Introduction
After very successful representative of the middle premium class for 2015 (A5) and 2016 (A5 2016), Samsung have unveiled their new device for the 2017 – Samsung A5 (2017). Following the same pattern, this time around as well we have a middle premium class device with great build quality and even better performances. 5.2” SuperAMOLED display in FullHD resolution, 16MP both front and rear facing cameras, IP68 certificate, chassis built in metal/glass combination and last generation Exynos chipset are only some of the specifications which will make you believe that this is a premium class device. Although on paper, and with price, it seems to be a premium class device, if you take a closer look at the specifications, you can see exactly what places this device into the middle class. Although the cameras have high resolution (even bigger that on the S8), they lack Optical image stabilization (OIS), 4K video is also not supported, as well as the auto-focus in the front facing camera. The chipset, although relatively powerful, cannot really compete with the ones in the upper premium class. Alongside all this, the A5 (2017) comes with preinstalled Android 6.0 Marshmallow. Price? It reaches the level of the Samsung’s flagship for 2015 – the S6 Edge. Whether the A5 (2017) is worth the money, let’s take a look.
Unboxing
Display
Compared to the 2016 model, the display of the A5 (2017) has remained the same regarding the diagonal and resolution, but the screen-to-body ratio is a little better thanks to thinner bezels. The panel is still the tried and tested SuperAMOLED. The display shows up to 16.7 million colors and it’s protected by the Corning Gorilla Glass 4. FullHD resolutions on a 5.2“ diagonal translates to more than enough – 424 PPI. AlwaysOn display is from this year present in the A5, and it definitely represents a nice addition to the A5 taken from the more powerful devices. Of course, the brightness of the display is managed to fit different brightness environments using the “light” sensor. Maximum manual brightness level is exceptionally good (but the screen can be even brighter when necessary using the “Auto” mode). Visibility of the sunlight is very good, of course not as good as in better and more expensive devices, but definitely among the best in this class.
Hardware and OS
Samsung Galaxy A5 (2017) is equipped with the Samsung’s Exynos 7880 Octa chipset. It is a chipset for the middle class and represents the middle ground both in gaming and everyday use. This is an octa core chipset, where all cores are clocked at 1.9 GHz. Mali-T830 MP3 is in charge of the graphics, and it is clocked at 962 MHz. RAM has also got an improvement compared to the last year’s device – this time we have 3GB of LPDDR4 RAM and 32GB of internal storage capacity. When it comes to benchmark tests, this device scored 60.963 on the AnTuTu benchmark. Samsung Galaxy A5 (2017) comes with preinstalled Android v6.0.1 Marshmallow firmware and with “Grace UX” user interface developed by Samsung. Next software update will definitely bring Android v7.0 Nougat.
Camera
Galaxy A5 (2017) is equipped with 16MP sensors on both front and the back. On the back side there’s a camera sensor and an LED flash for photo and video capturing. The rear facing camera has advanced up to 16MP resolution with the aperture of f/1.9. All modern functions such as HDR, Auto-Focus and Geo-Tagging are here. The thing that the A5 (2017) lacks is Optical image stabilization (OIS), which the A5 (2016) had. Another function which is missing, and which this device could perform with no trouble at all, is 4K video capturing. The quality of photos taken by the back camera is good and with very little noise. The front facing camera, compared to the 5MP sensor in the A5 (2016) got a huge improvement, and now has 16MP resolution. These photos are still, however, of lesser quality compared to the ones taken by the main camera, because it is hard to supplement the lack of the auto-focus system, and fixed focus is adjusted in the way that if you are taking the photo of the face only, you will get excellent results. Colors are good and the general quality of photos for the front facing camera is decent.
Connectivity
Much the same as all other modern Android device manufacturers, Samsung equipped their device with all available connections. This device, of course, supports 2G, 3G and 4G LTE networks (300 Mbps download, 50 Mbps upload). The A5 (2017) comes in two versions: SingleSIM and DualSIM. In both cases, the microSD card slot is separated from the SIM card slot (top left side of the device, the SIM card slots are of the left edge). This year, Samsung implemented the reversible USB Type-C charging and data transfer connector in the A5. OTG is supported through the adapter from the male USB Type-C to female USB Type-A. Wi-Fi supports a/b/g/n/an standards, BlueTooth version is 4.2, FM Radio is also here, as well as MST (for payments through the Samsung Pay) and of course NFC. It is very nice to see that Samsung has decided to retain the 3.5mm headphone port.
Battery
Next to the 5.2” FullHD display and a powerful chipset, it is good to find a battery that can support all that. Samsung has put a Li-Ion 3000 mAh battery into the Galaxy A5 (2017), which is a non-removable battery that has 100 mAh more compared to the battery in the 2016 edition.
One full charge of Galaxy A5 (2017) battery will provide:
- around 100 hours talk time (less with AlwaysOn display enabled)
- around 20 hours of 3G network usage
All in all, great results which can be credited to the well-optimized software and a good chipset.
Final words
As a Samsung representative of the middle premium class, the Galaxy A5 (2017) showed good results. Amazing SuperAMOLED display, 3GB of RAM and excellent Samsung’s Exynos 7880 chipset is a winning combination for the middle class. The fingerprint sensor is still here. Another big plus are 16MP camera sensors on both the front and the back. Of course, there are some things here that separate the A5 (2017) from the premium class. The lack of 4K video recording and Optical image stabilization is definitely a minus, and the 16MP front facing sensor would be more complete with the auto-focus system. Also, taking into account that this device became available in January 2017, Android version 6.0 Marshmallow seems inappropriate regardless of the bling of the new “GraceUX” user interface. Android v7.0 Nougat is right behind the corner, and it’s soon expected as an OTA update. Can a premium device of the middle class justify the price which has stepped into the area of the last year’s flagships? We think yes. The new A5 (2017) shines very brightly for the money, and it will just dazzle with the Android v7.0 update.
Do you like the Samsung Galaxy A5 (2017)? We’d like to see your opinion in the comment section below. If you have any ideas or you would like to see a specific device being reviewed soon, feel free to let us know here or on our Facebook page. If you liked this review, subscribe to our Youtube channel, like us on Facebook, and sit back and relax while we make more of the same for you.
Video review
Advantages and disadvantages
Reasons for and against it
16MP both on fron and back
3GB of RAM and 32GB of internal storage
gorgeous FullHD display
no OIS
no 4K video recording