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MobileIQ

Head to head

Samsung Galaxy A56vsApple iPhone 16e

The short answer

Choose the Galaxy A56 for the larger screen, more base storage, battery lifespan and faster charging. Choose the iPhone 16e for lower weight and Geekbench 6 CPU score. The Galaxy A56 is £100 cheaper at UK RRP (£499 against £599). The Galaxy A56 gets security updates until March 2031; Apple publishes no date for the iPhone 16e, and its record with retired iPhones points to 2032–2036, our estimate, not Apple’s. On that estimate the iPhone 16e 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
2025-02-28endoflife.date, retrieved 2026-08-19
Price
£599Apple Newsroom UK — iPhone 16e launch, retrieved 2026-09-22
Security updates until
Not published by the makerendoflife.date — iPhone, retrieved 2026-08-19

4 wins for Galaxy A562 wins for iPhone 16e3 gaps borderline0 differences you won’t notice£100 apart at RRP

Verdict: Galaxy A56 ahead on 4 rows, iPhone 16e 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 lifespan (2,000 cycles against 1,000 cycles) and fast charging (45 W against 20 W); the iPhone 16e wins on weight (167 g against 198 g) and Geekbench 6 (CPU, multi-core) (7,217 against 3,701, both from Geekbench Browser). 3 gaps are borderline, differences most people would not notice: battery capacity (5,000 mAh from the maker against 4,005 mAh from GSMArena) for the Galaxy A56, battery per charge (44.57 h against 41 h) for the Galaxy A56 and claimed video playback (29 h against 26 h) for the Galaxy A56. Both state the same peak brightness and RAM. The other 38 rows have no threshold or no direction to judge by, so nobody wins them.

True to scale

Galaxy A56 · 162.2 × 77.5 mmiPhone 16e · 146.7 × 71.5 mm

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

SpecificationSamsung Galaxy A56Apple iPhone 16e
DimensionsDiffers, but not ranked.
162.2 x 77.5 x 7.4 mmOfficial
146.7 x 71.5 x 7.80 mmOfficial
Weight
198gOfficial
167gOfficialwins this row

iPhone 16e is ahead here, by a gap you’d notice.

BuildDiffers, but not ranked.
Glass front (Gorilla Glass Victus+), glass back (Gorilla Glass Victus+), aluminum frame3rd party
Aluminium design, Ceramic Shield front, Glass backOfficial
SIMDiffers, but not ranked.
Nano-SIM + Nano-SIM + eSIM + eSIM (max 2 at a time)3rd party
Dual SIM (nano-SIM and eSIM); Dual eSIM supportOfficial
Water/dust ratingDiffers, but not ranked.
IP67Official
IP68Official
UnlockDiffers, but not ranked.
Fingerprint SensorOfficial
Face ID (TrueDepth camera)Official

Display

SpecificationSamsung Galaxy A56Apple iPhone 16e
Display typeDiffers, but not ranked.
Super AMOLED, up to 120Hz, Vision BoosterOfficial
Super Retina XDR OLED, HDR, True Tone, Wide colour (P3)Official
Display size
6.7inOfficialwins this row
6.1inOfficial

Galaxy A56 is ahead here, by a gap you’d notice.

ResolutionDiffers, but not ranked.
1080 x 23403rd party
2532 x 1170Official
Pixel densityDiffers, but not ranked.
385ppi3rd party
460ppiOfficial
Refresh rate
120HzOfficial
No verified data
Peak brightnessSame.
1200nitsOfficial

Samsung Newsroom UK — Galaxy A56 5G, A36 5G and A26 5G claims 1200 nits · GSMArena — Samsung Galaxy A56 specifications reports 1900 nits

1200nitsOfficial
Typical brightness
No verified data
800nitsOfficial
HDR peak brightness
No verified data
1200nitsOfficial
Screen protectionDiffers, but not ranked.
Corning Gorilla Glass Victus+Official
Ceramic Shield frontOfficial

Platform

SpecificationSamsung Galaxy A56Apple iPhone 16e
Operating systemDiffers, but not ranked.
Android 15, One UI 7Official
iOS 18.3.13rd party
OS versions supported
No verified data
iOS 18 to iOS 27Official
ChipsetDiffers, but not ranked.
Exynos 1580Official
A18 chipOfficial
CPUDiffers, but not ranked.
Octa-core (1x2.9 GHz Cortex-A720 & 3x2.6 GHz Cortex-A720 & 4x1.9 GHz Cortex-A520)3rd party
6-core CPU with 2 performance and 4 efficiency coresOfficial
GPUDiffers, but not ranked.
Xclipse 5403rd party
4-core GPUOfficial

Memory

SpecificationSamsung Galaxy A56Apple iPhone 16e
Storage (base)
256GBOfficialwins this row
128GBOfficial

Galaxy A56 is ahead here, by a gap you’d notice.

Storage optionsDiffers, but not ranked.
256GBOfficial
128GB/256GB/512GBOfficial
RAMSame.
8GBOfficial
8GB3rd party
Card slotSame.
No3rd party
No3rd party

Camera

SpecificationSamsung Galaxy A56Apple iPhone 16e
Main cameraDiffers, but not ranked.
50MP Main f/1.8 AF OIS; 12MP Ultra-Wide f/2.2; 5MP Macro f/2.4; 12MP front f/2.2Official
2-in-1 camera system: 48MP Fusion Main 26mm f/1.6 with OIS; also enables 12MP 2x Telephoto 52mm f/1.6Official
Main sensor resolutionDiffers, but not ranked.
50MPOfficial
48MPOfficial
Main apertureDiffers, but not ranked.
f/1.8Official
f/1.6Official
Main sensor sizeDiffers, but not ranked.
1/1.56"3rd party
1/2.55"3rd party
Telephoto
No verified data
12MP 2x Telephoto, 52mm, f/1.6, OIS (enabled by 48MP Fusion Main)Official
Ultrawide
12MP Ultra-Wide, f/2.2Official
No verified data
Front cameraDiffers, but not ranked.
12MP front, f/2.2Official
12MP TrueDepth, f/1.9 aperture, autofocus with Focus PixelsOfficial
Video captureDiffers, but not ranked.
4K@30fps3rd party
4K Dolby Vision at 24, 25, 30 or 60 fpsOfficial

Battery

SpecificationSamsung Galaxy A56Apple iPhone 16e
Battery capacity
5000mAhOfficial
4005mAh3rd party

Marginal — most people won’t notice.

Battery per charge
44.57hOfficial
41hOfficial

Marginal — most people won’t notice.

Claimed video playback
29hOfficial
26hOfficial

Marginal — most people won’t notice.

Battery lifespan
2000cyclesOfficialwins this row
1000cyclesOfficial

Galaxy A56 is ahead here, by a gap you’d notice.

Fast charging
45WOfficialwins this row
20WOfficial

Galaxy A56 is ahead here, by a gap you’d notice.

Wireless charging
No verified data
7.5W3rd party

Connectivity

SpecificationSamsung Galaxy A56Apple iPhone 16e
Wi-FiDiffers, but not ranked.
Wi-Fi 63rd party
Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax) with 2x2 MIMOOfficial
BluetoothSame.
5.33rd party
5.3Official
USBDiffers, but not ranked.
USB Type-C 2.0, OTG3rd party
USB-C, USB 2 (up to 480Mb/s)Official
NFCSame.
Yes3rd party
YesOfficial
PositioningDiffers, but not ranked.
GPS, GALILEO, GLONASS, BDS, QZSS3rd party
GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, QZSS, BeiDou and NavICOfficial

Benchmarks

SpecificationSamsung Galaxy A56Apple iPhone 16e
Geekbench 6 (CPU, multi-core)
37013rd party
72173rd partywins this row

iPhone 16e is ahead here, by a gap you’d notice.

AnTuTu benchmark
12238863rd party
No verified data
DXOMARK camera score
1143rd party
No verified data

Misc

SpecificationSamsung Galaxy A56Apple iPhone 16e
ColoursDiffers, but not ranked.
Awesome Lightgrey, Awesome Graphite, Awesome Olive, Awesome PinkOfficial
Black, WhiteOfficial
SAR (EU, head)Differs, but not ranked.
0.61W/kg3rd party
1.48W/kg3rd party
Repairability (EU class)Same.
COfficial
COfficial
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 16e?

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 Support UK), storage (base), 256 GB (Samsung Newsroom UK) against 128 GB (Apple Support 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 Support UK); the iPhone 16e wins on weight, 167 g (Apple Support UK) against 198 g (Samsung Newsroom UK) and Geekbench 6 (CPU, multi-core), 7,217 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 is ahead, narrowly: battery per charge, 44.57 h against 41 h (both EU energy label), a borderline gap most people would not notice. The Galaxy A56 is ahead, narrowly: claimed video playback, 29 h (Samsung UK) against 26 h (Apple UK), a borderline gap most people would not notice. The Galaxy A56 is ahead, narrowly: battery capacity, 5,000 mAh (Samsung Newsroom UK) against 4,005 mAh (GSMArena), a borderline gap most people would not notice.

Which is lighter?

The iPhone 16e, by a gap you’d notice: weight, 167 g (Apple Support UK) against 198 g (Samsung Newsroom UK).

Which has the brighter screen?

Neither: both state 1,200 nits for peak brightness (Samsung Newsroom UK and Apple Support UK).

Which gets updates for longer?

The Galaxy A56 gets security updates until March 2031; Apple publishes no date for the iPhone 16e, and its record with retired iPhones points to 2032–2036, our estimate, not Apple’s. On that estimate the iPhone 16e 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 £100 cheaper at UK RRP (£499 against £599). Prices from Galaxy A56: Samsung Newsroom UK; iPhone 16e: Apple Newsroom UK.

The pairs a buyer of either phone would also weigh. Any two phones in the catalogue can be compared from the chooser.