Samsung Galaxy M56 5G vs Nothing Phone (3a)
65 out of 100
VS
69 out of 100
Here we compared two mid-range smartphones: the 6.74-inch Samsung Galaxy M56 5G (with Exynos 1480) that was released on April 17, 2025, against the Nothing Phone (3a), which is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 and came out 2 months before. On this page, you will find tests, full specs, strengths, and weaknesses of each of the devices.
Key differences
Reasons to consider the Samsung Galaxy M56 5G
- Uses a faster type of memory: LPDDR5 3200 MHz
- Faster storage type - UFS 3.1 versus UFS 2.2
- Weighs 21 grams less
- The front-facing camera can record video at 4K
Reasons to consider the Nothing Phone (3a)
- The rear camera has a 2x optical zoom
- Has 50% more RAM: 12GB versus 8GB
- Newer Bluetooth version (v5.4)
- Stereo speakers
Review
Display
Screen quality, color accuracy, brightness
Camera
Photo and video recording quality
Performance
CPU and memory performance (apps, system)
Gaming
Capabilities for playing modern games
Battery
Battery life, charging type and speed
Connectivity
Networks, ports, data transmission
Scores with a red asterisk (*) are approximate and may change in the future as we gather more data.
Choose the importance of each parameter to more accurately identify the smartphone that best meets your particular needs.
Tests and specifications
Comparison table of technical specifications and testsDisplay
| Type | Super AMOLED | AMOLED |
| Size | 6.74 inches | 6.77 inches |
| Resolution | 1080 x 2340 pixels | 1080 x 2392 pixels |
| Aspect ratio | 19.5:9 | - |
| PPI | 382 ppi | 387 ppi |
| Refresh rate | 120 Hz | 120 Hz |
| Adaptive refresh rate | Yes (60-120 Hz) | Yes (60-120 Hz) |
| Max rated brightness | - | 1300 nits |
| Max rated brightness in HDR | - | 3000 nits |
| HDR support | No | Yes, HDR10+ |
| Screen protection | Corning Gorilla Glass Victus Plus | Panda Glass |
| Screen-to-body ratio | 89% | 88% |
| Display features | - DCI-P3 - Always-On Display | - DCI-P3 - Always-On Display - DC Dimming |
Peak brightness test (auto)
Design and build
| Height | 162 mm (6.38 inches) | 163.52 mm (6.44 inches) |
| Width | 77.3 mm (3.04 inches) | 77.5 mm (3.05 inches) |
| Thickness | 7.2 mm (0.28 inches) | 8.35 mm (0.33 inches) |
| Weight | 180 g (6.35 oz) | 201 g (7.09 oz) |
| Waterproof | - | IP64 |
| Advanced cooling | - | Vapor chamber |
| Rear material | Glass | - |
| Frame material | Plastic | - |
| Colors | Black, Green | White, Black, Blue |
| Fingerprint scanner | Yes, in-display | Yes, in-display |
Screen-to-body ratio
Performance
| Chipset | Exynos 1480 | Qualcomm Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 |
| Max clock | 2400 MHz | 2500 MHz |
| CPU cores | 8 (4 + 4) | 8 (1 + 3 + 4) |
| Architecture | - 4 cores at 2 GHz: Cortex-A55 - 4 cores at 2.75 GHz: Cortex-A78 | - 4 cores at 1.8 GHz: Kryo Silver (Cortex-A520) - 3 cores at 2.4 GHz: Kryo Gold (Cortex-A720) - 1 core at 2.5 GHz: Kryo Prime (Cortex-A720) |
| L3 cache | 4 MB | - |
| Manufacturing | Samsung | TSMC |
| Lithography process | 4 nanometers | 4 nanometers |
| Neural processor (NPU) | Yes | Yes |
| Graphics | Samsung Xclipse 530 | Adreno 810 |
| GPU shading units | 128 | 256 |
| GPU clock | 1300 MHz | 1050 MHz |
| FLOPS | ~332.8 GFLOPS | ~537.6 GFLOPS |
Benchmarks
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
| Geekbench Compute (GPU) | - | 4435 |
| Single-core score | 1145 | 1178 |
| Multi-core score | 3481 | 3214 |
AnTuTu Benchmark 10
| CPU | 247282 | 251686 |
| GPU | 175808 | 198602 |
| Memory | 149957 | 127746 |
| UX | 160046 | 160137 |
| Total score | 733093 | 738171 |
| Samples | Less than 3 | [3 tests] |
Memory
| RAM size | 8 GB | 8, 12 GB |
| Memory type | LPDDR5 | LPDDR4X |
| Memory clock | 3200 MHz | 2133 MHz |
| Channels | 4 | 4 |
| Storage size | 128, 256 GB | 128, 256 GB |
| Storage type | UFS 3.1 | UFS 2.2 |
| Memory card | - | No |
Software
| Operating system | Android 15 | Android 15 |
| ROM | One UI 7.0 | Nothing OS 3.1 |
| OS size | 22.3 GB | - |
Battery
| Capacity | 5000 mAh | 5000 mAh |
| Max charge power | 45 W | 50 W |
| Battery type | Li-Ion | Li-Po |
| Replaceable | No | No |
| Wireless charging | No | No |
| Reverse charging | No | No |
| Fast charging | Yes | Yes (61% in 30 min) |
| Full charging time | - | 1:06 hr |
| Web browsing | - | 08:06 hr |
| Watching video | - | 16:25 hr |
| Gaming | - | 05:49 hr |
| Standby | - | 131 hr |
General battery life
Main camera
| Matrix | 50 megapixels | 50 megapixels |
| Image resolution | 8160 x 6120 | 8192 x 6144 |
| Zoom | Digital | Optical, 2x |
| Flash | LED | LED |
| Stabilization | Optical | Optical |
| 8K video recording | No | No |
| 4K video recording | Up to 30FPS | Up to 30FPS |
| 1080p video recording | Up to 60FPS | Up to 60FPS |
| Slow motion | 240 FPS (720p) | 240 FPS (720p) |
| Angle of widest lens | 123° | 120° |
| Lenses | 1) Standard: 50 MP 2) Ultrawide: 8 MP 3) Macro: 2 MP | 1) Standard: 50 MP 2) Telephoto: 50 MP 3) Ultrawide: 8 MP |
| Camera features | - Bokeh mode - Pro mode | - Bokeh mode - Pro mode |
| Image resolution | 50 MP | 50 MP |
| Aperture | f/1.8 | f/1.9 |
| Focal length | - | 24 mm |
| Sensor | - | Sony LYT-600 |
| Sensor size | - | 1/1.56" |
| Pixel size | - | 1 micron |
| Autofocus | Phase autofocus | Phase autofocus |
| Stabilization | Optical | Optical |
| Image resolution | - | 50 MP |
| Aperture | - | f/2.6 |
| Focal length | - | 50 mm |
| Sensor size | - | 1/2.74" |
| Pixel size | - | 0.64 micron |
| Stabilization | - | Optical |
| Image resolution | 8 MP | 8 MP |
| Aperture | f/2.2 | f/2.2 |
| Focal length | - | 15 mm |
| Sensor | - | Sony IMX355 |
| Sensor size | - | 1/4.0" |
| Pixel size | - | 1.12 micron |
| Stabilization | Digital | Digital |
| Image resolution | 2 MP | - |
| Aperture | f/2.4 | - |
| Stabilization | Digital | - |
Selfie camera
| Megapixels | 12 megapixels | 32 megapixels |
| Aperture | f/2.2 | f/2.2 |
| Focal length | - | 22 mm |
| Sensor | - | CMOS |
| Sensor size | - | 1/3.44" |
| Autofocus | No | No |
| Stabilization | Digital | Digital |
| Video resolution | 2160p (4K) at 30 FPS | 1080p (Full HD) at 30 FPS |
| Depth sensor (TOF 3D) | No | No |
Connectivity
| Wi-Fi standard | Wi-Fi 6 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax) | Wi-Fi 6 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax) |
| Wi-Fi features | - Dual Band - Wi-Fi MiMO - Wi-Fi Direct - Wi-Fi Hotspot - Wi-Fi Display | - Dual Band - Wi-Fi MiMO - Wi-Fi Direct - Wi-Fi Hotspot - Wi-Fi Display |
| Bluetooth version | 5.3 | 5.4 |
| Bluetooth features | LE | LE |
| USB type | USB Type-C | USB Type-C |
| USB version | 2 | 2 |
| USB features | - Charging - USB-Storage mode - OTG | - Charging - USB-Storage mode - OTG |
| DisplayPort | No | No |
| GPS | GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo, QZSS | GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, QZSS |
| NFC* | No | Yes |
| Infrared port | No | No |
| Number of SIM* | 2 | 2 |
| Type of SIM card | Nano | Nano |
| Multi SIM mode | Standby | Standby |
| eSIM support* | No | No |
| Hybrid slot | - | No |
| 5G support | Yes | Yes |
Sound
| Speakers | Mono | Stereo |
| Headphone audio jack | No | No |
| FM radio | No | No |
| Dolby Atmos | Yes | - |
Other
| Category | Mid-range | Mid-range |
| Announced | April 2025 | March 2025 |
| Release date | April 2025 | March 2025 |
| Launch price | $290 | $329 |
| Configurations | - 8 / 128 GB - 8 / 256 GB | - 8 / 128 GB - 8 / 256 GB - 12 / 256 GB |
| Sensors | - Proximity sensor - Gyroscope - Accelerometer - Ambient light sensor - Compass - Fingerprint | - Proximity sensor - Gyroscope - Accelerometer - Ambient light sensor - Compass - Fingerprint |
| Bundled charger | Not included | Not included |
*Disclaimer! NFC, GSM network support, and some other specs can be different depending on the country.
