TL;DR
- Screen & stamina: identical – both wield a 6.7-in FHD+ 120 Hz Super AMOLED and a 5 000 mAh battery, so you won’t see a difference here.
- Build quality: A56 swaps the A36’s plastic rear for glass on the same aluminium chassis – feels pricier and adds just 3 g.
- Camera edge: Bigger 1/1.56″ 50 MP sensor + 12 MP ultrawide and extra AI tricks (Best Face, selfie Nightography) give the A56 cleaner, brighter shots.
- Power gap: Samsung Exynos 1580 outpaces Snapdragon 6 Gen 3 in gaming and heavy multitasking.
If you’re eyeing up one of Samsung’s latest mid-range phones, chances are you’re choosing between the Galaxy A56 and A36. So, how do they stack up?
Launched in March 2025, the Samsung Galaxy A56, A36 and A26 are the latest entries in Samsung’s ongoing A-series lineup. They bring upgrades across the board, including brighter screens, sharper cameras and the debut of ‘Awesome Intelligence’, a scaled-down version of Galaxy AI found on Samsung flagships.
The question is, which should you buy? To help you decide which is best for your needs, we’ve highlighted a few key differences between the Galaxy A56 and A36 right here.
Price and availability
The Samsung Galaxy A56 is the more expensive of the two mid-rangers, starting at £499/$499 with 256GB of storage.
The Samsung Galaxy A36, on the other hand, comes in at £399/$399 with matching 256GB of storage, making it £100/$100 cheaper than its sibling.
Both were released at the end of March 2025, and as such, are readily available to buy at retailers around the world.
The Galaxy A56 and A36 are made from different materials
When it comes to design, the Galaxy A56 and A36 are very similar.
Both phones feature the same vertical camera module, flat edges and punch-hole selfie cameras. The two phones also feature the same 6.7-inch FHD+ Super AMOLED Display with matching 120Hz refresh rates and very close weights and dimensions (the A36 weighs 3g less).
It’s when it comes to materials that the two smartphones diverge. While the Galaxy A36 sports a combination of an aluminium frame and plastic rear, the Galaxy A56 offers the same aluminium frame and glass rear as the flagship Galaxy S25.
This helps the latter feel a little more premium in the hand, and explains where the additional 3g in weight comes from.
Another area they differ in is finish. The Galaxy A56 is available in Awesome Lightgray, Awesome Graphite, Awesome Olive, and Awesome Pink with a more consistent finish, whereas the A36 comes in Awesome Lavender, Awesome Black, Awesome White, and Awesome Lime, the latter of which has a reflective rainbow finish.
The Galaxy A56 benefits from more camera upgrades
If you’re looking for the best possible camera, the Galaxy A56 has the edge here.
You might assume that, with the A56 and A36 sporting a 50MP primary camera, they’d be identical, but that’s not the case. The A56’s 1/1.56-inch sensor is larger than the A36’s 1/1.96-inch sensor, which should translate to more light and crisper details overall.
The A56 also has the edge in the ultrawide department, thanks to its higher-resolution, 12MP ultrawide camera. Comparatively, the A36 features an 8MP ultrawide camera.
Both sport the same 5MP macro lens, but it likely won’t be used all that often.
The two phones also take advantage of handy AI capabilities, including Samsung’s fantastic Object Eraser that removes photobombers, and AI filters that extract colours and styles from existing photos to match the mood.
However, the Galaxy A56 includes a couple more AI tools, including Best Face, which selects and combines faces from multiple shots to create the perfect group photo. The A56 also includes an enhanced Nightography mode, as Low Noise Mode is now available on the selfie camera for better low-light shots.
The Galaxy A56 is powered by the Exynos 1580 chipset
When it comes to performance, the Galaxy A56 is powered by Samsung’s Exynos 1580, whereas the Galaxy A36 runs on Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 6 Gen 3 platform.
Both phones feature a larger vapour chamber for improved performance and smoother gaming, however you’ll have to wait for our full reviews of the two phones to learn how they compare in our benchmarking tests and real-world experience.
Both are only available in a single storage option
Unlike other smartphones that come in various storage configurations to suit different kinds of users, the Galaxy A56 and A36 ditch this trend entirely – in the UK and US, at least.
Both smartphones come with a rather generous 256GB of storage as standard, which should be more than enough for the vast majority of users. However, without the inclusion of a microSD card slot, you won’t be able to expand storage once you hit your limits.
Early verdict
The Samsung Galaxy A56 and A36 may look nearly identical on the surface, but look a little closer and you’ll notice small but meaningful differences between the two.
It’s clear that the more premium Galaxy A56 has the edge here, with a more premium glass and aluminium design, higher-res cameras with larger sensors and faster performance.
However, the Galaxy A36 isn’t that far behind, and with a matching 6.7-inch 120Hz AMOLED screen and 5000mAh battery, could still represent a solid buy for those whose budget can’t stretch beyond £400/$400.
That said, we’ll save our final thoughts until we’ve fully put both phones through their paces.