Samsung Galaxy A56 review: Refined sequel with meaningful upgrades

Last week, Samsung launched the new Galaxy A36 and A56 series upper mid-range smartphones in India.

Compared to the predecessor, the Galaxy A56 comes with new processor and faster charging capability. It also boasts of several new generative Artificial Intelligence (gen AI) features we see on ultra premium Galaxy S series.

The Galaxy A56 comes in three configurations-- 8GB RAM + 128GB storage, 8GB RAM + 256GB storage and 12GB RAM + 256GB storage-- with prices starting at Rs 41,999.

Here are my thoughts on Samsung's latest Galaxy A56 series phone.

Design, build quality and display

The new phone comes with design changes over the predecessor. The latter had camera islands. Now, the successor features a single module in a shape of elongated capsule with vertically aligned triple camera sensors and LED flash on the side.

Samsung Galaxy A55 (left) and the Galaxy A56.

The Galaxy A56 comes with a solid build quality. The metallic frame around the edge is made of aluminium. It is flat and curved around the corners. The matte finish exudes premium feel.

Our review unit is awesome olive variant. It is best looking among the three colours offered by Samsung. The other two variants are- awesome lightgray, and awesome graphite.

On the front, the display and back panel are protected by Corning's Gorilla Glass Victus+, which is capable of preventing scratches when the device is kept in the close confines of the pocket with coins and keys.

Further, the device comes with IP67 dust-and-water resistant rating, meaning it can survive accidental water splashes and can even survive a dip in a swimming pool for up to a depth of one metre (around three feet) for up to 30 minutes.

Samsung Galaxy A56 series.

Samsung has covered all bases to ensure the Galaxy A56 be able to serve the customer for several bases. It should be noted that the device will get six years of OS updates too.

On the front, Galaxy A56 flaunts a beautiful 6.7-inch full HD+ super AMOLED with Infinity-O screen design. It supports 120Hz refresh rate, offers up to 1,900 nits peak brightness.

The big display is great for watching TV series on a screen with no worries of eye strain as such. The colours come out rich and the blacks appear darker making a delightful viewing experience.

Even outdoors too, I was able to view messages and read news articles without any issues.

Samsung Galaxy A56 series.

It also has features to control bluelight emission and lessen the strain on the eyes while reading long-form news or ebooks at night.

The stereo speakers of the phone are really good with the audio output.

The in-display fingerprint sensor works fine. It instantly recognises the fingerprint impression to unlock the screen.

Performance

Samsung's phone is powered by propreitary 4nm class Exynos 1580 processor with Xclipse 540 GPU. The company is offering the device in three configurations-- 8GB RAM + 128GB storage, 8GB RAM + 256GB storage and 12GB RAM + 256GB storage.

Our review unit is 8GB RAM + 256GB storage variant. It supports RAM Plus, which can extend the physical memory up to 8GB RAM. This can double the RAM to 16GB, provided there is extra space in the internal storage. Higher the RAM, the faster the phone works in terms of loading apps and switching between multiple apps.

During the entire review period, the device worked smoothly without any pressing issues to complain about. It also supports most of the popular graphics-heavy gaming titles available on the Google Play Store.

Samsung Galaxy A56's CPU and GPU performance score on Geekbench 6.0 app.

The device runs Android 15-based OneUI 7.0. It has familiar UI and comes pre-loaded with several third-party apps. But, it is not a big deal as the device has enough storage to add hundred more apps and users can upload thousands of the photos and videos without any anxiety of running out of space anytime soon.

Like the premium Galaxy S series, the Galaxy A56 is well optimised to smoothly perform gen AI-powered tasks such as circle to search, object eraser in photo Gallery app, Circle to Search, Gemini AI app, Galaxy AI features such as audio transcribing, language translations and more. With the onset of harsh summer, it tends to get warmed up when outdoors, but always remains under control.

The device is eligible to get six years of Android OS updates and software security patches against emerging cyber threats up to 2031.

Samsung Galaxy A56.

The device houses a 5,000mAh battery. It consistently delivered one and half days of battery life under normal usage. Even if you are gamer or use social media platforms to view reels, watch TV series and movies on OTT platforms, the Galaxy A56 will still be able to last a whole day provided you have Wi-Fi at home and at the office. If you happen to rely on the cellular network all-day, the device can last until late evening.

The new Galaxy A56 supports 45W charger, way faster than the predecessor (25W max). It can go from zero to 50 per cent within 25 minutes and hit the 100 per cent mark in a little over an hour.

Samsung Galaxy A56's camera sample.

Photography

The device house a triple-camera module— main wide-angle 50 MP (f/1.8 , 1/1.56-inch sensor, 1.0µm pixel size, PDAF: Phase Detection Auto Focus, OIS: Optical Image Stabilisation) with ultra-wide 120-degree 12 MP (with f/2.2, 1/3.06-inch sensor, 1.12µm pixel size) and a 5MP (f/2.4) macro camera with LED flash on the back.

Samsung Galaxy A56's camera sample.

There is noticeable difference in terms of photo quality over the predecessor. The Galaxy A56 performs great in the natural sunny conditions. The colours, particularly of the flowers and human face appear a tad warmer than what they appear to our eyes. But, this is not a complaint. The photo quality is absolutely brilliant.

Samsung Galaxy A56's camera sample.

The ultra wide angle shots manage to get the vast area of the landscape without compromising the quality.

Samsung Galaxy A56's camera sample.

Samsung Galaxy A56's camera sample.

In macro mode, the Galaxy A56 again excells here. It manages to get capture minute details pretty well.

Samsung Galaxy A56's camera sample.

Samsung Galaxy A56's camera sample.

At night, the images captured by the Samsung's phone are sharp with less noise.

With the portrait mode on, the device does a pretty good job with the sharp focus on the subject and artfully blur the background.

Samsung Galaxy A56's camera sample.

Samsung has done a really good job with the Galaxy A56 to perform smoothly in this aspect. Barring the Google Pixel A series, no other phone in its class can come close in terms of gen AI photography tools. It supports Object Eraser, Reflection Erase, UnBlur, Best Face, and more. All features work fine without any pressing issues to complain about.

Samsung Galaxy A56's camera sample.

Thanks to gyro-EIS (Electronic Image Stabilisation) feature, it can record high quality stable videos up to 4K resolution at 30 frames per second (fps), and full HD (1080p) at 30/60fps.

Samsung Galaxy A56's camera sample.

On the front, the device houses 12MP wide camera (f/2.2). It takes excellent selfies and portraits in the sunlight.

Samsung Galaxy A56's camera sample.

It can record up to 4K videos at 30 fps and full HD 1080p videos at 30/60 fps.

Final thoughts

The Galaxy A56 is a refined sequel to the Galaxy A55 (review) series with meaningful upgrades.

It comes with superior build quality, an excellent display panel, reliable processor and an amazing camera hardware. With a full charge, it can easily last a whole day.

Samsung Galaxy A56 series.

It has all the right features to deliver a hassle-free user experience. And, thanks to long-term software support, the owner does not have to think of buying a new phone for at least for five to six years.

The Galaxy A56 comes in three configurations-- 8GB RAM + 128GB storage, 8GB RAM + 256GB storage and 12GB RAM + 256GB storage-- for Rs 41,999, Rs 44,999 and Rs 47,999, respectively.

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