Samsung's Galaxy A56 has a clear goal: to offer a high-end smartphone experience at an affordable price. Is it the best product for those who want quality without breaking the bank? We'll answer that right away.
Samsung's flagship phones aren't the Galaxy S, or even the Galaxy Z, but the Galaxy A. These are products that shine with their ability to offer the best at a fair price. Today, it's the star of this range that's being grilled: theGalaxy A56.
The Galaxy A56 remains in the same vein as its predecessors. It aims to offer a balanced experience in all areas. What's new this year? A redesigned design, the presence of One UI 7, and the inclusion of AI. Is this enough to convince as competition becomes increasingly fierce in this price segment? Here is our full review.
Price and availability
The Galaxy A56 will be available in March 2025 at partner retailers and on the Samsung website. Here are the prices:
- 128 GB: 499 euros
- 256 GB: 549 euros
Prices consistent with the technical specifications. It is available in four colors: black, white, sage green, and pink.
| Galaxy A56 | |
|---|---|
| Screen | Super AMOLED 6.7 inches FHD+ 120 Hz |
| Processor | Exynos 1580 |
| RAM | 8 GB |
| OS | Android 15 + One UI 7 |
| Storage | 128/256 GB |
| 5G | Yes |
| Sensor main | 50 MP wide angle HDR 12 MP ultra wide angle 5 MP macro |
| Selfie sensor | 12 MP HDR |
| Battery | 5000 mAh 45 Watt wired charging |
| Biometrics | Fingerprint scanner under the screen |
| Resistance to water | IP67 |
| Colors | Grey, green, pink, black |
| Price | 499 euros (128 GB) 549 euros (256 GB) |
A neat design worthy of a high-end product
Just because a phone is sold as a mid-range phone doesn't mean it shouldn't have a neat design with high-quality materials. Samsung has understood this for a long time with its Galaxy A range and shows it again with this A56. We have a product with impeccable visuals. It could almost pass for a premium device, it's so neat.
The Galaxy A56 changes its design to separate itself a little from the S range. Thus, the photo module, which still consists of vertically aligned sensors, is now in a single block. This gives it a real personality, and it's even more attractive to the eye than the three separate islands that Samsung has been serving us for a few years now. Another advantage is that it limits the nasty dust that gets lodged between the protrusions.
The tempered glass back and the aluminum surround give the product a chic feel, reinforced by a pleasant grip with the flat edges. It remains a small brick with its 200 grams and its dimensions of 162 x 77 x 7.4 mm, but a very pleasant brick to handle. On the white model we are testing, we like a surface that is not prone to marks or micro-scratches, in addition to being soft under the fingers. This is a good point!
A word about the flat brushed aluminum edges. The buttons are placed on a prominence of a few millimeters. A choice that seemed strange to us at first, but which shows its full interest in use; this irregularity is immediately felt under the thumb. This makes it much more intuitive to touch the power button to activate Bixby or simply lock it. An excellent design idea!
Only the front slightly betrays the fact that the A56 is a mid-range. The reason? The slightly wide screen edges (screen/front ratio at 85%) and especially not symmetrical. In 2025, that's a bit harsh! For the rest, everything is in place: a well-placed and effective fingerprint sensor (but which can only register three fingers) as well as a central 12-megapixel selfie sensor. Nothing to report, everything is there.
Ultimately, Samsung serves us a smartphone with careful finishing, both in the choice of materials and in the visuals. Only regret? The screen with slightly wide edges, but we can still accept it at this price. In truth, this Galaxy A56 could very well have passed for a Galaxy S from two or three years ago. A product mastered in design, then, but what about the technical side? We'll see it right away.
A well-calibrated AMOLED screen
The Galaxy A56 has a 6.7-inch Super AMOLED panel with a resolution of 2340 x 1080 pixels and a refresh rate of 60 to 120 Hz. There's also Gorilla Glass Victus+ treatment, which guarantees a certain solidity as well as protection against scratches. For this price, it's very reasonable.
We obviously ran the panel under the lens of our probe and the results obtained are good. The contrast, AMOLED obliges, is infinite. The smartphone therefore displays deep blacks (pixels off) and bright whites. This allows for good readability in series or films, especially in dark scenes, as well as the use of always on display. The maximum brightness leaves a little to be desired, with a peak of 600 cd/m² in SDR according to our measurements. This is sufficient for outdoor use, but you sometimes have to make shade with one hand to see what is displayed on the screen. Forget the series in a sunny park or on the beach in the summer, especially since the reflection treatment is limited to the bare minimum.
As always, Samsung offers two color profiles in the settings: Vivid and Natural. Misleading names, since here, the colors benefit from the same care in rendering, with an average Delta E of 1.9 (below 3 being good). The difference actually comes down to temperature: 6700K in vivid mode, and 6300K in natural mode, close to the reference 6500K. Concretely, this means that the screen pulls a bit towards red in natural mode, and a bit towards blue in vivid. It's almost imperceptible. We wonder what the relevance is of having two profiles so close, but it's not a defect in itself. A perfect calibration, then, as Samsung has always accustomed us to. Nothing special to report.
On the audio side, the Galaxy A56 also does well, with clear and balanced sound considering the format. We just note a perfectible stereo, in particular because of a speaker located on the edge that is more powerful than the other. Nothing too disturbing when you hold it in landscape mode. In summary, the score is not brilliant, but remains controlled.
Measured power and good battery life
The Galaxy A56 features the Samsung Exynos 1580 processor, a home-made SoC engraved in 4 nm and supported by 8 GB of RAM. This CPU promises measured power, but compensates with the inclusion of AI (a first on the Galaxy A), better graphics performance and some energy savings.
We launched our usual benchmark session on the Galaxy A56 and the results obtained are not surprising, but correct. We are a bit above the Snapdragon 7s Gen 3, the king SoC of this price segment. For example, it equips the Realme 14 Pro+ or the Redmi Note 14 Pro +.
With such power, the phone does not experience any hitches, crashes or slowdowns, even when many applications are open. We note an AI power (NPU) of 14.7 TOPS. It is not much, but it allows use in photo editing or even in search, with the presence of the "Circle to Search" functionality. However, it's too short to have writing assistance, or even the Now Brief, the AI summary of your day, present on the S25.
On the gaming side, the promise is kept. The Galaxy A56 runs all the big titles on the market, like Genshin, ZZZ or Diablo Immortal. To reach 60 fps, you obviously have to make some concessions in terms of settings (by setting the quality to medium or high), but it's doable. Even more, we appreciate controlled heating. The Exynos 1580 is a processor that knows how to manage its dissipation, since we measured a surface temperature of 41 degrees. Concretely, this means that it is possible to play for a long time without being bothered. An excellent point!
The Exynos 1580 is also a good student when it comes to battery life management. The terminal has a 5000 mAh battery. In our test, the smartphone reached 17 hours before turning off, which is good! This translates into a long-lasting phone. Using it in a traditional way (a little gaming, photography, navigation, GPS) we reach between 50 and 60% battery by bedtime, which is satisfactory. Samsung is also introducing 45 Watt wired charging on this model (charger not included, obviously). Using the right tool, the A56 fully recharges in two hours. That's a long time!
One UI 7, the real strength of this 2025 generation
The Galaxy A56 features Android 15 with Samsung's One UI 7 overlay. A new version of the software interface that already won us over on the Galaxy S25, and which still does so on this device. Clear, ultra customizable, it is characterized by the addition of some really nice features.
The most emblematic is the Now Bar, an equivalent to Apple's Dynamic Island that appears on the lower part of the screen. Practical for displaying the weather or match scores. There is also a clearer, more symmetrical desktop, which gives the possibility of removing text from applications.
Also read – We have been using the Galaxy S25 Ultra for several days, here are the four new features of One UI 7 that change everything
AI is highlighted by Samsung, but as we said above, it is still discreet. The user can still use it in the photo application to improve their image or remove an unwanted passerby. Classic but effective. The Bixby assistant is also present, but not very useful. Features such as the writing assistant or the Now Brief are not there, reserved for high-end terminals.
Samsung promises OS updates for six generations as well as six years of security updates. Your Galaxy A56 purchased today will therefore still be viable in 2031. That's good. A solid software package that convinces us with its well-thought-out little features. It's worth noting that One UI 7 will also be coming to Samsung devices already released.
Photography? Samsung needs to catch up!
If there's one segment in which mid-range smartphones want to shine, it's photography. We have the recent example of the Realme 14 Pro+, very good in this price segment. Samsung will have to wake up, because the manufacturer tends to rest on its laurels too much, as this terminal shows.
Also read – Realme 14 Pro Plus review: this smartphone changes color according to the weather, but is that its only asset?
The Galaxy A56 module has three sensors: a 50-megapixel main one (f/1.8), a 12-megapixel ultra-wide angle (f/2.2) and a 5-megapixel macro (f2.4). On paper, it's a bit lacking. We particularly regret the presence of a macro sensor, which could have been abandoned for a much more useful telephoto lens.
The shots obtained with the 50-megapixel sensor are decent. We appreciate the good management of colors and details. However, we are a little less convinced by the management of lights and contrasts. This can be seen in particular in the photos of the church, where the parts in the shadows are difficult to read. Overall, it remains satisfactory, well served by Samsung's algorithm.
No optical zoom on the A56, but digital zoom up to X10. Satisfactory at X2, still a little at X4, but it becomes noisy after that. It will be enough for taking holiday shots, but less so for situations that require a lot of zooming, like shows or matches.
The 8-megapixel ultra-wide angle isn't really the A56's strong point. We do deplore the haphazard management of brightness, especially indoors. The photos are a little dark, in addition to being noisy and poorly managing light halos. Too bad.
But it is the macro sensor that disappoints the more. Not only does it have to be activated manually, but it displays less than exciting results. The A56 is not ideal for those who need to capture details on small objects or who like to hold their food.
Portrait mode, for its part, is successful, both with the selfie sensor and the wide angle. On this point, it's the software part that should be praised.
Finally, the night mode is uneven. The wide angle handles well and we still appreciate Samsung's algorithm that handles contrasts and bright lights accurately. On the other hand, we regret an overly long exposure time which often leads to slightly blurry shots. But the big downside is obviously the ultra-wide angle sensor, totally out of order, incapable of managing light and halos. Too bad.
The Galaxy A56 offers a photo part in line with the range: correct, but not amazing. A bit of a shame when you see the competition betting everything on this specific point. If you're looking for a device at this price that does a good job in photography, it's better to turn to phones from Realme, or even Xiaomi.
So, should we buy it?
The Galaxy A56 is a phone that keeps its promises. It appeals in particular thanks to its impeccable technical part, its attractive screen, its solid battery life, its pleasant software but also thanks to its premium design. A very coherent proposition that won't disappoint those who go to the checkout, but which unfortunately never surprises.
It is without a doubt the most balanced smartphone in its price segment. However, one big black mark marrs this beautiful picture: a camera section that lags behind fierce competition. If you're looking for the best in this area, you'll have to look elsewhere.
The Galaxy A56 is undoubtedly a safe bet. A terminal that fulfills its mission without faltering, while also offering a pleasant experience. Not necessarily the best in its price segment, but undoubtedly the most balanced. A very solid proposition from Samsung.
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