For existing Galaxy A54 users looking for a better experience, the Galaxy A56 sounds like a good choice. We picked seven of the biggest reasons you should choose the Galaxy A56, but we'll also explore one reason you might want to avoid it and keep using the A54.
Reason #1: Galaxy A56 has a higher-quality build
The Galaxy A56 has a better build quality than the Galaxy A54, and Samsung incorporated more recycled materials.
Arguably, the most notable build quality upgrade consists of an aluminum frame, which lends more resilience and a premium feel to the Galaxy A56 compared to the plastic frame of the A54.
Furthermore, the Galaxy A56 has a Gorilla Glass Victus+ back panel, whereas the Galaxy A54 has a Gorilla Glass 5 back.
Lastly, Samsung says the Galaxy A56 adopts 20% recycled plastic for the side keys and SIM tray. In theory, the A56 is a slightly more eco-friendly device.
Reason #2: Galaxy A56 has a larger, superior display and better audio
Samsung has upgraded the display on the Galaxy A56 in a handful of ways.
To begin with, the A56 has a larger Super AMOLED panel with a 6.7-inch diagonal, up from the A54's 6.4-inch screen.
Even better, the Galaxy A56 display is brighter. It can deliver 1200 nits of brightness in HBM (High Brightness Mode), up from 1,000 nits, and goes as high as 1900 nits (peak).
The larger and brighter screen looks better on the Galaxy A56. The phone is more comfortable to use in brighter lighting conditions than the A54.
As an added bonus, Samsung says it upgraded the stereo speakers on the Galaxy A56 to deliver richer, higher-quality sound. All in all, the A56 is a better multimedia device.
Reason #3: Higher performance and more RAM
Every new phone generation introduces an upgraded chip. Needless to say, the Galaxy A56 is two generations ahead of the A54. It is equipped with the 4nm Exynos 1580 SoC, which performs better and has higher CPU core frequencies than the 5nm Exynos 1380. It also sports a new Xclipse 540 graphics chip.
Even compared to the Exynos 1480 from last year, the new Exynos 1580 delivers a 12% increase in NPU performance, 17% in GPU, and 18% in CPU.
Perhaps even more impressive is the Galaxy A56's advanced cooling system, which should help the chip perform better in prolonged gaming and video streaming sessions. The vapor chamber is large enough to compare to the unit inside the Galaxy S24+ flagship phone. Below is a photo for reference.
To top it all off, the Galaxy A56 ships with more RAM than the Galaxy A54. It has 8GB of RAM at minimum, up from 4GB, and Samsung offers a 12GB option.
Reason #4: Galaxy A56 delivers better photos and videos
At a glance, you'd think that the Galaxy A56 has more or less the same cameras as the Galaxy A54. Technically speaking, there are many hardware similarities between the two phones, including the 50MP, 12MP, and 5MP rear-facing camera resolutions.
However, Samsung gave the Galaxy A56 an upgraded AI ISP (Image Signal Processor) for better nightography and equipped the device with a superior 12MP low-noise front-facing camera.
The Galaxy A56 supports AEB HDR and can shoot 4-8 pictures at once. It can record HDR videos with the selfie camera and 10-bit HDR videos with the rear-facing shooter.
The shooting speed went down from the Galaxy A54's 800ms to only 240ms. For reference, the Galaxy S24 has a shooting speed of around 200ms, so the A56 is closer to the 2024 premium phone than it is to the A54.
In addition, the Galaxy A56 can switch between lenses a lot faster. The switching speed is rated at less than 430ms. That's vastly superior to even the Galaxy A55, which has a camera switching speed of around 980ms.
Reason #5: Galaxy A56 has faster charging
Even though the Galaxy A56 battery has the same 5,000mAh capacity as the Galaxy A54's, it recharges faster.
Samsung gave the Galaxy A56 45W charging, up from 25W, so you'll spend less time charging the phone when you need to.
The Galaxy A56 should be able to reach 100% battery charge in just around 70 minutes.
Reason #6: Galaxy A56 offers Digital Key support
For the first time, the Galaxy A5x series supports the Digital Key feature in Samsung Wallet. As such, the Galaxy A56 will let you store and use digital car keys for select car brands and models.
It's worth noting that the Galaxy A56 does not have UWB (Ultra-Wide Band) connectivity, but it will support Digital Key through NFC and Bluetooth.
This feature will be available in select markets at launch and later expand to more regions. Whether this feature will retroactively be added to older Galaxy A5x phones is unknown, but if you want Digital Key, your best bet is the Galaxy A56.
Reason #7: Galaxy A56 benefits from extended firmware support and AI
Not only will the Galaxy A56 ship with the latest One UI 7 version, but the phone will take advantage of extra AI features compared to the Galaxy A54.
The Galaxy A56 supports:
- Object Eraser
- Best Face
- Edit suggestions
- Custom filters
- Auto Trim
- AI select
- Read aloud (for webpages)
The cherry on top is that Samsung will update the Galaxy A56 with six OS upgrades for six years. As you likely know, the Galaxy A54 is good for only four OS upgrades.
The only reason you may not want to upgrade to the Galaxy A56
There is a lot to like about the Galaxy A56, but there is also one reason why you may want to avoid it.
Simply put, the Galaxy A56 is the first phone in the A5x series to lack expandable storage. It doesn't have a microSD card slot, so you'll be stuck with 128GB/256GB of onboard storage. If you need to back up or offload your files, you'll do it through a cloud service or an external USB drive.
The Galaxy A54 does have external storage (uses a shared SIM card slot). That's the short of it.
Is this downgrade a good enough reason to miss out on all the good stuff the Galaxy A56 delivers? Should you keep using the A54 instead? That's up to you to decide. But what's almost certain is that expandable storage won't return with the A57 next year or later models. Now that it's gone, it's likely gone for good, and you will have to make peace with it sooner or later.
