Judging by sales statistics, if you’re buying an affordable smartphone, it’s almost definitely going to be a Samsung Galaxy A-series phone.
These phones are beaten only by iPhones each year as the most-sold mobiles, offering Samsung’s hardware at a more affordable price point than the S series.
The newest models (so far) in 2026 are the Samsung Galaxy A57 and A37, launched in March. When I got hands-on with them ahead of launch, they felt very familiar; like with the S26 series, tweaks and changes over the Galaxy A56 and A36 are the name of the game.
Despite not being camera phones per se, one small change from the Galaxy AX6 series has been made that I really appreciated in my hands-on time.
Before the accusations of “clickbait!” come in, I’ll cover my back. It’s a really small change, and won’t make a massive difference to users.
But it’s a lovely quality-of-life feature that I’m interested in playing around with. Camera zoom is now seamless, rather than stuttered.
I told you it was really small. But that’s a beautiful change for people who are used to affordable mobiles and their quirks.
5 absolutely terrible Galaxy smartphones, ranked by a Samsung enthusiast
Some brutal entries along the way
Why stuttery zoom is a problem
Not all budget phones can be perfect
When it comes to tech purchase recommendations, you’d be hard-pressed to find a journalist more keen on budget tech than me.
I recently wrote a love letter to some new budget phones I discovered. But I’m not blind to the fact that these kinds of gadgets are far from flawless. After testing cheap Androids for years, I’ve locked this kind of phone down.
It’s the “death by a thousand cuts” that makes them annoying to use; not the weaker processor or fewer cameras, but the software bugs, easily dentable chassis, and poor software support that often sees them prematurely discarded.
Here’s an easy example: When you zoom in with the camera (or out, to the ultra-wide lens), the process can be quite stuttery.
Press the 0.6x button, and instead of seamlessly pulling out like in a flagship phone, your device will freeze for a second, before jumping straight to the wider one.
I’m testing a phone right now that gets really confused every time I want to change lenses. If I want to switch to ultrawide, I go and put a tea on to brew, because I know I’m going to be waiting a while.
Sounds like a small issue, but it can be quite annoying when you’re trying to perfectly line up a shot, or are following a moving image.
One tap of the button, and suddenly your framing is completely wrong. Bearing in mind that the lenses aren’t in exactly the same position.
A perspective a few millimeters to the right or left can change your vantage point, especially if you’re using a close-up macro lens.
I’ve ruined so many promising shots with this frustrating issue.
Sometimes I’ll think my camera is lined up perfectly, only to move into macro mode and realize it’s all wrong. Other times, simply the wait while a phone decides to honor my command and change lens, is all the time required to lose that perfect shot.
And more critically, there’s “the vibes of the thing.” If you’ve paid any amount of money for smart technology in 2026, you don’t want it freezing to think about what it’s doing. We’re beyond that.
How the Galaxy A37 and A57 solve the problem
A flawless re-zoom-e
The Samsung Galaxy A37 and Galaxy A57 now seamlessly zoom between the macro, ultrawide and main lenses.
Press any one of them, and you’ll warp in or pull back, like you’re on a rollercoaster shooting towards your subject (or a malfunctioning rollercoaster, pulling back from it).
It’s seamless, as though you’re using a flagship phone. When I was playing around with the Galaxy A-series phones, this small tweak made it a lot easier to pretend I was using something more premium.
Admittedly, it wasn’t perfect. The color composition of shots was noticeably redder on the ultra-wide camera, and the seamless zoom made this more noticeable, whereas a stutter and jump may have masked the mismatch.
The Galaxy As still aren’t camera phones
But they have fewer rough edges
This small but noticeable quality-of-life change isn’t going to make the Samsung Galaxy A37 or Galaxy A57 a camera powerhouse.
Like many mid-priced phones out there, they simply lack the hardware and software to compete with $1,000+ phones, and no one is expecting them to.
Case in point: They don’t have telephoto cameras, and many of the Pro-shooting modes you’ll find on the Galaxy S26 phones are nowhere to be found (along with other features of the top-end phone that I was hoping to see).
But as someone who’s tested hundreds of budget phones over many years, the thing that can make these mobiles frustrating to use isn’t the weaker processing, blockier design, or worse-looking display.
It’s usually the bugs, quirks and rough edges, that phone makers deem unimportant to fix on non-flagship mobiles.
Janky camera app zooming is the perfect example of one of these rough edges, and Samsung’s decision to fix it is symbolic.
Just because you don’t want to spend lots on a top-end phone, doesn’t mean you need a worse experience. So, Samsung: I respect the gesture.
Although in the long run, I’m one of the many people saying budget smartphones need to ditch ultrawide lenses in favor of telephoto, so here’s to hoping!
