I was naively hoping to see the edge of the Galaxy S25 ahead of the MWC, but that wasn’t what I saw at Samsung’s pre-show briefing last week. But what I’ve seen may be conspiring a lot of people: a cheap slice of Galaxy hardware in the form of a Galaxy A56. It will start at $499 (or £499 in the UK) later this year. Samsung has also announced Galaxy A36 and A26 Today they start at $399 and $299 respectively.
Many of the A-Series upgrades this year matched what we saw from the S25. The A56 is thinner than its predecessor, dropping from 8.2mm to 7.4mm, and packing a slightly larger 6.7-inch screen. Typically, one of the most prominent visuals about the A-Series, the bezel is further shaved on the device’s bezel with the A56.
The hardware is tweaked with a brushed metal frame and a minor design twist. A new slightly protruding bump on the side where the volume and power buttons sit. I liked this when I handled the A56 easily. Asymmetry aside, it was easy to handle, but this is amazing as it’s a 6.7-inch device, and I’m used to it with a 6.3-inch phone. The A56 didn’t seem difficult to handle. (Has Samsung designers decided to read my indifferent editor on the phone side and even muddy the waters?)
This year we have a mixed bag with camera specifications. The front of the A56 features a lower RES 12 megapixel selfie camera, and on the back it features an upgraded 12MP ultraweed, an F/1.8 lens and a 50MP main sensor with optical image stabilization. I still have a 5MP macro lens someone There.
These new cameras feature many of the latest upgrades to the S25 family. This includes rafting of AI features, including improved image signal processing to improve performance at low light, and enhanced subject detection in portrait mode. Samsung says the A56 better recognizes the sky, skin, face, hair and grass to improve the effect of bokeh.
For image editing with AI, there is also an object eraser, automatic trim for videos, and a filter creation. You can select an existing image and apply its color and tone to another photo. Also, as long as you have Motion Photos enabled, you can choose from multiple captures for the best representation of everyone. These are not new features on smartphones, but their additions bring the Midrange A56 closer to the Galaxy S25.
Through one UI 7, the A56 gets style flourishing and home screen improvements like Now Bar, notification panel changes, and scalable widgets of various shapes and sizes. Samsung has also promised six-generation OS updates (up from the four of last year’s A55s) and six years of security updates.
As you will ever see, there are no surprises here. The 5,000mAh battery is the same size as the A55, but the charging speed is now 45W. The company says it can fully charge the device in more than an hour. Samsung replaced it with its own 4nm Exynos 1580 chip with a CPU boost of about 18%. Once again, the hardware approaches the quality and premium feel of what you normally see on Galaxy devices.
It’s the peak midrange phone season. The Galaxy A56 will face the recently released iPhone 16e, but rumors suggest that Google’s Pixel 9a can quickly break the cover.
Galaxy A36 and Galaxy A26
Samsung also announced the Galaxy A36 5G and Galaxy A26 5G today. Both have a 6.7-inch screen and updates up to 120Hz at 1,200 nits. It also comes with one UI 7, including features such as Circle To Search, which was previously released on expensive mobile phones. Plus, it also has a triple camera system on the rear with a 50mp main sensor, but the Ultra A wide setup camera isn’t as sharp as the 8mp A56. Some software features like Best Face are also reserved for the A56, but you’ll find updated object erase and filters on cheaper phone pairs.
Finally, the A36 and A26 have the same IP67 rating and 5,000 MAH battery as the A56, but instead of the A56’s Exynos 1580, the A36 uses a Snapdragon 6 Gen 3 processor, and the A36 only packs 6GB of RAM.
Galaxy A56 Pricing and Availability
In the UK, the Galaxy A56 will be pre-ordered on March 2nd and released on March 19th. It comes in four “great” (Samsung’s wording) colors: graphite, olive, pink and light grey. Because there is nothing great screaming like a light shade of grey. We have pricing, but Samsung doesn’t share more accurate timing for availability than “late this year.”
This article was originally published in https://www.engadget.com/mobile/smartphones/samsungs-midrange-galaxy-a56-has-ai-photo-editing-dain-abump-for-its-buttons-230018254.html?
