Galaxy A36 and A56 expected features, prices, specs, and upgrades
The Galaxy A56 and Galaxy A36 will be Samsung's new mid-range phones for 2025, following up this year's models. Much like this year, we don't expect the pricier A56 to make an appearance in the US market.
Given the immense amount of time we have left before the either of these Samsung mid-rangers get announced, it is not surprise that information about them is scarce.
The only rumour nugget we have to go on right now comes from a leaked Geekbench report that reveals what might potentially be the Galaxy A56's chipset, or otherwise said the Exynos 1580. The leak shows the alleged performance of the chipset and its characteristics.
For every other detail about the Galaxy A56 and A36 we will have to rely on speculation and logic, as well as what we saw from the 2024 equivalents.
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Galaxy A56 and A36 release date
Mid-March has traditionally been the time when Samsung announces its Galaxy "A" series. However, the actual release date for the US is usually a month later, in April. For that reason, expect the Galaxy A36 to be released sometime in April, 2025.
For the EU, the release schedule is different. Typically, Samsung releases both Galaxy A models in the same month, so we expect both the Galaxy A56 and the Galaxy A36 to become available for purchase in the EU sometime in March, 2025.
| Device family | Announcement | Market release |
|---|---|---|
| Galaxy A56 and A36 | Mid-March, 2025* | March/April of 2025* |
| Galaxy A55 and A35 | March 11, 2024 | March 15, 2024 (April 18 for the US) |
| Galaxy A54 and A34 | March 15, 2023 | March 24, 2023 (April 6 for the US) |
Galaxy A56 and A36 price
We have zero reason to believe Samsung will introduce any massive price hikes to its Galaxy A series in 2025. Any higher price would start encroaching too close into higher mid-range territory of the Galaxy FE series and similar models from the competition.
For that reason, we expect the Galaxy A36 to cost $400, just like the Galaxy A35. Whether the base variant remains 128GB is unclear, but we have a decent reason to suspect a bump from 6GB to 8GB of RAM.
Even if the prices do go slightly up, we fully expect to see various trade-ins and promotional offers from both Samsung itself, as well as major carriers. Samsung tends to throw in some sweet deals whenever it launches one of its more popular phones, with bundle deals including an accessory like Galaxy Buds or even a Galaxy Watch.
| Model | Starting price |
|---|---|
| Galaxy A56 | ----/£439/€479* |
| Galaxy A36 | $399/£339/€345* |
| Galaxy A55 | ----/£439/€479 |
| Galaxy A35 | $399/£339/€345 |
| Galaxy A54 | $449/£449/€459 |
| Galaxy A34 | $246/£349/€325 |
* - anticipated prices
Galaxy A56 and A36 camera
At a first glance, the Galaxy A5x and A3x series from Samsung have one major benefit compared to their competition—their triple camera system at the back. That being said, one of these cameras is a rather unusable macro lens that many simply ignore. So, the truth is that we can't really say having three cameras is a benefit for either of the two models.
What we are hoping to see with next generation is a 2X telephoto camera replacing the macro snapper on the pricier Galaxy A56. That is mere wishful thinking on our part, though, and there is nothing to suggest of such an upgrade just yet.
As for the Galaxy A36, if we are to guess based on its predecessor, its camera performance should be very similar to the more expensive Galaxy A56. At least that's how it is for the A35 and A55 this year, probably because Samsung wants the Galaxy A3x series to hold its own given it is now the sole mid-range offer in the US
The one leak we have to go on shows what might be a Galaxy A56 with 8GB of RAM. 8GB is the minimum amount of memory required for a Samsung phone to support Galaxy AI, which could mean camera improvements via the use of artificial intelligence. If the A56 gets this upgrade, there is a good chance the Galaxy A36 will too.
Galaxy A56 and A36 storage
The Galaxy A5x and A3x have so far come with 128GB and 256GB storage variants, and we don't foresee that changing with the Galaxy A56 and A36 next year. Higher storage will most likely be reserved for pricier models like the Fan Edition series or one of the Galaxy S flagships.
Memory is the only area where we can expect a slight bump from 6GB to 8GB, as already mentioned. Fingers crossed some of the specs revealed by the supposed A56 Geekbench results are also shared by the A36.
Galaxy A55 and A35 storage capacity:
- 128 GB
- 256 GB
Galaxy A56 and A36 expected storage capacity:
- 127 GB
- 256 GB
Galaxy A56 and A36 design
This year Samsung introduced some design changes to its A series in the form of a slight bump where the volume buttons are. The company also equipped the A55 with an aluminum frame and a more durable glass back panel. So, considering these recent changes, we don't expect any major visual overhauls for the A56 and A36.
There is some possibility that the Galaxy A36 adopts some of those more premium materials, such as an aluminum frame, for example, but we wouldn't bet on that as it would mean a needless increase in production cost.
As far as colors go, we still don't have any idea what the Galaxy A56 and A36 hues will be, but here are the ones we saw with the 2024 A series:
Galaxy A55 and A35 colors:
- Iceblue
- Lilac
- Navy
- Lemon
Galaxy A56 and A36 display
Samsung reduced the bezel size, added more durable glass, and introduced variable display refresh rate with the 2024 A series. What both mid-rangers are lacking and what we hope to see from the Galaxy A56 and A36 next year is higher brightness levels.
We managed to measure about 930 nits of brightness on both the A55 and A35 during our display lab tests. Compared to the rest of the market, that is quite a low value.
Besides a higher brightness we don't expect to see any changes to the displays on either the A56 or A36. That would mean 6.6-inch screens with 1080 x 2340 pixels, Corning Gorilla Glass Victus+ for protection, 120Hz variable refresh rate, and HDR10+ support.
Galaxy A56 and A36 battery
We were a bit disappointed to see the A35 having lower battery life compared to its predecessor in our battery life tests this year, and that's with an increase in capacity to 5,000mAh. So, what we are hoping for here is Samsung working on the power efficiency and making use of that massive battery with the A36.
The A55 fared much better, with slight improvements over the previous generation, but that doesn't mean we can't hope for more with the Galaxy A56, even though Samsung will probably stick to the same 5,000mAh capacity for both phones.
The 25W of wired charging most likely won't change either, but we are really hoping that Samsung finally introduces wireless charging, if not on both then at least on the A56. Lots of users complained about the A55 not having wireless charging, and that's an obvious and easy way to upgrade the future generation.
Galaxy A56 and A36 features and software
By the time the Galaxy A56 and A36 come out Android 15 will have been launched, so both phones should come with it preinstalled.
Like these "major" OS updates tend to be nowadays, Android 15 brings generally small changes, some of which are:
- Satellite support — users will be able to connect to satellite networks and send messages through them. This includes developing a user-friendly interface and allowing messaging apps to utilize satellite connections.
- Sensitive notifications — users will be able to decide how sensitive information is displayed on their device, whether it's on the lock screen, in notifications, or only when the phone is unlocked. They can also control how much interaction is allowed with these notifications and even mark specific notifications as sensitive for extra privacy protection.
- Bluetooth Popup Dialog Enhancements — the popup that appears when you turn on Bluetooth will now offer more options. Users can access shortcuts to Bluetooth settings, quickly approve or deny Bluetooth actions, and potentially other new features.
- App Archiving — this feature allows users to save space by temporarily storing unused apps without losing their data or updates. Archived apps can be easily restored at any time.
- In-app camera controls — the new update will allow users to adjust the intensity of the flash for both photo and flashlight use. This feature is designed to improve photo quality in low-light conditions.
...and more
As for Galaxy AI features, for now it remains unclear whether the new chipsets expected to come with the Galaxy A56 and A36 will support any.
The software support time window should be the same as with the A55 and A35, which is four years of Android OS upgrades and five years of security updates.
Galaxy A56 and A36 hardware and specs
Most of the time, it is exactly through leaked Geekbench results that we get to find out a phone's specs (at least partially) long before its release. It is exactly thanks to such a leak that we might have found out what performance to expect from the Galaxy A56 next year.
The Geekbench listing shows the potential specs of the Exynos 1580 chip, which is the logical successor to the Exynos 1480 in the Galaxy A55. The results show a 1,046 points in Geekbench single-core, and 3,678 points in the multi-core test for the new chip.
Keep in mind that those numbers are very prone to change, as even if it was a Galaxy A56 prototype that was being tested, it would be a very early one. As Samsung takes its time to optimize the chip with time, it can easily show different results in the future.
Here's how these supposed A56 Geekbench results compare to last year's A55:
| Test | Galaxy A56 | Galaxy A55 |
|---|---|---|
| Single-core | 1163 | 1046 |
| Multi-core | 3487 | 3678 |
As for the Galaxy A36 hardware, we unfortunately don't have any news just yet, but it is highly likely we will also see a new chipset for it.
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