Galaxy A56 has a refreshed design
At a glance, it's evident that the Galaxy A56 is a new-gen device. Samsung kept a similar design language for two years, in 2023 and 2024, but the Galaxy A56 refreshes the design formula with a new camera island.
The camera design resembles the Galaxy Z Fold series. Gone are the independent circular camera cutouts, and in their place, the Galaxy A56 adopts an oblong camera housing.
Samsung will offer the Galaxy A56 in four color options, including Awesome Graphite, Awesome Lightgray, Awesome Olive, and Awesome Pink.
The phone's back panel is made of Gorilla Glass Victus+, the frame is made of metal, and Samsung says the Galaxy A56 incorporates 20% recycled plastic for side keys and the SIM tray.
Galaxy A56 comes with numerous camera upgrades
Samsung has replaced the selfie camera this year, and the Galaxy A56 boasts an upgraded 12MP unit with video HDR capabilities and an f/2.2 aperture.
Furthermore, the selfie camera can now shoot better in low light thanks to a Low Noise Mode.
The rear-facing camera system consists of:
- A 50MP primary unit with autofocus, optical image stabilization, and an f/1.8 aperture.
- A 12MP ultra-wide camera with an f/2.2 aperture.
- A 5MP macro lens with an f/2.4 aperture.
Samsung says the Galaxy A56's night-shooting and low-light photography is backed by an upgraded AI ISP (Image Signal Processor) for the wide primary camera.
The primary sensor also has AEB (Auto Exposure Bracketing) HDR and faster continuous shooting of 240ms. There's also faster lens switching from 980ms (Galaxy A55) to less than 430ms on the A56.
On the software side, the Galaxy A56 offers camera features such as Best Face, Object Eraser, and Filters.
Galaxy A56 hardware and performance upgrades
Samsung's new mid-range hero phone has a larger 6.7-inch FHD+ Super AMOLED display that is now brighter, clocking in at 1,200 nits (high brightness mode) and 1,900 nits peak. The panel is protected by Gorilla Glass Victus+ and has Vision Booster and a refresh rate of up to 120Hz.
Further enhancing the multimedia experience, the Galaxy A56 is equipped with new stereo speakers. Samsung says they deliver rich and balanced sound.
Inside, the Galaxy A56 boasts a 4nm Exynos 1580 chip, which offers NPU, GPU, and CPU performance improvements of 12%, 17%, and 18% over the Exynos 1480 chip.
In addition, Samsung complements the Exynos 1580 chip with a larger vapor chamber, comparable in size to the chamber inside the Galaxy S24+.
Memory options include 8GB of RAM with 128GB or 256GB of storage and 12GB+256GB.
One other notable upgrade consists of faster charging. While the battery's capacity remains unchanged at 5,000mAh, the Galaxy A56 now supports 45W charging.
Galaxy A56 AI and software
In terms of Awesome Intelligence, as Samsung brands its AI features, the Galaxy A56 has improved Circle to Search. The Google-powered tool is now easier to use. It can recognize phone numbers and email addresses and supports song searching without switching apps.
The Galaxy A56 also offers the Digital Key feature in Samsung Wallet, and more specifically, the Digital Key features supported by NFC and Bluetooth. The phone doesn't have UWB, so it misses out on Digital Key hands-free access.
Digital Key will be available in select markets at launch, including Asia, Europe, and North America, with more countries and regions to be included later.
Last but not least, the Galaxy A56 ships with Android 15 and One UI 7. It is the first in the A5x series to enjoy extended support for up to six generations of One UI upgrades and six years of security patches.
