Product test
Nothing Phone (3a) tested: a telephoto camera for the mid-range smartphone
by Jan Johannsen
Samsung Galaxy A56 tested: brighter light, faster charging and more waterproof
9/4/2025
Translation: machine translated
Pictures: Jan Johannsen
The Galaxy A56 is Samsung's new top smartphone from the A series and gives my previous favourite, the Nothing Phone (3a), a run for its money.
The Galaxy A56 is Samsung's three new mid-range smartphones with the best features. Compared to its predecessor Galaxy A55 has a new chipset and a slightly larger and, above all, brighter display. It charges faster and is more robust. Samsung has reduced the resolution of the front camera, but it can now record HDR videos.
As I have just chosen the Phone (3a) as my new favourite among mid-range smartphones, the Galaxy A56 will often have to be compared with it. My first impulse, that the Nothing is clearly better, has quickly turned Samsung into a neck-and-neck race in which nuances are the deciding factor.
Better to use in sunshine
Samsung has enlarged the AMOLED display of the Galaxy A56 to 6.7 inches. The 0.1 inches more compared to the Galaxy A55 can only be seen in a direct comparison. The resolution is the same at 2340 × 1080 pixels. However, the most important difference compared to its predecessor is the increased brightness. The Galaxy A56 shines with up to 800 nits, which is 200 nits more. This ensures better visibility, especially in sunshine, of the display, which is already very good in terms of colour reproduction and resolution.
Nothing uses almost the same display in the Phone (3a). It is only 0.07 inches larger, has a 2 ppi higher pixel density, also offers 1080p and achieves 1300 instead of 1200 nits in high-brightness mode. The typical brightness is the same at 800 nits.
On the other hand, Samsung's smartphone is somewhat more robust with its aluminium frame. It can withstand up to 30 minutes in 1.5 metres of water according to IP67. The Nothing Phone is only protected against splash water according to IP64. But I wouldn't intentionally do anything more to my smartphone than use it in the rain in connection with water.
Missing telephoto camera only has an effect at magnifications
On paper, the Nothing Phone (3a) has one advantage over the Galaxy A56: an extra 50-megapixel telephoto camera. However, this only has a 2x zoom - and Samsung simulates this digitally. The result:
At first glance and when looking at the smartphone display, it makes no difference whether I use the phone's telephoto camera (3a) or the Galaxy A56's digital zoom. However, when I look at the photos in their original size, the advantages of the additional camera are clearly recognisable in terms of the level of detail.
With my colourful wall, I notice colour differences in the 50-megapixel main cameras, but these are not as pronounced in every photo. Nothing mixes a little more yellow into the image, which makes it appear warmer. The colours appear somewhat stronger without being overly colourful. At first, I think the picture looks better, but over time I have to admit that Samsung is a little closer to reality.
The ultra-wide-angle camera of the Galaxy A56 has a resolution of 12 megapixels. The Nothing Phone (3a) has to make do with 8 megapixels. In my opinion, this makes no difference in terms of quality. The main thing I notice is that the Samsung smartphone has a wider viewing angle.
In the dark, the Galaxy A56 should benefit from Samsung's Nightography functions. Nevertheless, I like the night mode of the Nothing Phone (3a) better. Here, the yellowish colouring makes more sense due to the street lighting. In contrast, the A56's image drifts into a reddish colour and shows the lights of the lamps less beautifully. However, Samsung manages the level of detail a little better.
The 12-megapixel front camera of the Galaxy A56 has no disadvantage in daylight compared to the 32-megapixel front camera of the Phone (3a). On the contrary: when I look at the selfies not only on the smartphone, but in their original size, I find the Samsung device's photo slightly more detailed. The differences become clearer in the dark, although Samsung uses a trick here: I was unable to switch off the display acting as a lamp to brighten up my face.
Multiple AI tools, but no Galaxy AI
Samsung equips the Galaxy A56 with Android 15 and promises to deliver operating system updates and security updates for six years. This is not yet common in this price range. Nothing also offers six years of security updates for the phone (3a), but only three operating system updates.
Samsung's One UI 7.0 user interface also includes some AI functions. However, the manufacturer explicitly emphasises that this is not «Galaxy AI». This is reserved for the S and Z series with even more functions. Instead, all available AI tools run directly on the Galaxy A56 and do not require an internet connection. The focus here is on photography.
Circle-to-Search is a practical search function that recognises things on the screen. When taking pictures, the AI helps with night mode and ensures a blurred background in portrait mode. You can also use your own images as templates for filters. The AI then adopts the colour mood and transfers it to other photos. With the «Best Face» function, you can assign the best face to people in group photos from several shots.
The AI creates a highlight clip from a longer video on request - which works to varying degrees. The object eraser, on the other hand, has become very reliable, making people or distracting objects disappear from images.
The AI selection can be called up at any time via the side menu. It helps to download images and mark and copy text. It can also create GIFs from videos. Compared to the Galaxy AI, however, the A56 lacks the translation function. The Samsung browser also offers a read aloud function. Sounds practical, but fails in practice due to various hurdles. For example, it only reads out the headline and subheadings of my articles on Galaxus or Digitec. It ignores the actual text.
More power than the Nothing Phone (3a)
I already found the Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 in the Nothing Phone (3a) to be suitable for everyday use. Samsung uses its own Exynos 1580 chipset in the Galaxy A56, which performs better across the board in benchmark tests. The Nothing performs 13 per cent worse in the CPU values and as much as 32 per cent worse in the graphics calculations.
In everyday use, however, these quite significant figures are rarely noticeable - if you pay close attention.
The Galaxy A56 has a 5000 mAh battery, which it charges with up to 45 watts - and therefore faster than its predecessor. In this respect, its features are similar to the Nothing Phone (3a). According to the PC Mark Work 3.0 battery test, Samsung achieves a roughly longer battery life despite more power. The app measures 11:54 hours compared to 11:09 hours for the Phone (3a).
In a nutshell
Serious competition for my favourite mid-range model
The Galaxy A56 is a very good mid-range model that has some improvements over its predecessor. Nothing about it is bad, you just get slightly better features for more money. However, the more expensive Galaxy S models set themselves apart with more AI tools, even brighter displays and more computing power, for example.
When I tested the Nothing Phone (3a), I had already been able to take a look at the Galaxy A56. Spontaneously, I didn't think it was nearly as good. After my extensive test, both smartphones are now together at the top of the mid-range for me. In each case, nuances make the difference as to which is the better choice.
The Galaxy A56 offers better performance, longer updates and is waterproof. However, it costs more than the Phone (3a) and is less eye-catching in terms of design. Nothing also scores with the details of its telephoto camera. I'm still leaning towards the Nothing Phone (3a) - mainly because it's no worse in practice, I like the design and I'm happy about the lower price.
Pro
- Six years of updates
- Waterproof
- Good main camera
Contra
- Not all AI tools are convincing
- no telephoto camera
Header image: Jan Johannsen
As a primary school pupil, I used to sit in a friend's living room with many of my classmates to play the Super NES. Now I get my hands on the latest technology and test it for you. In recent years at Curved, Computer Bild and Netzwelt, now at Digitec and Galaxus.
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