In recent years, Samsung decided that releasing 400 models per year is stupid and therefore decided to make a big order in its offer. He really distorted and simplified his offer to the A, J, S and Note series. Samsung updates these series every year (up to the Note7) and started 2017 with a refresh of the A3, A5 and A7 models.
Galaxy A5 (2017) it's kind of a middle ground among them, because it has the ideal hardware, the ideal display size, and it's also quite reasonably priced. Some even consider it a successor because of the design Galaxy S7, but you don't need to get carried away by impressions, you need to properly compare these phones.
Design
Yes, the design is clearly inspired by last year's flagship model. Even though it's a mid-range phone, it features curved glass on the back and a rounded aluminum frame. The front glass is also slightly curved around its perimeter, but not as much as in the A5 (2016). And that's good, because you can completely stick the protective glass on the new A5. It was impossible with the previous model, the glass never stuck to the edges. That Samsung has solved this problem does not mean that it has perfected the design. The phone has, how to say, a long forehead. And it looks a little funny. The space above the display is about 2mm higher than the space below it. It is less used and it is obvious.
Galaxy But the A5 (2017) picked up the roundness in the design. It is rounder and thus holding the phone is more comfortable, it does not press into the palm and when you have a long call, you do not have to switch hands every now and then. I'll get to the call quality in a moment, but once I got the audio figured out, I couldn't help but notice that the main speaker is on the side. I wondered for a while why someone would do such a thing, but then I understood. Samsung thinks that we watch videos in landscape and that we cover the speaker many times. So he moved it to a place where we won't cover it and the sound will be nicer.
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Sound
However, moving the speaker to the side does not have any significant effect on the sound quality when used vertically. But when you're already watching a video, you'll appreciate the new position of the speaker because, as I said above, you won't block the sound path and therefore the sound won't be distorted and will maintain its volume. Qualitatively, the A5 (2017) uses the same set of speakers as the Galaxy The S7 thus offers satisfactory quality, whether for calls or entertainment. You can also enjoy music as the phone has a 3,5mm jack and you can connect any headphones to it.
Display
The display is again Super AMOLED, this time with a resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels at a diagonal of 5,2″. It is thus slightly larger than the S7, but has a lower resolution. However, the reviewed piece had better calibrated colors and did not have the tinge of yellow that I saw on my S7 edge when I put both phones next to each other. In terms of sharpness, I didn't see any difference between the 1080p and 1440p displays, both have high enough pixel density that you can't see the pixels.
The physical size of the flat display helps the A5 (2017) to be carried in some cases for the S7 edge (for example from Spigen). There is even no problem with accessing the side buttons and the case does not obstruct the rear camera either. But I'd rather choose a case designed specifically for this phone than rely on an alternative. A bonus for the display is Always-On support, which was only available on flagships.
Hardware
On the hardware side, the A5 (2017) has moved on again. The more powerful the processor, the bigger the RAM. Inside the new A5 is an 8-core processor with a frequency of 1.9 GHz and 3GB of RAM, which is a 50% improvement compared to the previous generation. In the benchmark, it is also reflected in the result. The phone scored 60 points in AnTuTu. What surprised me personally is that the RAM is faster than the one I have in my S884 edge. However, the processor and graphics chip are nowhere close to its heels. It's not exactly powerful hardware for playing games, and you'll enjoy games here rather with lower quality textures and even then don't count on high fps. Some scenes rendered at less than 7fps, others went a bit higher.
Drums
The thing in which but Galaxy A5 (2017) excels and certainly trumps colleagues, is the battery. It has a 3000 mAh battery with mid-range HW. Which actually means only one thing – achieving two days of use on a single charge is not a problem. With the all-day endurance of the S7 edge, a really nice step forward. Unfortunately, even the upcoming S8 will not compete with it, if the latest leaks are true. And as a bonus, Galaxy My A5 (2017) hasn't exploded in all that time 🙂
What I would complain about the phone regarding the battery is the USB-C connector. The phone charges using it and is one of the few so far that uses this modern standard. In practice, this means that if you are going somewhere for a longer period, you should definitely take the cable with you, because the chance that you will be with someone who has a USB-C cable on hand is still very small. And you can't even help yourself with wireless charging, the mobile phone doesn't support it.
Camera
Nový Galaxy The A5 boasts a 16-megapixel camera on the back, and for a mid-range phone, it looks pretty decent on paper! On paper. It is true that it has a 27mm chip. It is true that it has an aperture f/1.9. It is true that it has an LED flash and auto-focus. But unfortunately, Samsung forgot about stabilization and several photos I took with it were blurry. I took the better photos while holding the phone with both hands. If you still decide to take photos with HDR, you really have to be careful not to move, because instead of a beautiful photo, you will have a schizophrenic, bifurcated shot.
Some S7 and S7 edge owners were disappointed in the discussions when they learned that the new A5, which is a third cheaper than the S7, has a higher camera resolution. But here again it is shown that megapixels are not everything and if you neglect the software side, it doesn't matter at all whether there is 12mpx or 16mpx, Canon or Sony. Quite simply, today the camera does not even have software image stabilization, which is unforgivable for a €400 phone.
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Summary
It was clear to me that Samsung would release sooner or later Galaxy A5 (2017). There was no surprise, and a model actually arrived, which, following the example of its predecessor, tried to take on the features of the high-end series. The result of the inspiration is the curved glass on the back and the smooth aluminum frame, giving the A5 an almost similar appearance to the Galaxy S7. In terms of performance, it is a capable mid-ranger that can handle most tasks without problems, but problems may arise with more graphically demanding games. I am satisfied with the battery, where Samsung managed to repair its reputation. It would just like wireless charging, as the phone has USB-C and that is still very rare. The camera will please with its resolution, but Samsung forgot about stabilization and will add it in the upcoming update. That's why you have to help yourself.
