Samsung Galaxy A56 5G review: All things nice

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Samsung’s A series lineup has been known for offering a balanced proposition. The phones offer performance index and features closer to the flagships and without digging a hole in the pocket. The Galaxy A50 series phones have also managed to become one of the highest-selling phones in the world, and the latest avatar – the Galaxy A56 5G – Samsung has tried to retain that balance of features and pricing. It offers improved performance, camera, and design over its predecessor.

Samsung has also added AI to the mix to up its value quotient. This aligns with Samsung’s idea of making AI more accessible and goes in line with TM Roh’s response when I asked him about when we will get to see AI features in the more affordable phones like the Galaxy A series.
Well, the day has finally arrived, and to understand how the entire hybrid AI implementation performs in the real world, I used the Galaxy A56 5G for weeks, and here’s how the phone fared:

Samsung Galaxy A56 5G review: Design and display
The first thing to talk about the A56 5G’s design is the new camera bump. The individual lens placement from the previous model is gone and has been replaced with a vertical pill-shaped setup, which has been blacked out to add more character. The back panel is glass and has a frosty finish to it, which gives some sort of glossy yet matte finish. Whatever it is called, it looks premium and sophisticated as well.

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The phone is also slimmer and lighter. It feels comfortable to hold, thanks to the flat side rails. The rounded corners also help while holding the phone. The size of the phone is adequate and won’t be a problem in case you prefer using the phone single-handed, unless you have a really tiny palm.
The phone also comes with an IP67 water and dust-resistant rating that keeps the phone safe in case of an accident.

Moving on, the power and volume buttons are placed at the right and within easy reach. So, accessing them isn’t much of a stretch. The bottom of the phone has the USB Type-C power port, speaker grille, and microphone.

Moving to the front of the phone, it has a punch-hold display setup. The 6.52-inch display with 1080 x 2340 (FHD+) resolution is big enough for most needs. Also, it is a SuperAMOLED panel with a 120Hz refresh rate. The colour contrast is impressive and the overall brightness one of the best in the segment. The saturated colours and impressive contrast ratio make consuming content on the phone a pleasant experience.

For gaming needs, the phone supports a 120Hz refresh rate, which, combined with the quality of the panel, makes the Galaxy A56 5G a good phone for gaming as well. Not only that, Samsung has added Gorilla Glass Victus for added protection.

Samsung Galaxy A56 5G review: Performance

Samsung Galaxy A56 5G comes with an updated chip. Now, the performance upgrade is quite evident here. Not only when using the phone for regular things, but also with demanding needs like AI processing and even heavy-duty tasks like video or photo editing.

The phone is powered by Samsung’s in-house Exynos 1580 processor. The processor has an octa-core setup with a maximum clock speed of 2.9GHz and a lowest clock speed of 1.9GHz. The chip is paired with up to 12GB of RAM and up to 256GB of storage.

Everything combined together, the performance of the phone is on point. You get a smooth overall experience with near-zero lag or stutter while jumping through the user interface, apps, or games. Despite the Exynos 1580 not being the fastest and most powerful chipset in this segment, the overall experience is smooth.

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As my daily driver, I did not notice any lag or delay while multitasking or opening or closing apps. However, at times, when you push the phone a little too hard, there’s some stutter which can be noticed. But, not to an alarming extent.

For most users, when it comes to daily driver performance, the Galaxy A56 5G delivers promising performance.

Talking about the gaming performance, the Exynos 1580 is capable enough to deliver decent frame rates even with the triple-A titles like CoD Mobile, BGMI, Asphalt 9 Legends, etc. Genshin Impact, however, needed a resolution shift to the lower side to maintain smooth performance.
Regular games like Subway Surfers and Candy Crush are not a problem and run without any issues.

Samsung Galaxy A56 5G review: AI features and software
The Galaxy A56 5G comes with some AI features. Samsung has added features like Circle to Search, AI Object Removal, AI Shadow Removal, and even the Best feature to it. Now, this is nowhere near the long list of AI features the Galaxy S series and even Galaxy Z lineup offers, but it is a good start, and the features are more user-centric and practical as well.

Circle to Search is one feature that I have loved since the day it arrived on the Galaxy S24 series, and I haven’t looked back since. The Galaxy A56 5G handles the feature pretty well; pressing and holding the bottom bar or the home button triggers the Circle to Search, and then you can either tap on something or circle an area to search it online and get results without leaving the app you were using.

Now, the Best face feature for Portrait photos. Now, Samsung has added this feature recently to the Galaxy S series lineup and has brought it straight to the mid-range phone. The feature ensures that your portrait photos do not have eyes closed or blurred in them. The feature also works for group photos and manages to fix the face for each person who is in the photo – pretty impressively.

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Then, there are the new custom filters that let users upload an image they like and apply the editing from that photo to the new one.

Another nice feature is the object removal tool that comes baked into the Gallery app. The feature seamlessly removes an unwanted object from the photos, including shadows and reflections.

Let’s talk about software, and this is one of the strongest suits of Samsung, and Galaxy A56 5G is no different. For starters, the phone comes with up to 6 years of software updates and 6 years of security updates. This is, in fact, the other mid-range phone that offers this.

But, that’s just one part of the software experience on the phone. Samsung has shipped the phone with the One UI 7 update based on Android 15. And, the experience is something I would like to call – no disparity – on the fact that it is for a much cheaper phone than the flagships – Galaxy S25 series.

When it comes to look and feel, the One UI 7 feels similar to the Galaxy S25 series version. Even the animations, transitions, and design language are also similar. Of course, there are a few things that Samsung has tweaked. For instance, the phone does not come with an AI-powered Now Brief feature. But the new Now Bar is there, so are the newly designed widgets. Also, the AI-powered search feature within the Settings is missing here, but that’s something that won’t affect the user experience much.

The key takeaway here is that Samsung has managed to keep the premium appeal of the One UI 7 without making bigger sacrifices while optimising for mid-range devices.

Samsung Galaxy A56 5G review: Camera
Samsung has included a triple-rear camera setup at the back – 50MP main camera + 12MP ultra-wide + 5MP macro sensor. There’s a 12MP Super HDR sensor at the front. When it comes to quality, the Galaxy A56’s main camera delivers impressive performance. The daylight output is sharp, detailed, and vibrant too.

A56 camera

A little saturated, but that’s something Samsung processes the images with. The dynamic range is admirable. Contrast ratio and sharpness levels are also commendable here. In low light conditions, the sensor, without the night mode, struggles a bit. But, with the Night mode, the photos are equally good. The details are not compromised, and sharpness levels remain intact as well. And, the noise levels are well contained. Most importantly, the photos do not feel overprocessed to make them feel like they have been captured in daylight and at night.

Moving to the ultra-wide sensor. The 12MP unit is good and has no distortion. But, when it comes to details, the sensor is no slouch; the dynamic range might be as impressive as the main 50 MP sensor, but it is good enough for most needs. The details take a little hit, but overall output remains well optimised here in both low light and daylight conditions.

The updated selfie camera with Super HDR support is the biggest upgrade here. The phone’s front camera is now more versatile than all its predecessors. The quality is good with ample details, sharpness levels, and colour accuracy. The camera, thanks to SuperHDR support, retains much better skin tones now. Plus, if you love recording videos using the front camera, then the A56’s selfie shooter won’t disappoint you here.
Yes, the rear camera too can shoot videos at 4K resolution, and the quality overall is good and more than enough for most users, whether you want to post it on social media or keep it to your library for memory.

Galaxy A56 5G review battery
The phone comes with a 5000mAh battery with 25W fast charging support. Samsung claims 29 hours of video playback. I didn’t test that, but instead, I used the phone daily, and it did perform well. The phone lasted throughout the day without any hassle with almost 25% left in the bank. Now, my usage includes calls, texting, video calls, social media scrolling, music, and gaming (around 30 minutes). The phone was connected to 5G and Wi-Fi as well, and adaptive brightness was tuned on.

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Now, this is a pretty good set of usages, and considering most users use the phone for these things, the 5000mAh battery should be good enough for 1 and a half days of usage in a single charge.

Galaxy A56 5G review: What we think
The Samsung Galaxy A56 5G stands out as a compelling mid-range smartphone recommendation, undeniably worthy of consideration. Its exceptional performance and comprehensive software support are key factors in its appeal. Moreover, the integrated AI capabilities and impressive battery life further enhance its value proposition.

For users seeking a smartphone within the price range of Rs 40,000, the Galaxy A56 5G emerges as an exceptional choice, offering a seamless and uninterrupted user experience.