Samsung A56 review: 5 things to know about Samsung's mid-field general

Forget Artificial Intelligence, when it comes to Samsung’s latest batch of mid-range phones it’s all about Awesome Intelligence, the name of the AI technology that’s at the heart of this handset range.

At Shortlist, we have a soft spot for the Samsung A Range’s sweet spot. That’s because it's the right balance of affordability and flashiness, something that phone manufacturers are finding harder to achieve, with costs going up and the line between what is a flagship and what isn’t blurring.

The Samsung Galaxy A56 has hit the high street at £499 which comes in £100 cheaper than the Apple iPhone 16e and £50 cheaper than the Nothing 3a (Pro).

To get it to sit below what our resident Cockney calls a ‘monkey’, has Samsung had to compromise? If it has, Shortlist is struggling to find out where.

Here are 5 things to know about the Samsung Galaxy A56 range…

1. The design is slick, stylish

Samsung has opted to make a number of design changes to the A56 range, compared to last year’s A55 handset. The biggest is how the cameras look on the back. There is a triple array that is now in its very own vertical lozenge. Before it was just three separate lenses.

The power button and volume rocker are now raised a little and not flush with the device. It still has its flat fascia, though, which gives it a fantastic premium feel.

As for those all-important colours, Samsung has gone all out with the ‘awesome’ nomenclature. There’s: Awesome Graphite, Awesome Lightgrey, Awesome Olive and Awesome Pink.

2. The display is bigger, better

The display of the Galaxy A56 has been improved, growing from 6.6 inches to 6.7 inches. It’s a bright screen, too, hitting 1,900 nits in direct sunlight.

Given the size of the screen, it’s impressive that Samsung has managed to squeeze it onto a chassis that is both smaller and lighter than previous models.

Using the A56, the screen did well in bright sunshine — yes, I did manage to find some in Blighty — and the decent size was ace for Netflix viewing and Balatro playing.

The only way you can really see that this is a mid-range phone is when you catch a glimpse of the bezel. It will be noticeable if you are normally a flagship user.

3. Cameras have been given a slight upgrade

There are four cameras on the Samsung Galaxy A56. These are the: a 12MP selfie camera on the front; a 50MP wide angle, 12MP ultra wide and a 5MP macro camera on the back.

Manufacturers always go back and forth as to whether to add a macro camera to a device, it’s also usually a toss-up between a macro or a telephoto, but I am happy it has been included here.

The camera option is really fun for nature close-ups and it really reduces camera shake when you are trying to take a picture of something close-up with the thing.

But anyone who has played with the previous model would know this as this camera set-up is very similar to before. The selfie camera is a different and superior lens, though.

Head into the camera app and things have been smartened up, with all the options you need at the bottom and not intruding on the viewfinder/display.

There is a Fun mode in the camera settings, next to Portrait, Photo and Video. This has been part of the A series since 2022 and is the integration of Snap’s augmented reality filters. It does exactly what it says on the tin and is a showcase of the A Series’ playful nature.

The main camera and the ultra wide are decent and detailed — the video mode is extra smooth thanks to some Super HDR goodness. Given they are the same lenses as before, Samsung has to rely on its software upgrades to truly impress, and that’s where the Awesome part of the phone comes in…

4. Samsung’s AI is… Awesome

Samsung has gone big on AI this year — and for good reason, given the ubiquity of the tech right now. While there are full-fat AI options to hand on the A56 — the S range is where these are hiding — Samsung has always had a fairly decent suite of features that have been using AI in some form.

Take the camera — even if the image you take is a bit pap, there’s a number of features that will help improve it.

Its numerous filters are decent and in keeping with Instagram while its Object Eraser is very good at getting rid of unwanted things in your photo and magically backfilling the space.

Motion Photos allows you to select different faces, so you should be able to capture all your mates smiling (except Dave, Dave never smiles). These are all easy to use and take seconds to achieve.

While there are limitations to the amount of AI on board (the Octa-core processor on board is upgraded but not flagship standard), you do also get the likes of Google’s Circle To Search and Smart Select functionality which makes gifs and notes easier to produce and process.

Plus, Samsung’s One UI 7.0 is on board from the off and while I still prefer vanilla Android, Samsung has done well to get its software nearly on a par with the OG Google UI.

5. Battery is big, performance punchy

The battery on the A56 is something of a belter. I used it as my daily driver for a few weeks and there wasn’t once when I had to charge it overnight. It’s 5,000 mAh for those who love a spec, which equated to well over 25 hours’ battery in our tests. Charging was a little sluggish at around 1hr 15 — and the only option to do this is through a wire.

The Exynos 1580 chipset is a decent upgrade from last year’s model and while you need some of this for the bigger screen, it was a joy flicking between binge watching and doom scrolling, gaming and the like.

Samsung Galaxy A56 final verdict

Samsung has hit the sweet spot once again, aiming this A56 right in the middle of the mid-range when it comes to price, but giving the phone a premium look and feel.

It’s a little light on features compared to the flagship S25 range but Samsung has been careful in its cutting, so you don’t notice or at least feel like you are missing out.

The Samsung Galaxy A56 is available now in 256GB | 8GB for £499.

• And here's the rival: iPhone 16e review — A great not-so-cheap budget phone