Samsung Galaxy A57 5G Review: Slim, Supported, and Outflanked by Its Own Family
6.9mm, 179g, IP68 and 6 years of updates at about Rs. 59,000. Samsung's own Galaxy S25 FE costs less and does more.
The Samsung Galaxy A57 5G is 6.9mm thick, weighs 179 grams, carries IP68 and a stabilised 50MP main camera, and comes with a promise of 6 Android upgrades and 6 years of security patches. That is a lovely, sensible, long-lived phone. It also costs about Rs. 59,000 today, and at that money it has a problem with a familiar name on it: Samsung's own Galaxy S25 FE sells for about Rs. 4,000 less with a faster chip, a telephoto camera and wireless charging. Consider the A57 only if slim and light is the whole point. Most buyers should look one shelf over.
6.9mm, 179 grams, and 6 years of Samsung.
Pick up most phones at this price and you are holding a 7,000mAh slab that weighs more than 200 grams. The A57 goes the other way, and it does it properly. 6.9mm and 179 grams puts it among the slimmest and lightest phones you can buy in India, smaller in the hand than 93% of the phones we track, and it still keeps IP68, a metal frame and Gorilla Glass Victus+ on the front.
The support promise is the other headline. 6 Android upgrades and security updates until March 2032 means a phone bought this Diwali can still be patched when your nephew is in college. Few phones at any price commit to that, and it is the single best reason to buy a Samsung over a rival with a bigger spec sheet.
The camera is well judged too. The 50MP main sensor is stabilised, there is a proper 12MP ultrawide, the rear camera records 4K, and the panel is a 6.7-inch Super AMOLED Plus at 120Hz. Add stereo speakers, NFC and eSIM, and you have a phone that is complete in the way people actually use one.
Scored from published specifications against the 209 phones we have verified on sale in India as of 6 October 2026. Overall it is better specified than 61% of them.
A mid-range chip and a modest battery, at a flagship-adjacent price.
The Exynos 1680 is a mid-range part. It is a sensible match for a thin phone that needs to stay cool, but it is not what Rs. 59,000 usually buys in 2026, when phones at this price run flagship-class silicon. The 5,000mAh cell is the price of the slim body: on capacity it sits below 78% of the phones we track. And there is no telephoto, no wireless charging and no charger in the box.
The price has also moved the wrong way. The A57 launched at Rs. 56,999 in March. Samsung has since raised its own list price, to Rs. 62,999, and open-market listings now sit at about Rs. 59,000. That is about Rs. 2,000 above launch and about Rs. 4,000 below Samsung's current sticker.
The most dangerous rival is in the same showroom.
Samsung Galaxy S25 FE, about Rs. 55,000 for 8GB + 128GB: an Exynos 2400, a 6.7-inch 120Hz Dynamic AMOLED, a stabilised main camera plus an 8MP 3x telephoto, 15W wireless charging, IP68, and an even longer promise of 7 Android upgrades and 7 years of patches. It is 11 grams heavier and has 100mAh less battery, and its base model has half the storage of the A57's, which is worth checking before you pay. Otherwise it is more phone for less money. Our Galaxy S25 FE review has the detail.
iQOO 15R, about Rs. 54,000 for 8GB + 256GB: a Snapdragon 8 Gen 5, a 144Hz AMOLED, a 7,600mAh cell at 100W, IP68 and IP69, and 4 Android upgrades with 6 years of patches. It is the pick for battery and performance, and it weighs about 202 grams. See our iQOO 15R review.
OnePlus 15R, about Rs. 60,000 for 12GB + 256GB: the same Snapdragon 8 Gen 5, a 6.83-inch AMOLED that reaches 165Hz in supported apps, 7,400mAh at 80W, and IP68 and IP69K, at roughly the A57's price. It is the heavier, faster, longer-lasting alternative.
If you like the A57's design but not its price, Samsung's Galaxy A37 5G is the step down within the same family.
- You want a genuinely slim, light phone at 6.9mm and 179g
- You plan to keep it for 5 or 6 years and want updates the whole way
- You want a stabilised main camera and an ultrawide in a compact body
- You want a telephoto or wireless charging, which the cheaper S25 FE has
- Battery life is your priority; the iQOO 15R carries 7,600mAh
- You expect flagship-class performance at Rs. 59,000
Consider, narrowly. The Galaxy A57 5G is thin, light, tough and supported for 6 years, and nothing about it is badly made. The trouble is its price. At about Rs. 59,000, Samsung's own Galaxy S25 FE costs less and brings a faster chip, a telephoto and wireless charging, while the iQOO 15R and OnePlus 15R bring flagship chips and far bigger batteries. Buy the A57 if its 6.9mm body is the reason you are shopping. Otherwise, the better Samsung is one shelf over.
A beautifully slim phone, priced into its own family's shadow.
One step down in price: best phones between Rs. 30,000 and Rs. 50,000.
Prices are live open-market listings for each phone's base model, confirmed on 6 October 2026 at major Indian retailers; launch and list prices are labelled as such. Specifications are confirmed against the maker's India page and at least 1 independent source each; where published figures disagreed, we left them out. Our verdicts are based on published specification, not on hands-on testing: we have not held this phone.
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