Samsung’s mid-range A-series models are great value, durable, and fun smartphones. The latest model is the Galaxy A56, and we’ve been out taking photos with both it and the Galaxy A55 it replaces to see which camera is better. The Galaxy A56 really should improve on the previous model, and I went into this expecting it to dominate in all categories. This isn’t what I found at all.

Camera specs

The Samsung Galaxy A56 and Galaxy A55’s rear cameras all have the same megapixel count. The main camera has 50 megapixels, the wide-angle camera has 12 megapixels, and both are joined by a five megapixel macro camera. The front camera on the Galaxy A56 has 12 megapixels, down from the 32MP selfie camera on the Galaxy A55.

Samsung says the main 50MP camera is an upgraded version, but it’s mostly inside the phone where things have changed. The Galaxy A56 uses Samsung’s latest Exynos 1580 processor and it includes an upgraded AI ISP controlling the camera, compared to the Exynos 1480 in the Galaxy A55.

The Galaxy A56 comes with Android 15 and Samsung’s One UI 7 software installed, and at the time of the test the Galaxy A55 is still running Android 14 and One UI 6.1. While the hardware may not be all that different, there’s a lot going on behind the scenes to change the way the Galaxy A56’s camera performs compared to the last model. Lets see if you can really see the difference.

Main camera

The first photo in our test shows how at first glance the two cameras take extremely similar pictures. Colors, exposure, and detail look pretty similar, but the more closely you examine each image, the more differences become apparent and not in the way you may expect. The Galaxy A55 has sharper focus in general, and has more intelligently recognised the subjects — the coffee, muffin, and plate — while the A56 hasn’t effectively focused on anything apart from the table surface.

This vague focusing is the first of the Galaxy A56’s problems, and the second is noise. Changes to the way the Galaxy A56 exposes and processes shots during the daytime has led to a considerable increase in noise. It’s particularly noticeable in the sky and clouds in the photo of the church. While the A55 also takes noisy photos, it’s less problematic. The processing alterations also result in harsh textures on the walls and less natural colors.

The Galaxy A55 is also more nimble, and captures focus and moments more effectively than the Galaxy A56. Pets rarely sit still to have their photos taken, so you have to get the best when you can. The Galaxy A55’s photo of the cat is sharper and with more accurate focus, and less harsh HDR and processing.

Throughout the test, the Galaxy A55 has consistently taken more attractive, sharper, and more visually punchy photos. It still has problems — detail can be muddy and there’s still too much noise — but it takes better pictures than the Galaxy A56. It’s a serious problem for the A56 right at the start of the test, and not what I thought I was going to see at all.

Winner: Samsung Galaxy A55

Wide-angle camera

Interestingly, the wide-angle camera displays more of the improvements we’d have wanted to see from the main camera. There’s less noise, a little more detail, and less obvious processing from the Galaxy A56, resulting in clearer photos. The photo of the lake is a great example, with obvious differences in the water, and also on the wooden fence and dirt bank. The Galaxy A55’s sky is noisier too, in a turnaround from the main camera.

In lower indoor lighting, with some harsh light through windows, the Galaxy A56 continues to improve on the Galaxy A55’s wide-angle camera. Again, there’s less noise and more sharpness, making its photos better balanced. The wide-angle shots aren’t great, but the Galaxy A56 makes the most out of the 12MP sensor. This is the result I was really expecting to see from the main camera, and it seems not many people make use of the wide-angle camera these days, so the improvements may not mean much to potential owners.

Winner: Samsung Galaxy A56

Night mode

Low light camera performance is one of the main areas where improvements in processing and AI are most obvious, meaning the Galaxy A56 really should beat the Galaxy A55 in this category. I gave the phones a really tough challenge, as the photos I took were mostly in the dark with only ambient lighting to help the cameras out.

The first photo of the pub is a good sign. The Galaxy A56’s photo is brighter and with more accurate colors, and I like the warmth it has infused. It’s also less noisy and shows more detail when you crop the image down. The Galaxy A56 continued to take better lowlight photos, but it’s very dependent on the environment as to how much you will notice.

It needs a decent level of ambient light, otherwise results are almost identical. The shop front shows its improved stability means less blur and noise, and when you crop down, a touch more detail too. The Galaxy A56’s additional processing power and likely the AI ISP help it win in this category, but it’s a very close thing. I was quite impressed with the Galaxy A55’s ability to keep up.

Winner: Samsung Galaxy A56

2x zoom

Neither camera has an optical zoom, but both have a 2x shortcut in the camera app, encouraging you to give it a try. The Galaxy A56’s 2x mode can take great photos, providing sharpness and detail, with far less noise than expected considering the issues with the main camera.

The front of the church shows how it really can improve over the Galaxy A55. From the protective wire over the stained glass window to the iron work on the door, there’s so much more detail in the Galaxy A56’s photo. Colors are more vibrant too. It’s a great start, however, in many other situations there’s little to split them.

Inside the church seen in our wide-angle test, the Galaxy A56 just edges out the A55 with slightly more detail and less blur, but you really do have to look closely to spot the differences. In reality, neither camera will greatly impress at 2x, but I found the Galaxy A56 did take better photos sometimes, while at others the two were too close to split. The win goes to the Galaxy A56, but like Night mode, it’s almost too close to call.

Winner: Samsung Galaxy A56

Selfie camera

Is the lower megapixel selfie camera on the Galaxy A56 worse than the Galaxy A55? No, but it does take slightly different looking selfies. The Galaxy A56 takes brighter shots, but it doesn’t always nail skin tone and color in a more pleasing way than the Galaxy A55. Both cameras seem to pack in the same amount of detail, and portrait mode is equally as effective on both too. Often I preferred selfies taken by the Galaxy A55, regardless of whether the A56’s brighter photos were more technically accurate. It’ll be subjective which you prefer, as there are very few technical differences here.

Winner: Draw

Is the Galaxy A56 a worthwhile upgrade?

The Samsung Galaxy A56 has won the comparison, taking three out out of five wins. However, the fact the Galaxy A55 comprehensively beat it in the main camera category is not only a surprise, but a black mark against the Galaxy A56. At the very least it should be comparable to the old model and return a draw, but to lose completely is a poor performance.

Because none of the other categories were comprehensive wins on the Galaxy A56’s part, there’s no solid reason to upgrade your Galaxy A55. There’s little between the app performance either, and the Galaxy A55 sometimes appears faster switching between modes than the Galaxy A56.

All this means the winner of the test is quite difficult to recommend as a camera phone. It’s certainly not awful, but with phones like the Nothing Phone 3a Pro impressing and the Google Pixel 9a on the way, the Galaxy A56 needed to impress a lot more than it has here.