Samsung Raised Galaxy A37 and A57 Prices by $50 — And Now the Pixel 10a Is the Better Buy

Samsung raised prices without raising the bar — and now Pixel 10a looks like the obvious choice#

Samsung's Galaxy A series has been the dominant mid-range Android lineup globally for years. Popular, widely available, and trusted by the kind of buyer who wants a recognizable brand without flagship prices. But Samsung just made things awkward for itself.

The new Galaxy A37 is priced at $449 — that's approximately ₹37,500. The Galaxy A57 comes in at $549 — approximately ₹45,800. Both prices are $50 higher than the models they replaced. The Galaxy A36 last year started at $399, and the A56 was $499. For $50 more, you'd expect meaningful upgrades. What Samsung actually delivered is more modest than that.

This pricing shift makes the Pixel 10a, sitting at $499 (approximately ₹41,500) directly between the two new Samsung phones, a more compelling proposition than it's ever been in this price bracket.

What actually changed on the Galaxy A37 and A57#

Let's be fair to Samsung first — there are real upgrades here, even if they're not the dramatic leap the price increase might suggest.

Galaxy A37 upgrades: The most notable change is the chip. The A36 used a Snapdragon 6 Gen 3. The A37 switches to Samsung's own Exynos 1480. That's not a straightforward upgrade on paper — Snapdragon 6 Gen 3 is a solid chip, and Exynos has had a mixed reputation in real-world performance and efficiency. The jury is still out on whether this is an actual improvement until thorough reviews come in.

Galaxy A57 upgrades: The A57 gets Samsung's newer Exynos 1680 chip — the same one in India's ₹44,400 Galaxy A57 that launched on March 25. It's thinner at 6.9mm and adds a 512GB storage variant. The camera hardware appears largely unchanged from the A56.

Both phones get: IP68 water resistance (up from IP67 on some previous models — a genuine improvement), 45W fast charging, six years of Android OS and security updates, and a suite of new One UI AI features including Voice Transcription, AI Select, and the upgraded Object Eraser. The A57 also gets Best Face and Auto Trim that the A37 doesn't.

What didn't change: the core design, the camera setup, and the overall experience DNA. These are refinements of last year's phones, not reimaginings.

The Pixel 10a case — why it looks better than ever right now#

Google's Pixel 10a launched earlier this year at $499. That price held steady from the Pixel 9a — no increases. For that $499, you get:

Google's Tensor G4 processor, 8GB RAM, 5,100mAh battery (bigger than Samsung's), IP68 water resistance, Satellite SOS connectivity (useful in emergencies and a feature Samsung doesn't offer in this tier), and Google's suite of AI features including Best Take, Magic Eraser, and the continuously updated Pixel Camera software that remains class-leading for computational photography.

The Pixel technically has two cameras versus Samsung's three, but Samsung's third camera is a macro sensor that most people use approximately twice and forget about. The Pixel's two cameras outperform Samsung's three in real-world use consistently in reviews and real-world tests.

Last year, Galaxy A36 at $399 made a reasonable argument against the Pixel 9a at $499 — $100 is a meaningful price difference. That argument is gone. Galaxy A37 at $449 versus Pixel 10a at $499 is a $50 gap that Pixel's software experience, camera quality, and guaranteed Android updates easily justify for most buyers.

What about India specifically?#

In India, Samsung launched the Galaxy A57 on March 25 at ₹44,400 and the Galaxy A37 pricing hasn't been officially confirmed for India yet, but based on global positioning it's expected in the ₹36,000-38,000 range.

The Pixel 10a India pricing is the complication here. Google's Pixel phones have historically been priced significantly higher in India than their USD equivalent due to import duties and distribution costs. The Pixel 9a launched in India at ₹49,999. If the Pixel 10a follows a similar pattern, it could be priced around ₹49,999-52,999 in India — which changes the value calculation significantly.

At ₹50,000 for Pixel 10a versus ₹44,400 for Galaxy A57 in India, Samsung's position looks much stronger than the US comparison suggests. Indian buyers in this price range also have strong preferences for Samsung's One UI software familiarity, widespread Samsung service centers across tier 2 and 3 cities, and the instant Flipkart/Amazon availability with no-cost EMI options that Pixel doesn't match on distribution reach.

The Nothing Phone (4a) Pro is worth mentioning for Indian buyers too — it's in a similar price bracket and offers a genuinely different design and software experience, though its long-term software update commitment is shorter than Samsung's six years.

The six-year update commitment — Samsung's genuine differentiator#

Both the Galaxy A37 and A57 come with six years of Android OS updates and security patches. This is actually remarkable for phones in this price range and deserves more credit than it typically gets in reviews.

In India, the average smartphone upgrade cycle is three to four years. A phone that receives OS updates for six years from purchase means a Galaxy A57 bought today in 2026 will be receiving Android updates in 2032. For a buyer who doesn't want to think about phones for the next five years, this commitment is genuinely compelling — and Samsung is the only company in this price bracket making it at this scale.

Google's Pixel line also commits to seven years of updates (better than Samsung's six), but again, India pricing makes direct comparison harder.

TamilTech's take#

Samsung raised prices on phones that don't have meaningfully different cameras, designs, or battery life compared to last year. The chip changes are real but not transformative. In the US, this gives Pixel 10a and Nothing Phone (4a) Pro strong arguments that didn't exist last year when Galaxy A36 had a $100 price advantage.

For India: the comparison is less clear-cut because Pixel's India pricing is significantly higher than its US equivalent. If you're choosing between Galaxy A57 at ₹44,400 and Pixel 10a at ₹50,000 in India, the Samsung is genuinely the smarter buy for most users — better service network, wider availability, and six years of updates at a lower price. The comparison changes if you live in a metro area, value camera quality heavily, and don't mind Pixel's relatively limited India distribution.

Bottom line: Galaxy A37 and A57 are solid phones with a price hike that's hard to fully justify. In the US, look at Pixel 10a seriously. In India, the Galaxy A57 at ₹44,400 remains one of the stronger mid-range options in the market right now.