Why blow $1,000 on a flagship phone when you can get a flagship-like device for half the price? Samsung’s Galaxy A56 5G costs just $500 but packs a 50MP main camera, a 120Hz Super AMOLED display, a relatively powerful chipset, and a six-year software support guarantee—a plainly excellent set of features for the price.
If flagship phones are defined by big camera arrays and flashy screens, theGalaxy A56 5Gmay as well be a flagship. It packs a 50MP main camera, 12MP ultrawide, and 5MP macro lens on its rear, plus a 12MP selfie camera at the top of its screen. The 6.7-inch display is neat, too, with a FHD resolution (1080x2340), contrast-rich Super AMOLED panel, and buttery-smooth 120Hz refresh rate. I was surprised to learn that this phone is equipped with Corning Gorilla Glass Victus+, too, which should provide better drop protection than the average mid-range smartphone’s screen.

The phone’s Exynos 1580 chipset is also pretty solid. It’scomparable to the Snapdragon 888, which was considered a flagship chipset in 2021 and 2022. Even if you like to play mobile games, there aren’t too many situations where you’ll need anything more powerful than the Exynos 1580, at least for the next few years.
Samsung Galaxy A56 5G
Samsung Galaxy A56 5G offers flagship-like specs, including a high-quality 120Hz Super AMOLED display and a triple-camera array, for just $500. Grab it today at the Samsung web store, Amazon, or other popular retailers.
Other features include a six-year software support guarantee—you’ll get new features and security updates for a long time—plus an under-display fingerprint reader, large 5,000mAh battery, and zippy 45-watt maximum charging rate.
Though, disappointingly, this device does not have a microSD card slot. While expandable storage is extremely rare among flagship devices, it’s a fairly common feature in budget or mid-range handsets.
Samsunginitially announcedthe Galaxy A56 5G alongside two other A-series devices on March 1st. The cheaper devices of the trio, namely theGalaxy A36 5GandA26 5G, have been on sale since March 26th and may be good options for those who are willing to give up a few cameras and a few gigabytes of memory in exchange for a lower price tag. Aside from cameras and RAM, the trio of phones are more or less identical.
I should also point out that old flagships or newer refurbished Samsung phones tend to sell in this price range. you may get aGalaxy S24 FEor arefurbished Galaxy S25for about $550. These options are more high-end than the Galaxy A56 5G, but they’re notnew, so it just depends on your preference.
You can purchase the Galaxy A56 5G today at theSamsung web store,Amazon,Best Buy, and other retailers, with prices starting at $500. The phone is offered with 128GB or 256GB of storage and comes in two colors—light gray and graphite—although there’s also an exclusive olive colorway at Amazon.