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Head to head

Nothing Phone (4a) ProvsSamsung Galaxy A56

The short answer

Choose the Nothing Phone (4a) Pro for peak brightness and battery life per charge. Choose the Galaxy A56 for more base storage and battery lifespan. The Galaxy A56 is £20 cheaper at UK RRP (£499 against £519). The Nothing Phone (4a) Pro gets security updates for longer: until March 2032, against March 2031 for the Galaxy A56.

Released
2026-03-05GSMArena — Nothing Phone (4a) Pro specifications, retrieved 2026-08-21
Price
£519Nothing UK store — Phone (4a) Pro, retrieved 2026-08-21
Security updates until
2032-03-05Nothing UK — Phone (4a) Pro, retrieved 2026-08-21
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

2 wins for Nothing Phone (4a) Pro2 wins for Galaxy A564 differences you won’t notice£20 apart at RRP

Verdict: Nothing Phone (4a) Pro ahead on 2 rows, Galaxy A56 on 2 rows

On the makers’ published figures, the Phone (4a) Pro wins on peak brightness (5,000 nits against 1,200 nits) and battery per charge (63.4 h against 44.57 h); the Galaxy A56 wins on storage (base) (256 GB against 128 GB) and battery lifespan (2,000 cycles against 1,400 cycles). The differences in weight, display size, battery capacity and fast charging are below the thresholds you would notice. Both state the same RAM. The other 37 rows have no threshold or no direction to judge by, so nobody wins them.

True to scale

Phone (4a) Pro · 163.6 × 76.6 mmGalaxy A56 · 162.2 × 77.5 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

SpecificationNothing Phone (4a) ProSamsung Galaxy A56
DimensionsDiffers, but not ranked.
163.6 x 76.6 x 7.9 mmOfficial
162.2 x 77.5 x 7.4 mmOfficial
Weight
210gOfficial
198gOfficial

You won’t notice this difference.

BuildDiffers, but not ranked.
Aircraft-grade aluminium unibody; Corning Gorilla Glass 7i screenOfficial
Glass front (Gorilla Glass Victus+), glass back (Gorilla Glass Victus+), aluminum frame3rd party
SIMDiffers, but not ranked.
Dual SIM, Nano-SIM (4FF); eSIM: Yes (excluding India)Official
Nano-SIM + Nano-SIM + eSIM + eSIM (max 2 at a time)3rd party
Water/dust ratingDiffers, but not ranked.
IP65Official
IP67Official
UnlockDiffers, but not ranked.
Fingerprint Sensor, In-screen optical scannerOfficial
Fingerprint SensorOfficial

Display

SpecificationNothing Phone (4a) ProSamsung Galaxy A56
Display typeDiffers, but not ranked.
6.83" flexible AMOLED, 144 Hz adaptive, 10-bitOfficial
Super AMOLED, up to 120Hz, Vision BoosterOfficial
Display size
6.83inOfficial
6.7inOfficial

You won’t notice this difference.

ResolutionDiffers, but not ranked.
1260 x 2800Official
1080 x 23403rd party
Pixel densityDiffers, but not ranked.
450ppiOfficial
385ppi3rd party
Refresh rate
144HzOfficial
120HzOfficial
Peak brightness
5000nitsOfficialwins this row
1200nitsOfficial

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

Phone (4a) Pro is ahead here, by a gap you’d notice.

Typical brightness
800nitsOfficial
No verified data
Screen protectionDiffers, but not ranked.
Corning Gorilla Glass 7iOfficial
Corning Gorilla Glass Victus+Official

Platform

SpecificationNothing Phone (4a) ProSamsung Galaxy A56
Operating systemDiffers, but not ranked.
Nothing OS 4.1 powered by Android 16Official
Android 15, One UI 7Official
ChipsetDiffers, but not ranked.
Qualcomm Snapdragon 7 Gen 4Official
Exynos 1580Official
CPUDiffers, but not ranked.
Qualcomm Kryo 8-core, up to 2.8 GHz (1 Prime up to 2.8 GHz + 3 Performance up to 2.4 GHz + 4 Efficiency up to 1.8 GHz)Official
Octa-core (1x2.9 GHz Cortex-A720 & 3x2.6 GHz Cortex-A720 & 4x1.9 GHz Cortex-A520)3rd party
GPUDiffers, but not ranked.
Qualcomm Adreno 722Official
Xclipse 5403rd party

Memory

SpecificationNothing Phone (4a) ProSamsung Galaxy A56
Storage (base)
128GBOfficial
256GBOfficialwins this row

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

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

Camera

SpecificationNothing Phone (4a) ProSamsung Galaxy A56
Main cameraDiffers, but not ranked.
50 MP main (f/1.88, 1/1.56") + 50 MP periscope (f/2.88, 3.5x optical) + 8 MP ultrawide (120°) + 32 MP frontOfficial
50MP Main f/1.8 AF OIS; 12MP Ultra-Wide f/2.2; 5MP Macro f/2.4; 12MP front f/2.2Official
Main sensor resolutionSame.
50MPOfficial
50MPOfficial
Main apertureDiffers, but not ranked.
f/1.88Official
f/1.8Official
Main sensor sizeSame.
1/1.56"Official
1/1.56"3rd party
Telephoto
50 MP periscope, f/2.88, 1/2.75", 3.5x optical zoom, 7x in-sensor zoom, 140x ultra zoom, OIS & EIS, PDAFOfficial
No verified data
UltrawideDiffers, but not ranked.
8 MP, 120° FOV, 1/4"Official
12MP Ultra-Wide, f/2.2Official
Front cameraDiffers, but not ranked.
32 MP, f/2.2, 1/3.44", 89° FOVOfficial
12MP front, f/2.2Official
Video captureDiffers, but not ranked.
4K Ultra XDR@30fps; 1080p Ultra XDR@30/60fps; slo-mo 1080p 120fps; time-lapse 4K/1080pOfficial
4K@30fps3rd party

Battery

SpecificationNothing Phone (4a) ProSamsung Galaxy A56
Battery capacity
5080mAhOfficial
5000mAhOfficial

You won’t notice this difference.

Battery per charge
63.4hOfficialwins this row
44.57hOfficial

Phone (4a) Pro is ahead here, by a gap you’d notice.

Claimed video playback
No verified data
29hOfficial
Battery lifespan
1400cyclesOfficial
2000cyclesOfficialwins this row

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

Fast charging
50WOfficial
45WOfficial

You won’t notice this difference.

Connectivity

SpecificationNothing Phone (4a) ProSamsung Galaxy A56
Wi-FiDiffers, but not ranked.
Wi-Fi 6, 802.11a/b/g/n/ac/ax, 2.4G/5GOfficial
Wi-Fi 63rd party
BluetoothDiffers, but not ranked.
5.4Official
5.33rd party
USBSame.
USB Type-C 2.0, OTG3rd party
USB Type-C 2.0, OTG3rd party
NFCSame.
YesOfficial
Yes3rd party
PositioningDiffers, but not ranked.
GPS (L1), GLONASS (G1), BDS (B1I), GALILEO (E1), QZSS (L1)Official
GPS, GALILEO, GLONASS, BDS, QZSS3rd party

Benchmarks

SpecificationNothing Phone (4a) ProSamsung Galaxy A56
Geekbench 6 (CPU, multi-core)
No verified data
37013rd party
AnTuTu benchmark
No verified data
12238863rd party
DXOMARK camera score
No verified data
1143rd party

Misc

SpecificationNothing Phone (4a) ProSamsung Galaxy A56
ColoursDiffers, but not ranked.
Silver, Black, PinkOfficial
Awesome Lightgrey, Awesome Graphite, Awesome Olive, Awesome PinkOfficial
SAR (EU, head)
No verified data
0.61W/kg3rd party
Repairability (EU class)Same.
COfficial
COfficial
5 attributes neither phone has a sourced figure for

HDR peak brightness · OS versions supported · Google Mobile Services · Wireless charging · 3DMark Wild Life Extreme. Rows appear as sources are cited — a gap in our data, not a statement about either phone.

Questions

Is the Nothing Phone (4a) Pro better than the Galaxy A56?

On the figures, neither is better overall: the Nothing Phone (4a) Pro wins on peak brightness, 5,000 nits (Nothing UK) against 1,200 nits (Samsung Newsroom UK) and battery per charge, 63.4 h against 44.57 h (both EU energy label); the Galaxy A56 wins on storage (base), 256 GB (Samsung Newsroom UK) against 128 GB (Nothing UK) and battery lifespan, 2,000 cycles against 1,400 cycles (both EU energy label). Every other row is borderline, too close to notice, or not ranked.

Which has the better battery?

The Nothing Phone (4a) Pro, by a gap you’d notice: battery per charge, 63.4 h against 44.57 h (both EU energy label). The Nothing Phone (4a) Pro is ahead on paper, but not by a gap you’d notice: battery capacity, 5,080 mAh (Nothing UK) against 5,000 mAh (Samsung Newsroom UK).

Which is lighter?

The Galaxy A56 is lighter on paper, but not by a gap you’d notice: weight, 198 g (Samsung Newsroom UK) against 210 g (Nothing UK).

Which has the brighter screen?

The Nothing Phone (4a) Pro, by a gap you’d notice: peak brightness, 5,000 nits (Nothing UK) against 1,200 nits (Samsung Newsroom UK).

Which gets updates for longer?

The Nothing Phone (4a) Pro gets security updates for longer: until March 2032, against March 2031 for the Galaxy A56. Sources: dates from Nothing UK and endoflife.date.

Which is cheaper?

The Galaxy A56 is £20 cheaper at UK RRP (£499 against £519). Prices from Nothing Phone (4a) Pro: Nothing UK store; Galaxy A56: Samsung Newsroom UK.

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