Smartphone Samsung Galaxy A5 (2017) - advantages and disadvantages

Mobile phones are an integral part of IT technology. Samsung deservedly occupies a leading position in the world of sales of electronic devices. They can rightly be called the best manufacturers of these products. The Galaxy family of smartphones, developed on the Android platform, are the most famous. The most popular Galaxy models are the J, A and S series devices. The Galaxy family is represented in all price segments (budget, mid-range and fashion). The letter designations of the series correspond to each price range.

The J-series are budget models made from inexpensive materials and equipped with a simple case, but at the same time they have good stuffing. A-series models are in the middle price and quality category. And the S-series gadgets belong to the fashion version.

In January 2017, Samsung introduced the third generation of Galaxy A-series smartphones to the general consumer. Among the novelties of this line, the Samsung Galaxy A5 stands out. The average price for the Samsung Galaxy A5 in Russia is approximately 27,900 rubles.

The functionality of the Samsung A5 (2017) turned out to be generally good, but it seems that it was deliberately limited so that it would not be compared with the flagship S-series devices.

The appearance of the smartphone

The A5 is similar in many ways to other devices in the Galaxy family: it also has rounded corners, a square camera eye and an oval fingerprint scanner on the home key. On the sides of it are still the illuminated "task" and "back" keys. But instead of plastic, the case is now made of glass and metal. The 2017 model weighs a little more than last year's (157g), but thanks to its rounded shape, it is comfortable to hold in your hands. Not only the front but also the back panel is made of 2.5D glass. Above the display there is a panel where the speaker is located in the center, and on the sides of it are a light sensor eye and a camera.

The back of the A7 is similar to the Galaxy S7, an advanced model from 2016, with the camera and flash rounded off at the edges. On the right side is the speaker mesh, which used to be located on the bottom, and below it is the power key. On the left is a tray for one SIM card, which can be removed with a hairpin. Above are the volume buttons. At the bottom, there is a 3.5mm headphone jack, a microphone hole, and a USB Type C port. In addition, the A5 is equipped with plastic strips to separate the antennas. At the top is a slot for a SIM card and a flash drive, as well as a hole for a second microphone.

A5 (2017) is available in four colors - black (black sky), blue (blue fog), gold

(golden sand) and peach.

Various models of the A5 smartphone (2017)

Specifications

Operating system - Samsung A5 runs on Android v6.0.1 Marshmallow OS with the manufacturer's proprietary interface. The blind is better designed and color match with standard applications. In the previous version of Android, it is dark gray, and messages, dialer, contacts and settings are made in white.

Single sim (nano sim) or dual sim (nano sim, dual stand by) are used as SIM cards.

The RAM memory capacity is 3 GB (and it is packed with LPDDR3 chips). At the beginning of work, 1.5 GB are already occupied, and while using the smartphone, about 1 GB remains free, but there is nothing to worry about. The operation of Android is based on the Linux kernel. According to the policy of this OS, RAM memory should not be empty, and if there is nothing there, then it must be loaded with secondary programs. But if the owner decides to play some heavy game, the system will immediately allocate the necessary space for it. The transition between different tasks is carried out smoothly, imperceptibly for the user.

Built-in memory capacity - 32 GB, of which 23.5 GB is allocated to the user section. There is also a separate microSD slot for cards, their capacity can be up to 256 GB. USB OTG function is also supported.

A5 (2017) has the following dimensions: 71.4mm * 146.1mm * 7.9mm (width-height-thickness).

Equipped with an eight-core processor with a frequency of 1900 MHz.

NFC and MST technologies support the Samsung Pay function, which allows the owner to pay for purchases with a smartphone in all shopping centers and make any payments in general.All transactions made are protected by a fingerprint, so payments are absolutely safe.

Samsung Pay feature

The A5 (2017) has two separate SIM card slots. They support all European networks from 2nd to 4th generation. Wi-Fi networks are supported by the wireless module. To determine the location, the navigator uses GLONASS and GPS satellites. Stereo sound transmission and energy-saving mode are provided by Bluetooth version 4.2. The USB Type C port charges and connects various accessories.

Touch finger scanner

Built into the main hardware button. It was created to unlock your smartphone, make Samsung Pay payments and use the secure folder.

To set up the scanner, you must first set a password or pattern to unlock your phone.

Connection

The smartphone supports three navigation systems: American JPS, Russian GLONASS and Chinese BeiDou. Navigation works great both outdoors and indoors.

Design

A5 (2017) has a smart ergonomic design that makes it easier for a person to interact with this smartphone and reduces the likelihood of damage. It is made to the size of the hand, and therefore all its elements on the body can be controlled without problems. And if it’s still difficult to manage with one hand, then you can turn on a special mode in which the menu will decrease in size. The scanner is located on the front panel and works smartly. The camera does not protrude from the case, which reduces the likelihood of damage. In addition, the phone can be placed on any surface without fear of dropping it, it will lie flat.

But the main advantage of the case is its dust and water resistance. The smartphone has the maximum protection against dust and moisture according to the IP68 standard.The last property is generally unique for such devices: A5 (2017) will withstand immersion in water to a depth of up to 1.5 m and up to half an hour, and nothing will happen to it! True, this applies only to fresh water.

Photographing in the water

After the smartphone has been in the water, the following text appears on the screen: “Checking the port. Moisture detected. To charge the device, the charging/USB port must be dry” (see photo).

Moisture message

There is nothing wrong with this message. In order to continue using the smartphone, the user simply needs to dry this port.

Sound

Water-resistance is great, but it makes the sound a bit muffled, especially bass. For a call, the sound will be sufficient, and for listening to music and movies, you can use the speakers and headphones. The saturation of the sound will depend on the quality of the headphones. To fine-tune the sound, there is an equalizer with preset settings. The set includes quite decent earplugs. Of course, there is an FM radio.

Screen

Multi-touch function

The screen diagonal is 5.2 inches. The display is made using Super AMOLED technology, has a resolution of 1920 * 1080 pixels (FullHD). There is touch control, the type of touch screen is multi-touch, that is, it simultaneously supports several touches (this device has 5 of them).

A5 (2017) is also equipped with a light sensor. The number of colors in the device is 16 million, and selected bright and juicy shades. True, they look like this if you look at the screen directly, and the picture “floats” a little from the side, but hardly anyone will look at it like that.

Always On Display

The device has an Always On Display function, i.e. the screen is always on.When the phone is locked, the time and latest notifications are displayed.

In addition, this mode also displays two buttons for calls and photos. Thanks to Super AMOLED technology, this function consumes very little energy.

In addition to color diversity, the A5 (2017) screen has another important advantage - it saves battery power. This is achieved due to the fact that in AMOLED matrices, not the entire panel is illuminated at the same time, but each pixel is autonomous. The battery is consumed in a sparing mode, since the black pixels do not light up. In this case, the correct transmission of black color occurs. Therefore, compared to other smartphones with a similar battery, the A5 (2017) will last much longer. So, in economy mode, this phone (like other Samsung models, by the way) is simply beyond praise.

Brightness is regulated by PWM (pulse width modulation), its flickering is noticeable at reduced brightness, and at full brightness the human eye does not see it (but this does not mean that it does not notice it). Thanks to the adaptive brightness on the AMOLED display, information in the sun is perceived and read much better than on an IPS display (another smartphone display technology).

The sensor is covered with a particularly durable glass with an oleophobic coating that protects against smudges and dirt.

cameras

Samsung A5 (2017) is equipped with two cameras, rear and front, both 16 megapixels. Since the lens does not protrude from the body, it is necessary to use ISOCELL modules with small pixels (1 µm). There is autofocus, the focal length of the camera is 27 mm. There is an LED flash.

The main camera during the day takes very decent pictures, however, in somewhat chilly shades (the white balance is not quite adjusted). At night, unfortunately, the pictures are not as good as during the day.However, this applies to all mid-budget employees. So far, only flagship Samsung S-series make excellent night pictures.

The A5 (2017) has digital stabilization but no optical. This means that the pictures will be beautiful only if you shoot motionless, and when shooting on the go, the picture is slightly blurred.

Thanks to the wide selection of filters available, any user of the Galaxy A5 (2017) will feel like a professional photographer.

There is a smart button, thanks to which it has become very easy to take selfies. You just need to choose the position of the shutter button on the screen.

Here is an example of a photo taken during the day:

Photo taken during the day

And here is how he photographs at night:

Picture taken at night

The A5 (2017), like other smartphones, has standard applications.

In addition to the usual ones, it has the following applications installed

• Office suite Word, Excel, OneNote, PowerPoint, voice-to-text voice recorder.
• HTML5 (but no Java, which is used for almost all mobile applications).
• Payment systems Samsung Pay and uBank.
• Search engines Google and Yandex.
• Not only the Google Play Store, but also the store of Samsung itself.
• Samsung club apps - gifts from Samsung, Samsung Members, essentials, notes.

autonomy

From the socket A5 (2017) is charged at 100% in about an hour and forty minutes. It will take 7-9 hours to charge from a computer. The battery has a capacity of 3000 mAh. When viewing sites on the Internet and sitting in the social. networks, he will work for a day and a half. For games, the charge is enough for less than a day.

In emergency mode, the phone will be able to work for the maximum time, if necessary, you can send a message or your coordinates.

On A5 (2017) you can play almost all games, all new items work fine. Just do not forget that with games the charge will end much faster than when reading some information on the Internet. By the way, A5 (2017) has no problems with the Internet, navigation is fast, sites do not freeze.

What's new in 2018?

As already mentioned, the A5 (2017) smartphone runs on Android 6.0.1. In August last year, it was updated to Android 7.0, and in April 2018, smartphones of this line based on Android 8.0.0 were launched.

Advantages and disadvantages of the A5 smartphone (2017)

• High Internet speed;
• According to various users, the processor and display are just great;
• Large storage capacity (32GB built-in memory + microSD with a maximum capacity of 256GB);
• Two cameras that allow you to take quite high-quality pictures;
• Waterproof (in fresh water);
• With Samsung Pay, you can make various payments directly from your smartphone.

As you know, they are often a continuation of the merits, and this is once again confirmed by the features of A5 (2017).

• Due to the protective membranes that provide water resistance, the sound comes out muffled, and the bass suffers more;
• Of course, the quality of AMOLED displays is unbeatable thanks to the bright color palette, but many consumers complain that their eyes get tired quickly;
• As the same users write in their reviews, they were sometimes let down by the fingerprint sensor.

In general, summing up, we can say that the Galaxy A5 (2017) is the best choice in terms of price and quality.