Mid-range, maxed out: Samsung unveils the Galaxy A26 5G, A36 5G & A56 5G

Samsung started the year strong, introducing its latest flagship hardware as it announced the Galaxy S25 series back in January. But for as much we love those kind of premium devices, it’s mid-range phones that really drive sales, and today Samsung’s got its latest batch of A-series phones to introduce.

You’ve probably already heard a ton about this hardware thanks to all the leaks over the past few months, so let’s dive right into it and get all the official details on the Galaxy A26 5G, Galaxy A36 5G, and Galaxy A56 5G.

Samsung Galaxy A26 5G, A36 5G, and A56 5G: Release date, price, and availability

• Samsung Galaxy A26 5G (6/128GB): $299.99
• Samsung Galaxy A36 5G (6/128GB): $399.99
• Samsung Galaxy A56 5G (8/128GB): $499.99

Samsung may be introducing this A-series trio today, but let’s get one big asterisk out of the way first: Not all three of these affordable new Galaxy phones are arriving on the same timetable — at least depending on where you live.

In the US, Samsung is getting started by releasing the Galaxy A26 5G and Galaxy A36 5G. The A36 5G lands first, with sales formally beginning on March 26. The Galaxy A26 5G is set to follow that one up a couple of days later, on March 28. If you’re looking to stand out a little bit, you might want to check out the Galaxy A36 5G at Best Buy, where you’ll exclusively be able to find its Awesome Lime colorway.

What about the Galaxy A56 5G? Although Samsung has committed to bringing the phone to the US, that’s not going to be happening for at least several more months. Right now, the company isn’t announcing an ETA more specific than “later this year,” but when pressing for more info, we were told that we could expect to hear more about those plans sometime in Q3.

Across the pond, the situation is quite a bit different. In the UK, all three new Galaxy A models are set to go up for sale on March 19. Samsung further complicates the situation by offering each of these phones in alternate storage and memory configurations:

• Samsung Galaxy A26 5G (8/256GB): £299
• Samsung Galaxy A36 5G Enterprise Edition (6/128GB): £359
• Samsung Galaxy A36 5G (8/256GB): £399
• Samsung Galaxy A56 5G Enterprise Edition (8/128GB): £459
• Samsung Galaxy A56 5G (8/256GB): £499

Admittedly, we’d love to see that extra RAM and bonus storage similarly available in the States, but at least with exchange rates being what they are, Samsung’s positioned these models quite a bit more affordably for US shoppers.

Samsung’s not trying anything too controversial with any of these models, and while they’re largely iterative refreshes on the Ax5 phones that came before them, we’re still seeing a few important upgrades that serve to make these budget phones feel that much more premium. For instance, the A26 5G introduces a glass back and gets an IP67 ingress rating, both new for Samsung at this price point.

Thanks to moves like that, all three of these phones really feel very similar, with only small changes between each:

Samsung Galaxy A26 5G, A36 5G, and A56 5G: Features

Samsung got this new generation started with the Galaxy A16 5G, and for a phone that costs only around $200, that handset offered an experience that felt a lot more premium that you might expect. With these three latest additions, Samsung’s only trying to continue that trend, and thanks to a few key upgrades along the way, you’ll hopefully be able to find a budget model that precisely aligns with your needs. Here’s what you need to look out for:

Samsung’s a big fan of its linear lens layout this year, which really just packages all three rear cameras into one vertical bar, rather than the discrete lenses like we like we got before. All three models feature a comparable collection of sensors, but the A26 5G clearly takes a few hits due to its lower price point, making do with only a 2MP macro lens. We get an upgrade on the highest end for the A56 5G, which pushes its ultra-wide camera up to 12MP.

While the A26 5G does have a slightly higher-res 13MP front-facer, the A36 5G and A56 5G swap that out for a 12MP selfie cam that adds support for 10-bit HDR.

Really, though, the star here is Samsung’s processing and camera software. All three phones offer features like Object Eraser for using AI to quickly remove distracting and unwanted elements from your pics. You can also define custom filters to invent a vibe for your photos that’s uniquely your own.

The Galaxy A56 5G manages to eke ahead with a few more exclusive features, adding Best Face to help you to get the cutest poses out of your messy group shots, and enhanced Nightography for snapping pics with minimal illumination.

All three phones offer a 6.7-inch FHD+ Super AMOLED display, featuring a 120Hz refresh rate — and a super-smooth screen like that is an upgrade this year for the A26 5G.

For the A36 5G and A56 5G, Samsung is also making sure that you can read that screen on even the sunniest days, equipping them both with panels capable of 1,200 nits in their high-brightness mode. Even if the A26 5G doesn’t see that same upgrade, the manufacturer does point out that this year its screen gets to enjoy a newly slimmed-down bezel.

Samsung’s really been doing some good work towards making affordable phones feel like models in a higher price tier, and the Galaxy A26 5G, A36 5G, and A56 5G are perfect examples of that effort. Although they feature plastic frames, the use of Gorilla Glass Victus Plus on both front and back means you won’t actually be touching plastic most of the time you’re using these phones. That premium feeling is enhanced by Samsung’s efforts to slim down the hardware — these all measure under 8mm thick, while the last generation was above.

Much like the storage and RAM options, the question of colors is a little more limited in the US. We’ve listed all the options available internationally up in the specs chart you saw above, but if you’re looking for a Galaxy A36 5G in America, your main choice is really just Awesome Black or Awesome Lavender — as we mentioned earlier, Awesome Lime is going to be a Best Buy exclusive.

And if you’re shopping for the Galaxy A26 5G in the US, well…we hope you like Black. Because that’s all we’re getting.

Samsung has yet to share which color options will be available for the US market when the Galaxy A56 5G arrives later this year.

Battery life and charging

Once again, Samsung doesn’t give us a huge degree of variation across these three phones, and no matter which you pick up, you’re getting a 5,000mAh battery.

The main distinction is in terms of charging speed instead of capacity, as only the Galaxy A36 5G and Galaxy A56 5G support 45W charging with Super Fast Charge 2.0. Samsung says that on the A36 5G, that means you’ll be able to charge the device to 70% in under half an hour.

Just keep in mind that if you want to take advantage of 45W charging, you’ll need a compatible charger and cable — Samsung isn’t including either in the boxes here.

Galaxy users everywhere are still patiently (or not) waiting for their One UI 7 updates, which have yet to leave beta and start arriving for pre-2025 Samsung devices. And while that day is almost certainly coming up soon, anyone picking up the Galaxy A26 5G, A36 5G, or A56 5G won’t have to worry, with the phones arriving equipped with Samsung’s Android 15-based platform.

Circle to Search first debuted on Samsung phones, and the company has continued to feature the useful tool. We saw it expand to older A-series phones last summer, and it’s back for this new set with all the latest Circle to Search enhancements, like recognizing phone numbers and website addresses.

Because this is Samsung, of course, the phones include its Knox security suite, and you can configure exactly what you want to permit in the Knox Matrix dashboard.

That gives all these phones a great start, but what’s arguably even more exciting is the long-term support Samsung is promising here.

Whether you’re buying the lowly Galaxy A26 5G or responsibly splurging on the Galaxy A56 5G, you can look forward to six major OS releases and six years of security updates. For smartphones in this budget realm, that’s absolutely incredible. Just think: If you manage to hold on to the A26 5G that whole time, you’re effectively paying under $50 a year for the phone.

Really, there’s no bad choice here, and if you’re shopping for a phone on a limited budget, Samsung’s offering some very attractive options across a wide range of price points — especially when we factor in the Galaxy A16 5G. Will you be tempted to pick up the A36 5G when it lands later this month? Or are you thinking it might make sense to hold out for the A56 5G a little further down the line?