If you like the look of the Galaxy S25 series but balk at spending upwards of £1,000 on a smartphone then the latest mid-range Samsung devices might be more your cup of tea.

Just in time for the Mobile World Congress technology trade show that runs this week in Barcelona, Samsung has lifted the lid on the Galaxy A36 and Galaxy A56, two cheaper alternatives to the S25 that cost £399 and £499 respectively but manage to pack in tons of top tech including triple cameras, large 6.7-inch OLED screens, Samsung’s latest software, AI features, and even faster charging than you’ll find on the entry-level Galaxy S25.

Both devices share the same impressive-looking main set ups with a 50MP lens with optical image stabilisation (OIS) and 5MP macro lens, with the A56 sporting a 12MP ultra-wide and 8MP on the A36. There’s no telephoto zoom on either, but Samsung says it has improved the quality of the 12MP selfie shooter on the A56 to include HDR.

The phones adopt Samsung’s “key island” design, with the matte sides slimmed in slightly around the protruding volume and power buttons on the right edge. You can opt for the A36 in black, white, lime or lavender, and the A56 in graphite, light grey, olive or pink hues.

It’s good to see so many similar features across both, so why are you paying £100 more for the A56? It could be down to the performance promised. The A36 has the Qualcomm Snapdragon 6 Gen 3, a decidedly lower-powered processor than you’ll find in pricier handsets, including the new A56, which uses Samsung’s own new Exynos 1580 chipset that the firm believes is a step above the Exynos 1480 found in last year’s A55 phone.

This means if you’re forever firing up high-end mobile games like Call of Duty or Genshin Impact then the A56 is the phone to go for out of the new duo.

Even if you opt for the A36, you’re getting 256GB storage on both phones, a great amount of space considering the price point. Apple’s £599 iPhone 16e only offers 128GB.

Samsung is also offering One UI 7 on both devices, the company’s latest mobile software based on Android 15. It has handy features such as Circle to search where you can circle anything on your screen to do a Google search, as well photo editing tools to erase unwanted people from photos and even a mode that lets you create custom photo filters so your snaps look picture perfect before posting to Instagram.

You also get a mode called ‘best face’, which is similar to the Best Take tool on Google Pixel phones. If you take a series of shots of a group of people but someone is blinking in the best shot, you can port over their face from another shot using AI to make the best version possible of the moment.

Perhaps best of all, both the A36 and A56 come with six years of Android and security updates, meaning they’ll be fully up to date and secure with free software upgrades until 2031. That puts them in rare company, as the vast majority of Android phones in this price range struggle to promise even three years of support.

Surprisingly, both the A36 and A56 support up to 45W wired charging speeds, though there’s no charger in the box. This is as fast as the Galaxy S25 Plus, and beats the slower 25W speeds Samsung inexplicably hobbles the regular S25 with. It’s a win for the mid-range options, meaning you can top up much quicker when you’re running low.

The Galaxy A56 and A36 will go on sale in the UK on March 19, with customers who buy from Samsung and participating retailers being able to claim a ‘Premium Pack’ worth £138.98 that includes a free Galaxy Fit 3 smartwatch, 45W charger and a silicone case.

Samsung also announced a Galaxy A26, an even cheaper phone that will cost £299.