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Samsung Galaxy A56 5G Review: Another mid-range hit or just playing it safe?

Samsung Galaxy A56 5G Review: Another mid-range hit or just playing it safe?

Irish Examiner22-05-2025
The Galaxy A50 series has long been a fan favourite in Samsung's mid-range lineup, and the new A56 5G is here to carry the torch. It's positioned as the top-tier A-series device for the year, packing in a refreshed design, an upgraded chipset, and a few notable tweaks like a new selfie camera and improved display brightness. But is that enough to make it stand out in 2025's fiercely competitive mid-range market?
Design and build
Samsung hasn't reinvented the wheel with the A56, but the refinements are welcome. The separate camera lenses have now morphed into a vertically stacked unified camera island, which gives the rear a cleaner, more cohesive look.
The phone features an aluminium frame and Gorilla Glass Victus+ on the back, which makes it durable and helps it feel slightly more premium than last year's A55. I know it comes down to personal preference, but I'm a fan of the flat sides, front, and back, even though rounded edges may feel more comfortable to hold. Of course, most people will use a case anyway, which tends to nullify both the look and feel. I also love the look of the natural brushed aluminium sides, especially the left side, which is clean and minimalist, featuring only the antenna lines and no buttons.
Despite the tougher materials, the A56 is thinner and lighter, making it comfortable. It's still IP67-rated, so you get decent dust and water protection, though it's lagging behind a few rivals that now offer IP68 in similar price brackets.
Display
The A56 sports a 6.7-inch Full HD+ OLED panel, with slimmer bezels allowing the phone to keep a manageable footprint. It's still a 120Hz display, with punchy colours, superb contrast, and HDR10+ support, which adds depth when watching supported content.
Thanks to its high brightness mode of 1,200 nits, I had no trouble reading content on the display. This is a slight improvement over the 1,000 nits on the A55.
Cameras
The triple camera setup on the back consists of a 12MP ultra-wide (f/2.2), a 50MP main (f/1.8, AF, OIS), and a 5MP macro (f/2.4). The front selfie camera has been downgraded from 32MP to a new 12MP sensor. That said, the selfies look great, with decent detail, colours, and wide dynamic range. The main camera performs well in daylight, delivering bright, sharp images. That said, some competitors edge it out in terms of dynamic range and sharpness, especially when shooting portraits or high-contrast scenes.
Low-light performance is good but not class-leading. Clipped highlights and some softness are noticeable, although night mode helps clean up shots. The ultra-wide camera is fine in the daytime, with decent colour accuracy, but it suffers at night. Photos often come out soft, noisy, and underexposed unless you engage night mode.
The macro camera still feels like an afterthought rather than a must-have feature. While it's a step up from the 2MP sensors in many competing phones, it still requires excellent lighting and a steady hand to get usable results. Personally, I'd much prefer a telephoto lens over a low-resolution macro one; it's far more useful in everyday photography.
The 4K video from the main and ultra-wide cameras looks crisp, detailed, and well-stabilised. Night-time video is also better than expected, although highlights can be overexposed.
Performance
Under the hood, Samsung has equipped the A56 with its in-house Exynos 1580 chipset. It has 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage, but Samsung has disappointingly removed microSD card support. I appreciate that not many phones include a microSD card slot these days.
While it doesn't blow the doors off the competition, it's a respectable improvement over the A55's processor. Real-world performance is smooth, and even moderate gaming is handled without major issues. The phone remains cool under stress, but this isn't too surprising for a device with a mid-range chipset. It's not as powerful as some Snapdragon-powered rivals, but it's reliable enough for the average user and benefits from Samsung's efficient software.
Security is handled via an in-display optical fingerprint sensor. It's reliable enough, though not the fastest.
Software
The A56 ships with Android 15 and One UI 7, and Samsung promises six years of software support, matching the longevity offered on its flagships. That's impressive in this price bracket.
You also get a taste of Samsung's AI features, including AI Select and Object Eraser, plus Google's Gemini AI assistant, which is built in. DeX is still missing, as expected, but the inclusion of flagship-grade software tools is a big win.
Battery and charging
The battery remains at 5,000mAh, while the Exynos chip's efficiency helps. Charging speed is up to 45W fast charging, provided you use the right adapter and cable. From 0 to 65% takes around 30 minutes, but a full charge still takes over an hour, which is slower than some rivals.
Verdict
The Galaxy A56 is a solid, well-rounded mid-ranger with a sleek design, quality display, capable cameras and standout software support. It may not lead in every category, but it gets most of the essentials right, and for many, that will be more than enough.
€484 Samsung
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I test mind-boggling 4mm thin Samsung phone that folds in HALF – & it has huge perk your posh iPhone is missing
I test mind-boggling 4mm thin Samsung phone that folds in HALF – & it has huge perk your posh iPhone is missing

The Irish Sun

timea day ago

  • The Irish Sun

I test mind-boggling 4mm thin Samsung phone that folds in HALF – & it has huge perk your posh iPhone is missing

THIS is it. Samsung has finally done it. For years, phone makers have been trying to make foldable phones work. Well, I've been trying out the new Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 for a few weeks – and it actually delivers on the dream. Advertisement 13 The Sun's tech editor Sean Keach has been testing out the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 Credit: Sean Keach / The Sun 13 At a glance, it just looks like a regular mobile Credit: Sean Keach / The Sun 13 But it folds out into a tablet in the blink of an eye Credit: Sean Keach / The Sun Foldable phones are meant to fit in your pocket like a regular mobile, and then fold out to give you a massive screen. The idea is that you get a phone and a tablet in one. But so far, the bulk of these devices have had a load of compromises. The main one? They're usually as thick as tree trunks. Now Samsung has managed to slim down its latest foldable to just 4.2mm thick unfolded. It's shockingly thin. I reckon you could use it as a frisbee if it didn't start at £1,799. Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7, £1,799 or £75 a month And even folded, it's just 8.9mm thick. That's only marginally beefier than the 8.25mm Advertisement Read more on Samsung SAMSUNG GALAXY Z FOLD 7 DESIGN – THE LOOKS If I was using this mobile on the tube, folded over into a smartphone, no one would look twice. It looks just like a regular Samsung phone. There's a line down the side, but you'd ignore it as a design quirk. At the same time, if I unfolded this and lay it out flat on the table, you'd think it was a tablet. There's no visible crease down the middle (unless you tilt it to a sharp angle). It just looks like a regular Samsung slate. You'd probably remark on the svelte side profile, but that's it. And this is the magic to Samsung's new phone. Advertisement Most read in Tech Breaking It doesn't look like a rubbish version of a phone and a similarly dodgy tablet. This looks good no matter which way you're holding it. I'm using the Blue Shadow colour option. It's eye-catching and I really like it – but you might prefer the safer Jetblack or Silver Shadow versions instead. Sun's tech editor shows NEW 4mm thin folding Samsung – & teases 'flip iPhone' too It also comes in a very fresh Mint option but you can only get that directly from Samsung. There's not much else to note on the outside. There's a very prominent camera bump on the back, which is possibly the only disappointing design aspect – but there's no real way around it. If you want top pics, you need big sensors and lenses. Advertisement The exterior smartphone-style screen is a 6.5-inch OLED panel with a 2,520 x 1080-pixel resolution. This is high-end stuff – no scrimping. And inside you've got an enormous 8-inch OLED display with a 2,184 x 1,968-pixel resolution. Again, that's high-end tablet territory. 13 Lay it down while closed and it's only marginally thicker than an iPhone Credit: Sean Keach / The Sun It's still dwarfed by full-size tablets, of course, but this puts it in iPad Mini territory. You're meant to use it for watching telly, or reading an ebook, or playing a video game. Advertisement And when you're just texting or scrolling through Instagram, you'll be fine with the regular mobile display. But ultimately, the choice is yours. Fold and unfold at will. SAMSUNG GALAXY Z FOLD 7 PERFORMANCE & FEATURES – THE POWER AND PERKS Alright, so it looks good – but does it work well? Performance is a non-issue. It has a blisteringly fast Snapdragon 8 Elite processor made by US chip giant Qualcomm. Chuck whatever you like at it – browsing, gaming, the works. Advertisement Computing speed hasn't been an issue on top-end phones for years now, and it's the same story with Samsung's latest mobile. It comes with 256GB of storage as standard, but you can upgrade this. And for memory – that's the active space for whatever you're doing in the moment – you get 12GB, with an option to pay for 16GB. 13 The only thick part of the phone is the hefty rear camera array Credit: Sean Keach / The Sun Advertisement The 16GB is chucked in with 1TB of storage. So it's the storage space you're more likely to be paying for there, as the 12GB of memory will be plenty for most people. Multi-tasking is no problem at all. And because you've got a tablet here, you actually can multitask. You can have several apps open at once. Just drag and drop them from the tray into your desired position. So you could have a YouTube video and your messaging app stacked on top of each other on the left, and a web browser taking up the full right-side of the screen. Advertisement 13 The cameras are impressive and taking stunning snaps Credit: Sean Keach / The Sun That's the sort of thing that simply isn't possible on a regular phone screen. This phone is also running on Google's Android software (albeit skinned with Samsung's own look), so you get access to all of those perks too. That means the vast array of apps on the Google Play Store, and Google's anti-malware protections. Advertisement But you'll also bag access to Google's extremely powerful Gemini AI assistant. SAMSUNG GALAXY Z FOLD 7 – THE KEY SPECS Here's the list of specs you need to know about... Cover display: 6.5 inches (2,520 x 1080 AMOLED) Main display: 8 inches (2,184 x 1,968 AMOLED) Weight: 215 grams Main Camera: Wide (200MP) / Ultra-Wide (12MP) / Telephoto (10MP) Front Cameras: 10MP / 10MP Operating System: Android Battery: 4,400mAh Processor: Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8 Elite Picture Credit: Samsung I've used a load of AI chatbots and virtual helpers, and I've generally been most impressed by Gemini. I love my iPhone, but we've still yet to see the best version of Siri. For instance, I've used Gemini as a the voice chat feature that lets you have a live conversation with it. It's a free tour guide in your pocket. Gemini is powerful, easy to use, and keeps getting smarter. And you can access it at lightning speed just by holding down the lock button on the Galaxy Z Fold 7. Neat. Advertisement If you've used an Android phone before then the whole Galaxy Z Fold 7 interface will feel very familiar. It's very customisable, works based off of apps, and is snappy and performant. 13 When unfolded, the gadget is strikingly thin – at just over 4mm thickness Credit: Sean Keach / The Sun Battery life is great, all things considered. And by all things, I mean having two large and pixel-dense screens plus a phone body that's wafer thin. Samsung has managed to stuff a fairly sizeable 4,400mAh battery inside this thing. You can easily get through a day with this device, which is all that matters. Advertisement And finally, let's talk about the camera. This mobile isn't just for show. The days of foldable phones being just a gimmick seem increasingly to be behind us. 13 You only see the crease on the 8-inch AMOLED tablet display when you're viewing it at an off-angle Credit: Sean Keach / The Sun And that means Samsung has also fitted this mobile with a proper high-end camera that rivals the best. Advertisement Or rather, five cameras. You've got a 10-megapixel one on the front, and another inside when the tablet opens up. And on the back of the phone (usable in all views) is a series of three powerful shooters. That includes a 200-megapixel wide-angle camera, a 12-megapixel snapper for ultra-wide capture, and then a 10-megapixel telephoto lens for zoom. The selfie cameras are fine and capture very respectable snaps. Of course, the real photography comes from the rear camera array, which takes brilliant pics even in rubbish lighting conditions. The pics are sharp, detailed, and colour-accurate. Advertisement And if you're into zooming (always fun!) then you can go right up to 30x. Only 3x is optical zoom (so actual zoom from the camera lens) and then the rest is digital. So you will get a quality drop off the deeper you zoom in – but it's still pretty effective. You won't win any photography awards at 30x zoom, mind. If there was one downside, it would be that I wish the optical zoom was higher – even at 5x. For a high-end smartphone, this feels like a slight misstep. 13 When the phone is flipped open, you can take selfies using the rear camera while enjoying a face preview on the outside screen Credit: Sean Keach / The Sun Advertisement I should also note: there's a preview mode when you're snapping in tablet view. So as you're shooting pics, you can have them appear on the left half of the screen. So you can instantly see if your pic was rubbish and you need to go again. And there's something called Cover Screen Preview. So if you want to take a selfie with the main camera, you can spin the phone around and see your face on the exterior display. Then you can snap yourself easily using that preview, while getting the full heft of the main camera array (which is also facing you, because you've got the phone flipped open as a tablet). Advertisement 13 The phone is very easy to open and close – and it's lightweight in the hand too Credit: Sean Keach / The Sun SAMSUNG GALAXY Z FOLD 7 PRICE – SHOULD YOU BUY IT? It all sounds pretty dreamy, right? Well that's until you get to the checkout. You come crashing down to Earth and realise you're about to spend £1,799 on a phone – or £1,899/£2,149 if you want 512GB or 1TB of storage. Even without any mobile add-ons or interest, the base price divides up to £74.95 a month over two years. Advertisement Even Apple's top iPhone can only be customised up to £1,599 (that's £66.62 a month). Of course, that doesn't fold. 13 Samsung has managed to cram in a fairly large battery, so you'll get through a day of use without much bother Credit: Sean Keach / The Sun And there's not really anything as strikingly thin as this on the foldables market. I've reviewed dozens of mobiles over the years, and it's rare that I'm shocked by a phone. This Samsung mobile wowed me. Advertisement And everyone that I've let hold this thing has been impressed too. I haven't had a single person say: "What's the point?" It's finally thin enough that people get it. It's clearly pocketable. The inner screen has an obvious use. The whole package makes sense. 13 The only giveaway that this is a foldable phone is the gap on the side of the mobile Credit: Sean Keach / The Sun This is the bleeding edge of smartphone design, so it makes sense that it Advertisement If you want a cheaper foldable, Samsung certainly has thriftier options. And rival gadget makers like Google and Huawei have very nice foldables too. But it's impossible to deny that Samsung has crafted something very beautiful here, and it feels special. I can't recommend this mobile to absolutely everyone. It's an expensive device that won't fit in with a lot of budgets. If you're a gadget fan on the Android side of the mobile divide, I've got no doubt you'll love this. I think even Apple die-hards would struggle not to be impressed by Samsung's Galaxy Z Fold 7. Advertisement And if this is just too expensive for you, feel safe in the knowledge that this tech will trickle down. Svelte foldables won't always cost mega money , but breakthroughs like this will always be pricy at first. Samsung has achieved something brilliant here, and phone enthusiasts among you should (and undoubtedly will) consider buying one you've got the spare cash. This device can very effectively replace both your phone and tablet. And so in some ways, that means the price isn't as intense as it might first seem. It's also something that the iPhone hasn't managed – SAMSUNG GALAXY Z FOLD 7 – THE PROS AND CONS Here's what you need to know... Pros: Thin enough to function as a phone and a tablet Looks brilliant – a real showstopper Powerful processor, great camera, and stunning displays A multi-tasking powerhouse Cons: Very expensive for most people Large camera bump Optical zoom could be better There are loads of times during a day where I'm using my phone and wish it had a tablet-sized screen, but I can't be bothered to pull my actual tablet out of my bag. Advertisement This solves that issue with ease. And for some phone fans, that'll make the price feel bang on. The Sun says: A foldable phone to convert the doubters – Samsung has crafted an impossibly thin (and endlessly tempting) super-phone that comfortably doubles as a tablet. It's a top buy, if you can afford it. 4.5/5 Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7, £1,799 or £75 a month 13 This is a brilliant example of how useful foldable phones can really be Credit: Sean Keach / The Sun Advertisement All prices in this article were correct at the time of writing, but may have since changed. Always do your own research before making any purchase.

Final warning for 40million Brits as major mobile brand to DELETE accounts in days unless users act now
Final warning for 40million Brits as major mobile brand to DELETE accounts in days unless users act now

The Irish Sun

time2 days ago

  • The Irish Sun

Final warning for 40million Brits as major mobile brand to DELETE accounts in days unless users act now

A MAJOR mobile brand has warned that it will offload all of its inactive accounts at the end of the month. The 2 Samsung has sent emails to users who the company believes have inactive accounts Credit: Samsung So, if you haven't used your Samsung account in a while - it's best you do so now. The phone maker is having a big clear out of its Galaxy user accounts , which are used to access apps such as the Galaxy Store and Samsung's native apps like Health and Galaxy Wearables. On 31 July, Samsung will delete Galaxy accounts that haven't been accessed in 24 months - or two years. Samsung has sent emails to users who the company believes have inactive accounts. READ MORE ON SAMSUNG The warning message issued to users reads: "Samsung is implementing an inactive Samsung account policy to protect the data of users who have not used their account for an extended period of time. "Once this policy is implemented Samsung accounts that have not been logged in to or used for twenty-four months will be considered inactive and will be subject to deletion." It means some mobile users may lose their account data - anything from their step count to apps they paid for. Once the data has been deleted, it will not be recoverable. Most read in Tech Users need to log into their Samsung Galaxy account just once in the past 24 months - or between now and the 31 July - to save their accounts. If you're unsure whether your account is at risk, check the email the account is tied to. Receiving Samsung's warning message likely indicates that your account has been inactive for nearly 24 months and should be While Samsung Galaxy accounts can sometimes be tied to a Google account, the Google account will not be affected by the shutdown. Google announced a similar change in 2023, warning account holders that if their profiles hadn't been accessed in two years then they would be deleted. Inactive accounts tend to be jackpots for hackers, so it is wise to delete them in order to protect user data. How to save your Samsung account Simply log into your Samsung account before 31 July. This will mark the account as active to Samsung, and spare it from deletion. Galaxy users who haven't logged in for a while should receive an email from Samsung notifying them of the change. Though, as 2 Users need to log into their Samsung Galaxy account just once in the past 24 months - or between now and the 31 July - to save their accounts Credit: Getty Images - Getty

Honor 400 Pro tested to see can it replace high-end phone costing twice as much
Honor 400 Pro tested to see can it replace high-end phone costing twice as much

Irish Daily Mirror

time6 days ago

  • Irish Daily Mirror

Honor 400 Pro tested to see can it replace high-end phone costing twice as much

I tested the €799 Honor 400 Pro for a few weeks as my main smartphone to see if it could replace the high-end flagships that can cost twice as much. I placed my SIM in the gorgeous looking handset and used it as my primary Android device, for everything from calls and messaging apps to web browsing, video streaming and a bit of casual gaming. The 400 Pro highlights what an important international player the firm is on the Android landscape as it introduced a fun new Gemini AI tool, Image to Video (based on Google's Veo 3 software), before both Google and Samsung. READ MORE: Honor 400 Lite review: premium iPhone styling and excellent battery life for less than €300 Honor has been growing steadily in popularity in the Irish market in recent years, and its smartphones can now be snapped up at all the main network operator stores as well as SIM-free outlets such as Harvey Norman. The firm now has an authorised Irish repair centre at Fonfix, giving consumers peace of mind that they are able to get the same after-sales service as customers of more established brands such as Apple and Samsung. Honor 400 Pro smartphone (Image: Mark Kavanagh) This may do a lot to persuade potential customers to take a chance on a top-notch flagship such as Honor Magic 7 Pro that was released earlier this year. Or it could instill confidence to be tempted by a foldable such as the Magic V3 over better known rivals such as Pixel 9 Pro Fold or Galaxy Z Fold 6. But despite this, Honor's biggest impact in the Irish market so far has been in the mid-range and budget sectors and that's no surprise given the quality of the products it has been releasing in those segments. Honor 400 Pro costs less than €800 if you buy it outright - at Harvey Norman and elsewhere you can do this by spreading the cost out over the year without tying yourself to a lengthy network operator contract. The phone, incidentally, is available from free on Tesco BillPay and Tesco Mobile if you prefer to buy your handsets that way. Honor 400 Pro in everyday use For the average consumer, Honor's mid-range marvel will take care of all of their everyday needs with flagship style finesse. I can say this with conviction because the 400 Pro was enough for a heavy productivity hound such as me throughout my period of intensive testing. Honor 400 Pro smartphone camera system (Image: Mark Kavanagh) The camera system is especially pleasing. You get a 200MP primary camera with a large 1/1.4in sensor and f/1.9 aperture flanked by a 12MP f/2.2 ultra-wide camera with autofocus and a 50MP 68mm telephoto camera with optical image stabilisation and 3x optical zoom. The 400 Pro also introduces a fun new AI feature Image to Video that can animate stills with occasionally dramatic effect. It's a great talking point and all my friends and family had strong opinions on it, both positive and negative. You get the same excellent Studio Harcourt portrait effects that debuted with the Honor 200 series and look as stunning as ever. Honor 400 Pro can capture video at up to 4K resolution and 60 frames per second (fps) on the main and telephoto cameras, while the ultrawide and 50MP f/2.0 selfie cameras are capped at 4K 30 fps. The camera module sports a refreshing new design, sitting off-centre with a polished frame that ramps up around the triple lens array which are positioned in a triangular layout. The unit is powered by the 2024 top-end Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip and 12GB RAM, which is more than enough power for multitasking and running the latest graphically intensive games. In everyday use you get smooth and responsive performance even when multitasking or working across two apps on split-screen. Gaming is well catered for too. Honor 400 Pro will run any AAA title you wish on the highest graphics settings with relative ease. Honor 400 Pro smartphone runs MagicOS 9 (Image: Mark Kavanagh) Honor 400 Pro runs the firm's imperfect but improving MagicOS 9 software atop Android 15 and it comes with lots of AI tricks and tools such as the ground-breaking Gemini Image To Video feature which was released globally first on this phone. Choose any image in your gallery and Gemini AI will transform it into a five-second video. On top of all this is a dazzling 6.7in AMOLED display with 2800x1280 FHD+ resolution, a 120Hz refresh rate and a peak brightness of 5000 nits when viewing HDR content. The screen also boasts the firm's renowned eye care features. Colours appear accurate, along and you will marvel at the exceptional contrast from the AMOLED panel. I love the design and build and the phone sits comfortably in the hand and screams premium just like a flagship. It reminds me a little of Huawei's flagship Pura 70 Pro. The 400 Pro has a quad-curved design on the front and glass back, with gently curved plastic rails on the sides. Despite the plastic frame, it still looks premium and it feels robustly made. Durability is not an issue and you get both IP68 and IP69 ratings for dust and water resistance. The relatively light 205g weight is a plus point. My review unit was Midnight Black but it's also available in Lunar Grey. Other Honor 400 Pro features (Image: Mark Kavanagh) Honor 400 Pro sports pleasing stereo speakers. In Ireland, it comes with 512GB of storage as standard. The 5300mAh silicon-carbon battery will last for two days for most users. And if you do run out sooner, fear not as the device supports insane 100W wired charging and 50W wireless charging. Another big plus is the firm now promises six years of major OS upgrades and six years of security patches. On the downside, the Magic OS Android software does not feel as smooth and slick as the operating systems on Google, Oppo and Samsung but I suspect only a tech reviewer such as me is likely to notice its minor shortcomings. Honor 400 Pro verdict Honor's great run continues on a solid smartphone performer with an impressive feature-set. Honor 400 Pro can do all the essentials for a reasonable price. You get a speedy chip, stylish design, pleasing camera hardware, flagship-grade AI tools, excellent battery and superfast charging. It's a direct competitor to similarly priced phones such as Oppo's Reno 13 Pro (which uses a MediaTek Dimensity 8350 chip) and Apple's iPhone 16e (which only has one camera). It's easy after testing to see why Honor 400 Pro has become the firm's fastest selling smartphone in Ireland (and elsewhere). Honor 400 Pro pricing and availability Honor 400 Pro costs €799 from Harvey Norman. It's also available from Three and Tesco Mobile. 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