Samsung might be known for its flagship phones, but the company is very active at more affordable price points.
In particular, its Galaxy A series phones aim to offer the core Samsung phone experience for a fraction of the cost.
The most expensive of its 2025 range is the new Galaxy A56, though it’s still very much a mid-range handset. Here’s everything you need to know it, including release date, pricing and all the key specs.
Want to learn more? Read Tech Advisor’s full Samsung Galaxy A56 review for our definitive verdict.
When will the Samsung Galaxy A56 be released?
Samsung officially launched the Galaxy A56 on 1 March or 2 March 2025, depending on where you’re based.
However, while the phone was released on 19 March, we had to wait until 18 July for the phone to finally make it to the US. That’s a full four months of delay.
For context, here’s when the last few generations were released:
How much does the Samsung Galaxy A56 cost?
In the UK, the Galaxy A56 costs £499 in the UK for the only model available, which offers 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage.
However, that version will cost you $549.99 in the US. The cheaper $499.99 model still offers 8GB of RAM, but only 128GB of storage. It’s very much a mid-range phone.
Here’s what recent models were priced at:
- Galaxy A55: £439 (not available in the US)
- Galaxy A54: £449/$449
- Galaxy A53: £399/$449
- Galaxy A52: £399/$499
If the phone does launch in the US, expect it to be around the $499 mark. It’s very much a mid-range phone.
Foundry | Alex Walker-Todd
What specs and features does the Samsung Galaxy A56 have?
The Galaxy A56 might be a mid-range phone, but it looks a lot like Samsung’s Galaxy S25+.
Like the company’s flagship, you get a glass and aluminium design, 6.7-inch display and triple rear cameras, making the A56 feel more premium than its price suggests. Its screen is still a 120Hz FHD+ OLED too, with Samsung advertising up to 1900 nits of peak brightness.
And within the display, you’ll still find an optical fingerprint sensor. There’s also face unlock, but it’s not secure enough to authenticate payments or log into banking apps.
Of course, you shouldn’t expect flagship-level photos and videos from the A56, but a 50Mp main lens should be able to deliver decent photos and videos. It’s joined by a 12Mp ultrawide and 5Mp macro, plus 12Mp selfie camera on the front. It’s a decent setup at this price point, though you do miss out on a dedicated telephoto lens.
Foundry | Alex Walker-Todd
The main compromise compared to more expensive phones is the chipset. The Galaxy A56 is powered by Samsung’s 4nm Exynos 1580, which the company claims offers 18% better CPU and 16% better GPU performance than the Exynos 1480 in last year’s Galaxy A55.
Unless that leads to a noticeable performance uptick, the phone is likely to be much more at home with everyday tasks than playing demanding games. You shouldn’t have to worry about cooling, though, with a vapour chamber that’s now 45% larger.
While the 5000mAh battery is the same size as the Galaxy A55, charging speeds have been upgraded from 25W to 45W, matching the Galaxy S25 Ultra. However, unlike that device, there’s still no wireless charging.
Foundry | Alex Walker-Todd
It’s the software side that’s particularly impressive on paper, though. The Galaxy A56 runs Samsung’s One UI 7, which is one of the best versions of Android 15 out there.
While you don’t get the full Galaxy AI experience here, Samsung has added several ‘Awesome AI’ features. These include Galaxy S25 features such as Now Brief and AI Select, plus the latest version of Circle to Search and integration with Google Gemini.
If that’s not enough, Samsung is also offering a class-leading six years of both OS and security updates, meaning it should still be safe to use in 2031.
To see what the Galaxy A56 is up against, see our guides to the best mid-range phones and best Samsung Galaxy phones.