Huawei Pura 80 Ultra VS Samsung Galaxy A56 5G

Both phones share a non-rugged, non-foldable slate form factor and are rated Waterproof, but their IP ratings tell meaningfully different stories. The Huawei Pura 80 Ultra holds an IP68 certification, meaning it can withstand submersion beyond the standard 1 metre depth, while the Samsung Galaxy A56 5G carries an IP67 rating, limiting safe submersion to 1 metre for up to 30 minutes. For most everyday scenarios — rain, splashes, accidental drops in shallow water — both are equally protected, but the Pura 80 Ultra offers a measurable edge for users who frequently expose their device to deeper or more prolonged water contact.

In the hand, the difference is more tangible. The Galaxy A56 5G is notably lighter at 198 g versus 233.5 g for the Pura 80 Ultra — a gap of over 35 grams that becomes perceptible during extended one-handed use or long reading sessions. The A56 5G is also slimmer at 7.4 mm compared to 8.3 mm, and its smaller overall volume (93 cm³ vs 103 cm³) makes it the more pocketable and ergonomically comfortable device despite being fractionally wider. The height difference (162.2 mm vs 163 mm) is negligible in practice.

Overall, design is a tale of two priorities: the Pura 80 Ultra edges ahead on water-resistance robustness with its IP68 rating, while the Galaxy A56 5G has a clear advantage in everyday comfort and portability thanks to its significantly lower weight and slimmer profile. Users who prioritize a lighter, easier-to-carry device will prefer the A56 5G; those who want stronger water protection will lean toward the Pura 80 Ultra.

Both phones use OLED/AMOLED panels with a 120Hz refresh rate, Always-On Display, and branded damage-resistant glass — so the baseline viewing and durability experience is comparable. The meaningful divergence starts with resolution and brightness. The Pura 80 Ultra's 1276 x 2848 px resolution translates to a pixel density of 459 ppi, versus the Galaxy A56 5G's 1080 x 2340 px at 385 ppi. That 74 ppi gap is genuinely visible: text appears crisper and fine detail in photos or video renders more sharply on the Pura 80 Ultra, particularly at close reading distances.

The brightness difference is even more consequential in daily use. At 2500 nits typical brightness, the Pura 80 Ultra is more than twice as luminous as the Galaxy A56 5G's 1200 nits. In direct sunlight, this translates to dramatically better legibility — the Pura 80 Ultra's screen remains comfortably readable outdoors while the A56 5G may require shade or squinting in peak conditions. For indoor use both are perfectly adequate, but this gap matters for anyone who spends significant time outside.

The one area where the Galaxy A56 5G counters is HDR support: it covers both HDR10 and HDR10+, meaning compatible streaming content from platforms like Amazon Prime Video or YouTube will render with wider dynamic range and better tone mapping. The Pura 80 Ultra supports neither standard, which is a notable omission at its tier. Still, the Pura 80 Ultra's superior sharpness and far higher peak brightness give it the overall display edge — the A56 5G's HDR support is a meaningful perk but doesn't close the gap on core panel quality.

The raw benchmark numbers establish a clear performance hierarchy: the Pura 80 Ultra scores 1,160,268 on AnTuTu versus 932,578 for the Galaxy A56 5G — roughly a 24% lead that reflects a tangible difference in sustained task performance, gaming frame rates, and responsiveness under heavy multitasking. Paired with 16GB of RAM against the A56 5G's 12GB, the Pura 80 Ultra can keep significantly more apps alive in the background and handle memory-intensive workloads like video editing or large-file processing with less friction.

The chipset picture is more nuanced, however. The Galaxy A56 5G's Exynos 1580 is built on a modern 4 nm process versus the Pura 80 Ultra's Kirin 9010 at 7 nm — a smaller node generally translates to better power efficiency and thermal management, which matters for sustained performance over long sessions. The A56 5G also edges ahead in memory bandwidth at 51.2 GB/s versus 44 GB/s, and its faster 3200 MHz RAM (compared to 2750 MHz) gives it a slight advantage in data throughput to the CPU. These are areas where the A56 5G's architecture is technically more modern, even if the overall performance ceiling is lower.

Storage is the most lopsided differentiator in this group: the Pura 80 Ultra offers up to 1024GB of internal storage against the A56 5G's 256GB — a fourfold difference that is decisive for users who store large media libraries or avoid cloud services. On balance, the Pura 80 Ultra holds the stronger overall performance advantage through its higher benchmark score, greater RAM, and vastly more storage; the A56 5G's newer manufacturing process and marginally better memory bandwidth are noteworthy but insufficient to close the gap in real-world throughput.

The camera systems reveal one of the starkest gaps in this entire comparison. The Pura 80 Ultra fields a four-lens rear array — 50 + 50 + 40 + 12.5 MP — anchored by a dedicated telephoto setup delivering 9.4x optical zoom, while the Galaxy A56 5G offers a three-lens 50 + 12 + 5 MP configuration with no optical zoom whatsoever. For users who frequently shoot subjects at a distance — wildlife, concerts, architecture — this is a decisive functional difference. Optical zoom preserves image quality across focal lengths in a way that digital zoom simply cannot replicate, making the Pura 80 Ultra far more versatile as a photographic tool.

The gap extends into shooting control and autofocus capability. The Pura 80 Ultra adds laser autofocus for faster, more reliable subject locking in low light or with fast-moving subjects — a feature absent on the A56 5G. It also supports RAW capture and manual shutter speed control, giving photographers full creative command over exposure and post-processing latitude. The A56 5G omits both, limiting it to JPEG-based workflows and partially manual exposure control. For casual shooters this may be invisible, but for enthusiasts it meaningfully narrows creative options.

Where the two phones converge is on video: both cap out at 2160p at 30fps, support slow-motion, continuous autofocus during recording, and built-in HDR mode. The front cameras are also closely matched — 13 MP at f/2.0 versus 12 MP at f/2.2 — with the Pura 80 Ultra holding a marginal aperture edge for slightly better low-light selfies. Overall, the Pura 80 Ultra holds an unambiguous advantage in this category, driven primarily by its optical zoom range, RAW support, and richer manual controls.

Across every single data point in this category, the Huawei Pura 80 Ultra and Samsung Galaxy A56 5G are in complete lockstep. Both offer the full suite of modern OS conveniences: split-screen multitasking, widgets, customizable notifications, dark mode, theme customization, and multi-user support. Practical privacy controls — camera and microphone toggles — are present on both, as are device tracking and voice command functionality. For the vast majority of day-to-day software interactions, users switching between these two devices would find the feature set functionally identical at this level of specification.

One shared limitation worth noting is that neither device receives direct OS updates — meaning both rely on manufacturer-mediated update pipelines rather than receiving system updates straight from the platform source. This is relevant for users who prioritize long-term software support and timely security patches, as update cadence ultimately depends on each manufacturer's own release schedule rather than any guaranteed baseline.

With no differentiating data points in this group, the operating system category is a complete tie. Neither phone holds any advantage over the other based strictly on the provided specifications.

Capacity and charging speed both favour the Pura 80 Ultra by a meaningful margin. Its 5700 mAh battery outpaces the Galaxy A56 5G's 5000 mAh cell — a 14% advantage that, all else being equal, translates to noticeably longer time between charges, particularly relevant given the Pura 80 Ultra's power-hungry high-resolution display and heavier workloads. When it does need a top-up, its 100W wired fast charging is more than double the A56 5G's 45W, meaning a full charge that might take over an hour on the Samsung could be achieved in roughly half that time on the Huawei.

The charging ecosystem gap widens further with wireless charging: the Pura 80 Ultra supports it, the Galaxy A56 5G does not. For users who rely on wireless pads at a desk or bedside, this is a genuine daily convenience difference rather than a niche feature. Adding to the practical disparity, the Pura 80 Ultra comes bundled with a charger in the box, while the A56 5G does not — meaning Samsung buyers may need to purchase a compatible 45W adapter separately to take full advantage of the phone's fast-charging capability.

Across every dimension in this category — capacity, wired charging speed, wireless charging support, and in-box accessories — the Pura 80 Ultra holds a clear and consistent advantage. The Galaxy A56 5G's 45W fast charging is respectable in its own right, but it simply cannot match the breadth of what the Huawei offers here.

The audio specs for these two phones are nearly identical, with one notable exception. Neither device includes a 3.5mm headphone jack, both forgo a radio, and both feature stereo speakers — so for everyday media consumption straight from the device, the listening experience starts from the same baseline.

Where they diverge is wireless audio codec support. The Pura 80 Ultra includes LDAC, Sony's high-resolution Bluetooth codec capable of transmitting significantly more audio data than standard codecs — up to three times the bitrate of standard SBC. For users with LDAC-compatible headphones or earbuds, this means wireless listening closer to lossless quality, preserving detail that would otherwise be compressed away. The Galaxy A56 5G lacks LDAC support entirely, limiting wireless audio to lower-bandwidth codec options.

For wired-headphone users or those with non-LDAC Bluetooth gear, both phones are effectively tied. But for audiophiles or anyone invested in high-quality wireless audio hardware, the Pura 80 Ultra holds a clear edge in this category solely by virtue of its LDAC support.

Wireless connectivity is where the Pura 80 Ultra pulls ahead most decisively. Its support for Wi-Fi 7 (802.11be) — versus the Galaxy A56 5G's ceiling of Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax) — means it can take advantage of next-generation routers for substantially higher throughput, lower latency, and better performance in congested environments. Equally impactful for wired transfers, the Pura 80 Ultra's USB 3.1 port enables data speeds many times faster than the A56 5G's USB 2.0 — a meaningful difference for anyone who regularly moves large files like 4K video between their phone and a computer. Bluetooth is a near-wash: the A56 5G carries version 5.3 versus 5.2 on the Pura 80 Ultra, a negligible real-world gap.

The sensor and safety feature set also diverges. The Pura 80 Ultra includes an infrared sensor — useful for controlling TVs and appliances without a separate remote — and a barometer for accurate altitude readings and weather sensing, neither of which appear on the A56 5G. More significantly, the Pura 80 Ultra supports emergency SOS via satellite, enabling distress messaging in areas without cellular coverage — a potentially life-saving capability the Samsung entirely lacks.

The Galaxy A56 5G does hold one structural advantage: it supports 2 eSIMs alongside its physical SIM slots, offering greater carrier flexibility for frequent travelers who want to switch between plans without swapping physical cards. The Pura 80 Ultra is limited to two physical SIMs only. That said, the overall balance in this category favours the Pura 80 Ultra — its Wi-Fi 7 support, faster USB, satellite SOS, and additional sensors collectively represent a broader and more future-ready connectivity package.

The miscellaneous specs for these two devices are identical across every data point provided. Both feature a video light, and neither carries a sapphire glass display, curved screen, or e-paper panel. With no differentiating factors present in this group, the result is a complete tie — the Huawei Pura 80 Ultra and Samsung Galaxy A56 5G are evenly matched here by every available measure.