Samsung Galaxy M36 5G review: A good buy under Rs. 40,000?

If you look at Nepal’s smartphone market, the under NPR 40,000 segment is the most popular. It’s a sweet spot for many Nepali users. Unfortunately, Samsung hasn’t had any option in this price range for a long time in Nepal. But don’t worry—there’s good news! Samsung has just launched a new phone: the Galaxy M36 5G, with a starting price of only Rs. 37,000. For this price, Samsung has tried to provide well-balanced specifications. However, at the same time, there are a couple of things that could be deal-breakers depending on your needs. So, do stick around until the end—it’s quite interesting! Let’s start this review with the good things about the Galaxy M36.

Samsung Galaxy M36 Specifications

• Display: 6.7-inch AMOLED, Full HD+, 120Hz
• Front Camera: 13MP
• Rear Cameras: 50MP main + 8MP ultrawide + 2MP macro
• Processor: Samsung Exynos 1380 (5nm)
• RAM: 6GB / 8GB
• Storage: 128GB / 256GB
• Software: One UI 7 (Android 15)
• Updates: 6 Android versions promised
• Battery: 5,000mAh
• Charging: 25W

• Colors: Orange Haze, Velvet Black, Serene Green

  
• Buy Galaxy M36 here!

Samsung Galaxy M36 5G Review

Design

First off, the design. It looks similar to the more expensive Galaxy A36 and A56 models—clean and classic from the back. The camera module is simple, without flashy elements. It features a glass back, and the weight distribution is well done, so it doesn’t feel heavy in the hand. To keep costs down, Samsung has excluded an IP rating on this device. For reference, the slightly more expensive Galaxy A26 includes IP67 water and dust resistance, so that’s one area where Samsung made a compromise.

Display

Moving on to the display, this is a Samsung Super AMOLED panel. The colors are vibrant and punchy, and the 120Hz refresh rate makes the UI feel smooth and responsive. Most importantly, watching movies and YouTube videos on this phone feels great thanks to rich color reproduction. Brightness is also sufficient—it performs well both in direct sunlight and in low-light environments. Overall, the core display quality is excellent for the price. That said, I do have three complaints regarding the display and media experience. First, the notch design feels outdated in terms of looks. Second, Samsung hasn’t provided HDR10 support for streaming on OTT platforms. And third, there are no stereo speakers—just a single bottom-firing speaker, so you don’t get an immersive audio experience. However, the speaker quality is still decent for watching movies.

Battery

Battery-wise, the Galaxy M36 comes with a standard 5000mAh cell, but the backup is quite good. It easily lasts a full day, and with my mixed usage (Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, and calls), I got around 9 hours of screen-on time. Although Samsung doesn’t include a charger in the box, in Nepal you do get a 25W charger for free, which takes about 2 hours for a full charge.

Performance and Software

Now let’s talk about performance. The M36 5G uses Samsung’s Exynos 1380 chipset. This is a two-year-old processor that was previously used in the Galaxy A54. So, it’s not a particularly powerful chip by today’s standards. That said, Samsung has optimized it to some extent. For daily tasks, the phone doesn’t feel sluggish. The 120Hz refresh rate also works quite smoothly thanks to good optimization. Still, compared to competitors like the CMF Phone 2 Pro (around NPR 35,000) or Redmi Note 14 Pro (around NPR 40,000), the M36 is clearly slower. This becomes especially noticeable during gaming. For instance, PUBG Mobile runs on Smooth graphics with Extreme frame rate, but it doesn’t maintain a consistent 60fps—there are visible jitters. Mobile Legends runs better, but it’s also a lighter, more optimized game. Heavy games like Genshin Impact are nearly unplayable even on 30fps mode. So yes, as usual with Samsung’s mid-range and budget phones, performance is the weakest aspect. However, the software experience helps balance this out. The M36 comes with One UI 7.0 based on Android 15, and it looks beautiful. For Samsung, One UI 7 is one of the biggest updates in recent years, and the user experience here is excellent. Yes, the processor makes the phone feel slightly slow at times, but the UI itself is clean, easy to use, and packed with features. Plus, Samsung is promising up to 6 years of software updates on this phone, which is impressive.

Camera

Coming to the camera, this phone takes decent photos. Nothing extraordinary, but it benefits from Samsung’s image optimization. Daylight shots are vibrant and detailed. Portraits are good, though the lack of a 2x zoom option is noticeable. Skin tones and edge detection are solid, even for selfies, which come out especially nice with natural-looking skin tones. However, I think a couple of software updates are still needed. For example, photos taken against sunlight have decent dynamic range but often come out dark overall. Night shots can be hit or miss—sometimes they look good, sometimes colors get messed up, like in a test photo of Patan’s Krishna Mandir. The ultra-wide camera is only 8MP and performs poorly, with both weak detail and weak dynamic range. On the video side, you get 4K30fps from both the rear and front cameras, and the quality is decent.

Samsung Galaxy M36 5G Pros and Cons

Pros:

• Strong battery life with good thermal control
• Beautiful AMOLED screen
• Clean OneUI experience with long software support

• Good main and selfie camera under daylight

Cons:

• Charging is slow and no charger included
• Weak haptics
• Ultra-wide camera is poor
• No Gorilla Glass protection
• Occasional software optimization needed

Samsung Galaxy M36 5G Review Conclusion

To conclude: under NPR 40,000, the Galaxy M36 5G is a solid choice. You get a high-quality AMOLED screen, excellent battery life, and reliable day-to-day performance. It’s a great option for casual users. On top of that, Samsung’s One UI is intuitive and smooth, and you’ll continue receiving updates for years. So, if you’re looking for a Samsung phone in the mid-range segment, the M36 5G is a great option to consider.