Samsung makes Galaxy A56, A36 and A26 official

'Awesome' new phones mark end of memory card era

monday

Samsung announced three new Galaxy A phones ahead of the MWC. Each serves a different target market, mainly on how big their wallets are. Apart from the A26, these Galaxy A models no longer come with expandable memory. An end of an era.

The Galaxy A56, A36 and A26 share more or less the same design philosophy. For example, the rear camera module is designed as a black pill, regardless of the execution color. Samsung further applies flat sides with clean lines.

The Galaxy A56 is the most comprehensive of the trio, featuring a slightly larger and brighter screen with thinner bezels. As a result, the device is barely bigger. The weight did get much lower, possibly thanks to lighter materials. Besides a slightly more powerful processor, the specifications are virtually the same. Think of the cameras. However, many new AI features have been added including Best Face to get the best faces in a group photo.

Galaxy A36

The Galaxy A36 also gets AI features such as Circle to Search and Object Eraser. These involve erasing parts from existing photos. Also new to the A36 is the more colorful selfie camera. Because it now shoots in 10-bit, it can store many more colors resulting in brighter and clearer selfies.

Like the A56, the A36 also has to ditch the memory card slot. As a result, expanding memory is no longer as simple as simply inserting a microSD card. Now think carefully in advance about how much memory you need, you will have to make do with this.

Galaxy A26

Memory expansion is still possible with the simplest device from the Galaxy A models now announced; the A26. This device also finally gets a full water and dustproof IP67 casing and sturdy Gorilla Glass from Corning. Samsung ships the A26 with Android 14 where the other models get version 15. You do get OS upgrades a year longer, up to 7. Security updates roll in until at least March 2031.