The Samsung Galaxy A56 has arrived, entering a market filled with intense competition from rival brands.
This new Samsung phone starts at ₹42,000 in India, which is also the same price as the recently-launched OnePlus 13R.
Both these phones come from brands which have an immense fan following. I guess after Apple, it’s Samsung and OnePlus that have the most loyal customer base. So, which one out of these two is actually worth it?
Design
At first glance, both phones flaunt a glass sandwich design with a metal frame, so yeah, both feel quite premium. The design is also completely flat on these two phones, which makes them not the most ergonomic to hold.
The A56, however, has a raised frame near the buttons on the right, which gives it some character. However, Samsung seems to have pulled a ‘throwback Thursday’ by recycling an old design from five years ago. Those of you old enough will remember the Galaxy A50 & A50s, and the A56 kind of reminds me of those.
On the flip side, OnePlus has infused the 13R with its latest premium aesthetics, mirroring the pricier OnePlus 13. The 13R has a matte glass back, while Samsung sticks to a glossy finish. The A56 also has a wobbling issue on flat surfaces, in fact, even a light tap makes this phone unstable.
Anyway, the OnePlus 13R retains its alert slider, which is a small yet nifty feature.
In the durability department, Samsung gets the edge with its IP67 rating and Gorilla Glass Victus+ protection, while the 13R settles for IP65 and Gorilla Glass 7i.
Display
The display battle is equally interesting. The A56 has a 6.7-inch AMOLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate, while the OnePlus 13R goes slightly bigger with a 6.77-inch LTPO AMOLED panel, also at 120Hz but with the added benefit of dynamic refresh rate adjustment.
Brightness-wise, OnePlus wins with a peak 1600 nits HBM compared to Samsung’s 1200 nits. Watching content on both devices is a delight, but Samsung fights back with superior stereo speakers that offer deeper bass and clearer vocals.
Cameras
Please watch the video to see camera samples.
Okay, so when it comes to cameras, the numbers might seem similar, but the differences are stark.
The OnePlus 13R comes with a 50MP main camera, a 50MP 2x telephoto lens, and an 8MP ultrawide camera. Meanwhile, the Samsung Galaxy A56 offers a 50MP main camera, a 12MP ultrawide, and a 5MP macro, which, let’s be honest, you’ll rarely use.
Both main cameras deliver good results, with OnePlus leaning towards warmer, high-contrast shots, while Samsung tends to keep things cooler. However, HDR performance is better on the 13R. In low light, they’re neck and neck, though Samsung’s shots come out a bit brighter.
But despite having a higher-resolution ultrawide, Samsung surprisingly lags behind in processing as OnePlus produces better dynamic range and colour accuracy.
The dedicated telephoto lens on the 13R is a massive advantage, making portrait shots much more pleasing and sharper than Samsung’s 2x digital crop.
For video, Samsung can shoot 4K at 30fps on both main and ultrawide cameras, whereas OnePlus pushes 4K 60fps on the main but limits ultrawide to just 1080p 30fps. Talking of video performance, I found stability and detail to be better on the A56, both on the main and ultrawide lenses.
When it comes to selfies, both are evenly matched, though Samsung retains skin tones better.
Performance & Software
Under the hood, it’s Exynos 1580 on the A56 vs Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 on the 13R. Most of you know that competing against the mighty 8 Gen 3 is quite hard, so there are no surprises here.
The 8 Gen 3 on the OnePlus 13R scores twice as much on Antutu compared to the Exynos 1580.
GPU performance is even more lopsided, with the 13R being almost three times faster, making it the better choice for gaming.
And this echoes in real world performance. BGMI runs at 120fps on the 13R, whereas on the A56, it’s just 30fps at the time of my testing. Although I do suspect that it will be better optimised for the new Exynos chip in future.
Software-wise, both run Android 15 with OneUI 7 and OxygenOS 15 on top. Daily usability is smooth on both, but OnePlus has faster app loading times, thanks to its UFS 4.0 storage versus Samsung’s UFS 3.1. Both smartphones have bloatware, so neither gets the clean software crown.
Samsung does bring AI-powered features, but they’re heavily watered-down versions of what you get in the S25 series. In fact, there are no AI features at all in the notes app on the A56, which did disappoint me.
OnePlus, on the other hand, offers all the AI features from the premium OnePlus 13, making the AI package a lot more robust.
An underrated feature while using a phone is its haptics, and the 13R wins here yet again with its tighter haptics and their better implementation in its software compared to Samsung.
Software updates are where Samsung fights back, with six years of OS and security updates, while OnePlus offers four years of OS and six years of security.
Battery & Charging
Alright, so battery life is an area where the difference between these two phones is quite noticeable. The 13R comes with a massive 6,000mAh battery, whereas the A56 packs a 5,000mAh unit.
So naturally, the 13R delivers over nine hours of screen-on time, whereas the A56 manages around 7.5 hours.
Charging is another win for OnePlus, which not only offers 80W fast charging but also includes the adapter in the box. Samsung supports 45W charging, but you’ll have to buy the adapter separately.
Verdict
So, this battle seemed kind of one-sided to be honest.
If you want sheer performance, superior battery life, faster charging, and mostly great cameras, the OnePlus 13R is a no-brainer.
But, the A56 is not without its merits. If you value better durability, superior speakers, and most importantly a longer update cycle, the Samsung Galaxy A56 makes sense for you.
