If you have plans to buy a new smartphone and are eyeing Samsung’s new Galaxy A56, then today I will give you a completely honest review of it. Well, we all know that Samsung’s flagship S series phones like S23 Ultra, S24 Ultra and the new S25 Ultra are very popular. But to tell the truth, Samsung’s real benefit comes from its mid-range A series phones.
According to Counterpoint Research, 89 million people use Samsung A series phones in India alone, and Samsung plans to take this number to 100 million by 2025. For this, they have launched their new phones — A26, A36 and A56. A56 is the most expensive phone in this, whose base variant (8GB RAM + 128GB Storage) costs Rs 42,000.
Now the question arises — Is this phone worth its price? Let’s start from the beginning.
Samsung Galaxy A56 Review
Design and Build Quality
First of all, let’s talk about the design, because this phone gives a premium feel as soon as you hold it in your hand. It is quite strong with its Aluminium frame and Gorilla Glass Victus Plus protection. I liked its olive color variant very much, because fingerprints and smudges are less visible on it. A56 is thinner and lighter than last year’s A55, which feels very good to hold in the hand. Just, the edges are a little less sharp, so the grip becomes more comfortable.
Another special thing is its IP67 dust and water resistance, which gives almost flagship-level protection. But yes, if you compare it with Galaxy S25 Ultra, its bezels are a bit thick, and the fingerprint sensor feels a bit slow.
Display Experience
If you are fond of watching movies, scrolling Instagram reels or gaming, then the display of A56 will not disappoint you. It has a refresh rate of 120Hz, which makes scrolling and animations look very smooth. Colours are vibrant, white balance is good, and with HDR10 support, the fun of watching Netflix and Amazon Prime doubles. Brightness is also good, it can go up to 1200 nits, so the screen is clearly visible even in sunlight.
Performance and Gaming
Samsung has installed its new Exynos 1580 chipset in this phone. At first, I thought that Exynos has come back, meaning there will be problems with overheating. But surprisingly, this chipset performs quite well.
There is no problem in everyday tasks like social media, browsing and multitasking. Gaming is also good, but PUBG Mobile runs at 30 FPS only. After future updates, it may support up to 60 FPS, but right now it is a bit of a letdown.
With One UI 7, the experience becomes even smoother. But there is a small problem — the AI features are not as advanced as flagship phones. For example, you cannot activate Gemini AI with the power button, and features like AI translation and grammar check are absent.
Camera Performance
Now let’s talk about the cameras, which I find a bit mixed. The main camera is 50MP, and daytime photos come out good, with vibrant colors and good wide balance. But when it comes to portraits, Samsung has not given it a 3X telephoto lens, which I think should have been there in this price range. In portraits, photos are digitally cropped, due to which details seem a little less.
The ultra-wide camera is also fine, but dynamic range and shadow details are sometimes missed. Night mode is a bit disappointing when clicking photos at night. Videos can be shot up to 4K 30FPS, and stabilization is good. Selfies come out quite well, and skin tones also look natural.
Battery and Charging
The 5000mAh battery will easily give you a day’s backup. But I feel that Samsung should have used a 6000mAh or 6500mAh battery like the Chinese brands are doing. The good thing is that the A56 now has 45W fast charging support, which is faster than the previous models.
Final Verdict
If I had to rate the Galaxy A56 out of 10, I would give it 7/10. This phone is a good all-rounder, but needs some improvement. Phones like the OnePlus 13R, Nothing Phone 3A Pro, and Honor 200 Pro offer more value in this price range. But if you look at Samsung’s brand value, their good software support (up to 6 years of updates!) and easy EMI options, then this phone can be a reliable choice.
If you have any questions in your mind or you want to give your opinion about Galaxy A56, then do tell us in the comments!