Samsung Galaxy A36 5G vs OnePlus Nord 3
63
out of 100
VS
64
out of 100
Here we compared two mid-range smartphones: the 6.7-inch Samsung Galaxy A36 5G (with Qualcomm Snapdragon 6 Gen 3 ) that was released on March 2, 2025, against the OnePlus Nord 3, which is powered by MediaTek Dimensity 9000 and came out 1 year and 8 months before. On this page, you will find tests, full specs, strengths, and weaknesses of each of the devices.
Select the amount of RAM to evaluate performance and value for money more precisely
Key differences
Reasons to consider the Samsung Galaxy A36 5G
- Shows 13% longer battery life (24:52 vs 21:57 hours)
- Newer Bluetooth version (v5.4)
- Waterproof body (IP67 classification)
- More recent OS version: Android 16 versus 13
- Delivers 10% higher peak brightness (1224 against 1114 nits)
- The phone is 1 year and 8 months newer
- The front-facing camera can record video at 4K
- Ready for eSIM technology
Reasons to consider the OnePlus Nord 3
- 83% better performance in AnTuTu Benchmark (1542K versus 844K)
- Supports higher wattage charging (80W versus 45W)
- Has 33% more RAM: 8GB versus 6GB
- 17% higher pixel density (451 vs 385 PPI)
- 70% faster in single-core GeekBench 6 test: 1710 and 1004 points
- Has a built-in infrared port
Review
Display
Screen quality, color accuracy, brightness
Camera
Photo and video recording quality
Performance
CPU and memory performance (apps, system)
Gaming
Capabilities for playing modern games
Battery
Battery life, charging type and speed
Connectivity
Networks, ports, data transmission
Scores with a red asterisk (*) are approximate and may change in the future as we gather more data.
Select your primary usage scenario to get a more accurate DeviceFacts Score
Value for money (Beta)
Tests and specifications
Comparison table of technical specifications and testsDisplay
| Type | Super AMOLED | AMOLED |
| Size | 6.7 inches | 6.74 inches |
| Resolution | 1080 x 2340 pixels | 1240 x 2772 pixels |
| Aspect ratio | 19.5:9 | 20.1:9 |
| PPI | 385 ppi | 451 ppi |
| Refresh rate | 120 Hz | 120 Hz |
| Adaptive refresh rate | Yes (60-120 Hz) | Yes |
| Max rated brightness | 1200 nits | 600 nits |
| Max rated brightness in HDR | 1900 nits | 1450 nits |
| HDR support | Yes, HDR10+ | Yes, HDR10+ |
| Touch sampling rate | - | 360 Hz |
| Screen protection | Gorilla Glass Victus Plus | Tempered glass |
| Screen-to-body ratio | 86.5% | 89.5% |
| Display features | - DCI-P3 - Always-On Display |
- DCI-P3 - Always-On Display |
| RGB color space | 99.9% | 98.7% |
| PWM | 120 Hz | 366 Hz |
| Response time | 1 ms | 7 ms |
| Contrast | β Infinity | β Infinity |
Peak brightness test (auto)
Design and build
| Height | 162.9 mm (6.41 inches) | 162.6 mm (6.4 inches) |
| Width | 78.2 mm (3.08 inches) | 75.1 mm (2.96 inches) |
| Thickness | 7.4 mm (0.29 inches) | 8.1 mm (0.32 inches) |
| Weight | 195 g (6.88 oz) | 193.5 g (6.83 oz) |
| Waterproof | IP67 | IP54 |
| Advanced cooling | Vapor chamber | Vapor chamber |
| Rear material | Glass | Glass |
| Frame material | Plastic | Plastic |
| Colors | White, Black, Green, Purple | Gray, Green |
| Fingerprint scanner | Yes, in-display | Yes, in-display |
| Repairability | Good (3.19/5) | - |
| Drop resistance | Good (C) Β· 90 drops | - |
Screen-to-body ratio
Performance
| Chipset | Qualcomm Snapdragon 6 Gen 3 | MediaTek Dimensity 9000 |
| Max clock | 2400 MHz | 3050 MHz |
| CPU cores | 8 (4 + 4) | 8 (1 + 3 + 4) |
| Architecture | - 4 cores at 1.8 GHz: Cortex-A55 - 4 cores at 2.4 GHz: Cortex-A78 |
- 4 cores at 1.8 GHz: Cortex-A510 - 3 cores at 2.85 GHz: Cortex-A710 - 1 core at 3.05 GHz: Cortex-X2 |
| L3 cache | - | 8 MB |
| Manufacturing | Samsung | TSMC |
| Lithography process | 4 nanometers | 4 nanometers |
| Neural processor (NPU) | Hexagon | MediaTek APU 590 |
| Graphics | Adreno 710 | Mali-G710 MC10 |
| GPU shading units | 256 | 640 |
| GPU clock | 1010 MHz | 848 MHz |
| FLOPS | ~517.1 GFLOPS | ~1085.4 GFLOPS |
Benchmarks
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Compute Score (GPU)
| Compute Score (GPU) | 3506 | 6409 |
| Single-core score | 1004 | 1710 |
| Multi-core score | 2919 | 4477 |
AnTuTu Benchmark 11
| CPU | 311567 | 576859 |
| GPU | 134619 | 296679 |
| Memory | 162720 | 223305 |
| UX | 235541 | 445817 |
| Total score | 844447 | 1542660 |
| Samples | [66 tests] | [7 tests] |
3DMark Steel Nomad Light
| Stability | 98% | 63% |
| Graphics test | 2 FPS | 6 FPS |
| Graphics score | 315 | 775 |
PCMark 3.0
| Web score | 14144 | - |
| Video editing | 7296 | - |
| Photo editing | 24677 | - |
| Data manipulation | 10326 | - |
| Writing score | 14497 | - |
Recent User Tests
Samsung Galaxy A36 5G
| Date | Benchmark | Result |
|---|---|---|
| π 2026-10-12 (Jhzinnn) | AnTuTu 12 | 934820 |
| π 2026-10-04 -> Arcticmonkeys98 | AnTuTu 12 | 953956 |
| π 2026-10-02 (A36XQHYPER) | AnTuTu 12 | 938148 |
| π 2026-09-30 (kazew_) | AnTuTu 12 | 1005038 |
| π 2026-09-27 (Abdulgani) | AnTuTu 12 | 991604 |
OnePlus Nord 3
| Date | Benchmark | Result |
|---|---|---|
| π 2026-09-05 -> alominzikk | AnTuTu 11 | 1500307 |
| π 2026-09-05 (Alominzikk) | AnTuTu 11 | 1500307 |
| π 2026-06-20 (LukisekCZ) | AnTuTu 11 | 1584537 |
| π 2026-05-11 (DG) | AnTuTu 11 | 1542660 |
| π 2026-04-30 (Gigimutu1) | AnTuTu 11 | 1561642 |
Memory
| RAM size | 6 GB | 8 GB |
| Memory type | LPDDR4X | LPDDR5X |
| Memory clock | 2133 MHz | - |
| Channels | 2 | 4 |
| Storage size | 128 GB | 128 GB |
| Storage type | UFS 3.1 | UFS 3.1 |
| Memory card | No | No |
Software
| Operating system | Android 15 (Can be upgraded to Android 16) | Android 13 |
| ROM | One UI 8.5 | OxygenOS 13.1 |
| OS size | 22.6 GB | - |
| OS updates | 6 years | 3 years |
| Security updates | 6 years | 4 years |
Battery
| Capacity | 5000 mAh | 5000 mAh |
| Max charge power | 45 W | 80 W |
| Battery type | Li-Ion | Li-Po |
| Replaceable | No | No |
| Wireless charging | No | No |
| Reverse charging | No | No |
| Bypass charging | No | - |
| Fast charging | Yes (60% in 30 min) | Yes (60% in 15 min) |
| Full charging time | 1:14 hr | 0:32 hr |
| Battery cycles | 2000 cycles | - |
| Web browsing | 10:13 hr | 08:39 hr |
| Watching video | 16:02 hr | 15:44 hr |
| Gaming | 04:55 hr | 05:40 hr |
| Standby | 115 hr | 94 hr |
General battery life
Main camera
| Matrix | 50 megapixels | 50 megapixels |
| Image resolution | 8192 x 6144 | 8192 x 6144 |
| Zoom | Digital | Digital |
| Flash | LED | LED |
| Stabilization | Optical | Optical |
| 8K video recording | No | No |
| 4K video recording | Up to 30FPS | Up to 60FPS |
| 1080p video recording | Up to 60FPS | Up to 60FPS |
| Slow motion | 240 FPS (720p) | 240 FPS (720p) |
| Angle of widest lens | 123Β° | 112Β° |
| Lenses | 1) Standard: 50 MP 2) Ultrawide: 8 MP 3) Macro: 5 MP |
1) Standard: 50 MP 2) Ultrawide: 8 MP 3) Macro: 2 MP |
| Camera features | - Bokeh mode - Pro mode |
- Bokeh mode - Pro mode |
| Image resolution | 50 MP | 50 MP |
| Aperture | f/1.8 | f/1.8 |
| Focal length | - | 24 mm |
| Sensor | Sony IMX882 | Sony IMX890 |
| Sensor size | 1/1.96" (β 0.51 inch) | 1/1.56" (β 0.64 inch) |
| Pixel size | 0.8 micron | 1 micron |
| Autofocus | Phase autofocus | Phase autofocus |
| Stabilization | Optical | Optical |
| Image resolution | 8 MP | 8 MP |
| Aperture | f/2.2 | f/2.2 |
| Sensor | GalaxyCore GC08A3 | Sony IMX355 |
| Sensor size | 1/4.0" (β 0.25 inch) | 1/4" (β 0.25 inch) |
| Pixel size | 1.12 micron | 1.12 micron |
| Stabilization | Digital | Digital |
| Image resolution | 5 MP | 2 MP |
| Aperture | f/2.4 | f/2.4 |
| Sensor | GalaxyCore GC05A3 | GalaxyCore GC02M1 |
| Sensor size | - | 1/5" (β 0.2 inch) |
| Pixel size | - | 1.75 micron |
| Stabilization | Digital | Digital |
Selfie camera
| Megapixels | 12 megapixels | 16 megapixels |
| Image resolution | 3184 x 2388 | 4608 x 3456 |
| Aperture | f/2.2 | f/2.4 |
| Focal length | - | 24 mm |
| Sensor | GalaxyCore GC12A2 | 1/5 |
| Sensor size | - | 1/3.09" (β 0.32 inch) |
| Pixel size | - | 1 micron |
| Autofocus | No | No |
| Stabilization | Digital | Digital |
| Video resolution | 2160p (4K) at 30 FPS | 1080p (Full HD) at 30 FPS |
| Depth sensor (TOF 3D) | No | No |
Connectivity
| Wi-Fi standard | Wi-Fi 6 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax) | Wi-Fi 6 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax) |
| Wi-Fi features | - Dual Band - Wi-Fi MiMO - Wi-Fi Direct - Wi-Fi Hotspot - Wi-Fi Display |
- Dual Band - Wi-Fi MiMO - Wi-Fi Direct - Wi-Fi Hotspot - Wi-Fi Display |
| Bluetooth version | 5.4 | 5.3 |
| Bluetooth features | LE | LE |
| USB type | USB Type-C | USB Type-C |
| USB version | 2 | 2 |
| USB features | - Charging - USB-Storage mode - OTG |
- Charging - USB-Storage mode - OTG |
| DisplayPort | No | - |
| GPS | GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo, QZSS | GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, QZSS |
| NFC* | Yes | Yes |
| Infrared port | No | Yes |
| Number of SIM* | 2 | 2 |
| Type of SIM card | Nano | Nano |
| Multi SIM mode | Standby | Standby |
| eSIM support* | Yes | No |
| Hybrid slot | No | No |
| LTE Cat* | - | 19 |
| 5G support | Yes | Yes |
Sound
| Speakers | Stereo | Stereo |
| Headphone audio jack | No | No |
| FM radio | No | No |
| Dolby Atmos | Yes | Yes |
Speakers test
Max loudness
Other
| Category | Mid-range | Mid-range |
| Announced | March 2025 | July 2023 |
| Release date | March 2025 | July 2023 |
| Launch price (MSRP) | $399 | $499 |
| Successor | - Samsung Galaxy A37 5G | - OnePlus Nord 5 |
| SAR (head) | 0.53 W/kg | - |
| SAR (body) | 1.29 W/kg | - |
| Sensors | - Proximity sensor - Gyroscope - Accelerometer - Ambient light sensor - Compass - Fingerprint |
- Proximity sensor - Gyroscope - Accelerometer - Ambient light sensor - Compass - Fingerprint |
| Bundled charger | Not included | Yes, 80 W |
*Disclaimer! NFC, GSM network support, and some other specs can be different depending on the country.
Conclusion
If the performance and gaming are more important to you, then choose the OnePlus Nord 3. But if the battery life, connectivity, software, design, and sound are more of a priority β go for the Samsung Galaxy A36 5G.
Cast your vote
Total votes: 7