• Optical stabilization in samsung a5. Competitors Samsung Galaxy A5 (2017)

    Smartphone Series samsung galaxy A last year was very successful in terms of design. They looked beautiful, although they were inferior in performance to numerous Chinese counterparts. Yes, Chinese phones become more and more popular, but Samsung is not a bastard. Excellent materials, high-quality cameras, a functional shell, but the brand also means a lot. I know people who believe in Samsung and only have this brand of phones. I think you will have such friends.

    Those who sit on the Internet are aware of the eternal torment of choice: what to buy, the creation of an eminent brand or an almost top Chinese, budding brand? Judging by successful sales variety of Galaxy A last year, fans of this series were not stopped by the price, there were many who wanted to. Yes, and people still go to stores, try devices, twist them in their hands to get an impression of purchases, not all "Chinese" can be checked out live.

    Slippery but not wet

    The design surprised me, Samsung abandoned the angular forms and returned to the remnant features. Remember the old Samsung flagship Galaxy S3? The new A5 is very similar to it in shape, and the back panel looks very modest, I would add a pattern or pattern to it for a change, it would look better, but it looks like a state employee.


    Here is a photo of A5 and S7 edge, compare the sizes and appreciate the difference in appearance.




    The case is very slippery, you can walk with the phone without a case, but you need to use it carefully, otherwise you will drop it.

    Glass front and back, glossy surface combined with a durable aluminum edge. You can’t fault the assembly, ergonomics too, all the buttons are in their places.

    If you can’t manage the phone with one hand, then turn on the special mode, then the menu will shrink in size. The camera can be launched by double-clicking the button below the screen, very convenient.


    But IP68 water protection, like the top-end Galaxy S7, is good and practical. The phone is not afraid of swimming in fresh water, maintaining a stay at a depth of up to 1.5 meters for 30 minutes.


    Screen with a twist

    Phone, as usual for Samsung, with a bright Super AMOLED Oh, now the Always On Display feature works when additional data is visible on the screen in standby mode, and the backlight does not work at this time. To some extent, it compensates for the lack indicator light, although nothing simpler and more efficient than a flashing diode has yet been invented.


    Diagonal 5.2 inches, resolution 1080x1920 - the picture is bright, everything is perfectly visible on the street, there are no traces on the display, an excellent oleophobic coating. It is strange that in a phone for almost 30 thousand rubles, multitouch detects only 5 simultaneous touches.


    Samsung Pay is not working yet

    The phone helps pay for purchases through Samsung Pay, but I didn’t succeed in attaching a card to it, during testing the service did not work and advised me to wait some more. Well, OK. I note that the phone has an NFC chip, but it does not work with the Troika card, I tried several applications, but the smartphone does not show travel data through applications.

    The camera is very good during the day

    The camera on the back of the case does not protrude at all, it goes flush with the surface. Convenient: when you put the phone on the table, it lies and does not wobble.


    The resolution of the main and front cameras is the same, both are 16 megapixels. Galaxy A5 (2017) shoots great in automatic mode, in the settings run manual mode or additional story profiles. Here are a few examples, and you can check out the rest in Google Drive. On the Samsung website, I did not find the characteristics of the model, but as I understood from the description in other sources, there is no optical camera stabilization, it was in last year's Galaxy A5.





    Take a look at the work of HDR (on the left - with it, on the right - the effect is turned off).




    The quality of video recording is limited to Full HD, the phone writes videos well, but it strobes a lot. Here is an example of shooting at the rink.

    Not the most powerful, but fast

    If you look at performance, then this is a typical middle class. 61 thousand points in AnTuTu, Exynos 7880 processor, 3/32 GB of memory and a slot for a microSD card. New processor 14nm process technology with low power consumption


    Samsung's operating system is still gluttonous and consumes large amounts of RAM, out of 3 gigs, 1.3 GB remains for work, and when you also use applications, about 500 MB hangs free. You can live, but they don’t want to hear about process optimization at Samsung.

    If you play WoT: Blitz on maximum settings graphics, the phone produces 30-35 fps, the performance margin is enough for modern games. The phone does not overheat and does not turn into a heating pad, which is good.

    The phone has 2 SIM-cards, and there is a separate compartment for a memory card, you don’t have to sacrifice a second SIM, if you put a microSD here, it’s very practical.

    Samsung pleased with the sound quality in the headphones, it plays cleanly, although the volume margin is not very large. The sound through the speaker is clear, but not loud. The old-fashioned way, you can listen to FM radio if you plug in headphones, although now more and more often listen to Google Music or similar services.


    Works one day like everyone else

    Galaxy A5 has a 3000 mAh battery, works fast charging, the phone works for a day and a half with my load with the Internet and other activities. In the menu, you can find functions to optimize the system, the device itself determines which applications do not allow it to sleep peacefully and violate the operating mode. USB-C is used for charging, it’s good that Samsung has finally begun to transfer equipment to a new port. True, finding a cable in the nearest stall is another problem, USB-C is still not held in high esteem by us, but in vain.

    What is the price?

    Samsung Galaxy A5 (2017) sells for 27,990 rubles. Given that by adding 3 thousand rubles, you can buy last year's flagship Galaxy S6, you might wonder if you should take an old, but more fancy phone? Yes, there will be no protection against water and a slot for a memory card, but it has better camera, more interesting appearance. Want to save money, but buy Samsung? Then look at the Galaxy A5 (2016), it is still relevant, the filling is simpler, but it costs around 20 thousand.


    Of the options for other brands, I can advise Honor 8 (), it costs like A5, it’s more a matter of personal attitude to brands, they are similar in characteristics, but Honor has a nicer design, for my taste. Another competitor is glass-metal ASUS Zenfone 3 () in a similar style.

    Opinion

    Samsung Galaxy A5 (2017) pleased with a rare feature, there are few phones with water protection on sale. What else to surprise? Appearance, in my opinion, has become worse than that of the old generation, last year's Galaxy A3/A5/A7 line looked more interesting. Although everything is still worthy in terms of materials and assembly, and the filling has become even more powerful. I think that when prices drop in a few months, the phone will "go to the people."

    Summing up, I will say that new samsung Galaxy A5 (2017) I liked the characteristics, but not the design. Based on past experience, Samsung is capable of more. Otherwise, the model turned out to be good, and if you look at analogues from Huawei or ASUS, you will see comparable price tags, I can’t say that the overpayment for the brand will be too high, Samsung has an adequate pricing policy.

    Did not like

    • slippery hull
    • Soap design
    • No indicator light
    • Limited NFC options
    • Old Android 6.0

    Liked

    • good camera
    • autonomy
    • Water protection
    • Functional shell
    • Bright screen

    For the smartphone provided for testing, I thank the friendliest gadget store biggeek. By promo code wylsacom There is a special discount for buyers.

    In contact with

    Classmates

    On the second day of the new year, Samsung announced three new Galaxy A smartphones: Galaxy A3, Galaxy A5 and Galaxy A7. How exactly do they differ from last year's models of the same series? How do they stand out from the plethora of other smartphones in the saturated Android market?

    Now we will look at these devices in more detail and find out what is the difference between the Samsung A series of smartphones and the flagship Samsung S devices or the budget Samsung J.

    One gets the impression that the developers carefully listened to what buyers say. This time they have implemented a lot of requested features, this alone speaks in favor of new smartphones.

    1. Dual SIM and microSD slots

    Smartphones with two SIM slots are more common in poor countries, they are not so popular in developed countries, but those who wish can use one SIM card for personal life and the other for work. Naturally, having two SIM-cards in one smartphone is much more convenient than carrying two smartphones in your pockets. Therefore, the most practical functionality devices Galaxy A5 and Galaxy A7 2017 is the presence of two slots for SIM-cards. Also, no need to choose between the second card and the card microSD memory you can use both at the same time. Unfortunately, the Galaxy A3 still uses the hybrid slot.

    2. Water proof

    Protection against water was usually found in the apparatus of the upper price category. However, this is not the case now. The new Galaxy A smartphones are IP68 rated, so they can be safely submerged in water for a short period of time without being damaged. This will allow smartphones to survive an accidental drop into a sink or puddle, as well as protect against dust.

    3. Side speakers

    Unlike other smartphones, the new Galaxy A received speakers not from the bottom or back, but at the edges. On the right, above the power and lock button, you can see the speaker openings. It is not known why Samsung decided to place them on the right, but there is hope that it will be more difficult to block them with the palms here.

    4. Floating camera button

    As for the software part, there appeared new button camera activation. The camera app has a floating shutter that you can move. This is done so that when you hold your smartphone in an uncomfortable position for shooting from a certain angle, it is easier to reach the button with your hand. In this case, you simply move the button closer to your finger.

    5. Fingerprint scanner

    In 2016, fingerprint scanners continued to spread to smartphones, and now Samsung is making them available on mid-range devices. Scanners increase the security of user data, it is fast and convenient way protecting smartphones from thieves. In these devices, the scanner is built into the Home button.

    6. Support for Samsung Pay payment system

    The presence of a fingerprint scanner opens the way to wireless payments, so the new Galaxy A supports payment system Samsung Pay. This platform works with a number of terminals with the NFC communication standard, as well as with older terminals with MST support that competitors don't have Apple services Pay and Android Pay.

    7.USB-C

    In my Samsung time not in a hurry to implement USB-C connector even in flagship smartphones, and now makes it available in mid-range devices. This standard is symmetrical, so users don't have to think about which way to insert the connector. In addition to this convenience, it speeds up data transfer and allows you to charge your device.

    Samsung, having first released the Galaxy A5 in 2014, continued to improve the model, adding to its “arsenal” one updated A5 per year. At the time of 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 that were previously only found in flagships. In comparison with the previous version, the device has got a fresh processor, dust and water protection, increased memory and USB port Type-C. But in some ways the smartphone is still inferior to its predecessor.

    1. Specifications of Samsung Galaxy A5 (2017)

    The device received a good filling, but if you compare it with competitors, the cost of the A5 SM-A520F will seem overpriced.

    1.1. Design, body materials, dimensions and weight

    The smartphone comes in black, gold, blue and pink color corps.


    Most often, the domestic buyer will meet options in black and gold colors. The side faces are made of metal, and the front and rear end covered protective glass Gorilla Glass 4. The curved back panel and relatively small dimensions contribute to a good grip. However, because of the glass and soapy shape, the device constantly strives to slip out of hand.


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


    The body is well assembled. Moreover, it is IP68 dust and water resistant. It can wallow for 30 minutes at a depth of one and a half meters, without damage to the insides of the device.

    At the bottom of the screen is a mechanical home button, with a built-in fingerprint scanner. On the sides of her - touch buttons to navigate back and display 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 in which the combined slot for another SIM and a memory card is placed.


    On the right side is the power button and the main speaker grille.


    On the bottom - a symmetrical connector USB Type-C, microphone hole and 3.5mm 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 graphics chip Mali-830MP2. SoC includes 8 Cortex-A53 cores, maximum frequency which reaches 1.9 GHz. The processor is made according to the modern 14-nm process technology, with all the consequences. For example, improved energy efficiency, there is no significant heating. As a result, the level of performance does not fall under intense workloads.

    The Antutu test gives an average result of 60 thousand points by today's standards. 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 the 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. For a device of this class, this is normal. Except that together with the OS and running services, the Samsung shell eats up one and a half gigabytes. Manufacturer in Lately makes every effort to optimize the shell, but pure android either way it will run faster.

    The built-in storage capacity is 32 GB, about 23 GB is available to the user. By conservative estimates, this is enough to install an impressive list of applications, a couple of "heavy" games, and to store captured photos and videos. Memory expansion slot is always available for installation microSD cards with a maximum capacity of 256 GB.

    1.4. autonomy

    built-in non-removable battery at 3000 mAh and a non-gluttonous chip with a 14-nm process technology give a good result. The device in normal, mixed use mode works up to two days from a single charge. With intensive use, the battery lasts for a day. Fans of watching TV shows on their smartphones are lucky: FullHD video is played for 17 hours. In HD resolution via MX Player - up to 19 hours, and at full brightness!

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

    1.5. Camera

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

    During the day, the camera shoots well, at the level of good middlings from China. The color rendition of the pictures is good, close to natural, the level of detail is quite high. The 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 provided. In addition, the device focuses slowly, very often a blurry picture is obtained.

    There is no optical stabilization. This is a significant downgrade compared to the 2016 version. But it is not all that bad. If you put your smartphone on a tripod, 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 results obtained is quite good. But other manufacturers offer at least the ability to shoot at 60 fps, or 2k and 4k resolution.

    The front camera received wide-angle optics, and can shoot with a resolution of 16 MP. Photos are good, but nothing special should be expected. In terms of image quality, the front camera is significantly inferior to the main one. But there are branded chips that smooth the skin, enlarge the eyes and allow you to adjust the shape of the face. The focus is fixed, adjusted for shooting at close range. Because of what, distant objects are blurred. 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 through high density pixels (424 ppi). The SuperAMOLED matrix is ​​used, with its characteristic rich color reproduction and deep blacks. The "eye-eyed" gamma is adjustable in the settings, if desired, you can activate more calm tones. Viewing angles are good, colors can only be distorted at extreme angles. The margin of maximum brightness is high.

    There is a blue filter for those who are worried 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 the flagship models to the middle segment. Thanks to it, the current time and date, charge level and missed notifications are displayed on the lock screen. The screen is covered with 2.5D glass, with a good oleophobic coating. The touchscreen recognizes 5 simultaneous touches.

    1.8. Connection

    Samsung A5 2017 can install 2 Nano SIM cards. In the set of supported mobile networks includes 2G, 3G and 4G (LTE-A Cat6), with all common frequencies. The smartphone is equipped Bluetooth module v4.2, 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. Implemented support for payment Samsung service pay. True, it is temporarily unavailable to the owners of the “A” series.

    For navigation and geolocation, 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, accurately determines the location.

    1.9. Sound

    The external speaker received a non-standard location - on the top of the right edge.


    Accordingly, it will not overlap, no matter in what position the smartphone is on the table, or is in the hands. Undoubtedly, this is a plus, but the sound seems muffled. This is due to the fact that the speaker is protected from dust and moisture ingress with a special membrane. If you make allowances for this, the sound can be considered quite good.

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

    1.10. operating system

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

    There are also branded software chips, also inherited from the flagships of past years. For example, split the screen into 2 parts for two applications, one-handed operation, quick launch cameras double tap the home button, etc.

    1.11. Peculiarities

    For the scanner to work, you need to put your finger at the right 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, 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 (optional)
    • dust and moisture protection of the case according to the IP68 standard
    • You can use two SIM cards and a memory card at the same time
    • good display, always-on screen, blue light filtering
    • normal autonomy

    Flaws:

    • no optical stabilization
    • no possibility to shoot at 60 fps and in 4k resolution
    • fingerprint scanner features

    3. Alternatives

    OnePlus 3 and OnePlus 3T differ more high performance. The Honor 8 is also more powerful and has a better camera. Xiaomi Mi 5s offers a more practical metal body and comfortable 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 on the Samsung Galaxy A5 (2017)

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

    I would like to praise the manufacturer for such small steps of a big 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 of the case.

    From the Samsung A-line of smartphones updated at the beginning of 2017, it is the Galaxy A5 (2017) that promises to become the most popular and in demand. She has bigger screen And better performance than the Galaxy A3 (2017) smartphone we have already reviewed, but much more modest in size than the Galaxy A7 (2017) “shovel”. Why is the updated A5 (2017) superior to the younger model in the line, and how much better is it than the most popular Galaxy A5 (2016), we will figure it out in our review.

    Design and controls Galaxy A5 (2017)

    The design of the new smartphone Galaxy A5 (2017) is noticeably refreshed. The device is very similar to the flagship model Samsung Galaxy S7, also in appearance there are similarities with the iPhone 7. In general, the phone looks solid and expensive, the fact that the device belongs to the premium segment is immediately visible. The body of high-quality metal and glass Gorilla Glass 4 is assembled superbly, it is curved at the back along the edges, like the Samsung Galaxy S7. Thanks to this, as well as a fairly compact size, the device is very comfortable in the hand. The smartphone weighs only 159 grams, the body dimensions are 146.1 x 71.4 x 7.9 mm - excellent numbers for a device with a screen diagonal of more than 5 inches.

    Under the screen of the Samsung Galaxy A5 (2017), the backlit side touch buttons are habitually located (moreover, they are practically invisible without backlighting), as well as the central mechanical button with a fingerprint scanner. Above the display is the front camera and speaker. Behind the smartphone is only a camera with a flash and the Samsung logo. On the left side of the device are the volume buttons and the tray for the second SIM card, on the right - the power button and the speaker speakerphone. At the bottom, there are 3.5 mm headphone jacks and microUSB Type C, as well as a microphone hole.

    On the top - a tray for SIM cards and cards Micro memory SD (up to 256 GB), as well as a noise reduction microphone. Unlike the Galaxy A3 (2017), the device supports two separate SIM cards, just like the Galaxy A7 (2017). Note that the Samsung Galaxy A5 (2017), in addition to USB cable And charger, includes fairly high-quality vacuum headphones / headset.


    Screen and cameras Samsung Galaxy A5 (2017)

    The new Samsung Galaxy A5 2017 (SM-A520F) received a 5.2-inch display with a resolution of 1920 by 1080 pixels (pixel density - 424 ppi). Screen matrix - Super AMOLED, the display shows one of the best pictures of the smartphones offered on the market today with a diagonal of more than 5 inches. Very juicy colors, a huge margin of brightness, absolute viewing angles are far from all the advantages of the A5 (2017) screen. The display is really great, there is not the slightest complaint about it, besides, it behaves great in the sun.

    Both cameras of the Samsung Galaxy A5 (2017) have 16 megapixel modules. The main camera is equipped with phase detection autofocus and optical stabilization system. Her pictures can be rated as a solid five, the photo quality is very decent, even in low light conditions you can get good photo. Nevertheless, despite the “extra” 3 megapixels, the photos of the Samsung Galaxy A5 (2017) are not too superior in quality to the pictures of the main 13 megapixel Galaxy cameras A3 (2017). Although, in this case, it is rather a plus for the latter than a minus for the former.

    Front-camera works out its 16 megapixels with its head - in addition to good selfies, it is quite enough for decent photo quality and decent quality video broadcasts. Both cameras of the device can record video in Full HD.

    Features and performance Samsung Galaxy A5 (2017) SM-A520F

    New Samsung smartphone Galaxy A5 (2017) equipped with a "nimble" octa-core processor Exynos 7880 clocked at 1.9 GHz. This processor is significantly more productive than the Exynos 7870, which Galasky A3 2017 is equipped with. If there were not the slightest performance complaints about the latter, then there are no complaints about the A5 (2017), and even more so - everything “flies”.

    The device is really very fast, all applications work with lightning speed, there are no slowdowns / lags in principle. Random access memory the smartphone has 3 GB, the built-in flash memory is 32 GB. The ARM Mali-T830 MP3 video accelerator is responsible for the graphics. With such a filling, the device can be safely called a gaming one, in fact, all games can be safely launched at maximum graphics settings. In addition, the smartphone does not heat up even when maximum loads- for which the device is a separate plus.

    In the main test AnTuTu Benchmark Galaxy smartphone A5 (2017) received 60743 points. GeekBench 4 gave the device a score of 751 in Single-Core and 3791 in Multi-Core - very good results. On this moment out of the box Samsung Galaxy A5 Duos (2017) has operating system Android 6.0.1 with an updated TouchWiz proprietary shell, but an update to Android 7 is expected in the near future. With regards to the new TouchWiz, it has been refreshed in design, regrouped settings and added a number of new features. In general, it has become more convenient, and the interface is more pleasant.

    Video Samsung review Galaxy A5 2017 (SM-A520F) from Quke.ru

    In addition to great design, excellent display and good performance, Samsung Galaxy A5 2017 (SM-A520F) has a number of nice and useful "goodies". Protection of the IP68 case allows the smartphone to safely transfer a 30-minute immersion in fresh water to a depth of one and a half meters. The 3000 mAh battery gives the device good autonomy, this is generally a separate plus of the updated A-line, the autonomy of the devices is on top. Batteries Galaxy A5 (2017) even with very intensive use should be enough for 2 days of use.

    Another interesting "feature" of all models of the updated A-line of Samsung smartphones is the Always On Display function. In sleep mode, the device will display a number of useful information - the current time, calendar, latest notifications, battery level. Very comfortable and you get used to it very quickly.

    We also note support for LTE Cat 6 and Samsung Pay payment service.

    What is the result and the differences from the Galaxy A7 (2017)

    Samsung Galaxy A5 (2017) has become more interesting than its predecessor. The smartphone received a fresher design and improved cameras, became much more productive, received a secure case and a fingerprint scanner. The device itself turned out to be very interesting. Advantages over junior Galaxy model A3 (2017) are obvious - larger display with FHD resolution, 3 GB of RAM versus two and twice as much built-in flash memory, as well as more megapixel cameras and a separate slot for a second SIM card. But the device differs from the Galaxy A7 (2017) only in a smaller screen (5.2 inches versus 5.7 for the Galaxy A7 (2017)) and a less capacious battery (3000 versus 3600 mAh).

    In general, in our opinion, the new Samsung Galaxy A5 (2017) is close to the ideal of a modern smartphone. Perhaps the only nuance is that the price “bites” very much. Galaxy A5 (2017) can be purchased in 4 body colors - black, gold, blue and pink. The average price of a smartphone on the market is about $430. For this money, many Chinese brands offer their flagships with more interesting characteristics. But these will be just numbers - in practice, it is unlikely that Chinese competitors will be able to really be more interesting than the new devices from Samsung. Happy owners new Galaxy A5 (2017) we invite you to leave feedback in the comments.

    The question in the title is a no-brainer. Now in the segment under $400 there are enough a large number of smartphones, and good ones. Offhand, we can recall Huawei Nova, ASUS Zenfone 3 and Xiaomi Mi5s. They all have similar values ​​and are similar to each other in many ways. It is logical that in order to be sold, you need to stand out with something. And the first thing that sets the A5 apart from some of the other players is the strength of the brand name. Like it or not, but ordinary buyers often prefer an already proven well-known manufacturer and do not undertake to test attractive, but Chinese. However, we all know that the Chinese are good, so how does the Samsung Galaxy A5 2017 stand out from the competition? We'll talk about this.

    Samsung's A line has been interesting for several years already, I increasingly notice how my surroundings consider the A5 and A7 as their smartphone, and often buy it. Smartphones have Beautiful design, premium materials and balanced performance. In fact, this is a simplified flagship for those who are not ready to spend $ 700-800 on a smartphone, but want something nice, not cheap. The new A5 is exactly that: it will allow you to do absolutely everything that can be asked of a smartphone in 2017, and in doing so, you will not feel like you have agreed to a compromise. But the same can be said about the already mentioned Nova from Huawei and Zenfone 3 from ASUS. What is different about A5?

    1. IP68 protection

    Yes, the new A5 can be submerged to a depth of 1.5m for up to 30 minutes. Decide for yourself why you might need this, I discovered many use cases for myself, well, this is practical, at least. The main thing is that in this price range, moisture protection is an advantage over most. For some, such a plus sign can be decisive in choosing a smartphone.

    2.Always On Display

    A feature that was in the flagship models and watch Gear S3 is now available in the middle price range. Due to use Super AMOLED screen, in the locked state, part of the screen remains active and displays helpful information: time, missed events. You can also add your own fields. I know from my own experience that AOD is not a check mark, but useful feature. Most competitors do not have this due to the use of IPS displays.


    3. Two separate SIM cards and a memory card

    This will be a real plus for many. The fact is that on the edges of the smartphone there are two trays for different cards: the first one, on the left side, is for the main SIM card, and on top you can insert a second and even separate memory card. That is, the slot is not hybrid, like many others. Why is this a significant plus? Because the memory card modern smartphones with a ROM of less than 64 GB is almost always needed, especially for active users. And, therefore, a smartphone with a hybrid slot can no longer be considered dual-sim, because in the second slot there will be a card anyway.


    Design and ergonomics

    It's relative compact smartphone with very high quality materials: the back is made of glass and the support frame is made of aluminium. The front glass has a 2.5d rounding and all in all it is very pleasant and monolithic in the palm of your hand. I liked the design, but keep in mind that it looks very solid in black. Other options look much more boring. A matter of taste, of course, but I recommend paying attention to just such a version as mine.


    The camera is quite a bit recessed into the case, it turns out that nothing protrudes from the back at all. The block of control keys is familiar and looks concise. Mechanical home button in the center and horizontally and vertically has a nice clear stroke. It has an in-display fingerprint scanner that works well, but has a small footprint that takes some getting used to. Two touch buttons on either side of it are highlighted and well spaced from each other.


    The lock and volume buttons are located on the sides, which is convenient. In general, as I said, the smartphone turned out pretty! But!


    But there are two incomprehensible points in the design: USB Type-C is strongly shifted to the bottom. Why couldn't it be centered? Previously, they could not get in with MicroUSB, now with USB Type-C. The same goes for the 3.5mm jack. And from the location of the speaker, I specifically neighed, it was placed on the right side. And okay, the location is unusual, but it was also made so that you can see it even when you are not looking at your smartphone. Why was it necessary to design in the form of a cooling system grille? I just had to make a stripe.



    The sound, by the way, from this speaker is quite high-quality and loud, even heavy music does not turn into a continuous mess at high volume. Although there is no need to talk about bass, it is good for a mid-range smartphone.

    Display

    As I mentioned, the Galaxy A5 2017 has Super AMOLED screen which is good, in my opinion. The diagonal is 5.2″, while the frames are not huge, but not miniature either. Resolution - 1920x1080 pixels, pixel density - 424 per inch. The minimum and maximum brightness are comfortable for reading in the dark and in bright light, respectively, and clarity is also very good. The main thing here, probably, is that there are no children's sores of AMOLED panels, there are no green shades and a distinguishable pen tile.





    cameras

    But I can’t say that the A5 simply defeats competitors with the advantages that I listed at the beginning of the review. Many other players on the market have their advantages, for example, the camera in the A5 2017 has become technically simpler even compared to its predecessor. The optical stabilization is gone, which is completely incomprehensible to me, and also the A5 still does not shoot video in 4k and even in 1080p 60fps. Although the quality of the pictures is very good, both the main camera and the front camera are pleasing. Both have a resolution of 16 MP, an aperture of 1.9, but in fact the modules are different. Well, nothing bad about standard application I can’t say about the camera, it’s simple in auto mode, but for more advanced users it allows you to enable pro mode with manual settings.


    Sample photos and videos

    Specifications and Software

    Responsible for smartphone performance samsung processor Exynos 7880 which consists of 8 Cortex-A53 cores running at up to 1.9GHz and Mali-830 MP2 graphics. RAM 3 GB, ROM - 32.The performance is enough for any daily tasks, simple applications and games. But even if you want to play something heavy, the A5 will allow you to do it. For me, the main indicator is “tanks”, this is a very difficult game at maximum speeds. In principle, the A5 rarely produces less than 20 fps, even at maximum speeds, but it's still not very comfortable. But on basic settings stable 50-60 frames. True, from a single charge in the "tanks" the smartphone will not last long.The battery capacity is 3000 mAh, but I want more. You can count on a day of work if the smartphone is used little. A couple of fights in the "tanks", a few photos, make a video with Ivanov's dumbass, about ten minutes of calls and social networks are killing the battery by 6 o'clock in the evening. I'm glad that there is fast charging.

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