Only one Samsung phone is worth buying now, and it's not a Galaxy S26

You’re probably tired of hearing about it, but the AI-brought RAM crisis is really affecting the entire smartphone landscape this year. Flagship upgrades are minor, if not inexistent, so far, while price hikes are looming for those that will land towards the second half of the year. Suffice it to say that 2026 is not the year to buy a new flagship phone from any company; you’re better off putting less money into last year’s models.

But Samsung is a bit of a special case. Because of its early-in-the-year Galaxy S26 launch, the company has demonstrated the impact of the pricing crisis before anyone else — not that it was trying too much in years prior, mind you. The Galaxy S26 and S26 Plus are glorified copy-pastes of last year’s S25 models, while the Ultra’s Privacy Display is as fascinating as it is problematic. There’s one phone in Samsung’s line-up that eschews a bit of this mess, though, and that’s the just-announced Galaxy A57. It is, on paper, the most “buyable” Samsung phone right now.

Samsung is doing things right with the Galaxy A57 5G

Unlike the phones in the Galaxy S26 series, which have received nothing but a rehash, Samsung has gone through the trouble of actually updating the Galaxy A57 5G this year. Of course, there’s an upgraded Exynos 1680 processor that brings in a slightly more powerful CPU Cortex setup, a more efficient GPU, a Neural Processing Unit capable of better night photography, and an Image Signal Processor that can transition smoothly between different camera lenses. A processor upgrade is almost a given between two generations of a phone, so this one ticks the necessary box for that.

It’s what else is new in the Galaxy A57 5G that makes it an interesting buy this year for the right target user, in my opinion. The phone now features a higher-end metal frame instead of plastic, with a thinner and lighter body. Shaving 0.5mm off a smartphone (7.4mm vs 6.9mm on the A56 5G) without sacrificing the 5,000mAh battery capacity is a feat in itself, and reducing the weight by 19g (198g to 179g) is nothing to scoff at. This is Samsung using its engineering prowess to ensure this midranger feels good in the hand for longer periods of time. Oh, and the phone gets a more resistant IP68 rating compared to last year’s A56 5G IP67, too.

Plus, the 6.7-inch Super AMOLED display has been upgraded to a Super AMOLED Plus with smaller bezels and a brighter 1,900 nits panel compared to the relatively abysmal 1,200 nits on the A56 5G. If you buy a phone and you live anywhere that gets a modicum of sunlight, you need to be able to see its screen outdoors. The phone even packs the 45W fast USB-C charging that hasn’t made it to the much more expensive Galaxy S26, six years of updates, and One UI 8.5 out of the box.

More importantly, though, Samsung didn’t fall for the AI trap with the Galaxy A57 5G. There are no unnecessary gimmicks here, so no need to bump up the RAM and cause ridiculous price changes. Yes, the phone is $50 more expensive than last year’s model, but I think the upgrades justify that, especially given the smartphone pricing landscape we’re entering in 2026.

It’s the only new Samsung phone worth buying

… for the right audience, of course.

If you care about power and performance, you won’t care much about a midranger like the new Galaxy A57 5G. This is not a Snapdragon powerhouse for gaming and productivity, nor is it a telephoto or camera go-getter. But even if that’s what you’re looking for, the Galaxy S26 isn’t your best buy, either, especially now that it’s no longer on pre-order. Go for last year’s Galaxy S25, S25 Plus, or S25 Ultra for much less, and you’ll be getting the most value for your buck.

The Samsung phones that will come later in 2026 are unlikely to be better investments. They’ll either stifle development to meet an impossible price tag or raise the price through the roof to get a couple of decent upgrades in. Either way, buying them won’t be a smart move.

And that’s where the Galaxy A57 5G comes into play, in my opinion. It’s been released early enough to avoid the brunt of the crisis, especially for mid-rangers. We expect worsening specs, from drops to 4-6GB of RAM to waterdrop displays. The Galaxy A57 5G escaped that. It also brings significant upgrades, doesn’t attempt any AI gimmick, and it’s not unrealistically priced. If you’re the correct audience for this phone, and you’re looking to buy a new, affordable Galaxy model that hits the sweet spot, the Galaxy A57 5G ticks a lot of correct boxes that few phones will tick later in the year.

For this reason, it’s the most buyable Samsung phone this year. Any other Galaxy model and I’d recommend you look at last year’s instead, or wait for a very decent deal on the more recent models.