Latest news with #A55
Irish Examiner
22-05-2025
- Irish Examiner
Samsung Galaxy A56 5G Review: Another mid-range hit or just playing it safe?
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
Hindustan Times
30-04-2025
- Hindustan Times
Samsung Galaxy A55 5G, Galaxy M16 5G and more get big price cuts in Amazon sale
Samsung has announced exciting deals on several smartphones from its Galaxy A, M, and F series in India. The offer begins on May 1 and applies to select models available online and in retail stores. As a part of the limited-time offer, the Galaxy A55 5G will be priced at ₹26,999, down from ₹42,999. The Galaxy A35 5G, previously ₹33,999, will be available at ₹19,999. Both the Galaxy A55 5G and A35 5G feature a 6.6-inch FHD+ Super AMOLED display with 120Hz refresh rate, IP67 water and dust resistance, and Gorilla Glass Victus+ protection. They include a 50MP main rear camera with OIS, macro and ultra-wide sensors, and front cameras of 32MP (A55) and 13MP (A35). The A55 uses the Exynos 1480 processor, while the A35 runs on the Exynos 1380. Both include a 5000mAh battery with 25W charging. The Galaxy M35 5G includes a 6000mAh battery, 120Hz Super AMOLED display, Gorilla Glass Victus+ screen, and Exynos 1380 processor. It also includes a vapour cooling system. The Galaxy M16 5G and Galaxy F16 5G, both previously listed at ₹15,999, will be priced at ₹10,749. The Galaxy M06 5G and F06 5G, listed earlier at higher prices, will be available at ₹8,199. The Galaxy M16 5G has a 6.7-inch FHD+ Super AMOLED display and is powered by the MediaTek Dimensity 6300 processor. It includes a 50MP main camera, 5MP ultra-wide, and 2MP macro lens. The Galaxy M06 5G uses the same processor and includes a 50MP wide lens and 2MP depth camera. The Galaxy F16 5G offers a Super AMOLED display and a 50MP triple camera. Samsung states it will receive six years of software support. The Galaxy F06 5G features a 6.7-inch HD+ display, the MediaTek Dimensity 6300 processor, 50MP rear and 8MP front cameras. These prices will be effective starting May 1, 2025, and are available via Samsung's official channels, Amazon, Flipkart, and retail outlets.
Yahoo
01-03-2025
- Yahoo
Samsung's midrange Galaxy A56 has AI photo editing and a bump for its buttons
While I naively hoped to see the Galaxy S25 Edge ahead of MWC, that wasn't what I saw last week at Samsung's pre-show briefing. However, what I did see might intrigue many of you: a cheaper slice of Galaxy hardware in the form of the Galaxy A56. It will be available later this year, starting at $499 (or £499 in the UK), which is slightly cheaper than the Pixel 8a when it first appeared. Samsung also announced the Galaxy A36 and A26 today, and they'll start at $399 and $299 respectively. Many of the A series upgrades this year match what we saw from the S25. The A56 is thinner than its predecessor, down to 7.4mm from 8.2mm, while packing a marginally bigger 6.7-inch screen. The bezels, which were usually one of the most prominent visual tells of an A series, have been shaved the device's bezels down further on the A56, too. The hardware has been 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. When I got to handle the A56 briefly, I liked this. Asymmetry aside, it was easier to handle, which was surprising since this was a 6.7-inch device, and I'm more used to 6.3-inch phones. The A56 felt less unwieldy. (Did Samsung's designers read my unhinged editorial on the sides of phones and decide to muddy the waters further? Perhaps.) It's a mixed bag on camera specs this year. The front of the A56 now has a lower-res 12-megapixel selfie camera, while on the back sits an upgraded 12MP ultrawide, 50MP main sensor with an f/1.8 lens and optical image stabilization. There's still a 5MP macro lens for someone out there. Those new cameras feature many of the latest upgrades on the S25 family, including improved image signal processing for better low-light performance, as well as a raft of AI features, including enhanced subject detection in portrait mode. Samsung says the A56 will better recognize sky, skin, faces, hair and grass for improved bokeh effects. Regarding AI-powered image editing, there's also Object Eraser, auto trim for videos and Create Filter, where you can choose an existing image and apply its color and tone to a different photo. You'll also get Best Face, which lets you pick from multiple captures for everyone's best expression, as long as you have motion photos enabled. These aren't new features on smartphones, but their addition brings the midrange A56 closer to the Galaxy S25. Through One UI 7, the A56 gets style flourishes and home screen improvements like the Now bar, notification panel changes and scalable widgets in different shapes and sizes. Samsung also promises six generations of OS updates (up from four on last year's A55) and six years of security updates. As you can tell by now, there aren't any surprises here. The 5,000mAh battery is the same size as the A55's, although the charging speed is now 45W. The company says you can charge the device fully in just over an hour. Samsung has swapped to its own 4nm Exynos 1580 chip, too, with CPU boosts of around 18 percent. The hardware, once again, inches closer to the quality and premium feel of what we typically see on Galaxy S devices. It's peak midrange phone season. The Galaxy A56 goes up against the recently launched iPhone 16e, while rumors suggest Google's Pixel 9a could break cover very soon. Samsung also announced the Galaxy A36 5G and Galaxy A26 5G today, which both have 6.7-inch screens that get as bright as 1,200 nits and refresh at up to 120Hz. They come with One UI 7 as well, including features like Circle To Search that previously launched on pricier phones. Plus, they also feature triple camera systems on the rear with a 50MP main sensor, though their ultrawide setup camera is not as sharp as the A56 at 8MP. Some of the software features, like Best Face, are also reserved for the A56, though you'll still find the updated Object Eraser and Filters on the pair of cheaper handsets. Finally, though the A36 and A26 have the same IP67 rating and 5,000mAh battery as the A56, they'll only pack 6GB of RAM and the A36 uses the Snapdragon 6 Gen 3 processor instead of the Exynos 1580 in the A56. In the UK, the Galaxy A56 will go on preorder on March 2nd and launch on March 19th. It'll come in four 'awesome' (Samsung's wording) colors, Graphite, Olive, Pink and Light Grey. Because nothing screams awesome like a lighter shade of grey. While we do have US pricing, Samsung hasn't shared more precise timing for availability than "later this year." Engadget will be reporting all the latest mobile and smartphone news from MWC 2025 as it happens the week of March 2.
