Head to head
Nothing Phone (4a)vsSamsung Galaxy A36
The short answer
Choose the Nothing Phone (4a) for peak brightness and battery life per charge. Choose the Galaxy A36 for more base storage and battery lifespan. The Nothing Phone (4a) is £20 cheaper at UK RRP (£379 against £399). The Nothing Phone (4a) gets security updates for longer: until March 2032, against March 2031 for the Galaxy A36.
- Released
- 2026-03-05GSMArena — Nothing Phone (4a) specifications, retrieved 2026-08-21
- Price
- £379Nothing UK store — Phone (4a), retrieved 2026-08-21
- Security updates until
- 2032-03-05Nothing UK — Phone (4a), retrieved 2026-08-21
- 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
2 wins for Nothing Phone (4a)2 wins for Galaxy A364 differences you won’t notice£20 apart at RRP
Verdict: Nothing Phone (4a) ahead on 2 rows, Galaxy A36 on 2 rows
On the makers’ published figures, the Phone (4a) wins on peak brightness (4,500 nits against 1,200 nits) and battery per charge (51.45 h against 41.47 h); the Galaxy A36 wins on storage (base) (256 GB against 128 GB) and battery lifespan (2,000 cycles against 1,400 cycles). The differences in weight, display size, battery capacity and fast charging are below the thresholds you would notice. Both state the same refresh rate and RAM. The other 35 rows have no threshold or no direction to judge by, so nobody wins them.
True to scale
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
Display
Samsung Newsroom UK — Galaxy A56 5G, A36 5G and A26 5G claims 1200 nits · GSMArena — Samsung Galaxy A36 specifications reports 1900 nits
Phone (4a) is ahead here, by a gap you’d notice.
Platform
Memory
Camera
Battery
Connectivity
Benchmarks
6 attributes neither phone has a sourced figure for
HDR peak brightness · OS versions supported · Google Mobile Services · Wireless charging · 3DMark Wild Life Extreme · DXOMARK camera score. Rows appear as sources are cited — a gap in our data, not a statement about either phone.
Questions
Is the Nothing Phone (4a) better than the Galaxy A36?
On the figures, neither is better overall: the Nothing Phone (4a) wins on peak brightness, 4,500 nits (Nothing UK) against 1,200 nits (Samsung Newsroom UK) and battery per charge, 51.45 h against 41.47 h (both EU energy label); the Galaxy A36 wins on storage (base), 256 GB (Samsung Newsroom UK) against 128 GB (Nothing UK) and battery lifespan, 2,000 cycles against 1,400 cycles (both EU energy label). Every other row is borderline, too close to notice, or not ranked.
Which has the better battery?
The Nothing Phone (4a), by a gap you’d notice: battery per charge, 51.45 h against 41.47 h (both EU energy label). The Nothing Phone (4a) is ahead on paper, but not by a gap you’d notice: battery capacity, 5,080 mAh (Nothing UK) against 5,000 mAh (Samsung Newsroom UK).
Which is lighter?
The Galaxy A36 is lighter on paper, but not by a gap you’d notice: weight, 195 g (Samsung Newsroom UK) against 205 g (Nothing UK).
Which has the brighter screen?
The Nothing Phone (4a), by a gap you’d notice: peak brightness, 4,500 nits (Nothing UK) against 1,200 nits (Samsung Newsroom UK).
Which gets updates for longer?
The Nothing Phone (4a) gets security updates for longer: until March 2032, against March 2031 for the Galaxy A36. Sources: dates from Nothing UK and endoflife.date.
Which is cheaper?
The Nothing Phone (4a) is £20 cheaper at UK RRP (£379 against £399). Prices from Nothing Phone (4a): Nothing UK store; Galaxy A36: Samsung Newsroom UK.
Other comparisons
The pairs a buyer of either phone would also weigh. Any two phones in the catalogue can be compared from the chooser.