The Samsung Galaxy A57 is the top of Samsung's mainstream A-series, and this year the changes are almost entirely physical. At 6.9mm thick and 179g it is noticeably slimmer and around 19g lighter than the Galaxy A56, the bezels are tighter, and water resistance moves up to IP68 so a full dunk is no longer a worry. The new Exynos 1680 is about 16 percent quicker in multi-core work than last year's chip, which shows up as smoother app switching rather than anything dramatic, and battery life has improved meaningfully on an unchanged 5,000mAh cell. Where the A57 stands still is photography: the 50MP main, 12MP ultrawide and 5MP macro arrangement is now in its fourth consecutive generation, and video is still capped at 4K30. The main lens is dependable in daylight, the ultrawide less so, and the macro camera adds little. Six years of Android upgrades and security patches make it a sensible long-term hold, and the AMOLED screen remains one of the best in its class.