Head to head
Samsung Galaxy A56vsApple iPhone 16
The short answer
Choose the Galaxy A56 for the larger screen, more base storage, battery capacity, battery life per charge, video playback time, battery lifespan and faster charging. Choose the iPhone 16 for peak brightness and Geekbench 6 CPU score. The Galaxy A56 is £200 cheaper at UK RRP (£499 against £699). The Galaxy A56 gets security updates until March 2031; Apple publishes no date for the iPhone 16, and its record with retired iPhones points to 2031–2035, our estimate, not Apple’s. On that estimate neither clearly gets them for longer.
- Released
- 2025-03-28endoflife.date, retrieved 2026-08-20
- Price
- £499Samsung Newsroom UK — Galaxy A56 5G, A36 5G and A26 5G, retrieved 2026-08-20
- Security updates until
- 2031-03-28endoflife.date — Samsung mobile, retrieved 2026-08-20
- Released
- 2024-09-20endoflife.date, retrieved 2026-08-19
- Price
- £699Apple UK store, retrieved 2026-08-19
- Security updates until
- Not published by the makerendoflife.date — iPhone, retrieved 2026-08-19
7 wins for Galaxy A562 wins for iPhone 161 gap borderline0 differences you won’t notice£200 apart at RRP
Verdict: Galaxy A56 ahead on 7 rows, iPhone 16 on 2 rows
On the makers’ figures and the named third-party sources, the Galaxy A56 wins on display size (6.7 in against 6.1 in), storage (base) (256 GB against 128 GB), battery capacity (5,000 mAh from the maker against 3,561 mAh from GSMArena), battery per charge (44.57 h against 37 h), claimed video playback (29 h against 22 h), battery lifespan (2,000 cycles against 1,000 cycles) and fast charging (45 W against 20 W); the iPhone 16 wins on peak brightness (2,000 nits against 1,200 nits) and Geekbench 6 (CPU, multi-core) (7,558 against 3,701, both from Geekbench Browser). One gap is borderline, a difference most people would not notice: weight (170 g against 198 g) for the iPhone 16. Both state the same RAM. The other 38 rows have no threshold or no direction to judge by, so nobody wins them.
True to scale
Outlines from each maker’s published dimensions, drawn to scale. Corner rounding is our drawing convention, not a measurement.
Specifications
A win is marked only where the figures can be ranked and the gap is one you could notice. A row the site has no threshold for says whether the two differ, and that it is not ranking them. = marks the same figure on both, ≠ not ranked a difference with no ranking. Every figure carries its source.
Body
Display
Samsung Newsroom UK — Galaxy A56 5G, A36 5G and A26 5G claims 1200 nits · GSMArena — Samsung Galaxy A56 specifications reports 1900 nits
iPhone 16 is ahead here, by a gap you’d notice.
Platform
Memory
Camera
Battery
Connectivity
Benchmarks
2 attributes neither phone has a sourced figure for
Google Mobile Services · 3DMark Wild Life Extreme. Rows appear as sources are cited — a gap in our data, not a statement about either phone.
Questions
Is the Galaxy A56 better than the iPhone 16?
On the figures, neither is better overall: the Galaxy A56 wins on display size, 6.7 in (Samsung Newsroom UK) against 6.1 in (Apple UK), storage (base), 256 GB (Samsung Newsroom UK) against 128 GB (Apple UK), battery capacity, 5,000 mAh (Samsung Newsroom UK) against 3,561 mAh (GSMArena), battery per charge, 44.57 h against 37 h (both EU energy label), claimed video playback, 29 h (Samsung UK) against 22 h (Apple UK), battery lifespan, 2,000 cycles against 1,000 cycles (both EU energy label) and fast charging, 45 W (Samsung Newsroom UK) against 20 W (Apple UK); the iPhone 16 wins on peak brightness, 2,000 nits (Apple UK) against 1,200 nits (Samsung Newsroom UK) and Geekbench 6 (CPU, multi-core), 7,558 against 3,701 (both Geekbench Browser). Every other row is borderline, too close to notice, or not ranked.
Which has the better battery?
The Galaxy A56, by a gap you’d notice: battery per charge, 44.57 h against 37 h (both EU energy label). The Galaxy A56, by a gap you’d notice: claimed video playback, 29 h (Samsung UK) against 22 h (Apple UK). The Galaxy A56, by a gap you’d notice: battery capacity, 5,000 mAh (Samsung Newsroom UK) against 3,561 mAh (GSMArena).
Which is lighter?
The iPhone 16 is lighter, narrowly: weight, 170 g (Apple UK) against 198 g (Samsung Newsroom UK), a borderline gap most people would not notice.
Which has the brighter screen?
The iPhone 16, by a gap you’d notice: peak brightness, 2,000 nits (Apple UK) against 1,200 nits (Samsung Newsroom UK).
Which gets updates for longer?
The Galaxy A56 gets security updates until March 2031; Apple publishes no date for the iPhone 16, and its record with retired iPhones points to 2031–2035, our estimate, not Apple’s. On that estimate neither clearly gets them for longer. Sources: dates from endoflife.date; Apple’s record from endoflife.date and Apple security releases.
Which is cheaper?
The Galaxy A56 is £200 cheaper at UK RRP (£499 against £699). Prices from Galaxy A56: Samsung Newsroom UK; iPhone 16: Apple UK store.
Other comparisons
The pairs a buyer of either phone would also weigh. Any two phones in the catalogue can be compared from the chooser.