Apple Watch Series 3 (38mm) vs Samsung Galaxy A56 5G vs Samsung Galaxy S26 Specs Comparison

Availability

Officially announced
	Mar 01, 2025	Feb 25, 2026
Prices (MSRP)
	8GB/128GB - $499	12GB/256GB - $899 12GB/512GB - $1300

Design

Dimensions
1.52 x 1.31 x 0.45 inches 38.6 x 33.3 x 11.4 mm	6.39 x 3.05 x 0.29 inches (~0.35 inches with camera bump) 162.2 x 77.5 x 7.4 mm (~8.9 mm with camera bump)	5.89 x 2.82 x 0.28 inches (~0.39 inches with camera bump) 149.6 x 71.7 x 7.2 mm (~10 mm with camera bump)
Weight
1.50 oz / 42.4 g	6.98 oz / 198.0 g	5.89 oz / 167.0 g
Materials
Back: Ceramic Frame: Stainless steel	Back: Glass (Corning Gorilla Glass Victus+) Frame: Aluminum	Back: Glass (Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2) Frame: Aluminum
Resistance
Water, Dust	Water, Dust; IP67	Water, Dust; IP68
Biometrics
	Optical in-screen fingerprint	Ultrasonic in-screen fingerprint
Keys
	Right: Volume control, Lock/Unlock key	Right: Volume control, Lock/Unlock key
Colors
Space Black, Silver	Pink, Olive, Graphite, Lightgray	Cobalt Violet, Sky Blue, Black, White, Silver Shadow, Pink Gold

Display

Size
1.5-inch, 55.12% screen-to-body	6.7-inch, 87.64% screen-to-body	6.3-inch, 91.24% screen-to-body
Type
OLED, 1000 nits	Super AMOLED, 120Hz, HDR, 1900 nits	Dynamic AMOLED, 120Hz, HDR, 3000 nits
Resolution
340x272px, 290 PPI	2340x1080px, 19.5:9 ratio, 385 PPI	2340x1080px, 19.5:9 ratio, 409 PPI
Protection
Sapphire	Corning Gorilla Glass Victus+	Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2
Features
Pressure-sensitive, Scratch-resistant glass

PhoneArena Display Test

Bright Max (20% APL)
Untested	1715 (Good)	2425 (Excellent)
Bright Min
Untested	1.6 (Good)	0.8 (Excellent)

Learn more on our PhoneArena Display Test Results page.

Hardware

System chip
Apple S3	Samsung Exynos 1580	Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy SM8850-1-AD (3 nm) International version - Exynos 2600
Processor
Dual-core	Octa-core 1x2.9GHz 3x2.6GHz​ 4x1.9GHz	Octa-core 2x4.6GHz Oryon V3 Phoenix L 6x3.62GHz Oryon V3 Phoenix M
GPU
PowerVR	Xclipse 540	Adreno 840
Memory
768GB/16GB	8GB (LPDDR4)/128GB (UFS 3.1) 8GB/256GB 12GB/256GB	12GB (LPDDR5X)/256GB (UFS 4.0) 12GB/512GB
Storage expansion
	not expandable	not expandable
OS
watchOS (8.x, 7.x, 6.1, 6.x, 5.1, 5, 4.x)	Android (15)	Android (16), up to 7 OS updates

PhoneArena Performance Test

GeekBench 6 Single
Untested	1361	3186
GeekBench 6 Multi
Untested	3894	10944
3D Mark High
Untested	1322	6607
3D Mark Low
Untested	1313	3064

Learn more on our PhoneArena Performance Test Results page.

Battery

Type
279 mAh	5000 mAh, Li - Ion	4300 mAh, Li - Ion
Charging
Qi wireless charging	Fast charging	Fast charging Qi2 wireless charging, Reverse wireless charging
Charge speed
	Wired: 45.0W	Wired: 25.0W Wireless: 15.0W

PhoneArena Battery Tests

Battery Life Estimate

Untested

Browsing

Untested

Video

Untested

Gaming

Untested

Battery Life Estimate

7h 3min

Browsing

17h 46min

Video

9h 9min

Gaming

10h 11min

Battery Life Estimate

6h 37min

Browsing

15h 48min

Video

8h 54min

Gaming

10h 6min

Learn more on our PhoneArena Battery Test Results page

Camera

Rear
	Triple camera	Triple camera
Main camera
	50 MP (OIS, PDAF) Aperture size: F1.8 Sensor size: 1/1.56" Pixel size: 1.0 μm	50 MP (OIS, PDAF) Sensor name: Samsung GN3 Aperture size: F1.8 Focal length: 24 mm Sensor size: 1/1.56" Pixel size: 1.0 μm
Second camera
	12 MP (Ultra-wide) Aperture size: F2.2 Sensor size: 1/3.06" Pixel size: 1.12 μm	12 MP (Ultra-wide) Sensor name: Sony IMX564 Aperture size: F2.2 Focal Length: 13 mm Sensor size: 1/2.55" Pixel size: 1.4 μm
Third camera
	5 MP (Macro) Aperture size: F2.4	10 MP (Telephoto, OIS, PDAF) Sensor name: Samsung S5K3K1 Optical zoom: 3.0x Aperture size: F2.4 Focal Length: 67 mm Sensor size: 1/3.94" Pixel size: 1 μm
Flash
	LED	LED
Video recording
	4K UHD (30 fps)	8K UHD (30 fps), 4K UHD (60 fps), 1080p (240 fps) HDR, Continuous autofocus, Picture-taking during video recording
Front
	12 MP Video capture: 4K UHD (30 fps)	12 MP (HDR) Video capture: 4K UHD (60 fps)

PhoneArena Camera Tests

N/A

Overall

N/A

Photo

N/A

Video

122

Overall

131

Photo

113

Video

149

Overall

155

Photo

143

Video

Learn more on our PhoneArena Camera Test Results page

Connectivity & Features

Bluetooth
4.2	5.3	6.0
WLAN
Yes 802.11 b, g, n	Wi-Fi 6 Wi-Fi Direct, Hotspot 802.11 a, b, g, n, ac, ax	Wi-Fi 6,Wi-Fi 6E,Wi-Fi 7 Wi-Fi Direct, Hotspot 802.11 a, b, g, n, ac, ax
USB
	Type-C, USB 2.0	Type-C, USB 3.2
Sensors
Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Altimeter, Compass, Heart rate, Barometer	Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Compass, Ambient light sensor, Proximity sensor	Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Compass, Barometer, Ambient light sensor, Proximity sensor
Hearing aid compatible
		M3/T4
Location
A-GPS, Glonass	GPS, A-GPS, Glonass, Galileo, BeiDou, QZSS, Cell ID, Wi-Fi positioning	GPS, A-GPS, Glonass, Galileo, BeiDou, Cell ID, Wi-Fi positioning
Other
NFC	NFC	NFC, Ultra Wideband (UWB)

Multimedia

Headphones
No 3.5mm jack	No 3.5mm jack	No 3.5mm jack
Speakers
Loudspeaker	Earpiece, Multiple speakers	Earpiece, Multiple speakers

Cellular

5G Bands
	n1, n3, n5, n7, n8, n20, n28, n38, n40, n41, n66, n77, n78, SA, NSA, Sub-6	n1, n2, n5, n7, n25, n28, n41, n66, n71, n258, n260, n261, SA, NSA, Sub-6, mmWave
LTE Bands
1, 3, 5, 7, 8, 18, 19, 20, 26	1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 17, 20, 25, 26, 28, 32, 66	1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 13, 14, 19, 20, 25, 28, 30, 71
TDD Bands
	38, 40, 41	38, 39, 40, 41
3G Bands
1, 5, 8	1, 2, 4, 5, 8	1, 2, 4, 5, 8
Data Speed
LTE, HSDPA+ (4G) 42.2 Mbit/s	LTE-A, HSDPA+ (4G) 42.2 Mbit/s	LTE-A Pro Cat 20 (2000/150 Mbit/s), HSDPA+ (4G) 42.2 Mbit/s
SIM type
eSIM	Dual Nano SIM + eSIM	Nano SIM, eSIM

Alternative variants

With 256GB internal storage

Memory	256GB

With 12GB RAM and 256GB internal storage

Memory	12GB/256GB

Discover more

Full Specs Apple Watch Series 3 (38mm) Specs PA Review Apple Watch Series 3 (38mm) Review

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