Samsung’s budget smartphone is better than Galaxy S25 — why
The first Galaxy S was launched almost 15 years ago, but it was the Galaxy S2 that cemented the line as the leading flagship Android series. Although some may not like it, Samsung’s flagship devices are becoming part of the general trend that most Android smartphones cannot achieve. It seemed that the Galaxy S25 series would continue this tradition, even if it looked a bit boring to die-hard fans. But Samsung prepared another surprise — the newly announced Galaxy A56 5G outshines the base S25 model both in terms of price and (partially) in terms of features.
Android Authority writes about it.
Why the budget Galaxy A56 5G is better than the flagship Galaxy S25
Galaxy A56 5G has a lot of attractive "hardware". The Galaxy S25 has a 4000 mAh battery, while the more affordable Galaxy A56 5G has a 5000 mAh battery, like the flagship S25 Ultra. The A56 5G also supports 45W "Super Fast" charging, the same as the S25 Plus and Ultra. The basic S25, on the other hand, is limited to 25 watts.
Of course, it would be strange to expect a 5000mAh battery from the S25 until Samsung moves to more advanced power technologies. In addition, the Galaxy A56 5G is larger — 6.7 inches versus 6.2 inches for the S25 — so the battery could be larger.
In terms of power, the Galaxy S25 is faster, with its Snapdragon 8 Elite outperforming the Exynos 1580 of the A56 5G. However, the difference will only be felt in certain usage scenarios. In particular, the flagship has better artificial intelligence capabilities, which allows for additional Galaxy AI features, but it is not known whether it is worth overpaying for this.
The energy efficiency advantage of the Snapdragon 8 Elite is offset by the larger battery of the A56 5G. For most ordinary users, the power of the A56 5G is enough to run popular games like Candy Crush without any problems.
The storage capacity of the Galaxy A56 5G is no less than that of the S25, and sometimes even more, depending on the market. The Galaxy S25 starts with 128 GB globally, while the A56 5G starts with 256 GB in some countries (e.g., the UK). The difference in RAM — 8 GB in the A56 5G versus 12 GB in the S25 — can make a difference if you run a lot of "heavy" applications at the same time. But for most users, 8 GB will be more than enough, given the price of the smartphone.
The S25 has advantages that make it a more advanced phone overall. The third camera here is a 3x telephoto lens, which is much more useful than the 5MP macro sensor in the A56 5G. While wired charging is slower on the S25, it boasts 15W wireless charging with Qi2 support, while the A56 5G doesn’t have wireless charging at all.
Both smartphones have 120Hz 1080p screens, but the S25 has a sleeker look with minimal and symmetrical bezels.
The Galaxy A56 5G will be supported for six years, while the S25 will be supported for seven. One extra year of updates hardly justifies an additional overpayment, but it’s also worth considering that updates for the S25 will come earlier.
As a reminder, Samsung named the most valuable Galaxy smartphones, according to Forbes.
We also wrote that Samsung unveiled the mid-budget smartphones Galaxy A26, Galaxy A36, and Galaxy A56. The company promises six system updates for the new products.