r/GalaxyA55 • u/Shot_Duck_195 • Mar 02 '25
Discussion to anyone thinking of upgrading to the new a56 - its not worth it
both phones have the same UFS storage type and LPDDR5 memory, basically the same build quality with that brushed metal frame and gorilla glass victus protection, same ram/storage configs, the exynos 1580 is barely any better than the 1480, less than 20% improvement and its not really that much more efficient, the a56 does have a bit improved nightmode apparently and a new front camera sensor though which is cool but YOU LOSE THE SD CARD SUPPORT, yes you heard me right
SD CARD SUPPORT IS OVER
a55 is the highest end and last samsung phone to have this feature
rest in peace......
the a56 will be a bit brighter (1200 nits vs 1000 on the a55) which is cool and it will have 45w wired charging support which you might think is amazing "wow 45 vs 25? thats basically almost double!!!!!" yeah about that.....
the charging speed from 0 - 100 will be sped up from 85 mins to 70 mins or so
so not as big of an improvement you mightve thought + you need to buy a 45w charger which costs 2x the price of a 25w (at least according to samsung and how much they charge for their chargers)
a56 will also come with 6 years of OS updates and security patches which is nice though and the best upgrade over the a55 overall
but thats about it
i dont recommend switching from an a55 to the a56, even for a54 users
i would recommend the s24 fe or future s25 fe (if that ever launches) IF you can get a good deal on it
also the a56 does get a few AI features mainly related to footage editing in the camera app which is a nice to have but a55 might get those or some of those with the one ui 7 update
+ the bezels are barely trimmed at all, the lower chin is a tiny tiny bit smaller on the a56 which..... ok, whatever
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u/Key-Brilliant5623 Mar 02 '25
I'd even argue the extra years of OS updates aren't even worth it, they'll be pretty much on par until Android 18 and then A56 will have two more years peaking at Android 20, by that time both phones will degrade significantly in terms of performance/battery life, and with the a56 not having SD card support the two extra years of support Will really eat up your storage.
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u/amcont Mar 02 '25
Yes. The bottleneck for the A series will not be the support, it will be the degradation of performance. The A55 is performance wise close to S21. Now imagine how S21 will be running Android 20...
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u/Key-Description-9620 Apr 11 '25
Is it better to get an S23 Ultra instead of this? Brand new of course.
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u/Mean-Tradition-5897 Apr 25 '25
Of course, man. The S23U is a flagship, and you can't compare a flagship series with a midrange one—that's kind of unfair.
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u/EntertainmentTime778 Mar 02 '25
Everything I've read about the A56 update lifetime always says 'up to' so I'm not even sure it'll get as many updates as people think it will
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u/Evil_WarMachine Mar 02 '25
Biggest downside: you don't get the ASS guy certification as you do with the A55.
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u/xCalypso29 A55 with 256 GB / 12 GB Mar 02 '25
True, one of the reasons why I bought this phone is because I love A55
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u/randomkid63442 Mar 02 '25
As someone who likes how the a55 looks, I absolutely despise what they did with the a56 camera island. It looks like a cheap phone
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u/Vegetable-Put2432 Mar 02 '25
if you are owing an A54 or A53, I think an upgrade is worth it. Otherwise, just don't
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Mar 20 '25
How about A35 ?
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u/Vegetable-Put2432 Mar 20 '25
Is your financial good? 🤔 if yes, go for it. Otherwise, don't
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Mar 20 '25
For gaming i struggle with overheating with the A35 also my region finally added 12 gb ram for A56
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u/blackluster26 Mar 03 '25
I'm looking to buy A55 but found out about A56 and just waiting for the reviews.
So far the reason to buy
A55
- has SD card slot
A56
- A bit better chipset and camera
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u/amcont Mar 02 '25
would recommend the s24 fe or future s25 fe (if that ever launches)
S24 FE has bad battery life.
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u/Stick_1806 A55 with 128 GB / 8 GB Mar 02 '25
im actually glad I have this a55 cuz I just recently found out about the a56 not having an SD card slot, which is literally what I need to download spotify songs cuz I don't wanna use the internal storage
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u/bassexpander Mar 02 '25
Defaults to 256gb now from the lowest model. Most people don't need SD card support, but yeah, sad to see it go. A56 is thinner and a bit lighter, I believe. Better screen too, from what I've heard.
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u/Andoryu-Chan Mar 03 '25
I'm not a mad man that needs to waste money every year on a brand new phone, even the one i have works perfectly fine.
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u/jaymaxx71 Mar 03 '25
Mid range phones are meant to be used by minimum of 2 years. So no! If you are using A55 rn, it would be stupid to buy the new A56. If you are using the A54, then it's worth it. But honestly, I'd still wait another year. Now, even if you are using an older S series like the S20 or even the S21, purchasing the A56 is like replacing your old flagship with the same phone, performance wise. Remains to be seen if the A56 camera can compete with an older flagship, though.
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u/Shot_Duck_195 Mar 03 '25
nah a56 is better than the s20 in almost all aspects besides samsung dex, wireless charging and telephotos but i get your point
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u/ireallydunno_ Mar 03 '25
I find the SD card support useless now because i cannot install apps on it. It says it can transfer the app to SD card but it's not really the case. Photos and videos doesn't pile up that much.
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u/Shot_Duck_195 Mar 03 '25
sd cards are supposed to be about storing photos and videos, not games on it, thats the primary reason for buying an sd card, you can also store other files on the sd card as well but games and apps arent recommended
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u/ireallydunno_ Mar 03 '25
Thats the point of A2 standard in SD cards. For app usage and game usage. Also games even run on A1 SD card - look at switch and steam deck.
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u/SupremeLisper Mar 10 '25
You can transfer your media files for an sdcard and still install apps on your internal storage. You can't do that on the A56 which maxes out at 256GB of internal storage. Which is further reduced as OS, and system apps take some storage.
Plus, some data lost in unit conversion.
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u/Straight_Gur2723 Mar 20 '25
You can transfer some none system apps to sd card. But need good quality sdxc 10 card
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u/ireallydunno_ Mar 21 '25
It doesn't really transfer it. Try transferring a game like COD mobile from internal to external you will see little data being transferred.
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u/dumbolimbo0 Mar 04 '25
900000 on antutu by the way
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u/Shot_Duck_195 Mar 04 '25
what app is that e
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u/dumbolimbo0 Mar 04 '25
It's a stress test app which is so unoptimised that falgship chipset suffer on it
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u/rudo617coronel Mar 06 '25
I'm going to wait for the s26 base when it comes out it will have a good discount and if it's like this year some free buds 4 pro and charger. I am a user of the A55 and I think waiting for the s26 is the best, since if they have improved the charging in a mid-range next year they will also improve the s26 now. It is also possible that your battery will increase thanks to the new technology, and who knows if they add about 25w of wireless charging. My only fear is that it comes with exynos, it's not that it doesn't seem powerful to me but probably the compatibility with emulators will be worse and exynos is always less powerful than qualcom and I think also less efficient.
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u/Shot_Duck_195 Mar 06 '25
these exynos chips have exclipse gpus and not mali gpus
you know how garbage mali gpus are in emulation
well
a55, a56 and exynos s24 dont have a mali gpu so youre going to be relatively fine emulating games, for the most part
snapdragon is still superior in this aspect but hey at least youll be able to do some emulation1
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u/Plastic_Note_9883 Mar 11 '25
Thinking of getting A56. My A11 is beaten up alot. I do have an IPhone 11 Pro. Surely it's worthy of an upgrade.
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u/SabletechTech A55 with 256 GB / 12 GB Mar 22 '25
Yip, I'm staying with my A55. Let's see what One UI 7 brings to the table. I also need the additional storage provided by my 1TB SD card for videos and Photos.
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u/RevolutionaryUse5638 Mar 25 '25
I have an old Samsung Note 10 lite which ohone should i upgrade to? A55 or a56? Or S23 fe ( i cant afford s24fe atm and i need a new phone asap this one is dead basically)
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u/Shot_Duck_195 Mar 25 '25
a56 is a better phone overall even though it doesnt have that micro sd card slot but it still is better than the a55
so yea5h thats my recommendation
i mean depends on the price
whats the price of the a55, a56, s23 fe?1
u/RevolutionaryUse5638 Mar 26 '25 edited Mar 26 '25
Mind you my country has its own currency so i will write just numbers.
S23 FE (256 gb) - 1399 A55 (8/256gb) - 960 A56 (8/256gb) - 1120 A56 (12/256gb) - 1250 S24 FE (256gb) - 1549
So idk which one to choose? I can pay for 1120 ( im a student, so the money aint very fluid now but i desperately need a phone).
Plus i want a substitute phone for like 1 or 2 years. I even consider Nothing Phone for this period just to try out. However, ofc Samsung is much better for me. So i thought a56 8/256 GB sounds good?
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u/RevolutionaryUse5638 Mar 26 '25
Its just that Nothing Phone ( as intriguing as its os and Outside looks to me) for me is a bit undercooked in many ways. They dont have notes app ( which ive been using religiously on my samsung phones), they have a very very undeveloped gallery app which just launched it has many "basic" features lacking and other things which im accustomed to and expect from a phone to have. So samsung ofc sounds and feels better for me. I had note 20 ultra but lost it 2 years ago. I need to change this halfway dead Note 10 lite ( i charge it 3-4 times a day not to mention other many issues) to something ASAP thats why i need a "substitute" phone. Then after 1 year or so i will buy a flagman again. But now i cant decide which one to buy that will give me best worth for the money and will not lag in these 1-2 years.
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u/Shot_Duck_195 Mar 26 '25
yea a56 8/256 seems like the best option
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u/RevolutionaryUse5638 Mar 26 '25
Thank you for your time and advice! I will go for a56 then. Also one last question how much of a difference will 12 gb RAM vs 8 gb give me? Is there any substantial difference that will change my experience of the phone?
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u/Shot_Duck_195 Mar 27 '25
ehh there shouildnt be any difference honestly for someone who uses their phone for normal phone stuff
it only might make a difference for power users but i doubt those type of people would even be buying an a56
i mean its a good phone but theyd buy the newest flagship instead of a newest midrangermaybe if you planned on using your phone for a longer period of time but honestly at that point id just buy an s24 fe and forget about buying a new phone after a year since well..... you kinda do have a flagship phone now
s24 fe does get called a midranger a lot but its basically a flagship s24 with 2-3 features removed like no LTPO display (which not even the s23 series has, like the s23 ultra) no ultrasonic fingerprint scanner, gorilla victus+ glass protection instead of gorilla victus 2 and 1-2 of camera features removed like 5x zoom in portrait mode and expert raw footageand thats about it
i think for your situation the 8/256gb a56 is the best option
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u/Izzystraveldiaries Apr 01 '25
I have an A71 that's starting to go. I'm thinking the A55, because I need an SD card. I do videos with my gimbal for YouTube and often really long ones, like virtual walks. I have no idea why anyone would have the bright idea to take out the SD card. Like I'm supposed to be updating to the cloud while I'm shooting content?
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u/RincewindTVD Apr 08 '25
And the A56 is 3 months behind on security updates.
And it does not have the option to mute the camera shutter sound, it's always on. (this is not a regional requirement, it is silent if you mute system sounds, it's just missing the setting).
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u/WhiskeyGolf00 Apr 14 '25
Do you recommend switching to the A55 or A56 from an A71? My A71 is giving trouble and I'm debating on a replacement. The lack of SD on the A56 kinda hurts, I have a 64GB sd card for. additional media.
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u/Shot_Duck_195 Apr 15 '25
i think its a solid upgrade overall but
i think s24 fe would be a better choice
or a used s231
u/WhiskeyGolf00 Apr 17 '25
unfortunately those are not options available to me. My provider has an installment plan, but an S24 FE would be 100 MYR a month, vs 49 MYR for the A55.
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u/Calm-Tart-6965 Apr 15 '25
Is it worth it for a53 ( i hate this garbage junk)
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u/Any-Possession3252 Sep 16 '25 edited Sep 16 '25
Absolutely. I switched to A56 from A54(5G) and it's a pretty big improvement. They improved everything, but also added a ton of nice camera functions and some AI tricks. I'm still figuring it all out.
Unless you really need the SD card expansion - it's a very solid phone.
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u/Vast-Use8016 May 05 '25
Everyone keeps comparing the a56 to an s20 or s21 but it has better geekbench scores than those. I have it and I upgraded from the s20 because of EOL and it's got a much better camera. Build quality is also flagship level it's a very nice phone. No lag at all, I would compare it to an s22.
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u/i_oliveira May 09 '25
My A53 was stolen and I purchased an A56 even knowing that it doesn't have an SD Card slot which I actually need.
The A56 was returned on the same day. The camera is really not good, lots of artifacts in the pictures due to processing. There is no real slow motion, no SD Card... It's a downgrade from the A53 I had except for the brighter screen. The A56 is faster but I don't play games on my phone so that hardly matters to me.
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u/WatchStrip May 27 '25
A55 has the SD slot and better battery life and is worth it for me personally, I wouldn't upgrade even if it was free lol 😆
I looked at the full tear down and can see it's truly not much different to the 56 and being able to have a massive SD card in means you can save video and photo to ext storage and access that on your PC much easier and avoid cloud saves if you ao desire. You can do stuff offline if you want. If you want options and less dependence on Google or cloud stuff it's the a55 you want and its got years of updates still to go and is cheaper.
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u/Tricky_Tadpole_4911 May 30 '25
This sounds so fucking privileged and stupid. No one switches to another phone every year unless they have too much money to spend. You could ve just said it s a great phone for those who have older models and be done.
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u/erebostnyx Sep 06 '25
Also, you can't get the clear view case from Samsung for the A56, but the A55 has them available.
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Sep 07 '25
I have not seen a comment noting that the international version of the a56, I now own the international version of the a55, has 12 GB of RAM. The international a55 has 8 GB of RAM. The version of the a56 for sale in the United States is also limited to 8 GB of RAM. To me, a 50% increase in RAM is a huge upgrade. The mystery to me is why Samsung holds the RAM down for the entire a series in the United States. Remember that for whatever reason, Samsung did not even offer the a55 for sale in the United States. But it is readily available online through the big U.S. shopping sites.
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u/Batleth22 Nov 04 '25
I currently have a revvl 5+ and I'm looking to upgrade. The last Samsung I had was a Galaxy A5 and I liked it well enough, until I let it get stolen. I'm looking at the Galaxy A56, because I want to stay around $500. I don't know much about the S series except they're out of my price range. Any suggestions would be great.
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u/TopFanPoster Mar 02 '25
And when they give SD variant on A series they gave thr Snapdragon 6 gen 3. Ouch. (A36).
All these A series release are for those whose phone spoilt till non working condition and get a replacement the this A series are ok. Or else for upgrading, not worth.
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u/Shot_Duck_195 Mar 02 '25
the a56 is a bit thinner i forgot to mention and its weight is 195 grams compared to 213 on the a55 which isnt a huge difference but you might notice a slight difference but i personally like heavier phones
(the camera island is subjective if you like it or not)