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MobileIQ

Head to head

Samsung Galaxy A36vsSamsung Galaxy S25 Ultra

The short answer

Choose the Galaxy S25 Ultra for peak brightness and Geekbench 6 CPU score. The Galaxy A36 wins no row by a gap you’d notice. The Galaxy A36 is £850 cheaper at UK RRP (£399 against £1,249). The Galaxy S25 Ultra gets security updates for longer: until January 2032, against March 2031 for the Galaxy A36.

Released
2025-03-28endoflife.date, retrieved 2026-08-20
Price
£399Samsung Newsroom UK — Galaxy A56 5G, A36 5G and A26 5G, retrieved 2026-08-20
Security updates until
2031-03-28endoflife.date — Samsung mobile, retrieved 2026-08-20
Released
2025-02-03endoflife.date, retrieved 2026-08-20
Price
£1,249Samsung Newsroom UK — Galaxy S25 series, retrieved 2026-08-20
Security updates until
2032-01-31Samsung UK spec API — Galaxy S25 Ultra, retrieved 2026-09-22

0 wins for Galaxy A362 wins for Galaxy S25 Ultra5 gaps borderline0 differences you won’t notice£850 apart at RRP

Verdict: Galaxy S25 Ultra ahead on 2 rows, Galaxy A36 on none

On the makers’ figures and the named third-party sources, the Galaxy S25 Ultra wins on peak brightness (2,600 nits from GSMArena against 1,200 nits from the maker) and Geekbench 6 (CPU, multi-core) (8,869 against 2,781, both from Geekbench Browser). 5 gaps are borderline, differences most people would not notice: weight (195 g against 218 g) for the Galaxy A36, display size (6.9 in against 6.7 in) for the Galaxy S25 Ultra, RAM (12 GB against 8 GB) for the Galaxy S25 Ultra, battery per charge (44.9 h against 41.47 h) for the Galaxy S25 Ultra and claimed video playback (31 h against 29 h) for the Galaxy S25 Ultra. Both state the same refresh rate, storage (base), battery capacity, battery lifespan and fast charging. The other 35 rows have no threshold or no direction to judge by, so nobody wins them.

True to scale

Galaxy A36 · 162.9 × 78.2 mmGalaxy S25 Ultra · 162.8 × 77.6 mm

Outlines from each maker’s published dimensions, drawn to scale. Corner rounding is our drawing convention, not a measurement.

Specifications

A win is marked only where the figures can be ranked and the gap is one you could notice. A row the site has no threshold for says whether the two differ, and that it is not ranking them. = marks the same figure on both, ≠ not ranked a difference with no ranking. Every figure carries its source.

Body

SpecificationSamsung Galaxy A36Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra
DimensionsDiffers, but not ranked.
162.9 x 78.2 x 7.4 mmOfficial
162.8 x 77.6 x 8.2 mmOfficial
Weight
195gOfficial
218gOfficial

Marginal — most people won’t notice.

BuildDiffers, but not ranked.
Glass front (Gorilla Glass Victus+), plastic frame, glass back (Gorilla Glass Victus+)3rd party
Titanium frame, Corning Gorilla Armor 2 frontOfficial
SIMDiffers, but not ranked.
Nano-SIM + Nano-SIM + eSIM + eSIM (max 2 at a time)3rd party
Nano-SIM + Nano-SIM + eSIM + eSIM (max 2 at a time) — international3rd party
Water/dust ratingDiffers, but not ranked.
IP67Official
IP68Official
UnlockSame.
Fingerprint SensorOfficial
Fingerprint SensorOfficial

Display

SpecificationSamsung Galaxy A36Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra
Display typeDiffers, but not ranked.
Super AMOLED, up to 120Hz, Vision BoosterOfficial
Dynamic AMOLED 2X, Super Smooth 120Hz, Vision booster, Adaptive colour toneOfficial
Display size
6.7inOfficial
6.9inOfficial

Marginal — most people won’t notice.

ResolutionDiffers, but not ranked.
1080 x 23403rd party
1440 x 31203rd party
Pixel densityDiffers, but not ranked.
385ppi3rd party
498ppi3rd party
Refresh rateSame.
120HzOfficial
120HzOfficial
Peak brightness
1200nitsOfficial

Samsung Newsroom UK — Galaxy A56 5G, A36 5G and A26 5G claims 1200 nits · GSMArena — Samsung Galaxy A36 specifications reports 1900 nits

2600nits3rd partywins this row

Galaxy S25 Ultra is ahead here, by a gap you’d notice.

Screen protectionDiffers, but not ranked.
Corning Gorilla Glass Victus+Official
Corning Gorilla Armor 2Official

Platform

SpecificationSamsung Galaxy A36Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra
Operating systemSame.
Android 15, One UI 7Official
Android 15, One UI 7Official
ChipsetDiffers, but not ranked.
Snapdragon 6 Gen 3 Mobile PlatformOfficial
Snapdragon 8 Elite for GalaxyOfficial
CPUDiffers, but not ranked.
Octa-core (4x2.4 GHz Cortex-A78 & 4x1.8 GHz Cortex-A55)3rd party
Octa-core (2x4.47 GHz Oryon V2 Phoenix L + 6x3.53 GHz Oryon V2 Phoenix M)3rd party
GPUDiffers, but not ranked.
Adreno 7103rd party
Adreno 8303rd party

Memory

SpecificationSamsung Galaxy A36Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra
Storage (base)Same.
256GBOfficial
256GBOfficial
Storage optionsDiffers, but not ranked.
256GBOfficial
256GB/512GB/1TBOfficial
RAM
8GBOfficial
12GBOfficial

Marginal — most people won’t notice.

Card slotSame.
No3rd party
No3rd party

Camera

SpecificationSamsung Galaxy A36Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra
Main cameraDiffers, but not ranked.
50MP Main f/1.8 AF OIS; 8MP Ultra-Wide f/2.2; 5MP Macro f/2.4; 12MP front f/2.2Official
200MP Wide f/1.7 OIS; 50MP Ultra-Wide f/1.9 FOV 120°; 50MP Telephoto 5x f/3.4; 10MP Telephoto 3x f/2.4; 12MP front f/2.2Official
Main sensor resolutionDiffers, but not ranked.
50MPOfficial
200MPOfficial
Main apertureDiffers, but not ranked.
f/1.8Official
f/1.7Official
Main sensor sizeDiffers, but not ranked.
1/1.96"3rd party
1/1.3"3rd party
Telephoto
No verified data
50MP Telephoto 5x optical zoom f/3.4; 10MP Telephoto 3x optical zoom f/2.4Official
UltrawideDiffers, but not ranked.
8MP Ultra-Wide, f/2.2Official
50MP Ultra-Wide, f/1.9, FOV 120°Official
Front cameraSame.
12MP front, f/2.2Official
12MP front, f/2.2Official
Video captureDiffers, but not ranked.
4K@30fps3rd party
8K@24/30fps, 4K@30/60/120fps, 10-bit HDR, HDR10+3rd party

Battery

SpecificationSamsung Galaxy A36Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra
Battery capacitySame.
5000mAhOfficial
5000mAhOfficial
Battery per charge
41.47hOfficial
44.9hOfficial

Marginal — most people won’t notice.

Claimed video playback
29hOfficial
31hOfficial

Marginal — most people won’t notice.

Battery lifespanSame.
2000cyclesOfficial
2000cyclesOfficial
Fast chargingSame.
45WOfficial
45WOfficial
Wireless charging
No verified data
15W3rd party

Connectivity

SpecificationSamsung Galaxy A36Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra
Wi-FiDiffers, but not ranked.
Wi-Fi 63rd party
Wi-Fi 7Official
BluetoothSame.
5.43rd party
5.4Official
USBDiffers, but not ranked.
USB Type-C 2.0, OTG3rd party
USB Type-C 3.2, DisplayPort 1.2, OTG3rd party
NFCSame.
Yes3rd party
Yes3rd party
PositioningDiffers, but not ranked.
GPS, GALILEO, GLONASS, BDS, QZSS3rd party
GPS, GLONASS, BDS, GALILEO, QZSS3rd party

Benchmarks

SpecificationSamsung Galaxy A36Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra
Geekbench 6 (CPU, multi-core)
27813rd party
88693rd partywins this row

Galaxy S25 Ultra is ahead here, by a gap you’d notice.

AnTuTu benchmarkDiffers, but not ranked.
8169343rd party
27807513rd party
3DMark Wild Life Extreme
No verified data
58273rd party
DXOMARK camera score
No verified data
1513rd party

Misc

SpecificationSamsung Galaxy A36Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra
ColoursDiffers, but not ranked.
Awesome Lavender, Awesome Black, Awesome White, Awesome LimeOfficial
Titanium Silverblue, Titanium Black, Titanium Whitesilver, Titanium GreyOfficial
SAR (EU, head)Differs, but not ranked.
0.53W/kg3rd party
1.25W/kg3rd party
Repairability (EU class)Same.
COfficial
COfficial
4 attributes neither phone has a sourced figure for

Typical brightness · HDR peak brightness · OS versions supported · Google Mobile Services. Rows appear as sources are cited — a gap in our data, not a statement about either phone.

Questions

Is the Galaxy A36 better than the Galaxy S25 Ultra?

On the figures, the Galaxy S25 Ultra is ahead wherever there is a gap you’d notice: peak brightness, 2,600 nits (GSMArena) against 1,200 nits (Samsung Newsroom UK) and Geekbench 6 (CPU, multi-core), 8,869 against 2,781 (both Geekbench Browser). The Galaxy A36 wins no row by such a gap. That is a count of rows, not an overall score.

Which has the better battery?

The Galaxy S25 Ultra is ahead, narrowly: battery per charge, 44.9 h against 41.47 h (both EU energy label), a borderline gap most people would not notice. The Galaxy S25 Ultra is ahead, narrowly: claimed video playback, 31 h against 29 h (both Samsung UK), a borderline gap most people would not notice. Both state 5,000 mAh for battery capacity (Samsung Newsroom UK).

Which is lighter?

The Galaxy A36 is lighter, narrowly: weight, 195 g against 218 g (both Samsung Newsroom UK), a borderline gap most people would not notice.

Which has the brighter screen?

The Galaxy S25 Ultra, by a gap you’d notice: peak brightness, 2,600 nits (GSMArena) against 1,200 nits (Samsung Newsroom UK).

Which gets updates for longer?

The Galaxy S25 Ultra gets security updates for longer: until January 2032, against March 2031 for the Galaxy A36. Sources: dates from endoflife.date and Samsung UK spec API.

Which is cheaper?

The Galaxy A36 is £850 cheaper at UK RRP (£399 against £1,249). Prices from Galaxy A36: Samsung Newsroom UK; Galaxy S25 Ultra: Samsung Newsroom UK.

The pairs a buyer of either phone would also weigh. Any two phones in the catalogue can be compared from the chooser.