Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra vs A56 5G
91
out of 100
VS
66
out of 100
Here we compared two smartphones: the 6.9-inch Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra (with Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5) that was released on February 25, 2026, against the Samsung Galaxy A56 5G, which is powered by Exynos 1580 and came out 1 year before. On this page, you will find tests, full specs, strengths, and weaknesses of each of the devices.
Select the amount of RAM to evaluate performance and value for money more precisely
Key differences
Reasons to consider the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra
- The rear camera has a 5x optical zoom
- 3.1x better performance in AnTuTu Benchmark (3939K versus 1251K)
- Delivers 131% higher peak brightness (2829 against 1225 nits)
- Better camera quality (According to DxOMark rating)
- Has 2x more RAM: 12GB versus 6GB
- 30% higher pixel density (500 vs 385 PPI)
- Handles wireless charging up to 25W
- Newer Bluetooth version (v6.0)
- Waterproof body (IP68 classification)
- Compatible with Wi-Fi 7 wireless networks
- The phone is 1 year newer
- Supports higher wattage charging (60W versus 45W)
Reasons to consider the Samsung Galaxy A56 5G
- Has 2 SIM card slots
Review
Display
Screen quality, color accuracy, brightness
Camera
Photo and video recording quality
Performance
CPU and memory performance (apps, system)
Gaming
Capabilities for playing modern games
Battery
Battery life, charging type and speed
Connectivity
Networks, ports, data transmission
Select your primary usage scenario to get a more accurate DeviceFacts Score
Value for money (Beta)
Tests and specifications
Comparison table of technical specifications and testsDisplay
| Type | Dynamic AMOLED | Super AMOLED |
| Size | 6.9 inches | 6.7 inches |
| Resolution | 1440 x 3120 pixels | 1080 x 2340 pixels |
| Aspect ratio | 19.5:9 | 19.5:9 |
| PPI | 500 ppi | 385 ppi |
| Refresh rate | 120 Hz | 120 Hz |
| Adaptive refresh rate | Yes (1-120 Hz) | Yes (60-120 Hz) |
| Max rated brightness | 1500 nits | 1200 nits |
| Max rated brightness in HDR | 2600 nits | 1900 nits |
| HDR support | Yes, HDR10+ | Yes, HDR10+ |
| Touch sampling rate | 240 Hz | - |
| Screen protection | Corning Gorilla Armor 2 | Gorilla Glass Victus Plus |
| Screen-to-body ratio | 91.4% | 87.6% |
| Display features | - DCI-P3 - Always-On Display - DC Dimming |
- DCI-P3 - Always-On Display |
| RGB color space | - | 99.1% |
| PWM | - | 120 Hz |
| Response time | - | 1 ms |
| Contrast | - | ∞ Infinity |
Peak brightness test (auto)
Design and build
| Height | 163.6 mm (6.44 inches) | 162.2 mm (6.39 inches) |
| Width | 78.1 mm (3.07 inches) | 77.5 mm (3.05 inches) |
| Thickness | 7.9 mm (0.31 inches) | 7.4 mm (0.29 inches) |
| Weight | 214 g (7.55 oz) | 198 g (6.98 oz) |
| Waterproof | IP68 | IP67 |
| Advanced cooling | Vapor chamber | Vapor chamber |
| Rear material | Glass | Glass |
| Frame material | Metal | Metal |
| Colors | White, Black, Silver, Blue, Pink, Purple | Black, Gray, Green, Pink |
| Fingerprint scanner | Yes, in-display | Yes, in-display |
| Repairability | - | Good (3.19/5) |
| Drop resistance | - | Excellent (A) · 270 drops |
Screen-to-body ratio
Performance
| Chipset | Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 | Samsung Exynos 1580 |
| Max clock | 4740 MHz | 2900 MHz |
| CPU cores | 8 (2 + 6) | 8 (1 + 3 + 4) |
| Architecture | - 6 cores at 3.63 GHz: Oryon Gen 3 Performance - 2 cores at 4.74 GHz: Oryon Gen 3 Prime |
- 4 cores at 1.95 GHz: Cortex-A520 - 3 cores at 2.6 GHz: Cortex-A720 - 1 core at 2.9 GHz: Cortex-A720 |
| L3 cache | 8 MB | 4 MB |
| Manufacturing | TSMC | Samsung |
| Lithography process | 3 nanometers | 4 nanometers |
| Neural processor (NPU) | Hexagon | Yes |
| Graphics | Adreno 840 | Xclipse 540 |
| GPU shading units | 1536 | 256 |
| GPU clock | 1300 MHz | 1300 MHz |
| FLOPS | ~3993.6 GFLOPS | ~1331.2 GFLOPS |
Benchmarks
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Compute Score (GPU)
| Compute Score (GPU) | 28391 | 6865 |
| Single-core score | 3624 | 1354 |
| Multi-core score | 11049 | 3789 |
AnTuTu Benchmark 11
| CPU | 1168602 | 490457 |
| GPU | 1520337 | 296896 |
| Memory | 448779 | 173263 |
| UX | 801526 | 290896 |
| Total score | 3939244 | 1251512 |
| Samples | [32 tests] | [130 tests] |
3DMark Steel Nomad Light
| Stability | 67% | 97% |
| Graphics test | 20 FPS | 5 FPS |
| Graphics score | 2737 | 641 |
3DMark Solar Bay
| Graphics test | 46 FPS | - |
| Section 1 | 58 FPS | - |
| Section 2 | 42 FPS | - |
| Section 3 | 37 FPS | - |
| Graphics score | 11990 | - |
3DMark Wild Life Extreme
| Graphics test | 42 FPS | - |
| Graphics score | 7123 | - |
PCMark 3.0
| Web score | 23390 | 14131 |
| Video editing | 8217 | 7744 |
| Photo editing | 37389 | 22842 |
| Data manipulation | 18322 | 11699 |
| Writing score | 32854 | 18128 |
AnTuTu 11 Ranking List (#33rd place)
Recent User Tests
Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra
| Date | Benchmark | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 📘 2026-10-07 (Bullet71) | AnTuTu 12 | 4442144 |
| 📘 2026-10-03 -> Rennsport | Geekbench 7 GPU | 16267 |
| 📘 2026-10-03 -> Rennsport | Geekbench 7 CPU | 3022 / 9141 |
| 📘 2026-09-23 (Raze) | AnTuTu 12 | 3920421 |
| 📘 2026-09-19 (Niko) | AnTuTu 12 | 3439980 |
Samsung Galaxy A56 5G
| Date | Benchmark | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 📘 2026-10-11 -> Baogia_VN | AnTuTu 11 | 1281445 |
| 📘 2026-10-09 (Baogia_VN) | AnTuTu 12 | 1090096 |
| 📘 2026-10-09 (Baogia_VN) | AnTuTu 11 | 1278747 |
| 📘 2026-10-09 (Baogia_VN) | AnTuTu 12 | 1090096 |
| 📘 2026-09-24 (.) | CPU Throttle | 82% |
Memory
| RAM size | 12 GB | 6 GB |
| Memory type | LPDDR5X | LPDDR5 |
| Memory clock | 5300 MHz | 3200 MHz |
| Channels | 4 | 2 |
| Storage size | 256 GB | 128 GB |
| Storage type | UFS 4.0 | UFS 3.1 |
| Memory card | No | No |
Software
| Operating system | Android 16 | Android 15 (Can be upgraded to Android 16) |
| ROM | One UI 8.5 | One UI 8.5 |
| OS size | 33.2 GB | 21.5 GB |
| OS updates | 7 years | 6 years |
| Security updates | 7 years | 6 years |
Battery
| Capacity | 5000 mAh | 5000 mAh |
| Max charge power | 60 W | 45 W |
| Battery type | Li-Ion | Li-Ion |
| Replaceable | No | No |
| Wireless charging | Yes (25 W) | No |
| Reverse charging | Yes, (wireless) | No |
| Bypass charging | Yes | No |
| Fast charging | Yes (84% in 30 min) | Yes (65% in 30 min) |
| Full charging time | 0:43 hr | 1:13 hr |
| Battery cycles | - | 2000 cycles |
| Web browsing | 10:12 hr | 11:28 hr |
| Watching video | 21:39 hr | 19:50 hr |
| Gaming | 06:42 hr | 04:53 hr |
| Standby | 130 hr | 131 hr |
General battery life
Smartphones With Long Battery Life (67th and 70th place)
Main camera
| Matrix | 200 megapixels | 50 megapixels |
| Image resolution | 16320 x 12240 | 8192 x 6144 |
| Zoom | Optical, 5x | Digital |
| Flash | LED | LED |
| Stabilization | Optical | Optical |
| 8K video recording | Up to 30FPS | No |
| 4K video recording | Up to 120FPS | Up to 30FPS |
| 1080p video recording | Up to 240FPS | Up to 60FPS |
| Slow motion | 240 FPS (1080p) | 240 FPS (720p) |
| Angle of widest lens | 120° | 123° |
| Lenses | 1) Standard: 200 MP 2) Telephoto: 50 MP 3) Telephoto: 10 MP 4) Ultrawide: 50 MP |
1) Standard: 50 MP 2) Ultrawide: 12 MP 3) Macro: 5 MP |
| Camera features | - Bokeh mode - Pro mode - RAW support |
- Bokeh mode - Pro mode |
| Image resolution | 200 MP | 50 MP |
| Aperture | f/1.4 | f/1.8 |
| Focal length | 23 mm | - |
| Sensor | Samsung ISOCELL S5KHP2 | Sony IMX906 |
| Sensor size | 1/1.3" (≈ 0.77 inch) | 1/1.56" (≈ 0.64 inch) |
| Pixel size | 0.6 micron | 1 micron |
| Autofocus | Laser autofocus | Phase autofocus |
| Stabilization | Optical | Optical |
| Image resolution | 50 MP | - |
| Aperture | f/2.9 | - |
| Focal length | 111 mm | - |
| Sensor | Sony IMX854 | - |
| Sensor size | 1/2.52" (≈ 0.4 inch) | - |
| Pixel size | 0.7 micron | - |
| Stabilization | Optical | - |
| Image resolution | 50 MP | 12 MP |
| Aperture | f/1.9 | f/2.2 |
| Focal length | 13 mm | - |
| Sensor | Samsung ISOCELL S5KJN3 | Sony IMX258 |
| Sensor size | 1/2.5" (≈ 0.4 inch) | 1/3.06" (≈ 0.33 inch) |
| Pixel size | 0.7 micron | 1.12 micron |
| Stabilization | Digital | Digital |
| Image resolution | - | 5 MP |
| Aperture | - | f/2.4 |
| Stabilization | - | Digital |
DxOMark main camera tests
Photo quality
Video quality
Generic main camera score
| Bokeh | 165 | 145 |
| Zoom | 141 | 59 |
| Samples | Photo samples of Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra from DxOMark | Photo samples of Samsung Galaxy A56 5G from DxOMark |
Selfie camera
| Megapixels | 12 megapixels | 12 megapixels |
| Image resolution | 4000 x 3000 | - |
| Aperture | f/2.2 | f/2.2 |
| Focal length | 23 mm | - |
| Sensor | Samsung ISOCELL S5K3LU | Samsung S5K3LC |
| Sensor size | 1/3.2" (≈ 0.31 inch) | - |
| Pixel size | 1.12 micron | - |
| Autofocus | Phase autofocus (Dual Pixel) | No |
| Stabilization | Digital | Digital |
| Video resolution | 2160p (4K) at 60 FPS | 2160p (4K) at 30 FPS |
| Depth sensor (TOF 3D) | No | No |
Connectivity
| Wi-Fi standard | Wi-Fi 7 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax/be) | Wi-Fi 6 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax) |
| Wi-Fi features | - Dual Band - Wi-Fi MiMO - Wi-Fi Direct - Wi-Fi Hotspot - Wi-Fi Display |
- Dual Band - Wi-Fi MiMO - Wi-Fi Direct - Wi-Fi Hotspot - Wi-Fi Display |
| Bluetooth version | 6.0 | 5.3 |
| Bluetooth features | LE | LE |
| USB type | USB Type-C | USB Type-C |
| USB version | 3.2 | 2 |
| USB features | - Charging - USB-Storage mode - OTG |
- Charging - USB-Storage mode - OTG |
| DisplayPort | Yes | No |
| GPS | GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo, QZSS | GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo, QZSS |
| NFC* | Yes | Yes |
| Infrared port | No | No |
| Number of SIM* | 1 | 2 |
| Type of SIM card | Nano | Nano |
| Multi SIM mode | Standby | Standby |
| eSIM support* | Yes | Yes |
| Hybrid slot | No | No |
| 5G support | Yes | Yes |
Sound
| Speakers | Stereo | Stereo |
| Headphone audio jack | No | No |
| FM radio | No | No |
| Dolby Atmos | Yes | Yes |
Speakers test
Max loudness
Other
| Category | Flagship | Mid-range |
| Announced | February 2026 | March 2025 |
| Release date | March 2026 | March 2025 |
| Launch price (MSRP) | $1299 | $499 |
| Successor | - | - Samsung Galaxy A57 5G |
| SAR (head) | 1.28 W/kg | 0.61 W/kg |
| SAR (body) | 1.35 W/kg | 1.05 W/kg |
| Sensors | - Hall-effect sensor - Barometer - Proximity sensor - Gyroscope - Accelerometer - Ambient light sensor - Compass - Fingerprint |
- Gyroscope - Accelerometer - Ambient light sensor - Compass - Fingerprint |
| Bundled charger | Not included | Not included |
*Disclaimer! NFC, GSM network support, and some other specs can be different depending on the country.
Conclusion
After analyzing all the data, we think that the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra is definitely a better buy.
Cast your vote
Total votes: 43
