2 min readApple isn’t the only one looking to launch a fresh bid for the attention of cash-strapped Aussies these days, with Samsung’s new Galaxy A devices slated to arrive in late March.
The new Galaxy A56 and Galaxy A36 come with a fresh look (and a handful of new AI-powered tricks) but mostly hew to the formula set out by last year’s Galaxy A55 and Galaxy A35. An echo of this year’s Galaxy S25 devices, the Galaxy A56 and Galaxy A36 boast a revised design and a slimmer form-factor. All told, the A56 is 14g lighter than its predecessor while the A36 offers a 15g reduction on its 2024 counterpart.
Those grams aren't the only subtraction here. For the first time, Samsung's latest set of budget-friendly smartphones are slated to drop support for expandable storage via MicroSD.
According to Samsung, the main driver of this decision is a lack of usage by consumers. The company claimed that the use of this feature represented less than 1% of Galaxy A35 and Galaxy A55 users. As something of a make-good, Samsung is looking to launch a 256GB version of the A56 in Australia this year. This will be priced priced $100 higher than its 128GB counterpart at $799.
In any case, both the Galaxy A56 and Galaxy A36 come with Gorilla Glass protection on the front, an IP67 rating against water and dust damage and six years of operating system updates. The Galaxy A56 and Galaxy A36 also share with support for 45W fast-charging, though neither includes the kit to take advantage of that capability in the box.
Since both devices come with the same 6.7-inch Super AMOLED screen clocked at 120Hz, 8GB of RAM and 5000mAh battery, the most notable spec difference between the two devices is the processor. On that fron, the Galaxy A56 runs on the Exynos 1580 and the Galaxy A36 is powered by the Snapdragon 6 Gen 3 CPU. We'll have to reserve our judgement until our full review to issue a verdict on just how significant that specific spec difference will end up being.
There’s also a slight deviation in the dual-lens rear camera setup between the Galaxy A56 and Galaxy A36. Both devices come kitted out with a 50MP main lens. However, the Galaxy A56 comes with a 12MP ultrawide lens while the A36 has to make do with an 8MP one.
Naturally, Samsung’s latest pair of not-so-premium devices come with a few AI-powered apps and features. The list here isn’t as comprehensive as what you can expect from the Galaxy S25 Ultra but it does include the following:
