Earlier this week, Samsung announced the Galaxy A26 and A36 in the United States, but the A56 was missing from the event-until now. The company has confirmed that the upper mid-range model will arrive in the United States by the end of the year.

According to 9to5Google, the Galaxy A56 is expected to enter the US in late 2025 with a price of $499. However, no specific launch window has been given, though the phone is already available in several other countries. This will give it very worthy competition to the iPhone 16e as well as the soon to be launched Pixel 9a.

During MWC 2025 in Barcelona, 

Samsung showed a glimpse of the mid-range lineup that is about to launch, and the biggest announcement for US consumers is the Galaxy A56's expected arrival in the country. This precedes a shift in strategy, as Samsung skipped the A55 in the US last year, opting instead for the Galaxy FE series. A change this time is that A56 is going to the States. 

Better specs, but AI has limits

Galaxy A56 is a top-tier option in its family of phones, with upgraded hardware and extras. It also gets Samsung's Awesome Intelligence, the mid-range version of Galaxy AI. But just like the A36 and A26, it misses out on the full feature set of Galaxy AI.

This South Korean company's stripped-down AI has some useful tricks, such as Best Face, which saves you from embarrassment by correcting your accidental blinks in that perfect shot. The Gallery app sports an Object Eraser, which allows easy removal of anything and anyone from your photo.

The Galaxy A56 also features a 6.7-inch full-HD+ display with an adaptive refresh rate of 60 to 120 Hz. Its brightness of up to 1200 nits means it should be fine in direct sunlight.

The battery is a 5,000 mAh unit, and an Exynos 1580 chip powers performance. The particular RAM of the A56 chosen depends on the model, with selections varying between 6GB and 12 GB.

The A56 5G has a very familiar triple camera set-up at the back: a 50MP wide, an 8MP ultra-wide, and a 5MP macro (which isn't very useful). A telephoto lens would be an appreciated upgrade, but it seems they won't bring that to their mid-range lineup for the time being. An upgrade that puts the front camera back up for some well-deserved air, 12MP replaces an older 32MP sensor.

Samsung introduces a new Key Island design on the A56, slightly elevating the power button and volume key for a unique-looking phone. Choose from pink, olive, graphite, or light gray.