Galaxy M56 could have lower performance than its predecessor

Samsung's Galaxy M series phones are usually trimmed-down versions of Galaxy A series phones. They usually use the same or similarly powerful processors found in their Galaxy A series siblings while cutting corners on design and durability to bring down the pricing. If you were expecting to see the powerful Exynos 1580 chip in the Galaxy M56, prepare to get disappointed.

An unannounced Samsung device with model number SM-M566B was spotted in Geekbench's database (via XpertPick). Looking at the model number, the smartphone will likely be launched as the Galaxy M56. The specifications of the device, as recorded by the benchmark tool, reveals that it features the Exynos 1480 chip (S5E8845) instead of using the Galaxy A56's Exynos 1580 processor. It appears to have 8GB RAM and Android 15 operating system.

The Exynos 1480 is a 4nm chip made by Samsung, and it debuted with the Galaxy A55 last year. It has four Cortex-A78 CPU cores, four Cortex-A55 CPU cores, and the Xclipse 530 GPU.

It is a downgrade compared to this year's Exynos 1580 used in the Galaxy A56 and even the Snapdragon 7 Gen 1 chip used in last year's Galaxy M55. The Snapdragon 7 Gen 1 chip has four Cortex-A710 CPU cores, four Cortex-A510 CPU cores, and Adreno 644 GPU. The Exynos 1580 features four Cortex-A720 CPU cores, four Cortex-A520 CPU cores, and the Xclipse 540 GPU.

Last year, the Galaxy M55 brought upgrades in performance and charging. This year, the Galaxy M56 appears to bring downgraded performance. So, it remains to be seen how Samsung manages to convince people to upgrade to the Galaxy M56.

Even though the Galaxy A55's Exynos 1480 is theoretically less powerful than the Galaxy M55's Snapdragon 7 Gen 1, it performed better in general day-to-day use and smoothness during our experience. So, it is still possible that the Galaxy M56 could be smoother than its predecessor.

One way to attract buyers is to lower the price tag and offer a longer software update support if there aren't enough hardware upgrades.