Nothing Phone (3a) Pro VS Samsung Galaxy A56 5G

In terms of footprint, both phones are nearly identical twins: the same 77.5 mm width and a negligible 1.3 mm difference in height. However, the Samsung Galaxy A56 5G pulls ahead meaningfully in two dimensions that matter for everyday handling. At 7.4 mm thick versus 8.4 mm for the Nothing Phone (3a) Pro, the A56 slides into a pocket more comfortably, and its lower volume of 93.0 cm³ compared to 106.4 cm³ reflects a noticeably more compact chassis overall. Add to that a 198 g weight versus 211 g, and the A56 is meaningfully lighter — a 13 g gap that becomes perceptible during extended one-handed use or long calls.

The more consequential design difference lies in water protection. The Nothing Phone (3a) Pro carries an IP64 rating, which means it can handle dust and water splashes from any direction — sufficient for rain or an accidental sink splash, but not submersion. The Galaxy A56 5G steps up to IP67, meaning it is rated for full immersion in up to 1 meter of fresh water for 30 minutes. In practical terms, dropping the A56 in a puddle or a shallow sink is a recoverable situation; the same scenario with the Nothing Phone (3a) Pro carries more risk.

Neither device has a rugged build or a foldable form factor, so those are non-factors here. Overall, the Samsung Galaxy A56 5G has a clear design edge: it is slimmer, lighter, more compact, and offers a higher-grade water resistance rating — all of which translate into tangible day-to-day advantages.

On paper, these two displays are nearly identical in size and sharpness. The Nothing Phone (3a) Pro measures 6.77 inches against the Galaxy A56 5G's 6.7 inches, and their pixel densities of 387 ppi versus 385 ppi are indistinguishable to the human eye. Both panels are OLED, run at a fluid 120Hz, support HDR10 and HDR10+, and feature Always-On Display. For the vast majority of use cases — streaming, browsing, gaming — either screen will feel premium and responsive.

Where the Galaxy A56 5G separates itself is in two practical durability and usability factors. Its typical brightness of 1200 nits versus the Nothing Phone's 800 nits is a 50% increase that has a real outdoor impact: the A56 remains comfortably legible in direct sunlight, while the Nothing Phone may require shade or manual squinting to read clearly. Beyond that, the A56 includes branded damage-resistant glass — a spec the Nothing Phone (3a) Pro lacks — offering meaningfully better protection against everyday drops and surface scratches without a case.

The Samsung Galaxy A56 5G holds a clear advantage in this category. The core display experience is essentially a draw, but the A56's significantly higher brightness and scratch-resistant glass are not minor footnotes — they are the specs that determine how well a screen holds up and performs six months into ownership.

The performance specifications of the Nothing Phone (3a) Pro and the Samsung Galaxy A56 5G are quite close, with some differences in chipset, GPU, and benchmark scores. Both phones come with 256GB of internal storage and 12GB of RAM, and both feature RAM with a speed of 3200 MHz. The Nothing Phone (3a) Pro is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 chipset, while the Galaxy A56 5G uses the Samsung Exynos 1580 chipset. The Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 has a CPU speed of 1 x 2.5 GHz, 3 x 2.4 GHz, and 4 x 1.8 GHz, whereas the Exynos 1580’s CPU runs at 1 x 2.9 GHz, 3 x 2.6 GHz, and 4 x 1.95 GHz.

In terms of GPU performance, the Nothing Phone (3a) Pro features the Adreno 710 GPU with a clock speed of 1050 MHz, while the Galaxy A56 5G has the Xclipse 530 GPU running at a higher 1300 MHz. When it comes to benchmark scores, the Galaxy A56 5G outperforms the Nothing Phone (3a) Pro, with an AnTuTu score of 932578 compared to 750673 on the Nothing device. Similarly, the Galaxy A56 5G has a higher Geekbench 6 multi-core score of 3893, while the Nothing Phone (3a) Pro scores 3239. The single-core Geekbench 6 score is also higher on the Galaxy A56 5G, with a score of 1360 versus the 1162 on the Nothing Phone (3a) Pro.

Both phones use a 4 nm semiconductor size, support 64-bit architecture, and integrate LTE connectivity. They also share similar features, including support for DirectX 12, integrated graphics, OpenGL ES 3.2, big.LITTLE technology, and multithreading. The maximum memory bandwidth is 25.6 GB/s for the Nothing Phone (3a) Pro, while the Galaxy A56 5G offers a higher bandwidth of 51.2 GB/s. The maximum memory amount is 16GB on the Nothing Phone (3a) Pro, compared to the 12GB limit on the Galaxy A56 5G. Both devices also use DDR5 RAM and support OpenCL 2, with the Nothing Phone (3a) Pro having 128 shading units and the Galaxy A56 5G having 256 shading units.

The camera systems of the Nothing Phone (3a) Pro and the Samsung Galaxy A56 5G are similar in several ways but differ in some aspects. Both phones feature a multi-lens main camera system, with the Nothing Phone (3a) Pro having a 50 MP + 50 MP + 8 MP setup, while the Galaxy A56 5G has a 50 MP + 12 MP + 5 MP setup. Both devices have wide apertures of f/1.9, f/2, and f/2.2 (for the Nothing Phone (3a) Pro) and f/1.8, f/2.2, and f/2.4 (for the Galaxy A56 5G), indicating similar light gathering capabilities for different lenses.

For the front camera, the Nothing Phone (3a) Pro offers a higher 50 MP camera, while the Galaxy A56 5G features a 12 MP front camera. Both front cameras have an f/2.2 wide aperture, and neither phone supports a dual-lens front camera. Both devices also support video recording at 2160 x 30 fps and have built-in optical image stabilization, phase-detection autofocus for photos, and continuous autofocus for videos.

Regarding additional features, the Nothing Phone (3a) Pro supports optical zoom at 3x, while the Galaxy A56 5G has no optical zoom capability. The Nothing Phone (3a) Pro also supports shooting in raw format, which the Galaxy A56 5G does not. Both phones offer features like slow-motion video recording, manual exposure, manual ISO, touch autofocus, and timelapse functions. Neither phone has HDR10 or Dolby Vision recording, and both lack a front-facing LED flash, dual-tone flash, laser autofocus, or 3D photo/video recording capabilities.

Both the Nothing Phone (3a) Pro and the Samsung Galaxy A56 5G run on Android 15 and share a wide array of similar operating system features. Both devices include clipboard warnings, location and camera/microphone privacy options, theme customization, and the ability to block app tracking. They also support on-device machine learning, notification permissions, media picker, and can play games while they download. Additionally, both devices offer dark mode, battery health checks, extra dim mode, and dynamic theming. Both phones can offload apps, support customizable notifications, Live Text, full-page screenshots, and split screen, and have PiP functionality. Both phones also support widgets, a child lock, voice commands, offline voice recognition, and track the current position of the device.

Neither phone supports Wi-Fi password sharing, Mail Privacy Protection, or Quick Start. They also do not offer focus modes, dynamic theming for all elements, or the ability to be used as a PC. Both phones have a multi-user system, are free and open-source, and support sharing intents. Neither device provides direct OS updates, which means they will not receive immediate updates as soon as they are released. One difference between the two is that both phones lack support for PiP and Quick Start, but they share almost identical features overall.

In summary, the Nothing Phone (3a) Pro and the Galaxy A56 5G provide almost identical software features, with very little distinction between them. Both phones include privacy and customization features, and while neither device has Wi-Fi password sharing or direct OS updates, both offer a comprehensive set of tools and settings for user control and security.

The battery specifications of the Nothing Phone (3a) Pro and the Samsung Galaxy A56 5G are quite similar. Both devices come equipped with a 5000 mAh battery, which offers ample power for extended usage. Neither phone supports wireless charging, and both devices feature fast charging capabilities. The Nothing Phone (3a) Pro supports a faster charging speed of 50W, while the Galaxy A56 5G supports 45W fast charging.

Both phones do not come with a charger in the box, and neither has a removable battery. Both devices also have a battery level indicator, which helps users monitor their battery status, and both phones feature rechargeable batteries.

In summary, the main difference between the two in terms of battery is the charging speed, with the Nothing Phone (3a) Pro offering 50W fast charging, slightly outpacing the 45W charging speed of the Galaxy A56 5G.

The audio specifications of the Nothing Phone (3a) Pro and the Samsung Galaxy A56 5G are quite similar, with both phones lacking a 3.5 mm audio jack and offering stereo speakers for enhanced sound quality. Neither device supports LDAC or aptX Lossless, which are typically used for high-quality wireless audio streaming. Both phones also do not have a radio feature.

The key difference between the two devices lies in the number of microphones. The Nothing Phone (3a) Pro is equipped with three microphones, while the Galaxy A56 5G has two microphones. This may affect the quality of audio capture for calls and recordings, with the additional microphone potentially improving noise cancellation and overall clarity on the Nothing Phone (3a) Pro.

Overall, both devices offer similar audio features, with the main distinction being the number of microphones, which is slightly higher on the Nothing Phone (3a) Pro.

Both the Nothing Phone (3a) Pro and the Samsung Galaxy A56 5G support 5G connectivity and feature a similar set of wireless technologies. Both devices support Wi-Fi 4 (802.11n), Wi-Fi 5 (802.11ac), and Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax), offering robust wireless network compatibility. They both use Bluetooth 5.4 on the Nothing Phone (3a) Pro and Bluetooth 5.3 on the Galaxy A56 5G, with only a minor difference in Bluetooth version. Both phones have USB Type-C ports with USB version 2 support and include NFC functionality.

In terms of SIM card configuration, the Nothing Phone (3a) Pro supports 2 SIM cards, while the Galaxy A56 5G offers both 2 SIM cards and 2 eSIMs. Both devices have the same cellular module and support GPS, compass, and Galileo, along with a gyroscope, accelerometer, and NFC. Neither phone features an infrared sensor, barometer, or HDMI output, and neither has a stylus or built-in projector. They also lack features such as 3D facial recognition, iris scanner, motion tracking, or optical tracking.

The key difference between the two is the download speed, with the Galaxy A56 5G supporting a faster 5100 MBits/s compared to the 2900 MBits/s of the Nothing Phone (3a) Pro. Additionally, the Nothing Phone (3a) Pro is equipped with 3 microphones, whereas the Galaxy A56 5G has 2 microphones.

The Nothing Phone (3a) Pro and the Samsung Galaxy A56 5G share several features in the miscellaneous category. Both devices include a video light, which can help illuminate subjects when recording videos in low-light environments. Neither phone features sapphire glass, a curved display, or an e-paper display.

Overall, the two devices are very similar in this category, offering the same set of features with no significant differences between them.