Best Brand New Samsung Galaxy A Series Phone to Buy in 2026 (UK)

The short answer: if you want the best all-round Galaxy A series phone in 2026, buy the Samsung Galaxy A57 5G. It has the newest chipset in the range, the only optically-stabilised camera with a proper 12MP ultra-wide lens, and full IP68 water and dust resistance, for only a little more than the A37. If budget is the deciding factor, the Galaxy A27 5G is the one to buy — it's the lowest-priced of the three while still offering a 120Hz AMOLED screen and 5G. And if you want near-flagship-tier performance without paying flagship-tier money, the Galaxy A37 5G sits neatly in between, with a chipset that benchmarks almost identically to the A57's.

All three phones are part of the same brand new Samsung Galaxy A series line-up, sold as sealed international stock rather than UK-market retail units — more on what that means for warranty further down. This guide isn't a spec-by-spec shootout; for the full side-by-side numbers, see our Galaxy A27 vs A37 vs A57 comparison. Instead, this is a decision guide: which phone should you actually buy, based on how you use your phone and what you're prepared to spend. We've grouped the recommendations by buyer type — best overall, best value, best for camera and best for performance — so you can jump straight to the one that matches your priorities.

The Galaxy A series exists precisely because not everyone wants — or needs — to pay flagship money for a good phone. Samsung's S series gets the headlines, but the A series is where most people who just want a reliable, modern 5G phone actually end up shopping, and the 2026 line-up of A27, A37 and A57 is a genuinely coherent three-tier range: each step up buys you a specific, identifiable improvement rather than a marginal spec bump. That's what makes this a straightforward buying decision once you know what to weigh up, which is exactly what the rest of this guide walks through.

🏆 Quick Answer: Which Galaxy A Series Phone Should You Buy?

Prices are subject to change — check the product page for today's price on the 128GB / 6GB RAM configuration and every other option.

🥇 Best Overall: Samsung Galaxy A57 5G

If you can stretch to it, the Galaxy A57 5G is the Galaxy A series phone we'd point most buyers towards. It sits at the top of Samsung's current A-series line-up and it shows in three places that actually matter day to day: the chipset, the camera and the build quality. Under the hood is Samsung's own Exynos 1680 (4nm), the newest silicon of the three phones in this guide. It pairs an octa-core CPU with the Xclipse 550 GPU and an NPU rated at 19.6 TOPS — a meaningful step up on-paper from the Exynos 1580 generation it replaces, and in independent AnTuTu testing it outpaces the Snapdragon 6 Gen 3 inside the A27 by a wide margin. In practice that means smoother multitasking, more comfortable headroom for casual gaming, and a chipset that should age better over the two or three years most people keep a phone. The screen is a 6.7" Super AMOLED Plus panel at FHD+ resolution with a 120Hz refresh rate — the same size and refresh rate as the A27 and A37, but Samsung's "Plus" panel designation on the A57 typically brings slightly better brightness and colour handling, useful for outdoor visibility in the UK's, let's say, inconsistent weather. Build quality is where the A57 pulls ahead of the A27 specifically: it carries a full IP68 rating for dust and water resistance, meaning it's rated to survive submersion up to 1.5 metres for 30 minutes, not just splashes. At 6.9mm thick and 179g, it's also the slimmest and lightest phone of the three, despite the larger battery capacity and additional camera hardware. This listing gives you a genuine choice at checkout: four official Samsung colourways (Awesome Grey, Awesome Icyblue, Awesome Lilac and Awesome Navy) and two condition tiers, Brand New (sealed) or Open Box, if you don't mind packaging that's been opened previously. Storage runs from 128GB with 6GB RAM up to 256GB with 8GB RAM in what we currently stock (Samsung also produces a 512GB/12GB variant, but we don't hold that configuration). The only real reason to look elsewhere is price — it's the most expensive of the three, though the gap to the A37 is small enough that we'd usually recommend spending the extra if your budget allows it. Check today's price on the product page.

💰 Best Value / Budget Pick: Samsung Galaxy A27 5G

If price is your main constraint, the Galaxy A27 5G is the sensible choice, and it's not a phone you need to apologise for buying. It's the lowest-priced phone of the three, undercutting both the A37 and the A57 (check today's price for 128GB/6GB RAM on the product page), yet it keeps the two features that matter most for everyday use: a 6.7" Super AMOLED display running at 120Hz, and 5G connectivity. The trade-offs are real, and it's worth knowing what they are before you buy rather than after. The A27 runs on a Qualcomm Snapdragon 6 Gen 3 chipset rather than Samsung's own Exynos silicon, and in AnTuTu benchmark testing it scores meaningfully lower than either the A37 or A57 — this is the clearest performance gap across the whole range. For browsing, messaging, social media, streaming and most day-to-day tasks you're unlikely to notice; if you're a heavier gamer or someone who keeps dozens of apps open at once, you'll feel the difference more than on the A37 or A57. The other genuine step-down is build quality: the A27 carries an IP64 rating rather than IP68. IP64 protects against dust and light splashing water, which covers rain and spills, but it isn't rated for submersion the way the A37 and A57 are — worth bearing in mind if you're prone to dropping your phone in the sink or taking it near the pool. Charging is also slower, at 25W wired versus 45W on the other two models, so topping up takes noticeably longer. Camera-wise, the A27 still uses a 50MP main sensor with OIS (optical image stabilisation), which is a genuinely good inclusion at this price point and helps steady shots and reduce blur in lower light. The ultra-wide lens is more modest at 5MP, and the macro lens is 2MP, both a step down from the A37 and A57. The A27 is sold in three colours — Black, Blue and Pink — with 128GB/6GB RAM and 256GB/8GB RAM configurations available. For students, first smartphones, a reliable spare handset, or anyone who simply doesn't want to spend more than they have to on a phone that still feels modern, this is the pick.

📸 Best for Camera: Samsung Galaxy A57 5G

Camera quality is the area with the clearest tier separation across the range, and the Galaxy A57 5G is honestly the only one of the three built with photography as a priority. All three phones use a 50MP main sensor, but only the A27 and A57 pair it with optical image stabilisation (OIS) — the A37's main camera doesn't have OIS, which matters most in lower light or when your hands aren't perfectly steady. Where the A57 pulls clearly ahead is the ultra-wide lens: it's a 12MP unit, more than double the resolution of the A37's 8MP ultra-wide and well over double the A27's 5MP unit. For landscape shots, group photos and anything where you need to fit more into the frame, that difference in resolution and detail capture is noticeable, not marginal. All three share the same 5MP macro camera setup (bar the A27, which uses a lower-resolution 2MP macro lens) and the same 12MP front-facing camera for selfies and video calls, so the daylight selfie and video-call experience is broadly similar across the range. If photography is genuinely a priority — travel photos, family events, content for social media — the A57 is worth the extra outlay over the A37 for the ultra-wide lens alone. If you mostly take quick snapshots and don't often use the ultra-wide or low-light modes, the gap will matter far less in practice, and either the A37 or A27 will serve you fine.

⚡ Best for Performance (Per Pound): Samsung Galaxy A37 5G

This is the pick that surprised us most while researching this guide, and it's worth explaining properly rather than just asserting it. The Galaxy A37 5G runs Samsung's Exynos 1480 chipset, one generation behind the A57's Exynos 1680. On paper that sounds like a clear step down — but independent AnTuTu benchmark testing tells a different story: the Exynos 1480 and Exynos 1680 score within roughly 1–2% of each other on raw CPU-driven AnTuTu totals, both comfortably ahead of the Snapdragon 6 Gen 3 in the A27. Where the A57's chipset does pull ahead is graphics and AI processing — it pairs a newer Xclipse 550 GPU with a more capable NPU, so if you're doing sustained gaming sessions or anything AI-processing-heavy, the A57 has a genuine edge. But for the CPU-bound tasks that make up most of daily smartphone use — app switching, web browsing, general responsiveness — the A37 delivers performance that's very close to its more expensive sibling for less money — check today's price on the product page. The A37 also matches the A57 on two other fronts that affect real-world performance: it carries the same IP68 rating (versus IP64 on the A27) and the same 45W Super Fast Charging support (versus 25W on the A27), so top-up speed and durability don't lag behind the flagship-of-the-range A57 either. Where it does concede ground is the camera (no OIS, and a smaller 8MP ultra-wide versus the A57's 12MP) and the marginally older GPU/NPU silicon for gaming and AI tasks. If neither of those is a priority for you, the A37 is arguably the smartest buy in the whole range — you're paying for near-A57 everyday performance without paying the full A57 price. It comes in four colours: Awesome Charcoal, Awesome Graygreen, Awesome Lavender and White.

🎨 Colours and Storage Across the Range

Colour and storage choice can be a genuine tie-breaker if two models are otherwise close for your needs, so here's what's actually available in our brand new stock:

• Galaxy A27 5G: Black, Blue, Pink. Storage: 128GB with 6GB RAM, or 256GB with 8GB RAM.
• Galaxy A37 5G: Awesome Charcoal, Awesome Graygreen, Awesome Lavender, White. Storage: 128GB with 6GB RAM, or 256GB with 8GB RAM.
• Galaxy A57 5G: Awesome Grey, Awesome Icyblue, Awesome Lilac, Awesome Navy. Storage: 128GB with 6GB RAM, or 256GB with 8GB RAM (Samsung also makes a 512GB/12GB version, which we don't currently stock). Also available as Brand New or Open Box.

If you're likely to fill your phone with photos, video and downloaded apps, we'd generally suggest the 256GB/8GB RAM tier across any of the three models — the extra RAM in particular helps keep multitasking smooth over the phone's lifetime, on top of the extra storage headroom.

📊 Full Specification Comparison

This table summarises the core differences. For a deeper side-by-side breakdown with more detail on each spec, see our dedicated Galaxy A27 vs A37 vs A57 comparison article.

🔄 Brand New vs Refurbished: A Quick Word

Everything in this guide refers to brand new stock — sealed, unused units (aside from the A57's Open Box option, which is opened but not previously owned or activated). This is a different product line to our refurbished Galaxy A series handsets, which cover older models like the A16, A17, A26, A36 and A56 at lower price points, graded and tested from previous ownership. If you're specifically comparing brand new against refurbished as a buying strategy — rather than deciding between A27, A37 and A57 — our brand new international stock vs refurbished guide covers that decision in full, including warranty, condition and returns differences.

Broadly: buy brand new if you want the newest chipset generation, the longest realistic lifespan, and the reassurance of a sealed, unused device. Buy refurbished if your priority is the lowest possible price and you're comfortable with a slightly older model and light cosmetic wear. Neither is the "wrong" choice — it depends what you're optimising for.

🌍 International Stock & Warranty

This product is brand new international stock and may originate from Europe, the UAE or another international market. Manufacturer warranty coverage, eligibility and service arrangements can vary by region. Customers should not assume that the product includes a UK manufacturer warranty unless the listing explicitly confirms this.

In practice, this means it's worth checking the individual product listing for each model before you buy if UK manufacturer warranty cover is a deciding factor for you, rather than assuming it applies across the board. All units are still brand new and sealed (aside from the A57's Open Box option, which has had its packaging opened but is not a used, previously-owned device), and all come with the statutory consumer rights you'd expect from any UK purchase.

🧭 How to Choose in Three Questions

If you're still torn between the three, these three questions usually settle it:

1. What's your absolute budget? If you need to keep spend to a minimum, the A27 is the only sensible choice — the A37 and A57 are close enough in price to each other that the decision then becomes about features rather than cost.

2. Do you take photos of landscapes, groups or in low light regularly? If yes, the A57's OIS and 12MP ultra-wide lens make it worth the small premium over the A37. If you mostly take quick everyday snaps, this matters far less.

3. Do you drop your phone near water, or want the fastest possible top-up? Both the A37 and A57 offer IP68 protection and 45W charging, comfortably ahead of the A27 on both counts — if either matters to you, rule out the A27 and choose between the other two based on camera and budget.

❓ FAQ

Which Samsung Galaxy A series phone should I buy?
For most buyers, the Galaxy A57 5G is the best overall pick, thanks to its newer chipset, better camera and full IP68 rating. If budget is tight, the Galaxy A27 5G is a genuinely solid choice that still offers a 120Hz AMOLED screen and 5G. If you want strong everyday performance without paying the A57's price, the Galaxy A37 5G is worth a close look — its Exynos 1480 chipset benchmarks close to the A57's Exynos 1680 on CPU-driven tasks.

Is the Galaxy A57 worth the extra money over the A37?
It depends what you value. The price difference is small, but you get a newer chipset with a stronger GPU and NPU, a significantly better ultra-wide camera (12MP versus 8MP), and OIS on the main camera, which the A37 doesn't have. If camera quality and having the newest hardware matter to you, yes, it's worth it. If you mainly care about everyday responsiveness and don't shoot much with the ultra-wide lens, the A37 gets you most of the way there for slightly less.

Are all three Galaxy A series phones 5G?
Yes. The Galaxy A27, A37 and A57 all support 5G connectivity (as well as 4G), alongside Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and NFC for contactless payments.

Is this UK stock?
No — these are brand new, sealed international units that may originate from Europe, the UAE or another international market rather than UK-market retail stock. They are genuinely new and unused, but manufacturer warranty coverage can vary by region, so please don't assume UK warranty applies unless it's explicitly confirmed on the individual product listing. See the International Stock & Warranty section above for full details.

What's the real difference between the A27, A37 and A57 in everyday use?
The biggest practical differences are performance (the A27's Snapdragon chip trails the other two in benchmarks), camera versatility (the A57's ultra-wide and OIS pull ahead of the A37, which itself pulls ahead of the A27), charging speed (25W on the A27 versus 45W on the A37 and A57), and water resistance (IP64 on the A27 versus IP68 on the A37 and A57). The screens are otherwise very similar across all three.

Do these phones come with a charging plug in the box?
No. In line with Samsung's current packaging across the A series, none of these models include a mains charging adapter in the box — you'll need to use your own USB-C charger, or buy one separately if you don't already have one.

Do these phones support dual SIM or eSIM?
Dual SIM support is standard across the range, though the exact configuration (physical Dual-SIM versus SIM-plus-eSIM) can vary by unit and region on international stock, and we haven't independently verified every configuration ourselves. If dual SIM or eSIM support is essential for your setup, we'd recommend checking the specific product listing or asking us before you buy, rather than assuming.

Should I buy brand new or refurbished?
That depends on your priority. Brand new gets you the current-generation A27, A37 or A57 with the newest chipsets and a sealed, unused unit. Refurbished Galaxy A series stock covers older models at a lower price point. If budget is your absolute top priority and you don't need this generation's chipset improvements, it's worth comparing against our refurbished Galaxy A series range too.

Final Verdict

There's no single "best" Galaxy A series phone — there's a best one for your budget and how you use your phone. As a starting point: buy the Galaxy A57 5G if you can stretch to it and want the strongest all-rounder in the range; buy the Galaxy A27 5G if price is your priority and you're happy to trade some camera and durability for a lower cost; and buy the Galaxy A37 5G if you want performance that punches close to the A57 without quite paying A57 money. You can browse the full brand new range, including all colours and storage options, in our Samsung Galaxy A Series collection.

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