Samsung Galaxy A56 vs Galaxy A36: Which mid-ranger is the best buy?

Samsung’s Galaxy S range might steal all the plaudits, but signing up to use one of these flagship phones will cost you a good chunk of change. For most people, the company’s Galaxy A series is more than enough.

It spans budget and mid-range price points, meaning for well under half the price of a Galaxy S25 Ultra, you can get yourself a phone that covers all of the same bases – albeit to a lesser degree of accomplishment.

But which Samsung Galaxy A phone is the best buy? The two leading contenders right now are the Samsung Galaxy A56 and the Samsung Galaxy A36.

We’ve reviewed these phones, handing out the same 3.5-star score for both, so there clearly isn’t a lot in it. Let’s take a closer look at what each has to offer.

Do you care about… a premium design?

Looking at the pictures on this feature, you might be struggling to tell these two phones apart. There’s no denying that the Samsung Galaxy A56 and the Galaxy A36 look the same, and they even share similar dimensions.

However, when you go hands-on with both phones, you notice a clear difference in quality. While the Samsung Galaxy A36 employs a plastic frame, the Galaxy A56 (below) goes with aluminium.

This more premium material makes the Galaxy A56 feel more like a Galaxy S flagship phone than its cheaper sibling. If that kind of tactile appeal is important to you, it might be worth splashing out on the nicer model.

Other than this difference in frame composition, the two phones are built just as well as one another. Both use toughened Gorilla Glass Victus+ on the front and rear surfaces, and both feature IP67 dust and water resistance.

There’s not much in it, but the more expensive phone has the slight upper hand.

Winner: Samsung Galaxy A56

Do you care about… reliable performance?

Neither of these phones is a top performer, and gamers on a budget should probably be looking elsewhere for their kicks.

However, the Samsung Galaxy A56 (below) holds a clear performance advantage over the Galaxy A36. The former runs on an Exynos 1560 processor, whereas the latter only has a Snapdragon 6 Gen 3 to rely on.

There’s a roughly 30 percent difference in CPU performance in the Galaxy A56’s favour, and an even bigger 40 percent difference in some GPU tests.

Elsewhere, the Galaxy A56 uses faster UFS 3.1 storage compared to the Galaxy A36’s UFS 2.2.

All together, this results in a noticeably smoother experience on the A56, with the Galaxy A36 coming across as being slightly less consistent than we’d like in some scenarios.

Winner: Samsung Galaxy A56

Do you care about… photography?

Both of these phones use 50Mp f/1.8 main cameras, but look a little closer at that Galaxy A56 spec list. It uses a 1/1.56” sensor, which is larger than the 1/1.96″ sensor of the Samsung Galaxy A36.

There’s an even more pronounced difference between the ultra-wide cameras. While the Galaxy A56 gives you a 13Mp 1/3.06″ sensor, the Galaxy A36 (below) uses a smaller and less pixel-packed 8Mp 1/4.0″ equivalent.

You’ll even find that selfies look better from the Galaxy A56, with its 12Mp 1/2.74″ camera besting the Galaxy A36’s 13Mp 1/3.06″ equivalent.

While both phones are capable of taking nicely crisp and contrasty shots in ideal conditions, the Galaxy A56 has the clear upper hand when it comes to taking clearer, sharper shots.

Those advantages only increase as the light starts to drop, thanks to the larger sensor sizes and the Galaxy A56’s exclusive access to a Nightography feature. The latter combines multiple frames with AI processing to produce clearer night shots.

Winner: Samsung Galaxy A56

Do you care about… above-average battery life?

Both of these phones use 5,000mAh batteries. Given that they run the same One UI software (version 7 at launch, 8 now available) on the same 6.7-inch 120Hz Super AMOLED displays, you might expect identical battery life.

However, in our regular battery benchmark test, the Samsung Galaxy A36 fell 14 percent short of the Samsung Galaxy A56 (below) in terms of longevity.

Evidently, the more expensive phone’s superior processor and memory are running more efficiently, granting it better stamina.

It’s not a night-and-day difference, and you should expect to get a full day on a single charge regardless of which you choose. But for that extra peace of mind, the Galaxy A56 is a safer bet.

Winner: Samsung Galaxy A56

Do you care about… saving money?

If you’re shopping at this mid-range portion of the market, it’s already clear that value for money matters to you. But if you’re minimising expenditure as far as possible, then the Samsung Galaxy A36 is the cheaper of the two.

While pricing for the Samsung Galaxy A56 starts from £499/$499, the Samsung Galaxy A36 will only set you back £399/$399.99. That’s a 20 percent saving.

However, it’s very possible to find deals on both of these phones, given they’re now quite a few months old. This should always be factored into your decision on which to buy.

Winner: Samsung Galaxy A36

Do you care about… having the latest phone?

If your answer is ‘yes’, you shouldn’t buy either of these phones. The Galaxy A36 and A56 both launched back in March 2025, meaning their successors are likely to be announced soon.

Indeed, in December 2025, a leak suggested that both phones would get an earlier-than-usual launch date in February 2026.

Samsung Galaxy A56 vs Galaxy A36: Conclusion

The Samsung Galaxy A56 is a flat-out better phone than the Galaxy A36. It wins on three of the four main categories listed above.

That includes a more premium build, superior performance and an all-around better camera experience. Despite having the same capacity, it also has a slight upper hand on battery life.

However, the price difference goes some way to evening out the playing field. The Galaxy A56 is better, but is it £100/$100 better? Sure, the Galaxy A36 falls short of its brother in a number of respects, but the margin is never huge.

What’s more, the two phones share an awful lot in common, from their basic design to their software and even their displays.

If you can stretch a little further with your budget, then the Samsung Galaxy A56 is clearly the better phone of the two. But the Galaxy A36 might just be the better buy for most people.