‘Genuinely feels like a flagship phone’: Samsung has done well with its Galaxy A57, but is it the best budget Android handset of 2026?
Publish Date: 2026-04-24 20:00:00
Source Domain: www.techradar.com
With a slim and light build, plus a stylish glass-and-metal chassis, Samsung’s affordable new Galaxy A57 is undeniably a great-looking phone — and not just compared to other budget handsets, but even when it’s up against other flagships, including its Galaxy S26 siblings.
Combined with some notable hardware and software upgrades over its excellent A56 predecessor, that was enough for me to seriously consider adopting the Galaxy A57 as my main Android phone — and as TechRadar AU’s main phones editor, that’s something I honestly never thought I’d be saying about a budget handset.
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However, with Google opting to focus on retaining the same $499 / £499 / AU$849 price point with its new Pixel 10a (a feat achieved by adding very few upgrades over the Pixel 9a, including retaining the same core hardware), the tech giant has delivered a fairly underwhelming entrant in the contest for best budget Android handset of 2026 — so that crown is now very much up for grabs.
(Image credit: Future | Nico Arboleda)
Sure, the Pixel 10a now has a completely flat back and improved battery life (thanks to software tweaks rather than a higher capacity), but otherwise the phone is virtually identical to the 9a. It doesn’t even have the Qi2 magnets found in the Pixel 10 lineup (aka PixelSnap), which could have been a notable differentiator over the Pixel 9a. Those reasons were enough for me to rule out the Pixel 10a as a real contender for best cheap phone of 2026.
Samsung, on the other hand, has taken a slightly…
