Samsung galaxy a5 user experience. successful line update

Frame

Version Samsung Galaxy The developers released this year's A5 in three different colors: classic strict black, more elegant gold, and for the most stylish and those who like to stand out, they provided azure blue. The phone measures 146 x 71 mm and is only 8 mm thick. The phone weighs 159 g.

Samsung Galaxy A5 - new model

Processor and filling

This version of Samsung Galaxy has an octa-core Exynos 7880 Octa chip processor with clock frequency 1.9 GHz. Software updated to Android Marshmallow version 6.0.1.

Technical Samsung specifications Galaxy A5

Screen

The display size is 5.2 inches diagonally and the resolution is 1080 x 1920. According to the developers, multi-touch is made using technology Super AMOLED, which allows the phone to maintain the brightness of the picture both indoors and on a brightly lit street.

Camera

The flagship camera has as much as 16 megapixels. At the same time, the front camera does not lag behind the main lens at all - the same 16 megapixels. In addition, the creators of the model took care of the post-processing of the photographs taken. Several standard filters and modes have been built into the camera interface, which, presumably, will make your pictures simply incomparable. We haven’t forgotten about high-quality selfies in low-light conditions: there are flashes on both sides of the smartphone, so even in the dark you can take beautiful portrait shots.

Original photo

Various built-in filter options

With this camera resolution, naturally, it won’t be news that the smartphone records video in Full HD quality.

Connection

You can insert two simultaneously working SIM cards into your phone. At the same time, the Samsung Galaxy A5 also has a separate slot for MicroSD, which many users found extremely convenient. Now there is no need to sacrifice one of your calling cards in the name of extra gigabytes of memory for several hundred photos and music tracks.

Memory

As for memory capacity, the A5 boasts very average performance - 32 built-in gigabytes and 3 GB of RAM. For needs regular user that's more than enough. Even though the actual memory that is not used by any system files, only 23 GB remains. And yet, for those who prefer not to bother with deleting unnecessary information from the phone or just want to feel confident with a reserve free space, a separate slot specifically for MicroSD is carefully provided. Maximum size additional storage can reach 256 GB.

Battery

Fresh Samsung version The developers equipped the Galaxy A5 with a Li-Po battery with a capacity of 3000 mAh. The battery consumption of this model is no different from any other Samsung, so we advise you not to expect stellar performance. 320 hours of standby time, 12 hours of talk time, up to 30 hours of continuous music listening, 8 hours of video. However, the phone supports fast charging. As the manufacturer promises, your smartphone will be fully restored within an hour. The remaining characteristics are quite standard for modern smartphones.

The battery of the new smartphone is quite capacious, which means it will last for more time

How the Samsung Galaxy A5 2017 is superior to the 2016 model

Camera in the new version of the smartphone

In general, the camera copes well with its main tasks. Photosensitivity and white balance perform excellent during daytime shooting. Exposure is self-adjusted in seconds. The absence of optical stabilization. However, once you get used to the camera a little and start holding the phone in your hands more confidently, the slight blurriness will immediately disappear. The fairly high detail of the picture also brightens up this shortcoming a little.

If difficulties with a clear, “quiver-free” picture arise even during the day in good natural light, imagine what starts to happen at night or indoors. Although this is a problem with most smartphones, let alone the average market representative. Just be mentally prepared for a slightly “off” exposure, noise and fine blurring of the edges. As a last resort, console yourself with the thought of properly working autofocus and white balance.

A positive counterbalance to the lack of stabilization is the selfie camera. In addition to the high resolution of 16 megapixels, it will delight you with sharp and high-quality portraits with excellent detail. Indoors or in dim light, developers suggest using the phone screen as a “flash”, which illuminates faces with white soft radiation and allows you to maintain the quality of photos.

Photo: examples of shooting on A5

Daytime pictures show excellent quality Exposure and white balance are adjusted instantly and quite accurately. When moving, even during the day, the photos will be a little blurry. However, when shooting uncertainly or when the subject moves slightly, defects appear during the day - tree branches that sway in the wind have blurry outlines. White balance shows an excellent result, but they appear highlights on too bright objects Well, at least the white balance and autofocus don’t fail. At night, light sensitivity begins to become capricious, noise appears. At night, the detail of the picture deteriorates and the likelihood of blurry photos increases significantly. Complex machinations will have to be carried out even for shooting in a dimly lit room. Colors are reproduced perfectly, but it’s better not to talk about the quality and clarity of the image. You can, of course, get used to manually setting the settings and taking a dozen frames. However, selfies taken with the 16-megapixel camera of the updated Samsumg Galaxy A5 are certainly pleasing

Price range

On Russian market The smartphone has a fairly high price for its middle segment - 27,990 rubles. However, this is justified by decent modern characteristics, good technological “filling”, a stylish design that mimics the more luxurious Galaxy S line, as well as various “tasty goodies”, such as the Always On Display function.

Samsung can't keep secrets. A few days before the announcement of new smartphones Galaxy series In 2017, users know not only the characteristics and design of devices, but also the cost of gadgets. According to the latest data Galaxy smartphones A will appear in European stores in mid-January. One of the Ukrainian online stores announced the start date for sales of the Samsung Galaxy A 2017 - February 17, 2017.

Updates from 03/05/2017 - added links to Galaxy review A5 and A3, as well as comparisons with competitors.

Samsung Galaxy A5 2017: smartphone characteristics

Official press renderings recently appeared online. Samsung smartphones Galaxy A 2017, the characteristics of which became known a little earlier:

Currently, the company offers a gift for every new A-series smartphone. wireless headphones Level U Pro (approximately $89). Not the best best option For active people. We talked about how to choose the right headphones in our review! The line will be announced on January 5 at CES.

Note that the Galaxy A 2017 line does not include the user-favorite white. Instead, we will see a popular color among Note series users - Blue Coral.

We are waiting for a new product! Subscribe to updates, stay with us! We will tell you about the presented Galaxy devices A 2017 among the first.

At the end of 2017, Samsung will introduce the updated A-series. We suggest you familiarize yourself now with the main technical Galaxy characteristics A5 2018 and A7 2018.

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Advantages

Workmanship
Protection class IP69
Very good battery life

Flaws

Middle chamber
Sensitive back panel

• Price/quality ratio
  Great
• Place in the overall ranking
  49 of 119

• Price/quality ratio: 89
• Performance and Control (35%): 85.7
• Equipment (25%): 82.6
• Battery (15%): 91.5
• Display (15%): 87.8
• Camera (10%): 76.4

Editorial rating

User rating

B O The larger of the two models, Galaxy A5, is offered by the manufacturer at a recommended price of 28,000 rubles, but many sellers are already asking a little less for it - from 22,000 rubles (as of mid-February).

Samsung Galaxy A5 is equipped with a 5.2-inch display with Full-HD resolution. Within the walls of the test laboratory, the panel looked very convincing due to its good brightness and decent contrast. Useful feature: A mode called “Always On”. In it, a mid-range smartphone informs the user about notifications, current time and battery status with minimal energy consumption.

Inside the Galaxy A5 is a company-developed Samsung processor Exynos 7880, helped by 3 GB RAM. During the practical test, of course, this mobile phone in terms of performance it is clearly inferior to the one in which more powerful processor. Built-in storage is limited to 32 GB, but can be expanded via MicroSD cards up to 256 GB.

After the criticism was taken into account by the manufacturer, in addition to expandable internal memory, the smartphone is also equipped with a waterproof case. In particular, thanks to compliance with the IP69 standard, the Galaxy A5 (2017) can withstand even 30 minutes of immersion in water (to a depth of 1.5 m).

Solid middle class: Samsung wants to conquer the market with Galaxy A5 (2017)

16 megapixels in double packaging

In terms of camera characteristics, Samsung clearly did not skimp when creating the Galaxy A5 (2017). Both on the front and on back side The housing has cameras with a resolution of 16 megapixels each. The main camera offers users a focal length of 27 mm and an aperture of f/1.9. First of all, it is the “main” camera that produces decent and clear images. The front-facing camera, on the other hand, is a bit disappointing. Here, the shooting results are much darker and poorer in detail. Samsung Video Galaxy A5 (2017) only shoots in Full-HD resolution.

The 3000 mAh battery also turned out to be convincing. Overall, the battery lasted 9 hours and 12 minutes during our endurance test. Thanks to the fast charging function for full recovery Galaxy A5 (2017) energy reserves require 1 hour 54 minutes.

Is this the right price?

Samsung doesn't make many mistakes with the Galaxy A5 in 2017. We lack an image stabilizer for the main camera, and the results are front camera seem disappointing. But the price dynamics for the Galaxy A5 (2017) are getting really interesting. Although the price-quality ratio here is quite good, however, at a cost of about 450 euros, the Galaxy S7 is already in close proximity.

In addition, Samsung adds several items to the list of equipment in the S7, and the main camera of the top-level model is much more convincing. Moreover, when the S8 hits the market at the end of March, prices for the S7 should probably drop even more. We can only hope that the retail price of the Galaxy A5 will also be adjusted accordingly.

Alternative options

Samsung Galaxy S7

In the meantime, you can get it by paying from 29,000 rubles. Thus, this alternative option it turns out just a little more expensive than Samsung Galaxy A5 (2017). The Galaxy S7's 32GB internal memory can also be expanded using a MicroSD memory card.

Additionally, our currently "Number 3" smartphone ranking is waterproof according to IP certification standards. Superb performance indeed good camera and a remarkable display complete the list of talents of this top-end smartphone.

Honor 6X

Using an example, the manufacturer once again proves: good smartphone should not cost exorbitant amounts of money. At the same time, the large middle-class device differs from many available “comrades” with its dual camera. In professional mode dual camera allows you to get very good results. However, it is not ideal.

Samsung Galaxy A5 (2017) test results

Characteristics and test results of Samsung Galaxy A5 (2017)

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!

Selection criteria

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 consumed. 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, we must admit that such smartphones really feel monolithic. Well, although it was also different good quality assembly, it is very superior 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. As well as Home button, which I am used to in , is also present and does its job properly, also serving as a fingerprint scanner. But more on that a little 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 by reading about A3 2017, whose HD resolution is too grainy, refused to purchase it in favor of A5 2017, who has everything in order with this matter. And my favorite AMOLED with acid flowers in place, everything is as I like. 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. Gorilla Glass fourth generation makes itself 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 across 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. Well, it doesn’t matter, because I immediately glued tempered glass to 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 A5 2017 now 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 ones 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 something new version No. 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 so?

In general, the design of the new shell from Samsung differs not only visually, but practically, the settings menu has been slightly changed, there is even support for topics, which I was incredibly happy about, so I installed custom firmware I won't risk it 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 here 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 has NFC support 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 included, so to speak, in the database, 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 need 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 in personal account works too. Very convenient. 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 new one 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