A fresh leak suggests a surprising camera overhaul for Samsung’s next midrange pair, with the Galaxy A37 apparently getting a significant main-sensor upgrade while the more expensive Galaxy A57 looks set to follow in its predecessor’s footsteps.
A57 leak indicates familiar hardware with minor changes
Based on firmware clues (via Smartprix), the Galaxy A57 is expected to house a 50MP Sony IMX906 primary sensor of 1/1.56-inch size, along with a 13MP ISOCELL S5K3L6 ultrawide camera and a 5MP macro shooter. In some markets, Samsung’s 50MP ISOCELL GNJ—also 1/1.56-inch—might be the main camera instead. Selfies are expected to be handled by a 12MP ISOCELL S5K3LC.
On paper, that sounds like a sidegrade from the Galaxy A56’s existing 50MP main, 12MP ultrawide, and 5MP macro. As we saw in leaks before launch, the A57 retains the large primary sensor but does not add a telephoto lens, even as some competitors have begun to include one in their midrange flagships. With computational photography and tuning apparently set to drive image quality gains rather than a hardware refresh, it seems that, if true, Samsung is rolling the dice.
Cheaper A37 gets a bigger sensor, reportedly
It’s the Galaxy A37 where the more substantial change appears to hit. Considering the main Galaxy A36 phone uses a measly 1/1.96-inch sensor (whatever happens to be on the Oppo Find X2 Pro or Vivo X70), the same 50MP Sony IMX906 with a 1/1.56-inch sensor is likely, according to preliminary reports. By “inch-type” convention, that upgrade means about 50+ percent more light-collecting area, a factor that can help with low-light operation while reducing motion blur and enabling detail retention in high-contrast scenes.
The rest of the A37’s rear array is said to remain conservative: an 8MP ultrawide (GC08A3) and a 5MP macro, while there’s expected to be a 12MP front snapper for selfies and video calls.
That mix is the same as on last year’s model, but the main sensor bump alone could mean the difference between “usable” and “confident” night shots in this price tier.
Why a bigger sensor is more important than more megapixels
Megapixels trip off the tongue, but actually it’s the physical size of your sensor and pixel pitch that do most of the heavy lifting in terms of image quality. A 1/1.56-inch sensor—the larger variant of this new design—bins its 50MP readout to a 12.5MP image, in essence combining four pixels into one bigger “virtual” pixel for improved noise control and dynamic range. With optical image stabilization and the latest multi-frame processing tech alongside, you might be getting visibly cleaner low-light results as well as quicker night-mode exposures, which will no doubt prove another step up from the A36.
On the A57, with sensor size held constant, advancements in tuning in the image signal processor and updated HDR pipelines can still make a difference. Recent midrange phones have demonstrated just how much the arcana of computational photography—scene segmentation, semantic sharpening, and better skin tone mapping—can matter when hardware stops stepping up.
Still no telephoto as midrange competition heats up
It’s worth pointing out that the A57 doesn’t have a telephoto—some of Realme’s latest Pro+ models, for instance, have featured a 3x telephoto lens to outperform in portrait and zoom shots. At the same time, many of the volume drivers in this segment still favor a strong primary sensor and software over dedicated zoom modules, which Counterpoint Research has also underscored across mainstream price bands.
If the rumor holds, it echoes Samsung’s plan: give the A37 a significant push where most consumers shoot—on the main camera—set against keeping the A57 relevant through consistency and software polish, not with new glass.
Chips and timing to watch ahead of the expected launch
Cameras aside, the Galaxy A37 should be powered by an Exynos 1480 while the A57 is said to move up a grade and sport an Exynos 1680. More modern processors generally permit the ability to stack more frames at faster speed, give you stable 4K capture, and add smarter HDR fusion—all of which make a huge difference to results with sensors of this level.
A release date for Samsung’s midrange refresh is rumored to be slightly sooner than the previous generation, although final release schedules can change at a moment’s notice. Either way, it seems we already have a headline emerging: the cheaper Galaxy A37 might be the camera value proposition to watch, with the Galaxy A57 leaning on refinement and not reinvention.