The Samsung Galaxy A57 arrived March 30, 2026, as a lighter, thinner take on the mid-range Android formula—but at a price that undercuts its design ambitions. Weighing just 179 grams with a 6.7-inch Super AMOLED Plus display, the A57 feels more premium than its rivals, yet costs around €549 in France, roughly €50 more than the Nothing Phone (4a) Pro and significantly more than Google’s €500 Pixel 10a equivalent. The question is simple: does flagship-adjacent design justify flagship-adjacent pricing in a category built on value?
Key Takeaways
- Samsung Galaxy A57 weighs 179g with 120Hz Super AMOLED Plus display, lighter than both rivals
- Costs €549 in France, €50 more than Nothing Phone (4a) Pro and outpriced by Pixel 10a
- Exynos 1680 processor outpaces Pixel 10a’s carried-over Tensor G4, but lacks telephoto camera
- Nothing Phone offers 144Hz refresh, 3.5x optical zoom, and unique Glyph design at lower price
- All three phones run Android 16 with comparable battery life around 24 hours under heavy use
Design and Display: Where Samsung Punches Above Its Weight
The Samsung Galaxy A57 is the lightest phone of the three, and that matters more than spec sheets suggest. At 179 grams, it feels genuinely different in hand—not just marginally thinner, but noticeably less tiring to hold for extended periods. The 6.7-inch Super AMOLED Plus screen peaks at 1900 nits brightness with 120Hz refresh, and the Gorilla Glass Victus+ protection is genuinely robust. Samsung nailed the industrial design here, with asymmetrical bezels that give the A57 a more considered look than budget phones typically achieve.
The Google Pixel 10a, by contrast, takes the opposite approach. Its 6.3-inch Actua P-OLED display is sharper (1080×2424 resolution) and brighter (3000 nits peak), and the flat back with nearly flush camera feels more modern than the A57’s prominent camera bump. But the Pixel is heavier and thicker—you’ll notice the difference. The Nothing Phone (4a) Pro splits the difference with a massive 6.8-inch display, 144Hz refresh rate, and an even higher potential brightness (up to 5000 nits), plus the distinctive Glyph notification system on the back that actually changes how you interact with the phone. For pure visual specs, Nothing wins. For feel-in-hand simplicity, Samsung does.
Performance and Software: The A57’s Processor Edge Comes With Caveats
The Samsung Galaxy A57 uses the Exynos 1680 processor, a genuine upgrade over its predecessor and meaningfully faster than the Pixel 10a’s carried-over Tensor G4. That matters for day-to-day responsiveness—the A57 will handle demanding apps and gaming more smoothly than Google’s budget flagship. The Nothing Phone (4a) Pro’s Snapdragon 7 Gen 4 sits between them, faster than the Tensor G4 but not quite matching the Exynos 1680’s raw performance.
Software support is where the story flips. The Pixel 10a gets 7 years of OS upgrades, the A57 gets 6 years, and Nothing tops out at just 3 years. For a phone you might keep for five years, that gap is significant—the Pixel will still receive major updates when the A57 and Nothing Phone are approaching obsolescence. The A57 runs One UI 8.5 on Android 16, which is polished but Samsung’s customizations can feel heavy compared to Nothing OS 4.1’s lighter touch.
Cameras: Where the A57 Stumbles Against Better-Equipped Rivals
This is where the A57’s premium positioning crumbles. Samsung packed a triple rear camera setup—12MP ultrawide, 5MP macro, and a main sensor—but omitted the telephoto lens found on the Nothing Phone (4a) Pro. The Nothing’s 50MP periscope telephoto with 3.5x optical zoom and optical image stabilization is a significant shift for framing shots without cropping quality. The Pixel 10a’s 48MP main and 13MP ultrawide are more conservative but consistently excellent, with Google’s computational photography doing heavy lifting.
The A57’s ultrawide is identical to some Samsung flagships, which is nice, but the macro lens is typically uninspiring on budget phones, and the lack of any zoom capability is a real limitation. For casual shooting, all three phones produce solid results. For versatility—framing distant subjects, capturing both wide and tight compositions—the Nothing Phone pulls ahead, and the Pixel’s software processing is more reliable than the A57’s reliance on hardware specs.
Charging and Battery: Marginal Differences Hide Real-World Tradeoffs
All three phones ship with 5000mAh-plus batteries and deliver roughly 24 hours of heavy use before you hit single-digit battery percentage. The A57 charges at 45W wired only (no wireless), the Nothing at 50W wired (also no wireless), and the Pixel at 30W wired plus 10W wireless. In practice, these differences matter less than they appear—wireless charging adds maybe 5-10 minutes of convenience per week, and the A57’s faster wired speed versus the Pixel’s slower charging almost balances out. The Nothing’s 50W is fastest, but you’ll still spend 30-45 minutes on any of these phones to reach full charge from zero.
Price and Value: The Core Problem
The Samsung Galaxy A57 costs €549 in France, making it the most expensive of the three. The Google Pixel 10a sits at €500 equivalent (roughly $500), and the Nothing Phone (4a) Pro started at €469 before demand pushed it to €499. For that extra €50-€80, what do you get? A lighter phone, a faster processor, and premium-feeling design. What do you lose? Telephoto zoom, wireless charging, longer software support, and a brighter, sharper display.
The Pixel 10a is the safest choice—it’s the cheapest, offers seven years of updates, and Google’s software and computational photography are genuinely reliable. The Nothing Phone (4a) Pro is the most interesting—144Hz display, periscope zoom, and that striking Glyph design make it feel like actual innovation rather than incremental refinement. The Samsung Galaxy A57 is the most beautiful and feels the most premium in hand, but it doesn’t justify its price premium when rivals offer better cameras, longer support, or lower costs.
Should you buy the Samsung Galaxy A57 over the Pixel 10a or Nothing Phone?
Buy the A57 if you prioritize lightweight design and processor performance above all else, and you do not care about telephoto zoom or wireless charging. For most buyers, the Pixel 10a offers better long-term value, and the Nothing Phone (4a) Pro offers more versatility and innovation at a lower price. The A57 is the premium option in a category that does not reward premium pricing.
What makes the Nothing Phone (4a) Pro different from the Samsung Galaxy A57?
The Nothing Phone features a higher refresh rate (144Hz vs 120Hz), a periscope telephoto lens with 3.5x optical zoom, and the distinctive Glyph notification system on the back. It also costs less (€499 vs €549 in France), though it offers only 3 years of OS updates compared to the A57’s 6 years.
Does the Samsung Galaxy A57 have wireless charging?
No. The A57 supports 45W wired charging only. The Google Pixel 10a includes 10W wireless charging, and the Nothing Phone (4a) Pro also lacks wireless charging but supports faster 50W wired speeds.
The Samsung Galaxy A57 is a beautifully executed mid-range phone that makes the wrong trade-offs for its price. It prioritizes feel and performance over the features and software longevity that actually matter over the lifetime of a device. If you want a lightweight flagship-feeling phone and money is no object, the A57 delivers. Everyone else should look elsewhere.
Where to Buy
Google Pixel 10a | Nothing Phone (4a) Pro
This article was written with AI assistance and editorially reviewed.
Source: TechRadar
