A first look at Samsung’s new Galaxy A-listers

It didn’t feel like all that long ago I was writing about Samsung’s latest flagship smartphones – the Galaxy S25, S25 Plus and the S25 Ultra – but doesn’t time fly when you’re having fun? A few weeks (just over 5 if you’re counting) after their release, Samsung has revealed this year’s Galaxy A series models in the Galaxy A56 5G, A36 5G and the A26 5G. 

The three models have been officially detailed ahead of Mobile World Congress, which was the launch platform for the Galaxy S series until a few years ago, and they not only usher in some design changes, but they add a little sprinkle of AI for good measure too. 

It’s the Galaxy A56 that’s the most exciting of the three handsets, though if you’re looking for a budget Galaxy phone, the A36 covers that, and that’s even more true of the Galaxy A26. Wondering what they are like and how they compare to the likes of Apple’s mid-range iPhone 16e? Here’s what I thought. 

What’s the Samsung Galaxy A56 like?

Succeeding the Samsung Galaxy A55 is the Galaxy A56. I’ve always quite liked the A series – you get a premium design, a decent amount of power and you spend around half of what you do if you opt for the flagships. It’s one of the reasons I liked the Apple iPhone 16e so much – there’s enough iPhone to whet the appetite, whilst saving a little bit of cash if you’re prepared to forgo some features. 

With the Galaxy A56, there’s a premium design and finish. It’s a great looking phone with an aluminium frame, flat edges, a punch hole camera centralised at the top of the display, and a camera housing neatly tucked into the top left corner on the rear. Sure, there’s nothing particularly standout in the design, but there’s certainly nothing offensive either – it’s lightweight, comfortable in the hand and there’s a lovely big display. 

The A56 is a little slimmer than its predecessor, and it has a larger and brighter screen too with a 6.7-inch Full HD+ Super AMOLED panel offering a 120Hz refresh rate and a peak brightness of 1,200 nits. That’s a lot of screen for the price, and you get that same screen across the Galaxy A36 and A26 too. It’s nowhere near as bright as what you’ll find on devices like the OnePlus 13 that has a 4,500 nits peak brightness, but it’s not bad even for the Galaxy A56’s price range, let alone the price bracket of the other two.

Along with the brighter and larger display, the camera arrangement on the rear has changed from being similar to the Galaxy S series with individual lenses – as it was on the Galaxy A55, to a pill-shaped housing, and there are new colour options too. I was personally a fan of the Awesome Olive Galaxy A56 (which is pictured here), though if you’re not keen on green, there’s also Awesome Pink, Awesome Graphite and Awesome Lightgrey. 

But as with the Galaxy S25 series, it’s the software features where Samsung is hoping the Galaxy A56 will shine. Equipped with what the company is calling Awesome Intelligence, the Galaxy A56 offers a number of AI features from Google’s Circle to Search, which was available on last year’s Galaxy A series, to ‘Best Face’.

The latter is exclusive to the A56 and it helps you get a better group shot with AI selecting everyone’s best face and stitching them into one shot rather than having an almost perfect shot except for old Billy who was blinking. There is also a Low Noise Mode within the 12-megapixel front-facing camera for better selfies on the A56.

Other AI features include Object Eraser, which allows you to remove unwanted objects or people from your shots – it’s not new for phones but it is new for the Galaxy A series, and this one is available across the entire A series, including the A36 and A26. Elsewhere, you’ll find AI Select if you swipe from the right of the screen and tap on the icon, allowing you to draw around anything on your screen for varying functions.

Under the hood, the Samsung Galaxy A56 5G is powered by the Exynos 1580, and it comes with a 5,000mAh battery. But what’s perhaps the most surprising about the battery is that 45W fast charging is supported, which although isn’t the fastest available in Android phones, it’s the fastest Samsung does so it means the Galaxy A series matches the Galaxy S series in this department this year.

What about the Galaxy A36 and the Galaxy A26, then?

The Samsung Galaxy A36 is definitely a little cheaper feeling than the Galaxy A56, but for its price, it’s got a decent build quality and it comes in a nice choice of colours (pictured here in Awesome Lime). I didn’t see the A26 in the flesh so I can’t comment on that one yet. As for the A36 though, it’s identical in design to the A56 in so much as it has the same flat edges, rear camera housing, centralised punch hole camera at the top of the display and the same slim body. It also has the same display at 6.7-inches with a Full HD+ resolution, 120Hz refresh rate and a peak brightness of 1,200 nits, as I previously mentioned.

I preferred the ever so slightly weightier Galaxy A56, which hits the scales at 198g compared to the A36’s 195g, but the A36 has plenty going for it and it should be pretty powerful too with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 6 Gen 3 under its hood. Colour options are Awesome Lavender, Awesome Black, Awesome White and Awesome Lime, with all offering a slight metallic shimmer, compared to the A56’s more serious look.

Both the Galaxy A56 and the A36 have the same 50-megapixel main camera, with an f/1.8 aperture, and they both come with a 5-megapixel macro camera too. Honestly I’m not sure why companies bother with macro lenses but it’s there if taking close ups of flowers and food is your vibe. 

The Galaxy A36 then has an 8-megapixel ultrawide camera, while the Galaxy A56 has a 12-megapixel ultrawide camera. How these perform remains to be seen for now – that’s not something I could test when I saw these devices – but it will be interesting to see if three lenses is still a better option than offering just one decent lens like the Apple iPhone 16e does. As for the Galaxy A26, that has the same 50-megapixel main sensor and the same 8-megapixel Ultra Wide sensor as the A36, but it drops the macro lens to 2-megapixels. 

Like the A56, both the A36 and A26 have a 5,000mAh battery, but only the A36 supports 45W fast charging. 

Samsung Galaxy A56, A36 and A26 price and availability 

The Samsung Galaxy A56 5G costs £499, the Galaxy A36 5G costs £399 and the Galaxy A26 costs £299. All three devices will be available from 19 March with pre-orders from 11 March, and they all come in one model only – 8GB of RAM with 256GB storage.

As mentioned, the Galaxy A56 comes in Awesome Lightgrey, Awesome Graphite, Awesome Olive, and Awesome Pink colour options. The Galaxy A36 comes in Awesome Lavender, Awesome Black, Awesome White, and Awesome Lime, and the Galaxy A26 comes in Black, White, Mint and Peach Pink.

All three devices offer up to six years of OS updates and all three are IP67 water and dust resistant.