For the past two years, Samsung's strategy has been to refine the design of its smartphones and bring a unified look to every price point. As a result, in 2023 and 2024, we got Galaxy A devices that looked a lot like their high-end Galaxy S siblings. That strategy will be shifting for 2025.

Recent leaks show that Samsung is changing the design of its Galaxy A series this year. Gone are the S-like camera rings, and in their place, Samsung will reintroduce the concept of a camera island for the Galaxy A36 and Galaxy A56. The way I see it, this change of strategy has ups and downs.

A unified design language across different price points is a double-edged sword. On the one hand, it can lend more weight and credibility to lower-cost phones. On the other, it can be perceived as a cheapening of the premium lineup.

To put it bluntly, some Galaxy S buyers would prefer their phones wouldn't be easily mistaken for Galaxy A mid-range devices. And I think Samsung made this design decision for 2025 precisely to draw a clearer line between price points as it once did, with an emphasis on bolstering the Galaxy S25.

Nevertheless, the unified design strategy employed in the past two years may have also allowed Samsung to focus on improving other aspects of the mid-range Galaxy A series. Incidentally, since Samsung employed a unified design in 2023, the Galaxy A3x and A5x have grown unexpectedly. They're better built and often borrow technologies from more expensive devices. Let's hope that trend continues in 2025 regardless of the camera redesign.

If I'm being subjective, I think camera rings look better than the camera island revealed through leaked Galaxy A36 and A56 renders and photos. Not everyone will agree, but those are my two cents. The real phones might change my mind once they hit store shelves, but for now, I remain skeptical.

From the perspective of a Galaxy A user, I don't think it's particularly exciting to abandon a current-era flagship design element, i.e., the camera rings, for an outdated design that was prominently featured on the Galaxy Note 10 back in 2019. And this is coming from an ex-Galaxy Note 10 user.

Then again, we can at least agree that the camera island on the 2025 mid-range phones looks more refined and relatively modern compared to 2019. And given that it's been a few years since Samsung embraced camera rings, this could be an interesting change of pace for at least some people.

New Samsung customers who might be unfamiliar with the company's design history could find the 2025 mid-range phones more exciting and refreshing. For what it's worth, lower-cost phones will have their own identity again, separate from high-end devices. That can be a good or a bad thing, depending on how you look at it.

Regardless, as a Samsung fan who kept a close eye on everything Samsung — particularly in the last half a decade — I can't help but feel like we'll end up exactly where we were a few years ago, and I don't find this thought very comforting. It feels like a regression.

As a flagship phone user, I should rejoice, as this change in design strategy is clearly meant to work in favor of premium flagship buyers. But I have to wonder if Galaxy A fans will have something to gain from what I perceive to be a step backward.

Hopefully, the Galaxy A36 and Galaxy A56 will hold their own once they go official. Maybe they'll look better in person, as phones usually do. And more importantly, they could be boast enough improvements in all the other ways that matter that I won't care about the camera island design at the end of the day.

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