When will there be an update on a5. successful update of the line. Price and main characteristics

14.10.2023 -

The metal sides, not filled with glass, now have the same color as the front panel. That is, the smartphone became completely black - we had the Galaxy A5 (2017) black. There is also a pink Galaxy A5 (2017) pink, a gold Galaxy A5 (2017) gold and a light blue Galaxy A5 (2017) blue.

Also left without a lighter edging are the main camera and the Home button with a built-in fingerprint scanner.

No extra holes were noticed in the smartphone. Moreover, it also took over from the older model its water resistance according to the IP68 standard.

The materials of the smartphone are of high quality. It is quite weighty, but not heavy. It feels good to hold in your hand.

The glass surface looks beautiful and is pleasant to the touch, but it can potentially be scratched, fingerprints remain on it, and in general the device is quite slippery, so we would definitely recommend buying some kind of case for the Galaxy A5 (2017).

Connectors and controls

There are also no fundamental changes noted on the front panel of the Samsung Galaxy A5 (2017).

It is entirely filled with glass, in which a hole is cut out for the voice speaker at the top and the Home button at the bottom. At the top right of the speaker is the front camera. But there is no light indicator for events - it was left only to flagships.

The hardware button has been preserved, although according to preliminary information, Samsung intends to get rid of it in the Galaxy S8.

There are two more standard Android sensors on the right and left (back and application manager), but without the backlight they are not visible. Touches to them are not recorded, so they are very easy to touch.

The fingerprint scanner is configured in the “Lock screen and security” settings section. To add a fingerprint, you need to touch the sensor several times; the display will show the scanning progress.

If the fingerprint is not recognized after several touches, it is proposed to protect the screen with a gesture or PIN code. If there are a large number of mismatches, the phone may prohibit touching the scanner for 30 seconds.

The fingerprint is also used to confirm payments in Samsung Pay and access the "secure folder". You can also see how the scanner works in our video:

There are no changes on the back side. The camera is located in the upper part of the body in the middle, with a flash to the right of it.

On the right side there is a button to turn on the screen/smartphone. A stereo speaker grille also appeared here. Previously it was on the bottom end.

On the left side there are two volume buttons, just like in the A5 (2016). The slot for SIM-1 is also located here.

Uses nanoSIM. It opens with a special key, which should be included in the kit.

At the top end there is a combined SIM-2/microSD slot.

Unlike other smartphones with combined slots, this one can install nanoSIM and microSD at the same time. You can watch a video of installing SIM cards in the Galaxy A5 (2017):

At the bottom there is a USB Type-C connector, a microphone hole and a headset jack. USB Type-C works at full speed - it is not USB 2.0 with a new connector type.

As you may have noticed, the body of the Samsung Galaxy A5 (2017) is non-separable. You've gotten used to this a long time ago, but you will have to change the battery at a service center.

Case for Samsung Galaxy A5 (2017)

Buying a case or cover for the Galaxy A5 (2017) at the beginning of 2017 is difficult, but the situation will change over time. Judging by the stated dimensions, the 2017 version will differ from the 2016 version by literally a couple of tenths of a millimeter, so you can expect that almost any case for the Galaxy A5 (2016) will be suitable for the Galaxy A5 (2017), but we still recommend that before buying, try on the phone, especially if we are talking about a more or less hard case. Rubber, silicone, or soft plastic bumpers will likely work. Galaxy A5 (2017) will be 0.2 mm thicker, not thinner.

It was also reported that Samsung is going to release translucent Clear Cover cases for the Galaxy A line models, which are now available for the Galaxy S. The picture shows just such a case.

Samsung Galaxy A5 (2017) screen

The screen of the Samsung Galaxy A5 (2017), like its predecessor, is made using Super AMOLED technology, which promises us good colors, acceptable brightness and true blacks. The 2016 Galaxy A5 had all this, and the 2017 model also has all this.

The screen resolution is 1920x1080 pixels and has not increased over the year. This gives a dot density of 424 ppi, which is generally good.

Samsung also equipped the smartphone with Always On mode. When the display is turned off, it continues to show the current time, date and charge level. Battery consumption is minimal, since AMOLED technology allows you to turn on only a couple of tens of pixels necessary for the operation of the mode.

The screen has good rich colors and excellent viewing angles, which may not always be good: everyone around you will see what you are doing there on your smartphone.

Subjective impressions are confirmed by objective data. The brightness of the screen (white) was 357.49 cd/m2, the brightness of black, as expected for OLED, was 0. Accordingly, the contrast is obviously higher than that of any LCD display.

There are two main modes in the display settings: basic and adaptive. In the first, the color gamut is approximately equal to the sRGB area, even a little more. In adaptive, the color gamut is much wider than that of this area, which is considered the standard.

When measuring the color temperature of the Galaxy A5 (2017) screen, the difference between the settings modes is not so noticeable. They are quite close to the natural temperature of 6500K, but still above it. The main mode is just below the 7000K line, the adaptive mode is above 7000K, but also not much. In other words, the picture in the second case looks a little colder.

The gamma curve of the main mode practically coincides with the reference one. The adaptive mode in the middle part is slightly higher. In the image, this results in highlight areas appearing darker than they should be shown. However, a lot can be corrected using display settings, which the Galaxy A5 (2017) has more than other smartphones.

The Galaxy A5 (2017) has a fashionable “blue filter” that reduces the level of blue and has a positive effect on fatigue - it reduces it. However, we wouldn't use it. When turned on, the display takes on a frankly yellowish tint. Perhaps this will be useful when reading in the dark for a long time.

In addition to the main and adaptive display modes, there are also PHOTO and VIDEO modes, which automatically adjust the screen so that photos and movies look best on it. For each mode, you can adjust the RGB balance - red, green and blue. In addition, in the screen settings you can turn Always On on and off, and also order the smartphone not to turn on the display under any circumstances if it is in the dark, that is, in a pocket or bag. This is true for large devices.

The display recognizes 5 touches, just like the Galaxy A5 (2016), which once again confirms our conclusion about the software nature of the limitation. Still, the Galaxy A line should be inferior to the Galaxy S in some way.

The Samsung Galaxy A5 (2017) has a significantly improved camera. Previously, the device was equipped with a photo module with a resolution of 13 megapixels for the main and 5 megapixels for the front camera. The smartphone now has two 16 megapixel cameras. The trend reflects the selfie craze. In addition, judging by the quality of the images, the front 16 megapixels are more “honest” than most smartphones with a claimed selfie camera. Both cameras can also shoot Full HD video.

The Galaxy A5 (2017) camera interface remains proprietary. On the first screen, buttons for taking photos and recording videos are immediately available, as well as a window for opening the gallery and previewing the image. In another part of the display we see virtual buttons for changing the camera, controlling the flash and calling up settings. The face in the corner of the viewfinder brings up the option to adjust skin color. By adjusting the white balance you can achieve the best shade.

The settings for both cameras are the same. Interestingly, they are not displayed in the design of the camera interface, but like other phone settings. Here you can immediately select the resolution, set a timer, enable video stabilization, geotags, and activate shooting by voice, gesture, or volume button.

There are also two more tabs on the main camera screen. By swiping to the right, you can open a tab with filters that are applied in real time to the photo preview.

The left tab contains shooting modes, both video and photo.

In addition to the automatic mode, there is a Pro mode. It allows you to adjust light sensitivity, white balance, adjust exposure and other parameters.

There are other modes: panorama, hyperlapse, HDR, night and food. The most interesting are hyperlapse (slow motion) and food, in which background blur is added, and you can also adjust the white balance to make the pictures look better.

The front camera has the same interface and the same tabs. There is an adjustment for skin color. The tab on the right also contains real-time filters. On the tab on the left there are only three modes: self-portrait (the same auto), night and wide self-portrait. A wide self-portrait is a hybrid of selfie and panorama. When taking a selfie, it is not always possible to ensure that the background is completely satisfactory. Therefore, in this mode we take a selfie, move the phone to the right, left and get a picture with a wide field of view.

The main camera allows you to shoot in different resolutions, as well as use different aspect ratios. The maximum is achieved at a ratio of 4:3.

As you can see, the pictures turn out to be of very good quality, even with zoom the image turned out to be quite clear, and on the phone screen this difference will not be noticeable at all. In the dark it is better to shoot with flash, which works quite well.

Using the main camera of the Galaxy A5 (2016), you can shoot video with resolutions up to Full HD. Ultra HD (4K) is reserved for flagships for now.

The camera perfectly records video and, importantly, sound. The video from the front seat of the car demonstrates that the camera quickly focuses, adapts to lighting conditions, etc.

The resolution of pictures from the front camera and the choice of aspect ratio are the same as the main one.

With the quality of the pictures everything is much more interesting. It's easy to notice how much sharpness differs between a close-up shot and a long shot. No matter how hard we tried, we were unable to capture the dull cityscape from the loggia as sharply as with the main camera. Apparently, the camera's focus is fixed to ensure perfect selfies.

Likewise, the video shot with the front camera turned out to be blurry and not as sharp as the main one. The assumption of shifted focus or its limited range to create the appropriate effect of depth of the frame, background blur during selfies, is confirmed. Typically, all cameras of this size are hyperfocal, that is, they have a maximum depth of field starting from almost 1-2 meters, so when shooting landscapes they do not need to focus. Here, there are obviously settings to make the background blurry.

By the way, almost all of our comments are valid only when viewing photographs on a computer screen; on the AMOLED display of the Samsung Galaxy A5 (2017) all photographs look very good, and some are simply perfect.

Specifications Samsung Galaxy A5 (2017)

As usual, the Galaxy A line includes three models for 2017: Galaxy A3 (2017), Galaxy A5 (2017) (model SM-A520F) and Galaxy A7 (2017). The main difference between them is the screen diagonal: 4.7", 5.2" and 5.7", respectively. Although the characteristics are also different, though mainly for the Galaxy A3 - it has always been noticeably weaker. As for the A5 (2017), then it is almost exactly the same as the A7 (2017) in terms of hardware.

The Samsung Galaxy A5 (2017) smartphone came to us even before the official release, so some of the characteristics presented in the table may be updated. As you can see, compared to the Galaxy A5 (2016), the changes are clearly visible.

First of all, this concerns the processor, the role of which is played by the Samsung Exynos 7880 Octa chip. It is slightly stronger than the Exynos 7580 Octa chipset that was used in its predecessor, and at the same time it is made using a newer 14 nm process technology. The new chip offers 8 Cortex-A53 cores operating at 1.88 GHz, and at the same time it is now capable of working with LPDDR3-1033 memory, whereas before the previous version only provided 933 MHz for RAM.

Back in the day, the Exynos 7580 surprised us with its relatively weak video card - the Mali-T720 MP2 entry-level accelerator. The Exynos 7880 has a more modern and faster GPU - Mali-T830 MP3, which has three execution pipelines and operates at a frequency of 950 MHz. However, architecturally, this is also an entry-class solution, however, if compared with its predecessor, the frequency has become higher (it was 668 MHz) and there are more execution units - the increase in speed will be visible to the eye.

In general, this hardware platform is quite sufficient for today and demonstrates a good average level.

Support for Bluetooth 4.1 and Wi-Fi 802.11n also corresponds to the market average. It would be more interesting to see 802.11ac. As for LTE, there is compatibility with the sixth category, giving up to 300 Mbit/s for reception.

We also note two 16 megapixel cameras, however, for smartphones of this level from another manufacturer, 4K video recording is already available, and not just Full HD.

3 GB of RAM is also perceived as a standard for the market, at least for normal, and not cheap, manufacturers. Of the 32 GB of storage, 24 are available to the user, which is also not bad. In addition, a version with 64 GB of memory is expected.

Compared to 2016, the processor has become faster, the video accelerator has become more powerful, and the amount of RAM has increased by 1.5 times. The screen remains the same and the cameras have become better. At the same time, the battery capacity has increased by only 100 mAh and is 3000 mAh. This may have a negative impact on battery life; we can only rely on optimizations in Android 6.

Performance testing

The rival of the Samsung Galaxy A5 is a mid-level device on the Qualcomm platform, which has similar characteristics and will clearly be a competitor to the Galaxy A5 (2017) on the market.

Smartbench 2012 shows the superiority of the Galaxy A5 (2017) over its rival. This is not a defeat, but a confident advantage.

A Chinese smartphone wins the browser test.

3DMark also for Huawei Nova. It is likely that the processor in the Galaxy A5 (2017) is not as powerful, especially its graphics, as it seemed after the first test.

In the Basemark tests, Samsung was ahead, just as in the very first, old Smartbench 2012. It is noticeable that Huawei wins in graphics and is inferior in tests for overall performance.

Samsung Galaxy A5 (2017) in Antutu

Now let's see how the Samsung Galaxy A5 (2017) performed in Antutu, a popular place.

Huawei Nova is already faster here.

Autonomy Samsung Galaxy A5 (2016)

Autonomy measured by the Galaxy A5 turned out to be better, although the difference is not so strong. 82% of the 3000 mAh battery remains. Huawei lost a little more, although its battery, albeit 20 mAh, is larger.

We can also note some progress in comparison with Huawei Nova. Despite the more modest chip, the previous version with a smaller battery left 73% in our test. A difference of 2-3 percentage points could be attributed to the difference in battery capacity, but 9 percentage points clearly indicates that the new smartphone has much better power efficiency.

The gluttony graph looks typical: 3D graphics spend the most. But if we compare it with the Galaxy A5 (2016), then in the new model all components are optimized, from graphics to consumption at rest.

Samsung has always done well with built-in power management. In this model, the settings also include optimization of the processor and memory.

Overall, the Samsung Galaxy A5 (2017) should provide a good level of battery life.

Games on Samsung Galaxy A5 (2017)

Samsung Galaxy A5 (2017) does not have the most powerful, but modern accelerator on board. You can expect that its performance, coupled with the increased processor frequency, will be enough to make all games fly.

Riptide GP2: excellent, everything flies;

Asphalt 7: excellent, everything flies;

Asphalt 8: excellent, everything flies;

Modern Combat 5: excellent, everything flies;

N.O.V.A. 3: excellent, everything flies;

Dead Trigger: excellent, everything flies;

Dead Trigger 2: excellent, everything flies;

Real Racing 3: excellent, everything flies;

Need For Speed: No Limits: excellent, everything flies;

Shadowgun: Dead Zone: excellent, everything flies;

Frontline Commando: Normandy: excellent, everything flies;

Frontline Commando 2: excellent, everything flies;

Eternity Warriors 2: excellent, everything flies;

Eternity Warriors 4: excellent, everything flies;

Trial Xtreme 3: excellent, everything flies;

Trial Xtreme 4: excellent, everything flies;

Dead Effect: excellent, everything flies;

Dead Effect 2: excellent, everything flies;

Plants vs Zombies 2: excellent, everything flies;

Dead Target: excellent, everything flies;

Injustice: great, everything flies.

That's right, the Samsung Galaxy A5 (2017) did an excellent job with all the games in our test. Thus, toys that can slow down this smartphone have either not yet been written, or the display resolution allows the device to cope with the load.

BY

Samsung Galaxy A5 (2017) comes with Android 6.0.1, which doesn't look very modern at the beginning of 2017. Obviously, the device will receive an update to Android 7 in the near future. There is also the next version of Touch Wiz, which, however, has no changes from those that we have already described using the example of flagship gadgets.

The Samsung Galaxy A5 (2017) has three home screens by default: the main home screen with Google search, weather widget, main apps including Samsung Pay and Google apps folder. Second screen with recommended Smamsung applications, Yandex search, protected folder and Microsoft applications folder. The third screen is the Briefing application, which pulls up various news.

Another feature of the interface is the Samsung Notes application, located on a panel at the bottom of the screen. It allows you to take various notes and store them in the Samsung cloud. In general, Samsung, like Apple, is following the path of developing the service part, so without a Korean company account, half of the smartphone’s functions will not be available. Gmail alone is no longer enough.

Galaxy A5 (2017) offers secure data storage on the smartphone itself. You can store data as well as applications in this storage. You can only access them using your fingerprint. This will lock the storage if someone tries to gain unauthorized access to it by rooting the phone.

There are two payment systems on the smartphone. The first is the Russian Ubank, the second is the branded Samsung Pay. The choice between them still depends on which bank card the owner of the smartphone has. However, in the future, it seems that Samsung will cover all large banks that work with the public. The differences are that Ubank is mainly focused on payments, while Samsung Pay is also focused on purchasing goods offline.

The Yandex application is pre-installed on the smartphone, which offers search and news collections.

In the Samsung Essentials widget, the company offers to install additional applications for the smartphone, and the pre-installed ones are located in a folder in the menu. It was not put on the first screens - such modesty. There are the well-known S Health, S Voice, Audio Recording, browser, file manager, Samsung account management, the already mentioned Secure Folder and Samsung application and product stores, through the latter you can even buy a refrigerator.

Note that Audio Recording supports dictation mode, that is, it converts voice into text.

Microsoft applications in the folder include Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, OneDrive and Skype. There is also Word, but it ends up on the home screen.

Overall, the set of applications is pleasant and useful. The only thing is that you will have to create a Samsung account. This can tie the user to one brand of smartphones.

Conclusion

Samsung Galaxy A5 (2017) is a good phone. The rating is well worth saving for the flagships of the Korean company and its competitors. Smartphones at this price level are supposed to be good: beautiful, comfortable, modern, moderately productive and affordable.

We did not find any serious flaws in the device. He left a very good impression.

The only thing is that the transition to USB Type-C cannot be fully approved, at least for now this connector is not found in every second smartphone. Branded cables and branded chargers evoke melancholy not so much because of the price, but because they cannot be bought on every corner.

Samsung Galaxy A5 (2017) price

It was impossible to buy the Samsung Galaxy A5 (2017) at the time of writing, but its price after release will be 30 thousand rubles. The 2016 model now costs an average of 21-22 thousand rubles. You can find it cheaper.

Huawei Nova, which we tested in parallel, is in the same price range. It can be bought for 21-23 thousand rubles. However, for this money you can only get an IPS display.

Xiaomi Mi5 with a 32 GB drive costs about 20 thousand rubles and is an interesting offer. The device is built on a Snapdragon 820 processor, can shoot 4K video, but has only a 4-megapixel front camera and a 5.15-inch IPS display with Full HD resolution.

The 5.5-inch ASUS ZenPhone 3 costs about 26 thousand. It has 4 GB of RAM, is built on the Snapdragon 625, and supports fingerprint reading. However, the device again has an IPS display, and the front camera resolution is only 8 megapixels.

As you can see, there are options, but Super AMOLED remains Samsung's strong offering.

Pros:

good design;
high-quality assembly;
there is a fingerprint scanner;
good Super AMOLED display;
good autonomy;
good cameras;
protection from moisture, dust;
The Always On feature is very convenient.

Minuses:

USB Type-C, for now;
slippery and easily soiled body;
non-separable body;
Android 6 out of the box;
no LED event indicator.

Samsung, having first released the Galaxy A5 in 2014, continued to improve the model, adding one updated A5 per year to its “arsenal”. At the time of writing this review, the official price of the Samsung Galaxy A5 (2017) SM-A520F/DS in Russia is $484, and in Ukraine, according to the mobcompany.info portal, it is $408.

The updated model has inherited some features previously found only in flagships. Compared to the previous version, the device has a new processor, protection from dust and water, increased memory capacity and a USB Type-C port. But in some ways the smartphone is still inferior to its predecessor.

1. Characteristics of Samsung Galaxy A5 (2017)

The device has some good hardware, but if you compare it with its competitors, the cost of the A5 SM-A520F will seem overpriced.

1.1. Design, case materials, dimensions and weight

The smartphone comes in black, gold, blue and pink body colors.

Most often, domestic buyers will find options in black and gold colors. The side edges are made of metal, the screen is protected by tempered glass with rounded edges, and the back wall is also made of glass. The curved back panel and relatively small dimensions contribute to a good grip. However, due to the glass and soapy shape, the device constantly strives to slip out of your hands.

It seems the manufacturer went a little overboard with the rounded corners. And also, for some reason the frames at the top and bottom of the screen are larger than in the A5 2016. Subjectively, the previous version looks more “cultured”. But there are also improvements. For example, the rear camera lens is now flush with the panel.

The body is well assembled. Moreover, it is protected from dust and water according to the IP68 standard. It can lie for 30 minutes at a depth of one and a half meters, without damaging the insides of the device.

At the bottom of the screen there is a mechanical Home key with a built-in fingerprint scanner. On either side of it are touch buttons for going back and displaying a list of running applications.

It is noteworthy that the device received separate slots for installing cards. The first SIM tray is located on the left side, next to the volume buttons. And on the top edge there is an additional hole into which a combined slot for another SIM and memory card is placed.

The right side houses the power button and the main speaker grille.

On the bottom there is a symmetrical USB Type-C connector, a microphone hole and a 3.5 mm headphone jack.

All this is placed in a case with dimensions of 146.1x71.4x7.9 mm and a weight of 159 grams.

1.2. CPU

The manufacturer installed a fresh 64-bit Samsung Exynos 7880 chipset in the smartphone, with an integrated Mali-830 MP2 graphics chip. The SoC includes 8 Cortex-A53 cores, the maximum frequency of which reaches 1.9 GHz. The processor is made using a modern 14-nm process technology, with all that it implies. For example, energy efficiency is improved and there is no significant heating. As a result, performance levels do not drop under intense loads.

The Antutu test gives an average result by today's standards of 60 thousand points. There are no complaints about the performance of the device in everyday use. The device has enough power for almost any task. The exception is the most resource-intensive 3D games. For example, at maximum graphic settings, everyone’s favorite “tanks” turn into a slideshow. But, with basic graphics settings, you can count on a smooth game with 50-60 fps.

1.3. Memory

Samsung A5 2017 is equipped with 3 GB of RAM. This is normal for a device of this class. Except that, together with the OS and running services, the Samsung shell eats up one and a half gigabytes. The manufacturer has recently been trying in every possible way to optimize the shell, but pure Android will work faster in any case.

The volume of the built-in storage is 32 GB, approximately 23 GB is available to the user. According to conservative estimates, this is enough to install an impressive list of applications, a couple of “heavy” games, and to store captured photographs and videos. A memory expansion slot is always available for installing a MicroSD card with a maximum capacity of 256 GB.

1.4. Autonomy

The built-in 3000 mAh non-removable battery and a power-free chip with a 14-nm process technology give good results. In normal, mixed mode of use, the device operates for up to two days on a single charge. With intensive use, the battery lasts for a day. Fans of watching TV series on their smartphone are in luck: FullHD video plays for 17 hours. In HD resolution via MX Player – up to 19 hours, and at full brightness!

The energy saving mode will help extend the operating time by limiting performance and other tricks. Fast charging is supported, the device is charged from 0 to 100% in just 1 hour.

1.5. Camera

Samsung A5 SM-A520F is equipped with a 16-megapixel main camera sensor, with an equivalent focal length of 27 mm, and an aperture of f/1.9. The flash is quite bright, although it consists of a single LED. The shooting application interface is laconic and easy to learn. There is a meager PRO mode. It is a separate section, into which the basic settings have simply been moved: ISO, white balance and exposure.

During the day, the camera shoots well, at the level of good average cameras from China. The color rendition of the images is good, close to natural, and the level of detail is quite high. White balance is determined correctly, the dynamic range is wide. In the evening and at night things are not so fun. In automatic mode, the appearance of noise, loss of detail and overexposure of bright objects are guaranteed. In addition, the device focuses slowly, often resulting in a blurry picture.

The lack of optical stabilization affects it. This is a significant downgrade compared to the 2016 version. But it is not all that bad. If you place your smartphone on a tripod and manually adjust the sensitivity and exposure, you can achieve an acceptable result. The maximum resolution of recorded videos is FullHD (30 fps). The quality of the result obtained is not bad. But other manufacturers offer at least the ability to shoot at 60 fps, or 2k and 4k resolution.

The front camera has wide-angle optics and can shoot with a resolution of 16 MP. The photos look good, but don't expect anything special. In terms of image quality, the front camera is significantly inferior to the main one. But there are proprietary features that smooth the skin, enlarge the eyes and allow you to correct the shape of the face. The focus is fixed, set for close-up shooting. Because of this, distant objects appear blurry. At dusk, instead of a flash, the face is illuminated by the bright backlight of the screen filled with a white background.

1.7. Display

The device is equipped with a 5.2-inch display with a solid FullHD (1920×1080) resolution. Excellent image clarity is achieved due to high pixel density (424 ppi). A SuperAMOLED matrix is used, with its characteristic rich color reproduction and deep black color. The “bright-eyed” gamma can be adjusted in the settings; if desired, you can activate calmer tones. Viewing angles are good, with colors only subject to distortion at extreme angles. The maximum brightness reserve is high.

There is a blue filter for those who are concerned about their eyes. One of the main advantages of this smartphone is the Always On Display function. This is a feature that has migrated from flagship models to the mid-range segment. Thanks to it, the current time and date, charge level and missed notifications are displayed on the locked screen. The screen is covered with 2.5D glass, with a good oleophobic coating. The touchscreen recognizes 5 simultaneous touches.

1.8. Connection

The Samsung A5 2017 can simultaneously install 2 NanoSIM cards. The range of supported mobile networks includes 2G, 3G and 4G (LTE-A Cat6), with all common frequencies. The smartphone is equipped with a Bluetooth v4.2 module and dual-band (2.4 and 5 GHz) Wi-Fi a/b/g/n/ac. Thanks to the presence of NFC and MST, the device can be used for contactless payments. Support for the Samsung Pay payment service has been implemented. However, it is temporarily unavailable to owners of the “A” series.

For navigation and geopositioning you can use GPS + A-GPS, Glonass and Beidou. The smartphone copes with the role of a navigator flawlessly: it finds satellites within 10 seconds and accurately determines the location.

1.9. Sound

The external speaker has a non-standard location - on the upper part of the right rib.

Accordingly, it will not overlap, regardless of the position in which the smartphone is lying on the table or in the hands. This is undoubtedly a plus, but the sound seems muffled. This is due to the fact that the speaker is protected from dust and moisture getting inside using a special membrane. If we make allowances for this, the sound can be considered quite good.

It is quite clean, moderately loud, and almost all musical instruments can be heard. Except you can't hear the bass. When using headphones - no surprises, you can enjoy quite normal sound. There is a built-in software equalizer from Samsung. FM radio is also supported. The device has two microphones: one for conversational purposes, the second for noise reduction.

1.10. operating system

Out of the box, the SG A5 2017 comes with Android 6 OS. An update to Android 7 is promised to be released soon. Traditionally for Samsung smartphones, the manufacturer’s proprietary shell is installed on top of the system. Only instead of TouchWiz, as in Note 7, Grace UI is used. The relatively new shell inherited from TouchWiz not only its gluttony for resources. But it’s also pleasing to the eye, bright and customizable interface, with a built-in theme manager.

There are also proprietary software features, also inherited from the flagships of past years. For example, splitting the screen into 2 parts for two applications, one-handed control, quick launch of the camera by double pressing the “Home” button, etc.

1.11. Peculiarities

For the scanner to work, you need to place your finger at the correct angle, and only when the screen is on. That is, to unlock the device, you first need to press the Home button and then scan the fingerprint. Fortunately, to do this, you don’t need to press the button again and swipe across the scanner - just put your finger on it.

2. Pros and cons of Samsung Galaxy A5 (2017)

Advantages:

design (for amateurs)
Dust and moisture protection of the case according to IP68 standard
You can use two SIMs and a memory card at the same time
good display, Always On Screen feature, blue light filtering capability
normal autonomy

Flaws:

no optical stabilization
there is no possibility of shooting at 60 frames per second and in 4k resolution
fingerprint scanner features

3. Alternatives

OnePlus 3 and OnePlus 3T offer better performance. The Honor 8 is also more powerful and has a better camera. Xiaomi Mi 5s offers a more practical metal body and a convenient fingerprint sensor. Meizu Pro 6 is a music flagship with 4 GB of RAM. And finally, the Galaxy S6 is in the same price category, but its camera is much cooler.

4. Our opinion about the Samsung Galaxy A5 (2017)

Overall, the Samsung Galaxy A5 (2017) is a good smartphone that inherits the flagship features from its “big brothers.” As you can see from the review, it does not stand out with the best performance and camera among its competitors. But it pleases with its autonomy, water protection and the Always On Display function.

I would like to praise the manufacturer for such small steps of a large company towards the user. We are talking about separate slots for 2 SIM and a memory drive, as well as a camera module that does not stick out from the case.

Smartphone Samsung Galaxy A5 (2017)
Smartphone Samsung Galaxy A5 (2017)

02.06.2017

Preface

Hi all. So, I finally decided to review one of the new products from Samsung - Galaxy A5 2017. What prompted me to buy this particular smartphone? After all, I have a wonderful one that works great! Yes, it’s good in everything: the screen, the power, and everything that’s possible. But there is one "but". And this “but”, in fact, covers up the numerous advantages of this 2013 flagship. Battery. Which constantly swells, as if there is nothing to do. I’ve already changed a bunch of batteries on this flagship, and they all lasted no more than six months, both the originals and their Chinese counterparts.

And so, at the end of 2016, I saw announcements of the updated A-series line on the website, and the middle device, number 5, attracted me both with its characteristics and appearance. Although the price, of course, was steep at that time. So, having read the few reviews on it that were just beginning to appear, I already knew for sure that as soon as it went on sale, I would buy it! And I bought it!

Criterias of choice

The camera has always been important to me in smartphones. Although it is clear that for high-quality shots it is better to have a DSLR, it is still nice to have both a phone and a high-quality camera in a single bottle. And if this bottle is also beautiful, then that’s even better. And he’s beautiful, you can’t argue with that! Well, for me at least.

Battery. What was important was not the capacity, but how economically the charge was used. And according to reviews, this smartphone holds its charge well.

Multi-SIM and MICRO-essentiality. And preferably, all together, which is rare even for flagships.

Protection against water and dust, well, that is, IP68 standard. I've never had a secure phone before...

Appearance

And what I also like is the high-quality assembly. And although I used to be constantly confused by the peculiarity of some smartphones with non-removable batteries, I must admit that such smartphones really feel monolithic. Well, although it was also distinguished by good build quality, it is very superior to it in this parameter.

Plus, the speaker here is located not on the back of the smartphone, but on the side. This is very cool, because when you play on a smartphone, you won’t be able to cover the speaker with your hand. And when it lies on the table, the sound, again, will not overlap. In my opinion, this is the best location. Although it doesn't match the sound quality. Yes, it’s loud, and there’s a hint of bass. But, probably, its not the best sound is due to its protection from water.

The buttons are made quite in the spirit of Samsung, clearly and minimalistically. They press clearly and do not hang out in their usual holes. Just like the Home button, which I’m used to in , is also present and does its job properly, also serving as a fingerprint scanner. But more on that later.

The camera and flash are located on the back of the smartphone. The camera does not protrude from the body, and there is no fear of scratching the peephole. The flash doesn't stand out either.

Screen. Display

The more, the better, I think. And that’s why I didn’t take a smartphone with a diagonal of less than five inches. And I took a smartphone with a diagonal of 5.2 inches. And the resolution is not lower than Full HD. Because I already see less grain on the display. And 2K is like that in general. Okay, this is all chatter, because it’s not the resolution that decides, but the number of ppi. Right? Just having read about the A3 2017, whose HD resolution is too grainy, I refused to buy it in favor of the A5 2017, which is fine with this matter. And my favorite AMOLED with acidic colors is in place, everything I love. Of course, you can also turn off this acidity in the display settings, but I didn’t. It may not look natural, but it’s cute.

No grain is visible. The viewing angles are the widest. But when you deviate to the sides, you can still see that the colors are not exactly inverted, but a small proportion of green, very small, is present. And this is such a feature of this model. Interestingly, this has not been observed, and there is a several-year difference between these smartphones. But let's not forget that this was a flagship, and this is a middling one...

As for the tactile sensation, everything is fine here. The fourth generation Gorilla Glass makes its presence felt. I don’t know about the strength, I haven’t tested it and don’t intend to, but my finger glides over this “monkey” like butter. As for the oleophobic coating, it seems to be there, but it’s not particularly effective. But what I want is that if you use any smartphone and move your finger over it, then traces of them will remain in any way. They also appear and more or less disappear, no discomfort is felt.

I read an interesting fact on one site about oleophobia - they say that these new smart phones have some kind of defect - in some places of the display it quickly wears off, and the traces of this are too visible. I don’t know what it looks like in real life, I rubbed it, rubbed it, dirty it, dirty it, wiped it - but I didn’t notice such a defect, or it doesn’t look bright on my device. It doesn't matter, because I immediately put tempered glass on the screen to prevent scratches. After all, no matter how they assured that Gorilla Glass protects against scratches, I did not manage to get a scratch... True, this glass does not completely cover the display, because the A5 2017 now has the newfangled 2.5D.

I have always been dissatisfied with the fact that Samsung's Tachwiz shell is slow, overloaded, even though it looks beautiful. And it was strange for me to see how everything was done slower on the flagship than on inexpensive Chinese smartphones with pure Android. Now I’ll say something else - the shell has changed its name and began to look much better - and... most importantly, it just flies.

It really flies, I'm not kidding. Everything opens quickly, be it the gallery, the dialer, or the camera. I don’t notice any lags or slowdowns, surprisingly.

The version here is Android 6, a kind of marmalade.

Over-the-air updates are supported, and I constantly turn it on in order to detect the “nougat,” that is, the seventh version that Samsung promises in the spring. Summer is coming, and there is no new version. I would really like to. Look, mid-range or even basic models from LG come out with seven, but what do we have? Still a six. How is that?

In general, the design of the new shell from Samsung is different not only visually, but practically, the settings menu has been slightly changed, there is even support for things that I was incredibly happy about, so I won’t risk installing custom firmware, so as not to get a “brick”. And here you can change Android externally in such a way that you don’t need any firmware - you just need to go to the Samsung brand store and register, download the necessary themes, and even separately the icons you want. Which is, in fact, what I did.

There is also a blue light filter that reduces eye strain by limiting the amount of blue light. In fact, the screen is simply made dimmer and more yellowish.

I have never used a device with such a screen parameter.

By the way, there is no LED that signals missed calls, messages, turns on the screen and shows a screensaver with a clock if you hold your palm over the LED. At first I suffered from this, then I got used to it, especially since instead of an LED there is one feature that was previously available only to the latest generation flagships - this is the Always On Display, which, thanks to AMOLED technology, constantly displays the clock and notifications on the screensaver, or you can set calendar. And this function does not consume much battery power.

In the “Optimization” item, the parameters of the battery, memory and RAM are conveniently located. Everything is convenient and clear.

This smartphone also supports NFC for payment. Everything is standard.

A fingerprint scanner, as I already said, is present, and I didn’t understand this feature before. But having experienced it myself, I realized that the fingerprint scanner is a convenient thing. First of all, because of the protection. Because no one outsider, whose fingerprint is not entered into the database, so to speak, will be able to unlock the smartphone and thereby view its internal contents. The speed of the scanner is not satisfactory, everything is fast enough, you just have to put your finger on the Home button and the screen immediately unlocks. Even in some narrowly targeted applications, such as banking, this method of logging into your personal account also works. Very comfortably. And I’m so used to unlocking a smartphone using a scanner that when I pick up another Samsung device, I automatically try to unlock it in the same way!

Otherwise, the shell over pure Android is quite wow, convenient to use. Otherwise, this is a familiar “robot”.

Performance. "Power", RAM

It's time to say a little about the hardware. Inside, the new smartphone is powered by a processor of Samsung's own design - Exynos 7 Octa 7880. If you need dry numbers, here are 8 Cortex-A53 cores up to 1.88 GHz, Mali-T830 MP3 950 MHz. Now, according to personal feelings: if the flagship one seemed to be fast, although the shell was heavy, then everything here is an order of magnitude higher and faster. All operations are performed with lightning speed, programs open quickly, and it’s a pleasure to use. I understand that now there will be those who will say that even last year’s flagships will be faster and more powerful than . Perhaps this is so, because neither, nor and, and even more so, I didn’t use it, because I used the old one, and I directly compare it with the brand new A5 2017, and for me it is much faster than my previous device. Judging by the test in AnTuTu, it is clear that this is a real average and scores “only” 60078 points.

Yes, this is not much, but for me, who saw the figure on the 2013 flagship of 28,000 points, this is a monster in the good sense of the word ☺.

As for heating under load, this was a pleasant surprise for me in the sense that no matter how hard I tried to load the smartphone in order to generate heat from all sides, I was unable to do this. Even when scrolling through desktops, the screen was already becoming noticeably warm, and if you spent a little time surfing the Internet, the screen was already heating up quite a bit. As soon as I played a toy, even an undemanding one like Angry Birds, the heating was felt even more strongly. And if you took photos or recorded videos, it was simply painful to hold the smartphone in your hand, because the heating was felt both in front and behind.

Vladimir Nesterov

Samsung updated its Galaxy A series line in 2017, today we will test the middle brother of this family -. I would like to note that the manufacturer listened to some of the wishes of its fans; the model turned out to be really good, although not without some minor shortcomings. The A5 was tested fully for a week as the main phone. The review is based on the feelings and impressions of the average user.

The equipment for this model is quite simple:

the Galaxy A5 smartphone itself;
charger with USB and micro USB cable;
paper clip for opening trays;
simple headphones;
a special adapter for interaction with older phone models;
passport, warranty card.

In fact, it is a copy of its older brother A7 with minor differences: the battery capacity is smaller, the screen diagonal is also smaller. The smartphone is available in several colors: black, blue, gold. We tested the black version of the smartphone. The company's designers did a great job - the smartphone looks elegant.

The phone supports two full-fledged Nano-SIM format SIM cards plus a microSD memory card expandable up to 256 GB. There are two trays:

the first is located on the top edge of the phone, designed for 1 SIM card and a memory card.
the second is located on the left side of the model and is intended for the second SIM card. The solution is very successful, because the top tray can be used with the main card, and the side tray, if necessary, can be used to install a second SIM card.

On the top edge of the smartphone there is a tray for a SIM card with a memory card and an additional microphone. The main speaker in this model has moved to the right side - a very good solution for gamers, now the sound will not be covered up during the game. The sound from the speaker itself is not very loud, but enough to not miss an incoming call. On the same side there is a “on/off” button for the device.

At the bottom you can see: USB Type-C connector, headphone jack, speaking microphone. The sound in the headphones is not ideal, but pleasant for everyday listening as an MP3 player. On the left side there are volume control buttons and a second tray for a SIM card.

The touch control buttons in this model are located under the screen. From left to right you can see: a list of recent applications, a main button with a built-in fingerprint scanner to exit to the desktop, a return button. The home button, unlike the previous version of this model, is slightly recessed into the body and does not play. The scanner works very quickly, recognizes all touches, and there were no problems with it during testing.

On the back cover there is a main camera with flash. There are two cameras in the Galaxy A5, both 16 MP: front and main. They do not have optical stabilization. The shooting quality of the main camera is average, slightly worse than that of the A7 of the same year. Although the A7 camera is far from ideal.

The A5 has a self-produced processor from Samsung - an 8-core Exynos 7 Octa 7880 with a clock frequency of up to 1.9 GHz. The phone has 3 GB of RAM. The smartphone test results are quite good:

AnTuTu – Dingle-Core – 766 points, Multi-Core – 3958;
AnTuTu Benchmark – 61760 points;
The graphics test showed FPS – 59.9.

All these indicators will be enough to work with for another couple of years. You can play almost all modern toys on this smartphone. Online shooters are best set to medium settings, but at maximum the A5 will clearly slow down.

The networks have everything you need to work, plus NFC and Samsung Pay. There are no problems with paying by phone through the terminal. Navigation systems GPS and Glanass work averagely, signal reception is fast.

The phone's battery has a capacity of 3000 mAh. Based on the test results, we can confidently say that it will be enough for the whole day. If the operation is not very active, then the charge will be enough for a longer period of time. When playing video at maximum brightness, the battery lasts for 14 hours of continuous playback.

The display has a diagonal of 5.2 inches, with a proprietary Super Amoled display from Samsung. The resolution of the screen is Full HD 1920x1080 pixels, while the screen is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 4. Amoled displays from this company have always been famous for their image quality and excellent viewing angles.

Samsung Galaxy A5 testing results.

Final conclusion: In general, we liked the model; many user wishes were taken into account. Excellent screen, good performance, well-thought-out ergonomics of the entire device. The price - yes, it bites, but this is, after all, a brand. If you are on a limited budget, it is better to pay attention to Chinese manufacturers , , or Russian .

Cons of Samsung A5 2017:

not a low price tag, but you need to take into account that this is, after all, a brand.
The body is a little slippery, especially on the side metal edges.
The main camera is very average, but perhaps this shortcoming will be corrected in the future through a firmware update.

Pros of Galaxy A5:

a good processor that can easily handle most modern toys, both now and in a couple of years.
A good battery, the capacity of which will be enough for a whole day of work.
good location of the main speaker.
moisture protection according to IP68 technology.
The model has interesting solutions:

If there is a contact on the screen, to connect with the subscriber, you just need to bring the phone to your ear, the connection will happen automatically, this is very convenient.
extreme energy saving allows you to extend the phone's operating time by 5-10 times with a low battery charge.

Not long ago, the line of Samsung “A” series smartphones was updated. There were enough changes to talk about them.

The design of Samsung smartphones has always left few people indifferent. This is what happened this time too. The company has achieved a stylish but not flashy design largely thanks to the pleasant combination of glass and metal in the body, each facet of which refracts light very richly. Especially the front panel with 2.5D glass and the back wall, made of glass that gracefully curves closer to the side edges. When it comes to this phone, you can easily call its design premium.

If we continue to develop the theme of the case, we can note the traditional mechanical Home button under the screen. The button is combined with a fingerprint scanner, which works quite quickly, but is not always easy to configure. Due to the fact that the button, and therefore the scanner itself, is very narrow, during setup a message often appears asking you to still move your finger, and not just place it in the same position.

The Volume and Power keys are located on different sides of the phone, which is convenient, and you don’t have to look for them and remember which is higher and which is lower. Also striking are the two SIM card trays. In the Galaxy A5 2017, the main SIM card is installed on the right side of the body, and there is a double tray on top. The top tray holds a second SIM card and a memory card. Now it will be even more convenient to use a second SIM card, since you won’t have to choose between it and a memory card with a capacity of up to 256 GB.

What Samsung has excelled at in their smartphones is the level of water resistance. This is what happened this time too. Galaxy A5 is IP68 rated. That is, it is not only one hundred percent protected from dust, but also capable of spending up to 30 minutes in fresh water at a depth of up to one and a half meters without any consequences. This is always not superfluous and very pleasantly distinguishes the smartphone from direct competitors in its price segment. By the way, this phone costs from 22,000 rubles, which is quite a bit for a quality phone.

In conclusion, the features of the case can be noted that it has three colors, including black, blue and gold. Although the gold color is not even very gold. At least not so conspicuous.

Display

The display diagonal is 5.2 inches, which is quite large considering the dimensions of the smartphone itself. The display resolution is predictable FullHD, and the matrix, of course, is SUPER AMOLED. The display is nice and bright, as it should be given its specs, but what's particularly pleasing is that it changes color significantly less when viewed from an angle than before. Among the pleasant additions, we can note the Always on display function that has reached younger Samsung models. Now you can display information about the date, time, battery status and basic notifications on the Galaxy A5 screen. Considering the features of AMOLED displays, this is doubly convenient, since it not only frees the owner from the obligation to periodically take the phone from the table and turn it on, but also does not consume much battery. At the same time, the clock constantly changes its position on the screen slightly. This is easy to find an explanation from the point of view of the technological features of AMOLED displays.

Camera

Naturally, the phone has two cameras. Both are now 16 megapixels with f/1.9 aperture. The pictures taken with the main camera come out very good. Actually, the Korean giant is famous for its cameras in smartphones. In bright light, the pictures turn out to be very clear and saturated, but if you dim the lighting a little and choose a subject with insufficient contrast, the camera may begin to make mistakes. The number of possible camera settings will please many who like to tinker with manual modes. There's even a food mode that lets you take a photo with a clear center, slightly blurred edges, and special brightness settings. The main camera not only does not protrude, but, on the contrary, is even slightly recessed into the body, but it’s a pity that there was no place for optical stabilization.

Iron

Powering the performance is the 1.9GHz Exynos 7880 processor and 700MHz Mali T-860 graphics. The phone has 3 GB of RAM. The hardware provides more than enough performance for applications and almost enough for everything, even the coolest games. There is a decrease in frame rate, but it is not always critical. So the gameplay will not be marred by freezes and slowdowns. In the AnTuTu benchmark test, the Galaxy A5 scores about 60,000 points.

It is worth noting that the smartphone predictably runs Android 6, but should soon receive an update to the seventh version of the green robot.

The amount of built-in memory is quite large and amounts to 32 GB. But only 23 GB of them is available to the user. Although this is also enough for a very large number of photographs and more than one album of your favorite artist. But it’s still nice that it is possible to install memory cards up to 256 GB, which I talked about earlier.

The sound in the headphones is traditional for Samsung. There is nothing to add or subtract here. But the external speaker turned out to be very interesting. First, it’s worth noting where it is located. It is located on the side, just above the Power button. An original and convenient solution. Now you definitely won’t be able to accidentally close it with your hand in any orientation of the device. True, the large holes in the housing for this speaker look a little strange, but it sounds very good. Naturally, there is no bass, but there are distinct high frequencies, which is nice. The volume, although not low, is not prohibitive. We will assume that it is above average.