Samsung Galaxy A36 and A56 hands-on review

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Introduction and specs

Samsung just updated its mid-range models, and there is quite a bit to go through. It's always fun to look at the company's latest and greatest flagship devices, but the fact is that most users don't need such high-end devices. The sales numbers reflect this nicely. While arguably less exciting, the Galaxy A-series is what moves volumes and really rakes in profits for Samsung. So, every new crop of devices is important.

We got to spend a few hours with the new Galaxy A36 and Galaxy A56 and have some early impressions to share. Unfortunately, we didn't have the Galaxy A26 at hand, but we're sure we will get a look at it soon enough.

We'll start with the Galaxy A36 first and work our way up. First things first, the new Galaxy A trio (A26, A36 and A56) now has the same 6.7-inch display-diagonal and 1080p+ resolution. The panels aren't exactly the same across all three, but the size has been unified in the end, representing a 0.1-inch increase over last year's Galaxy A35. The display is said to reach 1,200 nits of brightness in high brightness mode with a 1,900 nits peak.

The camera island is a bit changed visually, but the camera hardware itself is mostly the same. Samsung also preserved the battery capacity at 5,000 mAh but upgraded the charging to 45W. We will go through the rest of the specs details on the following pages.

Samsung Galaxy A36 specs at a glance:

• Body: 162.9x78.2x7.4mm, 195g; Glass front (Gorilla Glass Victus+), plastic frame, glass back (Gorilla Glass Victus+); IP67 dust/water resistant (up to 1m for 30 min).
• Display: 6.70" Super AMOLED, 120Hz, 1200 nits (HBM), 1900 nits (peak), 1080x2340px resolution, 19.5:9 aspect ratio, 385ppi; Always-on display.
• Chipset: Qualcomm SM6475-AB Snapdragon 6 Gen 3 (4 nm): Octa-core (4x2.4 GHz Cortex-A78 & 4x1.8 GHz Cortex-A55); Adreno 710.
• Memory: 128GB 6GB RAM, 128GB 8GB RAM, 256GB 8GB RAM, 256GB 12GB RAM; UFS 2.2.
• OS/Software: Android 15, up to 6 major Android upgrades, One UI 7.
• Rear camera: Wide (main): 50 MP, f/1.8, 1/1.96", PDAF, OIS; Ultra wide angle: 8 MP, f/2.2, 123-degree, 1/4.0", 1.12µm; Macro: 5 MP, f/2.4.
• Front camera: 12 MP, f/2.2, (wide).
• Video capture: Rear camera: 4K@30fps, 1080p@30/60fps, gyro-EIS; Front camera: 4K@30fps, 1080p@30fps, 10-bit HDR.
• Battery: 5000mAh; 45W wired, 66% in 30 min, 100% in 68 min.
• Connectivity: 5G; eSIM; Wi-Fi 6; BT 5.4; NFC.
• Misc: Fingerprint reader (under display, optical); stereo speakers; Virtual Proximity Sensing, Circle to Search.

Moving on to the Galaxy A56, while the A36 gets a Qualcomm Snapdragon 6 Gen 3 chipset, its higher-tier sibling sports the new Samsung Exynos 1580. Samsung says the chip should offer a big performance boost over the Galaxy A55. Unfortunately, the rumors weren't true, and the A56 still only has 8GB of RAM to pair with the chipset, not 12GB.

As we said, all three phones now have a 6.7-inch display-diagonal with FullHD+ resolution. The display here is rated for the same 1,200 nits of regular brightness and 1,900 nits peak. We believe the A36 and A56 might share the same display panel. The A26, however, definitely has a different one since it has a selfie camera notch instead of a punch hole.

Just like the Galaxy A36, the A56 has Gorilla Glass Victus+ on both sides, but it has an aluminum frame instead of a polycarbonate one. The battery capacity hasn't changed at 5,000 mAh, but again you get 45W of charging, which was previously reserved for flagship models only.

Samsung Galaxy A56 specs at a glance:

• Body: 162.2x77.5x7.4mm, 198g; Glass front (Gorilla Glass Victus+), glass back (Gorilla Glass Victus+), aluminum frame; IP67 dust/water resistant (up to 1m for 30 min).
• Display: 6.70" Super AMOLED, 120Hz, HDR10+, 1200 nits (HBM), 1900 nits (peak), 1080x2340px resolution, 19.5:9 aspect ratio, 385ppi; Always-on display.
• Chipset: Exynos 1580 (4 nm): Octa-core (1x2.9 GHz & 3x2.6 GHz & 4x1.9 GHz); Xclipse 540.
• Memory: 128GB 8GB RAM, 256GB 8GB RAM, 256GB 12GB RAM; UFS 3.1.
• OS/Software: Android 15, up to 6 major Android upgrades, One UI 7.
• Rear camera: Wide (main): 50 MP, f/1.8, 1/1.56", 1.0µm, PDAF, OIS; Ultra wide angle: 12 MP, f/2.2, 123-degree, 1/3.06", 1.12µm; Macro: 5 MP, f/2.4.
• Front camera: 12 MP, f/2.2, (wide).
• Video capture: Rear camera: 4K@30fps, 1080p@30/60fps, gyro-EIS; Front camera: 4K@30fps, 1080p@30/60fps, 10-bit HDR.
• Battery: 5000mAh; 45W wired, 65% in 30 min, 100% in 68 min.
• Connectivity: 5G; eSIM; Wi-Fi 6; BT 5.3; NFC.
• Misc: Fingerprint reader (under display, optical); stereo speakers; Virtual Proximity Sensing, Circle to Search.

Speaking of things that used to be more or less flagship exclusives, Samsung has really extended the software support window for the new Galaxy A models. Both the Galaxy A36 and A56 come with the promise of a whopping six major OS updates. Plus, they launch with the latest Android 15 and One UI 7 combo, chuck-full of Galaxy AI goodies. Even the Galaxy S24 generation is yet to receive its One UI 7 and Android 15 update, so that's an interesting titbit.