a drop from your lap to the floor without a mark.
The screen backs that up. The 6.7-inch Super AMOLED Plus panel runs up to 120Hz with slim bezels, and it gets bright enough that you won't struggle outdoors. Reading a map at a sunny crosswalk or checking a recipe by the window is no problem.
Speed
This is where Samsung cut corners. The Exynos 1680 with 8GB of RAM makes the A57 feel perfectly fine, even high-end, for messaging, browsing and moving around the interface. Push it harder, though, and performance drops. It can overheat outdoors, and it can stall in Android Auto. If your phone lives on a dashboard mount for a long summer drive, that's the scenario where it's most likely to let you down. One UI is packed with features, but the basics are easy to find.
Cameras
In daylight, the 50MP main camera with optical stabilization takes excellent photos, with wide dynamic range and accurate color. The 12MP ultrawide is just average, and there's a 5MP macro. The 12MP front camera supports Super HDR for video.
Battery and charging
The 5,000mAh battery gets through a day of mixed use with room to spare, and battery life is excellent. Most people won't be hunting for an outlet before bedtime. With Samsung's 45W charger, sold separately, you'll reach about 60% in 30 minutes. If you're upgrading from an old phone with a slower brick, plan on buying the right charger or you won't see that speed.
Build to last
It's IP68, rated for 1.5 meters (about 5 feet) of fresh water for 30 minutes, and it resists bending without a creak. A drop in the sink or a rainy commute won't faze it. Samsung promises six OS upgrades and six years of security updates, so you can keep it a long time. It runs Android 16, adds Wi-Fi 6E, and comes with 128GB or 256GB of storage. Colors are Awesome Icyblue, Awesome Gray and Awesome Navy.