Samsung Galaxy A56 vs A55 vs A54: Breaking down the evolution in Samsung’s mid-range series
Intro
Samsung's Galaxy A5x series has been a reliable mid-range option for years. The Galaxy A56 brings notable improvements in performance, display brightness, and charging speeds, making it a bigger step up compared to the A55 and A54.
Design-wise, Samsung introduced one small change to its mid-ranger's look by tweaking the camera module. Speaking of the cameras, they are—once again—mostly unchanged, so no telephoto camera in place of the macro shooter.
Galaxy A56 vs Galaxy A55 vs Galaxy A54 differences:
| Galaxy A56 | Galaxy A55 | Galaxy A54 |
|---|---|---|
| Much faster and more power-efficient Exynos 1580 processor | Exynos 1480 processor | Exynos 1380 processor |
| Aluminum frame | Aluminum frame | Plastic frame |
| 6.7" display with higher brightness | 6.6" display with okay brightness levels | 6.4" display with okay brightness levels |
| $499 starting price (Available in the USA) | £439 / €479 starting price (Not available in the USA) | £449 / €459 starting price (Was available in the USA) |
| Comes with 3 cameras at the back, 50MP wide, 12MP ultra-wide, 5MP macro | Comes with 3 cameras at the back, including a 50 MP wide, 12 MP ultra-wide, 5 MP macro | Comes with 3 cameras at the back, including a 50 MP wide, 12 MP ultra-wide, 5 MP macro |
| 8GB base RAM | 6GB base RAM | 4GB base RAM |
| 5,000 mAh battery | 5,000 mAh battery | 5,000 mAh battery |
| Awesome Intelligence | No AI | No AI |
Also read:
Samsung has reached a comfortable design
You can clearly see the increase in size when you place the three generations next to each other. | Image by PhoneArena
The Galaxy A54 introduced a new look in 2023, dropping the camera island and adopting a similar look to Samsung's more recent flagship phones. Then the Galaxy A55 improved upon that redesign by dropping the plastic frame for an aluminum one, which gave it a more premium feel.
Samsung also introduced a slight bump where the volume and power buttons are, making its A55 series stand out even more from previous generations..
With the Galaxy A56, the new incremental design change is with the camera module. The three cameras at the back are not unified under a single bar, making them look a lot like a stoplight. Honestly, it feels like one of those changes simply to make the new model stand out from the older ones.
Durability-wise, Samsung has kept the same dust and water resistance with an IP67 rating.
The main colors you will find the three models in:
| Galaxy A56 | Galaxy A55 | Galaxy A54 |
|---|---|---|
| Lightgray | Iceblue | Graphite |
| Pink | Lilac | Violet |
| Graphite | Navy | White |
| Olive | Lemon | Lime |
The A56's thinner body makes the previous to models look outdated by modern standards. Image by PhoneArena
The A5x series has seen a steady increase in screen size over the past three generations. The Galaxy A54 featured a 6.4-inch display, followed by a slightly larger 6.6-inch screen on the A55. However, the Galaxy A56 takes a bigger leap, boasting a 6.7-inch display.
And while the maximum brightness stayed the same between the A54 and A55, the company finally increased it with the A56—something we confirmed in our display tests.
Display Measurements:
Not much has changed as far as customizing your display. Image by PhoneArena
The Galaxy A56 has a considerably higher display brightness at 100% APL compared to the A55 and A54. And, indeed, we had an easier time using it under direct sunlight.
Performance and Software
The main focus
The A56 is a much bigger performance jump compared to the A55. | Image by PhoneArena
The chipsets are typically the main component that Samsung upgrades when it comes out with a new Galaxy A5x phone. The Galaxy A54 came with the Exynos 1380 and the A55 from got the Exynos 1480. The A56 continues this trend, with the Exynos 1580 as its processor.
The Exynos 1580 comes with a much better CPU consisting of 8 cores: one Cortex-A720 core clocked at 2.9GHz, three more Cortex-A720 cores at 2.6GHz, and four energy-efficient Cortex-A520 cores at 1.95GHz. It also has a AMD Xclipse 540 GPU, which Samsung says is 37% faster and 20% more power efficient than the previous generation.
In other words, we expect the A56 to be a substantially more powerful phone compared to its latest predecessors, especially if we consider the of 8 GB of memory.
The performance gains with the Exynos 1580 are more pronounced in the graphics department, where the chip excels compared to the previous two generations. So, if you are planning on playing mobile games or using video/photo editing software, that's great news.
Storage remains the same, however, with 128GB and 256GB options.
As for software, we highly doubt that Samsung will give the A5x more than the usual four years of major OS updates. As with the A55 and A54, the Galaxy A56 will also launch with the latest version of Android and Samsung's One UI skin on top, which in this case would be Android 15 and One UI 7.
And as for AI, Samsung will surely give the same Galaxy AI features it introduced to the previous two generations, although we might also see one or two new ones that are currently exclusive to the S24 FE and the flagship S24 series.
Camera
We need an update, and no macro!
The new model introduces... a downgrade? | Image by PhoneArena
The Galaxy A56 comes with the same camera system as its two predecessors, which means: a 50 MP main camera with an f/1.8 aperture, 1/1.56" sensor size and OIS; a 12 MP ultra-wide with an f/2.2 aperture, 1/3.06" sensor size, and a 123˚ field of view; and a useless 5 MP macro camera.
Suffice it to say, Samsung is slacking as far as camera upgrades go.
PhoneArena Camera Score:
Just like with its latest flagship series, Samsung's new mid-ranger performed worse in our camera lab tests compared to last year's models. The difference is mainly noticeable with the main and ultra-wide cameras.
Sample Photos
The Galaxy A56 seems to be bringing out more from the shadows compared to the A55 and A54. When it comes to color accuracy, though, in some cases the A54 does a better job, whereas the newer models have a green tint to their images.
Video Quality
Even though it still takes a while, the Galaxy A56 manages to handle tricky lighting like the high-contrast scenario in the beginning of our video sample. The A55 is the worst performer here, mainly because it constantly tried to readjust the exposure, resulting in a rather unpleasant "pulsating" image. The A54 simply couldn't expose well neither for the subject nor for the background.
Video stabilization seems to be mostly the same between the three phones, or if there are any differences—they are negligible.
Battery Life and Charging
Waiting for that wireless charging support
Image by PhoneArena
The Galaxy A55 and A54 both came with a 5,000 mAh battery capacity, and so does the Galaxy A56.
Charging is where we see the most drastic upgrade with the latest model, with the A56 capable of 45W wired charging, just like the Galaxy S25 Plus and S25 Ultra. That's a lot more than the 25W on the previous models.
PhoneArena Battery and Charging Test Results:
While its camera system seems to have degraded, at least the Galaxy A56's battery life seems to have improved over the A55 and A54. Our battery testing gave the new Samsung mid-ranger 30 minutes more, mainly thanks to the phone's better performance during our Web Browsing Video Streaming test where it lasted about an hour more.
Specs Comparison
You can check out our full Galaxy A56 vs Galaxy A55 vs Galaxy A54 specs page, but here's a quick overview:
| Specs | Galaxy A56 | Galaxy A55 | Galaxy A54 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Size, weight | 162.2 x 77.5 x 7.4 mm, 198 gr | 161.1 x 77.4 x 8.2 mm, 213 g | 158.2 x 76.7 x 8.2 mm, 202 g |
| Screen | 6.7" Super AMOLED 1080 x 2340 resolution 120Hz refresh rate 1200 nits brightness Corning Gorilla Glass Victus+ | 6.6" Super AMOLED 1080 x 2340 resolution 120Hz refresh rate 1000 nits brightness Corning Gorilla Glass Victus+ | 6.4" Super AMOLED 1080 x 2340 resolution 120Hz refresh rate 1000 nits brightness Corning Gorilla Glass 5 |
| Processor | Exynos 1580 4nm | Exynos 1480 4nm | Exynos 1380 5nm |
| RAM, Storage | 8/128 GB 8/256 GB LPDDR5 | 6/128 GB 6/256 GB LPDDR5 | 6/128 GB 6/256 GB LPDDR5 |
| Cameras | 50MP main 12MP ultra 5MP macro 12MP front | 50MP main 12MP ultra 5MP macro 32MP front | 50MP main 12MP ultra 5MP macro 32MP front |
| Battery | 5000 mAh | 5000 mAh | 5000 mAh |
| Charging | USB-C 45W wired No wireless | USB-C 25W wired No wireless | USB-C 25W wired No wireless |
- You can also use PhoneArena's tool for additional Android phone comparisons.
Summary
Image by PhoneArena
A pleasant surprise this year is the Galaxy A56's return to the US, with a starting price of $499. But the truth of the matter is that it feels uninspired. If it wasn't for the much faster charging speed and processor, it would generally be the same phone.
There is little reason to recommend the new Galaxy A56 to A55 and even A54 owners if they don't need the performance gains. That's not to say it is a bad device. If you are looking for a good mid-ranger it's not a bad pick. Although, there are better options out there, like the OnePlus 13R or the Google Pixel 9a that go for a similar price.
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