Review and comparison of samsung galaxy a5.

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Stylish, but underperforming

A year ago, Samsung released a completely new line of Galaxy A smartphones, including the A3, A5 and A7 models. Unlike the flagship Galaxy S line, the emphasis here was not on performance and functionality, but on design. At the same time, the price of the Galaxy A models was lower than that of the Galaxy S line. At the beginning of 2016, the tradition was continued with the release of three new models. They decided not to philosophize with the name and simply added the designation of the year - 2016.

Of the three models in the line, the middle device looks the most interesting: the Galaxy A5 2016. The fact is that it combines an impressive design, a screen with the most universal size (5.2 inches) and a low price (about 26 thousand rubles at the time of writing, which much more attractive than the A7 2016 model, not to mention the current S series smartphones).

We examined the device and tried to figure out what compromises the user would have to make for the sake of an attractive design and low price.

Let's take a look at the characteristics of the new product.

• Specifications Samsung Galaxy A5 2016
• SoC Exynos 7580 Octa
• CPU Cortex-A53 @1.6 GHz (8 cores)
• GPU Mali-T720MP2 @650 MHz
• Operating system Android 5.1
• Touch display 5.2″ AMOLED, 1920×1080, 424 ppi
• Random access memory (RAM) 2 GB
• Permanent memory: 16 GB
• Supports microSD memory cards up to 128 GB
• SIM cards: 2 × Nano-SIM
• Communication GSM/GPRS/EDGE/3G/LTE
• Bluetooth 4.0, GPS/A-GPS
• Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n
• GPS with A-GPS, Glonass
• Cameras: 5 MP (front) and 13 MP (rear) with LED flash and autofocus, f/1.9, Full HD video shooting
• Battery: lithium polymer 2900 mAh, non-removable
• Dimensions 144.8×71×7.3 mm

Weight 155 g

	For clarity, we decided to make a table with the characteristics of two competing models from other manufacturers, as well as the first generation Samsung Galaxy A5, in order to visualize the difference between it and the new product.	Samsung Galaxy A5 2016	Samsung Galaxy A5	LG Nexus 5X
Huawei Honor 5X	Screen	5.2″ AMOLED, 1920×1080, 424 ppi	5″ AMOLED, 720×1280, 294 ppi	5.2″ IPS, 1920×1080, 424 ppi
5.5″, IPS, 1920×1152, 401 ppi	SoC (processor)	Exynos 7580 Octa (8 cores Cortex-A53 @1.6 GHz)	Qualcomm Snapdragon 410 (4 cores Cortex-A53 @1.2 GHz)	Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 (8 cores ARM Cortex-A53 @1.5 GHz)
GPU	Mali-T720MP2	Adreno 306	Adreno 418	Adreno 405
Flash memory	16 GB	16 GB	16/32 GB	16 GB
Connectors	Micro-USB (with OTG support), 3.5mm headphone jack		USB Type C (with OTG support), 3.5mm headphone jack	Micro-USB, 3.5 mm headphone jack
Memory card support	microSD	microSD	No	microSD
RAM	2 GB	2 GB	2 GB	2/3 GB
Cameras		rear (13 MP; video 1080p), front (5 MP)	rear (12.3 MP; 4K video), front (5 MP)	rear (13 MP; video 1080p), front (5 MP)
LTE support	There is	There is	There is	There is
Battery capacity (mAh)	2900	2300	2700	3000
operating system	Google Android 5.1	Google Android 4.4 (updated to 5.0)	Google Android 6.0	Google Android 5.1
Dimensions (mm)*	145×71×7.3	139×70×6.7 mm	147×73×7.9 mm	151×76×8.1
Weight (g)	155	123	136	158
average price	T-13188751	T-12323116	T-12911710	T-13054761
Samsung Galaxy A5 2016 retail offers	L-13188751-10

*according to official data from manufacturers

The progress of the Samsung Galaxy A5 2016 compared to last year's model is obvious: higher display resolution, newer OS version, more powerful SoC. However, compared to its competitors, the new product does not look so attractive. For about the same money you can buy the LG Nexus 5X, which offers more powerful hardware, USB Type C, 4K video recording and the latest version of Android. Or - the much cheaper Huawei Honor 5X, the characteristics of which are generally of the same level, but the price is much lower (about 17 thousand rubles at the time of writing).

However, the main trump card of the Samsung Galaxy A5 2016 is its design, so we’ll talk about it in more detail.

Design

The smartphone arrived to us without packaging, so we won’t talk about the packaging and will go straight to the design of the device. The appearance of the smartphone really makes a pleasant impression. It has a metal chassis and a glass back. It looks stylish, although it brings to mind Sony devices from the Xperia Z line. However, compared to Sony, the edges here are not straight, but slightly rounded, as a result of which the smartphone lies in the hand more comfortably than Sony devices with sharp edges.

The solution with a glass back cover also has a minus. It is quite easily soiled, which is why the device does not look so attractive after just a few minutes of use. Fingerprints (especially when exposed to direct light) are immediately visible on the back cover. Of course, you can scrub them off, but you won’t do this all the time!

An important advantage of the Galaxy A5 2016 design is the very narrow bezels around the screen. In this parameter, the smartphone is significantly superior to, for example, the iPhone 6s Plus, which, with a screen area only slightly larger than the Galaxy A5 2016, looks significantly more bulky.

Unlike its predecessor, the Samsung Galaxy A5 2016 is equipped with a fingerprint scanner. It is located in the Home button. We compared its speed with the iPhone 6s Plus and came to the conclusion that the iPhone 6s Plus still has a faster fingerprint sensor.

Continuing the comparison with the iPhone, we note that in both smartphones the camera eye protrudes noticeably above the level of the back cover. And with Samsung this is much more noticeable, since the camera module itself is larger. As for the consequences for use, the disadvantage of this solution (with a protruding camera) is that if the smartphone is placed on a table, it will not lie tightly, but will rise slightly at the top, since the camera is located under it.

The arrangement of connectors and slots is standard. On the right side there is a power button and a slot for Nano-SIM and microSD cards. The slot is combined, you can use either one Nano-SIM and one microSD, or two Nano-SIM.

On the left side there are volume buttons. All buttons are metal, as are the edges. They press moderately elastically.

On the bottom edge there is a speaker grille, a microphone, a 3.5 mm headset jack and a Micro-USB connector. And now with OTG support (last year’s model did not have OTG).

The top edge contains only the hole for another microphone.

In general, the smartphone has an impressive and pleasant design, fits comfortably in the hand and fully deserves its fashion status. The only problem is that the back surface is dirty. This can seriously spoil the impression.

Screen

Compared to last year's model, the screen diagonal of the Galaxy A5 has grown from 5 to 5.2 inches; The resolution has also increased - from HD to Full HD. Perhaps this is the most balanced combination, because the benefits of a higher resolution with such a diagonal are ambiguous, but the disadvantages (reduced battery life, the need for increased performance...) are undeniable. However, resolution and screen diagonal are not all parameters that deserve attention. Detailed testing of the Samsung Galaxy A5 2016 display was carried out by the editor of the “Projectors and TV” section, Alexey Kudryavtsev. Below is his conclusion.

The front surface of the screen is made in the form of a glass plate with a mirror-smooth surface that is scratch-resistant. Judging by the reflection of objects, the anti-glare properties of the screen are no worse than those of the Google Nexus 7 (2013) screen (hereinafter simply Nexus 7). For clarity, here is a photograph in which a white surface is reflected when the screens are turned off (on the left is Nexus 7, on the right is Samsung Galaxy A5, then they can be distinguished by size):

The screen of the Samsung Galaxy A5 is only slightly brighter (average brightness in photographs is 114 versus 109 for the Nexus 7). The ghosting of reflected objects on the screen of the Samsung Galaxy A5 is very weak, which indicates that there is no air gap between the layers of the screen. Due to the smaller number of boundaries (glass/air type) with very different refractive indices, screens without an air gap look better in conditions of strong external illumination, but their repair in the case of cracked external glass is much more expensive, since the entire screen has to be replaced. On the outer surface of the Samsung Galaxy A5 screen there is a special oleophobic (grease-repellent) coating (effective, better than that of the Nexus 7), so fingerprints are removed much easier and appear at a lower speed than in the case of regular glass.

When the white field was displayed in full screen and with manual brightness control, its maximum value was 395 cd/m², the minimum was 1.8 cd/m². You also need to take into account the fact that in this case, the smaller the white area on the screen, the brighter it is, that is, the actual maximum brightness of the white areas will almost always be higher than the specified value. As a result, readability during the day in the sun should be at a fairly good level. The reduced brightness level allows you to use the device even in complete darkness without any problems. Automatic brightness adjustment works based on the light sensor (it is located to the left of the front speaker slot). You can make adjustments to the operation of this function by moving the settings slider. Below, for three conditions, we present the screen brightness values ​​for three values ​​of this setting - for 0%, 50% and 100%. In complete darkness in automatic mode, the brightness is reduced to 1.8, 7.9 and 16 cd/m², respectively (the first and second are too dark, the third is normal), in an office illuminated by artificial light (approximately 400 lux) the brightness is set to 37 , 125 and 300 cd/m² (dark - just right - bright, which corresponds to the specified correction), in a brightly lit environment (corresponds to lighting on a clear day outdoors, but without direct sunlight - 20,000 lux or a little more) - increases to 520 cd/m² regardless of the position of the slider. This value is greater than the maximum for manual adjustment. If you increase the brightness of the external illumination (in the area of ​​the light sensor) to somewhere around a hundred thousand lux (corresponding to direct sunlight), then the screen brightness increases a little more - up to 525 cd/m². This brightness should definitely be enough for the image on the screen to be clearly visible in any natural conditions. In general, the result of the automatic brightness adjustment function is as expected. At any brightness level there is significant modulation with a frequency of approximately 60 or 240 Hz. The figure below shows brightness (vertical axis) versus time (horizontal axis) for several brightness settings:

It can be seen that at maximum and close to it brightness, the modulation amplitude is not very large, and as a result, there is no visible flicker. However, as the brightness decreases, modulation with a large relative amplitude appears. Therefore, the presence of such modulation can already be seen in a test for the presence of a stroboscopic effect or simply with rapid eye movement. Depending on individual sensitivity, this flickering may cause increased fatigue.

This screen uses a Super AMOLED matrix - an active matrix on organic light-emitting diodes. A full-color image is created using subpixels of three colors - red (R), green (G) and blue (B), but there are twice as many green subpixels, which can be referred to as RGBG. This is confirmed by a fragment of a microphotograph:

For comparison, you can see the gallery of microphotographs of screens used in mobile technology.

In the fragment above you can count 4 green subpixels, 2 red (4 halves) and 2 blue (1 whole and 4 quarters), and by repeating these fragments, you can lay out the entire screen without breaks or overlap. For such matrices, Samsung introduced the name PenTile RGBG. The manufacturer calculates the screen resolution based on the green subpixels; based on the other two, it will be two times lower. The location and shape of the subpixels in this version is close to the case of the screen and some other newer devices from Samsung (and not only) with AMOLED screens. This version of PenTile RGBG is better than the old one with red squares, blue rectangles and stripes of green subpixels. However, some unevenness of contrast borders and other artifacts are still present. However, due to the very high resolution, they have a minimal impact on image quality.

The screen is characterized by excellent viewing angles, although the white color, when deviated even at small angles, alternately acquires a light blue-green and pinkish tint, but the black color is simply black at any angle. So black that the contrast setting is not applicable in this case. When viewed perpendicularly, the uniformity of the white field is good. For comparison, here are photographs in which identical images are displayed on the screens of the Samsung Galaxy A5 and the second comparison participant, while the screen brightness is initially set to approximately 200 cd/m², and the color balance on the camera is forced to switch to 6500 K. White field:

Let us note the good, although in this case clearly imperfect, uniformity of brightness and color tone of the white field. And a test picture (profile Basic):

According to visual assessment, the tested screen has good color rendition, the colors are moderately saturated, the color balance of the screens varies slightly. Recall that photography can not serve as a reliable source of information about color rendering quality and are provided for illustrative purposes only. In this case, apparently, due to the peculiarities of the emission spectrum of the AMOLED screen, the color balance in the photograph is noticeably different from what is visible to the eye and determined by a spectrophotometer. The photo above was taken after selecting a profile Basic in the screen settings, there are four of them:

Profile Adaptive display differs in some kind of automatic adjustment to the type of displayed image and environmental conditions, which is obtained by selecting the two remaining profiles shown below.

Movie AMOLED:

Saturation and color contrast are noticeably increased.

Photo AMOLED:

Saturation is almost as high, but color contrast is closer to normal. Now at an angle of approximately 45 degrees to the plane and to the side of the screen (profile Basic). White field:

The brightness at an angle for both screens has noticeably decreased (to avoid strong darkening, the shutter speed has been increased compared to previous photographs), but in the case of the AMOLED screen the drop in brightness is much less pronounced. As a result, with formally the same brightness, the Samsung Galaxy A5 screen visually looks much brighter (compared to LCD screens), since you often have to look at the screen of a mobile device from at least a slight angle. And a test picture:

It can be seen that the colors have not changed much on both screens and the brightness of the Samsung at an angle is noticeably higher. Switching the state of the matrix elements is almost instantaneous, but at the turn-on edge there may be a step with a width of approximately 17 ms (which corresponds to a screen refresh rate of approximately 60 Hz). For example, this is what the dependence of brightness on time looks like when moving from black to white and back:

In some conditions, the presence of such a step can lead to plumes trailing behind moving objects. However, dynamic scenes in films on OLED screens are distinguished by high clarity and even some “jerky” movements.

For profiles Photo AMOLED And Basic constructed using 32 points with an equal interval in the numerical value of the shade of gray, the gamma curve did not reveal any blockage in either highlights or shadows, and the index of the approximating power function is 2.11-2.13, which is slightly lower than the standard value of 2.2, in this case, the real gamma curve deviates little from the power-law dependence (the captions in parentheses show the indicator of the approximating power-law function and the coefficient of determination, which shows the closeness of the gamma curve to the power-law dependence):

For profile Movie AMOLED The gamma curve has a pronounced S-shaped character, which increases the visible contrast of the image, but in the shadows the distinguishability of shades remains.

Let us recall that in the case of OLED screens, the brightness of image fragments dynamically changes in accordance with the nature of the displayed image - it decreases for generally light images. As a result, the resulting dependence of brightness on hue (gamma curve) most likely slightly does not correspond to the gamma curve of a static image, since the measurements were carried out with sequential display of shades of gray on almost the entire screen.

Color gamut in the case of a profile Movie AMOLED very wide, it almost covers the Adobe RGB gamut:

When selecting a profile Photo AMOLED coverage is adjusted to Adobe RGB boundaries:

When selecting a profile Basic the coverage is already compressed to the sRGB boundaries:

Without correction, the spectra of the components are very well separated:

In case of profile Basic with maximum correction, the color components are already noticeably mixed with each other:

Note that on screens with a wide color gamut, without appropriate correction, the colors of regular images optimized for sRGB devices appear unnaturally saturated. Hence the recommendation - in most cases, watching movies, photographs and everything natural is better when choosing a profile Basic, and only if the photo was taken on an Adobe RGB setting, does it make sense to switch the profile to Photo AMOLED. Profile Movie AMOLED, despite the name, is the least suitable for watching movies or anything else.

The grayscale balance is good. Color temperature in profile Movie AMOLED above 6500 K, in the remaining two - close to 6500 K, while in a significant area of ​​the gray scale this parameter does not change very much, which improves the visual perception of color balance. The deviation from the blackbody spectrum (ΔE) across most of the gray scale remains below 10 units, which is considered a good indicator for a consumer device, and also does not change very much:

(The darkest areas of the gray scale can in most cases be ignored, since color balance there is not very important, and the error in measuring color characteristics at low brightness is large.)

Let's summarize. The screen has a very high maximum brightness and has good anti-glare properties, so the device can be used outdoors even on a sunny summer day without any problems. In complete darkness, the brightness can be reduced to a comfortable value. It is acceptable (and in bright light it is necessary) to use a mode with automatic brightness adjustment, which works quite adequately. The advantages of the screen include a very good oleophobic coating, as well as a color gamut close to sRGB and an acceptable color balance (if you select the appropriate profiles). At the same time, let us recall the general advantages of OLED screens: true black color (if nothing is reflected in the screen), a noticeably smaller drop in image brightness than LCDs when viewed at an angle. Disadvantages include modulation of screen brightness. For users who are particularly sensitive to flicker, this may cause increased fatigue. However, overall the screen quality is very high.

Operating system and software

The smartphone has the Google Android 5.1.1 operating system installed. It is reported that the Galaxy A5 2016 will receive an update to Android 6.0, but it is not yet available.

The appearance of the OS interface is typical for Samsung mobile devices.

As for the software, it is worth paying attention to the fact that Microsoft applications (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, OneDrive, Skype), as well as a gift catalog, are installed on the smartphone.

In this catalog you can find in-game currency for popular games (for example, Cut The Rope 2), Navitel maps, liters books, 3 months of subscription to the ivi.ru online cinema and other nice bonuses.

Performance

The smartphone runs on SoC Exynos 7580 Octa. This is far from the top-end solution that Samsung previously used in the Galaxy S5 Neo (a later modification of the Galaxy S5, differing only in SoC and camera) and the Galaxy J7 tablet. This SoC is not found in any truly popular model. However, along with the Galaxy A5 2016, it is also installed in the Galaxy A7 2016. The SoC is created using a 28 nm process technology and includes eight Cortex-A53 processor cores with a frequency of 1.6 GHz, as well as a Mali-T720MP2 GPU.

Note that both the A5 2016 and A7 2016 are available with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 615. Also, frankly, not a flagship chip, but still much more common than the Exynos 7580 Octa. But we had a model specifically based on the Exynos 7580 Octa, so we will study its performance.

Let's start with browser tests: SunSpider 1.0.2, Octane Benchmark and Kraken Benchmark. We’ll also add to our standard set a new browser benchmark, recommended by the creators of SunSpider as a replacement. We used the Chrome browser on all devices. If there is a dash in the table field, it means that the corresponding smartphone was not tested in this benchmark (or in this version of this benchmark).

In browser tests, the overall picture becomes clear: the Galaxy A5 2016 significantly outperforms its predecessor and generally maintains parity with the Huawei Honor 5X, but is far behind the LG Nexus 5X.

Now let's see how the gadget performs in complex benchmarks - AnTuTu 6 and Geekbench 3.

Unfortunately, we do not have AnTuTu 6 results for the previous Samsung Galaxy A5 and LG Nexus 5X, since we tested them in the fifth version of the benchmark, and it was radically different in the principles of scoring, so it is incorrect to compare the results. We'll have to be content with what we have.

In this group of benchmarks the picture is generally similar, but the Exynos 7580 performed better than in the browser benchmarks, narrowing the gap with the leader and increasing the lead over other competitors. Obviously, this is due to the number of cores (eight) and the benchmarks' ability to use them all. Of course, this does not mean that ordinary software will also be capable of this.

The last group of benchmarks is dedicated to testing GPU performance. We used 3DMark, GFXBench, Epic Citadel and Bonsai Benchmark. All of them show real 3D scenes and allow you to clearly see how the devices cope with them.

Let's start with GFXBench. Let us remind you that Offscreen tests involve displaying images in 1080p, regardless of the actual screen resolution. And Onscreen tests mean displaying a picture in the resolution that matches the device screen resolution. That is, Offscreen tests are indicative from the point of view of the abstract performance of the SoC, and Onscreen tests are indicative from the point of view of the comfort of the game on a specific device.

	For clarity, we decided to make a table with the characteristics of two competing models from other manufacturers, as well as the first generation Samsung Galaxy A5, in order to visualize the difference between it and the new product. (Samsung Exynos 7580 Octa)	Samsung Galaxy A5 2016 (Qualcomm Snapdragon 410)	Google Nexus 5X (Qualcomm Snapdragon 808)	LG Nexus 5X (Qualcomm Snapdragon 615)
GFXBenchmark Manhattan (Onscreen)	4.8 fps	3.9 fps	—	5.9 fps
GFXBenchmark Manhattan (1080p Offscreen)	4.8 fps	1.8 fps	—	5.6 fps
GFXBenchmark T-Rex (Onscreen)	14 fps	9.6 fps	—	15 fps
GFXBenchmark T-Rex (1080p Offscreen)	14 fps	5.4 fps	—	14 fps

The picture is depressing. Neither device will be able to play games at the level of the T-Rex and Manhattan scenes. As for the results of smartphones relative to each other, the situation here is similar to what we saw in previous benchmarks.

The fact that the new Samsung smartphone showed more than 30 fps in Bonsai Benchmark is a reason for joy. But otherwise, of course, the picture is depressing. In Epic Citadel, made on the Unreal engine (games Dark Meadow, Horn and others), it was no longer possible to reach 30 fps, but in 3DMark the loss of the LG Nexus 5X was huge (with parity with the Huawei Honor 5X).

In general, the benchmarks allow us to draw the following conclusions regarding the performance of the Samsung Galaxy A5 2016. Firstly, compared to last year’s Galaxy A5, there is progress, and very significant. Secondly, by today's standards this is still a very average level, which does not allow you to comfortably play many 3D games even two or three years ago. Thirdly, if you find a version of a smartphone with a Snapdragon 615, you won’t get a significant gain - the picture as a whole will be similar.

However, for everyday use and operations that do not require GPU performance, the smartphone is quite suitable, since the amount of RAM is more important here. And the model has enough of it - 2 GB. Of course, this is not a record, but it is quite normal for the smartphone not to slow down even with a large number of open applications.

Playing video

We did not find the MHL interface (yes, branded and expensive Samsung adapters can now be safely thrown away), as well as Mobility DisplayPort, in this smartphone, so we had to limit ourselves to testing the output of video files on the screen of the device itself. To do this, we used a set of test files with an arrow and a rectangle moving one division per frame (see “Method for testing video playback and display devices. Version 1 (for mobile devices)”). Screenshots with a shutter speed of 1 s helped determine the nature of the output of frames of video files with various parameters: the resolution varied (1280 by 720 (720p) and 1920 by 1080 (1080p) pixels) and frame rate (24, 25, 30, 50 and 60 frames/ With). In the tests we used the MX Player video player in the “Hardware” mode. The test results are summarized in the table:

Note: If in both columns Uniformity And Passes Green ratings are given, this means that, most likely, when watching films, artifacts caused by uneven alternation and frame skipping will either not be visible at all, or their number and visibility will not affect the viewing comfort. Red marks indicate possible problems with playback of the corresponding files.

According to the criterion of frame output, the quality of playback of video files on the screen of the device itself is good, since frames (or groups of frames) can be output with more or less uniform alternation of intervals and without skipping frames. True, it’s not that UHD files at all, but even Full HD with a frame rate of more than 30 fps, the smartphone does not reproduce, which is strange by modern standards. We also note that the screen refresh rate is slightly lower than the typical 60 Hz, but in the case of files with 60 fps there may not be frame drops; apparently, they are played back a little slower. When playing video files with a resolution of 1920 by 1080 (1080p) on a smartphone screen, the image of the video file itself is displayed exactly along the border of the screen. The clarity of the image is high, the output is carried out one to one pixel by pixel, but PenTile features appear: the vertical world is through a pixel into a grid, and the horizontal world is slightly greenish. However, this is noticeable only on test worlds, and the described artifacts are absent in real images. The brightness range displayed on the screen actually corresponds to the standard range of 16-235 - in the shadows only a couple of shades merge with black, but in the highlights all gradations of shades are displayed.

Autonomous operation, heating and communication

The smartphone has a fairly capacious battery (by the standards of relatively compact smartphones). In particular, its capacity is greater than that of its predecessor and even than that of the Nexus 5X.

Of course, this had a positive effect on the battery life - especially in those modes that are not associated with a heavy load. Thus, the smartphone is capable of playing video from the network for more than 10 hours, and in reading mode it works even longer.

	Battery capacity	Reading mode	Video mode	3D Game Mode
Samsung Galaxy A5 2016	2900 mAh	12:50 pm	10:30 a.m.	3 hours 40 minutes
Samsung Galaxy A5	2700 mAh	14:30	6:00 am	4:00 am
Zuk Z1	4100 mAh	21:00	16:40	6 hours 50 minutes
Honor 7	3000 mAh	13:00	10:40 a.m.	3 hours 50 minutes
OnePlus 2	3300 mAh	14:00	11:20 am	4 hours 30 minutes
LeTV One	3000 mAh	10:30 a.m.	8 a.m. 20 p.m.	3 hours 50 minutes
HTC One M9	2840 mAh	11:00 am	8 a.m. 20 p.m.	3 hours 50 minutes
Samsung Galaxy S6	2550 mAh	20:00	12:00 pm	4:00 am
Google Nexus 6	3220 mAh	18:00	10:30 a.m.	3 hours 40 minutes
Meizu MX5	3150 mAh	15:00	11:00 am	4 hours 10 minutes

But as soon as it comes to applications that seriously load the SoC, battery life drops sharply. In the Epic Citadel test, the smartphone lasted less than four hours.

Below is a thermal image of the rear surface obtained after 10 minutes of running the battery test in the GFXBenchmark program:

The heating is localized in the upper part, closer to the upper right (when viewed from the front) corner, which apparently corresponds to the location of the SoC chip. According to the heat chamber, the maximum heating was 38 degrees (at an ambient temperature of 24 degrees), which is not very much.

As for communication capabilities, the smartphone is fine here. Supports LTE Advanced, NFC, you can use two SIM cards. There are no complaints about the quality of voice transmission over cellular communications. The only parameter in which the smartphone does not reach the top level is the lack of support for the Wi-Fi 802.11ac standard. But in real life this can hardly be felt.

Camera

The smartphone is equipped with two cameras. The front one has a resolution of 5 megapixels and can be used for selfies and video communication. The rear camera has a resolution of 13 megapixels, which is average by today's standards. In addition, it cannot shoot 4K video (maximum 1080p at 30 fps). I analyzed the quality of photographs taken with the rear camera Anton Soloviev

Good sharpness across the frame, it falls slightly towards the right edge.

The camera copes with insufficient lighting, but the result is far from the desired one.

The camera turned out to be good. It is far from flagship, but not budget either. Weak but noticeable sharpening, not very accurate noise reduction, and even small areas of blur walking around the frame - all this is typical for mid-segment Samsung devices. Although these shortcomings do not spoil the overall picture much. In general, the camera can handle documentary and sometimes art photography quite well.

conclusions

Of course, the main drawback of the Samsung Galaxy A5 2016 (besides the price) is its very weak hardware platform. Its capabilities are sufficient for everyday use and undemanding games, but not enough for serious 3D games. However, how many people actually regularly play top games on smartphones? Still, most people are much more interested in battery life, design and screen quality, communication capabilities, and that nothing slows them down during normal use (mail, social networks, instant messengers, browser, maps...). Well, plus, preferably, a good camera. The Samsung Galaxy A5 2016 fully meets these requirements. Yes, it does not set records for any of these indicators, but it provides a level that is comfortable for 95% of users.

Simply put, if the Galaxy S line of smartphones is for IT observers, lovers of spectacular technological innovations and those who want to have a flagship device, then the Galaxy A line is made for ordinary people. Those, however, are willing to overpay for the brand and the confidence that they will get a truly balanced and beautiful device for their money.

In conclusion, we suggest watching our video review of the Samsung Galaxy A5 2016 smartphone:

Line A in Samsung’s portfolio is a kind of continuation and rethinking of the idea of ​​“mini” flagships, which over time was picked up by almost the entire market. If the history of the Galaxy S-(serial number)-mini is about strong marketing with weak characteristics (from the flagship the devices had a couple of software features, the name and appearance of the case), then the A line, which originates from the model, is beautiful stylish smartphones for those who do not need top-end hardware with a fairly sincere positioning. Today we look at the middle model in the 2016 A line -.

What is this?

The 2016 Galaxy A line is represented by three models - , , , and coming. The price on the Ukrainian market is 8, 10 and 12 thousand hryvnia, respectively (for Russia this is approximately 20-25 thousand rubles). And although the models do not pretend to be considered technologically advanced, they are equipped very well. This review will focus on the Galaxy A5 (2016), the mid-range model in the series. The smartphone has a 5.2-inch FullHD display, an Exynos 7580 processor, 2 GB of RAM, a fingerprint sensor and a 2900 mAh battery. The screen, as is now fashionable, is covered with 2.5D glass. Considering that all this is under the Samsung brand, which is not the cheapest nowadays, the device is not bad for the money. Its target audience is not geeks, people who care about brand and design, but are not at all interested in ultra-modern fancy devices.

Last year's "metal" A-series did not look much like the first-born Alpha and was not at all similar to the flagship of its time Galaxy S5. But this year’s product is almost a copy, that is, very beautiful and technologically advanced (I’m talking about materials now) devices. Considering that the screen diagonal of the Galaxy A5 is almost the same as that of the Galaxy S6 (5.2 inches versus 5.1), it is very difficult not to confuse the smartphones. Especially in the wrong hands. In fact, the A5 is larger and heavier than the flagship. The model fits very nicely in the hand, you can feel the breed in it. I no longer remember the feeling of the Galaxy S6 (except for the fact that I absolutely did not want to let go of the smartphone), but the Galaxy A5 is also perceived as an expensive, high-quality thing. The device is perfectly assembled, there are no creaks or backlashes. The metal ends feel pleasantly cool on the hand. And the glass back does not collect fingerprints as intensely as the back of other “glass” smartphones. It looks and feels more expensive in the hand than it costs. We reviewed the Galaxy A5 in black, but in general the entire line is also available in white, pink and gold. It’s already clear what Samsung’s glass “golden” smartphone is; it has a rather interesting and not vulgar color. Pink would be interesting to see with your own eyes.

The Galaxy A5 can be distinguished by eye from the flagship by two things - a different flash on the rear panel (here it is single) and more “rectangular” outlines. The rest is, well, a copy of the Galaxy S6.

This smartphone has dual SIM support, but the second slot can only be used instead of a microSD card. Most likely, you will need it because the storage capacity of the smartphone is 16 GB. In any case, after recording one video 6 minutes long and loading several gigabytes of music into the smartphone’s memory, I was faced with a lack of space. The card slot is hidden under a cover, since the smartphone body is non-separable and there is nowhere else to hide cards. Above the SIM hole is the screen lock button. On the opposite end there are volume control keys. In my opinion, it would be more convenient if they were placed below. But this can be survived.

On top there are only plastic inserts, which apparently contain antennas.

At the bottom there is a speaker (excellent in quality, and also loud), audio output, microUSB.

They did not fail to decorate the front panel with a logo, above which the speaker and camera eye can be seen. At the bottom is the “Home” key with a fingerprint sensor (either we had a too “test” sample, or in this model it works the same way every other time as in the first Samsung smartphones with this function. Two keys – “Back” and a button context menu - they are highlighted only when you click on them or turn on the screen. Usually, in the settings of Samsung smartphones, the backlight can be turned on, but either this option was hidden (in the kilometer-long settings menu of Galaxy smartphones it is not always possible to find the desired function on the first try), or it is not possible. just removed. Annoying. But you can get used to it.

The bezels around the screen are thin. I would say the finest. And either because of their thickness, or because we had a sample on our hands, or because of the 2.5D glass, or a flaw, but every now and then I encountered false clicks. All you have to do is place your finger incorrectly on the end of the smartphone - and now the sensor has worked, the phone has taken on a life of its own: it goes to open applications, add widgets to desktops and do other nonsense. I hope that this is a glitch specifically in our sample, because otherwise it is a significant drawback. The Galaxy Note Edge had the same problem with false touches.

How's the screen?

Galaxy A5 is equipped with a 5.2-inch display with a resolution of 1920x1080 pixels (pixel density - 424 ppi). Matrix – Super AMOLED. The screen is very bright, the colors are saturated as usual, for some – even too bright (but the display settings traditionally have several modes). The “Basic” mode “warms up” the color temperature nicely. But in general, to my eye, “Adaptive” seemed quite acceptable (alas, it didn’t come to the colorimeter).

There are no problems with brightness either. It looks like the display will remain readable in the summer sun. The oleophobic coating, even in the sample, is beyond praise. There is no separate mode for working with gloves, but the screen responds to touches through a thick layer of fabric. Perhaps this is the reason for the excessive sensitivity of the display on bends. And another bonus of Samsung smartphones is the excellent work of auto-adjusting screen brightness.

How long does the battery last?

The smartphone is equipped with a 2900 mAh battery. For a 5.2-inch FullHD display - more than enough. I usually used the Galaxy A5 with a smart bracelet or smart watch, that is, Bluetooth, although energy efficient, was still constantly on. Telephone conversations or calls via the Internet - no more than 20 minutes a day, two hours of music, about an hour of a game that does not require resources, chatting on Viber or Skype in a sluggish mode - in such conditions the battery lasted for a day and a half, and sometimes two. In general, excellent autonomy, no questions asked. The test results confirm my feelings.

While using the Samsung Galaxy A5, I did not turn on the power saving mode; I don’t like to use them unless absolutely necessary. In theory, with it the battery would last several hours longer. In this mode, the smartphone “optimizes” applications. And for the most desperate users, TouchWiz always has a super battery saving mode, when only the dialer functions remain available.

The smartphone supports fast charging.

How are things going with productivity?

By saying that the A series in the Samsung smartphone line is not positioned as a productive solution, I do not mean that one can give up on the “stuffing” of the device. Exynos 7580 (eight Cortex-A53 cores, 1.6 GHz, Mali-T720 MP2 graphics) is a decent modern mid-level processor, you can play games with it, you can “load” it with a large number of applications, FullHD video, a smartphone, and much more "will pull." Unless the most resource-intensive games will be too tough for him. 2 GB of RAM with this equipment is a normal solution. Although B-brand devices in the same price range also have 3 GB.

During the test, I managed to install perhaps a dozen programs on it, and until the last one the interface did not falter. And when I started, forced memory cleaning using the built-in Smart Manager utility returns the interface to its former agility. Although, of course, the smartphone is far from a star in benchmarks. And its obsolescence will come earlier than the aging of the Galaxy S6.

That is, if you are not a gamer or a user of some specific resource-intensive programs (although I don’t even know what can be given as an example), most likely, the performance of the smartphone will suit you.

Is the camera good?

Samsung Galaxy A5 is equipped with a main 13-megapixel camera with an aperture of 1.9, flash and autofocus, optical image stabilization and the ability to record video in FullHD. Front camera – 5 MP, f/1.9, FullHD video recording.

Recently, even in smartphones up to $400, there are cameras with a resolution higher than 13 MP, so users who are not experienced in the nuances of photo and video shooting on a smartphone will probably be upset that Samsung offers them “only” 13 MP. In fact, the camera in this manufacturer’s smartphone is traditionally excellent. Focuses quickly, shoots instantly (0.3 ms). Particularly impressive, of course, are the shots taken in the dark or at twilight - they are very good for a smartphone. Moreover, a smartphone for that kind of money. In fact, the Galaxy A5 camera can handle any mode, and in any lighting conditions it will perform better than competing cameras. If night and twilight are your natural habitat, then you will appreciate the camera of this smartphone.

An example of a photo in twilight (in original resolution on Torba).

Example of macro photography (in original resolution on Torba).

HDR example (in original resolution on Torba).

And a few more pictures taken with the Samsung Galaxy A5 camera (in original resolution on Torba).

With video it’s the same story. Excellent video quality for a mid-range smartphone.

Of course, Samsung's current flagship will shoot better (as well as LG's current flagship, Lenovo Moto, and LG Nexus, Huawei Nexus), but they are all more expensive. There is a chance that only Lenovo Moto X Play will be able to give the camera of this model a beating when it goes on sale (and this will happen, let me remind you, at the beginning of the second quarter of 2016).

Camera interface: everything unnecessary, according to Samsung, has been hidden. We left a minimum of shooting modes; additional ones must be downloaded from the Galaxy Apps app store.

What are the alternatives?

First-tier manufacturers, including Samsung itself, have recently significantly reduced their product lines. Therefore, the Galaxy A5 does not have many competitors among A-brands. But in the price category of 10 thousand hryvnia (or 30 thousand rubles), the model has tons of alternatives from simpler companies with more powerful characteristics. The only caveat is that Chinese manufacturers have a fashionable screen diagonal of 5.5 inches, and not everyone needs a shovel.

From what is currently on the market, an alternative to the Galaxy A5 could be the Sony Xperia M4 Aqua. The smartphone is almost close in characteristics (processor of about the same level, the same amount of RAM, camera resolution, but the screen is 5 inches, HD, and the battery is 2400 mAh). Today this model costs one and a half times less. It is inferior to the hero of this review in terms of photography quality, body materials and the ratio of the screen area to the front surface. But the autonomy of the Xperia M4 Aqua is no worse, and the body is protected from moisture, the screen does not have tricks with false clicks, and the high sensitivity mode is disabled in the settings. Well, the Sony brand still has a handful of fans left. If you are choosing a smartphone for a lady as a gift, ask her which brand she prefers, it will be easier to choose. And read our review at the same time.

In addition, Sony's flagship of the previous generation, Xperia Z3, is now in the same price category. The design and materials of the case are very close, although the Sony clearly lacks compactness. Autonomy, diagonal and display resolution are all similar. But this device will quickly become obsolete, since it was introduced a year and a half ago. And one more thing – Samsung has a better camera.

Bottom line

First-tier manufacturers have completely abandoned the middle class of smartphones in the last six months, rushing into the race for the most flagship flagship. And now Samsung has released fairly balanced models. They place a lot of emphasis on design and “just enough” performance, and this is perhaps one of those cases where both positioning and equipment coincide with each other. If you need an A-brand smartphone at a reasonable price, then the A line, in particular the A5 model, will be a good solution. There is style, a camera, autonomy, and performance sufficient for most tasks. If you can afford to add 2-3 thousand hryvnia to the purchase, then it makes sense to aim for something flagship.

4 reasons to buy Samsung Galaxy A5:

• the device looks and feels expensive;
• the display supports operation with gloves (lately this option has been somehow ignored);
• It looks like it has the best camera for the money;
• and autonomy is also nothing!

3 reasons not to buy Samsung Galaxy A5:

• you can afford a Galaxy S6 or another flagship smartphone;
• high screen sensitivity at the edges is sometimes wildly annoying and leads to unexpected consequences;
• you didn’t care about brands - so for the same money you would prefer a more technologically advanced device.

Specifications Samsung Galaxy A5
operating system	Android 5.1+TouchWiz
SIM card	nanoSIM, two (the second uses the microSD slot)
Display	Super AMOLED, 5.2 inches, 1920x1080 pixels, 424 ppi, support for working with gloves
Frame	dimensions 145x71x7 mm, weight 155 g
CPU	Exynos 7580, eight cores Cortex-A53, 1.6 GHz, 28 nm, Mali-T720 MP2 graphics
RAM	2 GB
Flash memory	16 GB, support for memory cards up to 128 GB
Camera	13 MP, autofocus, optical image stabilization, 1080p video recording HDR mode, LED backlight; 5 MP front camera, 720p video recording
Wireless technologies	Wi-Fi a/b/g/n (2.4/5 GHz), Wi-Fi Direct, Bluetooth 4.1 (A2DP), NFC
Navigation	GPS, GLONASS
Battery	2900 mAh

For Samsung, 2016 promises to be another year of testing and struggle for profit and smartphone market share. 2015 was a good year, although it did not live up to the “fat” year of 2013. The South Korean manufacturer even decided on a certain change in strategy, which included the release of metal smartphones. The first sign was the Galaxy Alpha, but it only had a metal frame. Where did Samsung go next with the release of the Galaxy A series?

All Galaxy A smartphones are made of metal. Completely and completely, including the back cover. Three models A3, A5 and A7, differing in characteristics and screen diagonal, began to be positioned as fashion products, and this does not mean the lowest cost. However, their sales were higher than expected. It’s not surprising that in 2016 Samsung decided to continue the successful line.

The second generation Galaxy A was named simply and unpretentiously - they added the postscript “(2016)”. Yes, just like that and in parentheses. The new items also received three modifications, and at the same time their design underwent changes. In this review, we take a look at the middle representative of the series – the Galaxy A5 (2016), also known as the SM-A510F model.

Galaxy A5 (2016) video review

As always, we'll start with a video review. Samsung Galaxy A5 (2016) is a very interesting phone, and therefore it is worth watching the video.

Design

It was Samsung that relied on design in the Galaxy A series. Although it would seem that where is Samsung and where is design - its smartphones for a long time were simply “nothing” in this parameter. Not scary, but boring and uninteresting. Although they all used and still use a certain unified design concept, which is why the devices have become well recognizable.

The first Galaxy A looked like a typical Samsung, but with pointed edges and was made of metal. Moreover, the body became non-separable. These tubes feel great in the hand; the metal, as always, pleasantly cools the hand. What about the 2016 models? Well, at least the metal hasn't gone anywhere.

True, there is noticeably less metal - it is now only on the side ends. However, do not panic ahead of time - a glass plate was installed at the back, like on tubes. The designers clearly took inspiration from 2015's flagship products.

It turned out to be really interesting, even quite interesting. Someone reproached the Galaxy S6 for its similarity to the iPhone 6, but such thoughts simply do not arise about the Samsung Galaxy A5 (2016). It would seem that it has a lot in common with the Galaxy S6: chopped sides, the bottom end with a speaker, 2.5D glass protruding from the body. But the device still has its own individuality, which is absent from all other Samsung devices. The new product has a thinner round screen frame and is designed more strictly.

On the back, under the glass, the Galaxy A5 (2016) does not have metal shimmering in different colors, as was done in all the flagships Galaxy S6 and. The coloring is solid, without any frills. In our case, it is black, but the phone is available in at least four different versions: Galaxy A5 (2016) black, Galaxy A5 (2016) white, Galaxy A5 (2016) pink (pink - hello iPhone 6s!) and Galaxy A5 (2016) gold.

Another thing worth noting is the increase in size and weight of the Galaxy A5 (2016) relative to its predecessor. This is partly due to the increase in screen diagonal (from 5.0" to 5.2"), and partly due to the installation of a larger battery (2900 mAh instead of 2300 mAh). As a result, the thickness of the device increased from 6.7 to 7.3 mm, and the weight increased from 123 to 155 grams. In principle, nothing critical, but if you take two tubes at once, the difference between them will be visible. However, I am glad that the width and height have grown literally by a couple of millimeters, so in terms of ease of use, nothing has changed.

And, finishing the section on design, let’s add that the build of the Samsung Galaxy A5 (2016) is simply excellent. However, it is easier to achieve this result with a non-separable case. On the other hand, we are talking about an expensive fashion series, so we didn’t expect anything else.

Connectors and controls

Despite the design update, the ergonomics of Samsung smartphones continue to remain unchanged, which is an additional plus for fans of these products.

Above the screen there is a speaker, a front camera, light and proximity sensors.

Below, under the screen, there are touch-sensitive buttons for the task manager and back, as well as a traditional mechanical home button. The latter this time is located close enough to the screen, so that sometimes pressing it, the finger touched the sensor on the display. And so it now has a built-in fingerprint scanner - this is another difference compared to the previous generation Galaxy A.

The fingerprint sensor parameters are set in the settings in the “Lock screen and protection” section. As always, the fingerprint is added with a few taps, and after that it can be set to unlock the smartphone. In case you are unable to use it, you are prompted to enter a backup password.

And Samsung also offers to use fingerprints for authorization on websites and in your Samsung account. Our short video will show you how this all looks in practice:

The touch buttons are backlit. Without it they are not visible at all.

At the back, all elements are grouped at the top. In particular, this is the manufacturer's logo, a slightly protruding camera lens and an LED flash.

Volume control buttons are placed on the left side. They are also metal.

On the right is the power button and a compartment for SIM cards and microSD cards. We were dealing with the Galaxy A5 (2016) Duos.

The card holder is removed using an ejector or a thin paper clip. Two important details should be noted here: only nanoSIM cards are supported and a memory card is installed instead of one SIM card. That is, you can choose one of two options: SIM+microSD or SIM+SIM. Our short video will show you how to properly install SIM cards and a microSD card in the Galaxy A5 (2016):

The top end is almost empty. Antenna inserts and a microphone for noise reduction are located here.

At the bottom there is a second pair of antenna inserts, and an external speaker, a conversational microphone, a microUSB port and a 3.5 mm mini-jack for headphones and headsets are also moved here. Note that placing the audio connector at the bottom is a very good solution - it’s much more convenient.

Overall, we are completely satisfied with the ergonomics of the Samsung Galaxy A5 (2016). All the buttons are in the usual places, the connectors are located as conveniently as possible, and the manufacturer did not refuse a slot for a memory card. The only pity is that the case is not removable.

Case for Galaxy A5 (2016)

At the time of writing this article, few covers for the Galaxy A5 (2016) had been released, which is logical - the device is quite new.

There is a book-like case for the Galaxy A5 (2016) immediately on sale, which you can buy for about 900 rubles.

We are sure that over time there will be a fair number of cases, including from Samsung itself.

Screen

Galaxy A is a series of fashion smartphones, that is, not cheap. Of course, the emphasis is on design and materials, but equipping the handsets with a bad screen would not be comme il faut at all, especially for Samsung. So even the first generation of the A line is equipped with Super AMOLED screens, but different versions of the phones differed in resolution. And in this parameter, the Galaxy A5 (2016) has grown significantly.

The point is that the resolution has increased from 1280x720 for the first Galaxy A5 to 1920x1080 pixels for the current one. At the same time, the diagonal has also grown from 5.0" to 5.2", but the screen frame has become thinner, so the dimensions of the devices are extremely similar. The display provides a final pixel density of 424 ppi (versus 294 ppi for its predecessor), which, although not the maximum by modern standards, is still quite a decent figure.

The screen of the Samsung Galaxy A5 (2016) is very cool. This is if it's subjective. It can easily be compared with the matrices used in the company's flagships like the Galaxy S6. Undoubtedly, the latter has a better display, but unless you put both smartphones next to each other, you are unlikely to notice the difference. So the new Galaxy A5 performs well in the sun, has a decent amount of brightness, deep blacks and wide viewing angles.

More specifically, we measured the screen brightness at 374.35 cd/m2, which is quite good. Due to the peculiarities of OLED technology, it is pointless to measure the brightness of the black point - it can be said to be zero. In other words, black looks truly black, and contrast tends to infinity.

The color gamut of the AMOLED display may vary depending on the profile selected in the settings. By default, Samsung phones are set to Adaptive. As you can see, in this case its coverage significantly exceeds the sRGB color space and approaches professional AdobeRGB. The image in this case is very bright and saturated. If you are attracted to the calmer shades typical of IPS matrices, then it is better to choose the “Main” profile. Even though the color gamut narrows to sRGB, you still won’t see the difference.

Another advantage of the “Basic” profile is that the color temperature is closer to the optimal value. Let us remind you that a value of 6500K is considered comfortable, and in the “Basic” profile it varies in the range of 6400-6900K. That is, the picture looks warmer and more natural. The “adaptive” profile, in turn, provides a higher color temperature at 7800-8000K, that is, the image is cooler.

The screen's gamma curves look good. They almost merge with the reference curve 2.2, only the “Main” profile curve barely protrudes in the middle. That is, image fragments with average brightness (gray and the like) are displayed a little lighter than necessary. It's still not noticeable to the eye.

The screen recognizes up to five simultaneous touches, which is strange - usually AMOLED displays have support for a dozen touches. It is possible that this is a software limitation.

Screen settings, and in particular changing the profile, occur in the “Display” section of the system settings. Next you need to go to the “Screen Mode” subsection. There are also profiles “Movie AMOLED” and “Photo AMOLED”. By their name it is already clear which one is intended for what.

As you can imagine, we liked the screen of the Galaxy A5 (2016). It has good resolution, excellent color reproduction, wide viewing angles, it is protected by Gorilla Glass 4, and it also has the ability to change the color profile.

Camera

The camera resolution of the Galaxy A5 (2016) has not increased compared to the first model - it is 13 MP. However, this did not stop us from installing a more advanced sensor and lens. In particular, the new smartphone’s camera is equipped with an image stabilizer.

The camera app is standard on Samsung phones. However, compared to flagships, it is lighter on the Galaxy A5 (2016). But the most basic effects and features are present here, including the popular HDR mode.

But there are clearly fewer shooting modes than top products. And in Pro mode, you can only adjust white balance, ISO sensitivity and exposure compensation. In the “full” version, you can also adjust the color palette, focusing distance and shutter speed.

The resolution can be changed in the settings. Another noticeable difference from the flagships is that the maximum image resolution is achieved with a screen aspect ratio of 4:3, rather than 16:9.

Photos from the camera of the Samsung Galaxy A5 (2016) look pretty good. Sometimes she has mistakes with focusing, but for the most part everything is decent for an “above average” rating. Everything looks especially good in daylight, but that's not surprising. In poor lighting conditions, if you try not to move your hands, the shots will turn out more than successful.

Video resolution, unfortunately, is also artificially limited to Full HD, while 4K is still left to flagships.

The video looks decent, with good white balance, not overexposed, and quite clear.

The front camera has its own shooting modes, although there are even fewer of them. But a “Group Selfie” will definitely not be out of place.

The resolution of the facial sensor is 5 MP and it is also achieved with an aspect ratio of 4:3 frames.

The shooting quality of the front camera is very decent. Photos are quite sharp, not overexposed, without disturbing the white balance. Only the night shots are blurry and noisy.

The video resolution is the same as the rear camera - Full HD. For a front sensor this is a very good option.

You know, it’s not so easy to distinguish video from the front camera from video from the main, rear camera. Overall it looks no worse.

Overall, we liked the cameras of the Galaxy A5 (2016). They take good pictures, even in poor lighting conditions. Photos and videos turn out clear, with the correct white balance and the work of the stabilizer is visible.

Characteristics of Galaxy A5 (2016)

The Galaxy A lineup for 2016 largely consists of the previous core models: A3, A5 and A7. At the same time, there are also A8 and A9 for individual local markets. They are not yet supplied to us and it is not clear whether they will be. At the same time, the Samsung Galaxy A5 (2016) is available in both a version with one SIM card and two (Galaxy A5 (2016) Duos). The model we received was SM-A510F/DS.

The Galaxy A5 (2016) has a lot of changes compared to its predecessor. This includes an improved processor, a new video card, a screen with a higher resolution, and at the same time a larger battery. Add to this list a completely different design. In general, the new product has a lot of arguments to switch to it from the older model.

The processor in the Galaxy A5 for 2016 uses a relatively new one, Samsung Exynos 7580. We first met it in the summer of 2015. This is a chipset for mid-range smartphones, equipped with eight Cortex-A53 cores operating at 1.6 GHz. In principle, a fairly productive solution for a wide range of products. It will certainly be faster than the quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 410 installed in the Galaxy A5 for 2015.

The only complaint about the Exynos 7580 is its graphics card. Mali-T720 MP2 is a modern accelerator, but it is based on the architecture for inexpensive chipsets. In addition, only two execution units are installed there. Competing solutions from MediaTek usually add a Mali-T760 graphics chip to eight similar Cortex-A53 cores, which is noticeably faster. No, we don’t want to say that the proposed option is slow, but to balance the power it should still be made faster.

There is 2 GB of RAM - no progress has been made here. However, it is not required here yet, since 3 GB is still a relevant volume for flagships, which the Galaxy A5 (2016), despite its parameters, is not. Exactly the same can be said about the amount of built-in memory, which is 16 GB. It’s too early to install 32 GB in a mid-level smartphone, even a fashionable one. But, unlike the Samsung flagships of 2015, the memory in our phone can be expanded with microSD cards.

Otherwise, the capabilities of the Galaxy A5 (2016) are quite consistent with the positioning. In terms of communication, everything you need is supported: Bluetooth 4.1, 802.11n, LTE category 6 and NFC. Let us also remind you that there is a fingerprint scanner, which the first generation A5 does not have. So we have a modern smartphone with good characteristics, decent design and excellent performance. But how fast is he really?

Performance testing

Unfortunately, we were not able to get acquainted with the first Galaxy A5 in due time, and therefore we will present the test results in comparison with. This smartphone has many of the same characteristics as the A5 - they only have different amounts of memory, which does not significantly affect performance during testing.

The old Smartbench 2012 test showed parity in system-wide tasks, obviously not being able to effectively use many processor cores, and in games it gave victory to the Galaxy A5. Apparently, the Mali-T720 is not such a slow video card.

Another “old school” benchmark, Quadrant Standard, was able to distribute the load more efficiently and clearly showed the victory of the Galaxy A5 (2016) - the difference is almost twofold.

But Basemark II, on the contrary, somehow could not “cope” with all the cores of the Samsung Galaxy A5 (2016) and showed a significant lag.

However, according to the SunSpider browser test, it is clear that the new Galaxy A5 is still faster.

The old Nenamark2 gaming test, despite its relative “simplicity,” was still able to reveal the winner in the “fresh” smartphone Galaxy A5 (2015).

The new and up-to-date 3DMark shows yet another superiority of the current phone. In general, although the Galaxy A5 (2016) and its Mali-T720 MP2 graphics card are not the best, their speed will be sufficient for most use cases.

At one time, the Galaxy J5 and especially the Galaxy J7 surprised us with their autonomy. The Galaxy A5 (2016) should also have a decent battery, given the capacious 2900 mAh battery - this is noticeably more than the 2300 mAh of its predecessor. And so it happened – the autonomy of the new smartphone is at a very decent level. It's not as good as the J5, but on average it's better than most of its peers.

Here you have a “weak” video card. As you can see from the diagram, it is 3D games that account for the maximum energy consumption. Next in terms of gluttony is surfing the Internet via Wi-Fi or a cellular network, as well as two-dimensional games. Video and reading consumption is approximately the same, no matter how strange it may sound.

In the settings you can view statistics on battery usage. There is also an extreme power saving mode, which allows you to get several hours of operation with a low battery charge. True, in this case everything will become black and white - a feature of AMOLED screens is used, in which only that part of the display that is active, that is, other than black, consumes energy.

Overall, the Galaxy A5 (2016) is a smartphone with good performance and decent battery life.

Gaming on Galaxy A5 (2016)

In theory, games on the Samsung Galaxy A5 (2016) should not slow down. However, do not forget that the smartphone’s video card is not top-end, and the screen resolution is high, Full HD.

• Riptide GP2: excellent, the game does not slow down;

• Asphalt 7: excellent, the game does not slow down;

• Asphalt 8: excellent, the game does not slow down;

• Modern Combat 5: Blackout: excellent, the game does not slow down;

• N.O.V.A. 3: Some delays are visible;

• Dead Trigger: excellent, the game does not slow down;

• Real Racing 3: excellent, the game does not slow down;

• Need For Speed: Most Wanted: excellent, the game does not slow down;

• Shadowgun: Dead Zone: excellent, the game does not slow down;
• Frontline Commando: Normandy: did not start;
• Frontline Commando 2: did not start;
• Eternity Warriors 2: did not start;

• Eternity Warriors 3: excellent, the game does not slow down;

• Eternity Warriors 4: Some delays are visible;

• Trial Xtreme 3: excellent, the game does not slow down;

• Trial Xtreme 4: excellent, the game does not slow down;

• Plants vs Zombies 2: excellent, the game does not slow down;

• Iron Man 3: excellent, the game does not slow down;
• Dead Target: did not start.

Minor "lags" have occurred in N.O.V.A games. 3 and Eternity Warriors 4. But these games are quite heavy in terms of graphics, so it’s not surprising. And don’t pay attention to several games marked “won’t start” - our copy of the smartphone had a non-final firmware version, which is why they didn’t want to start. The retail version should be free of this flaw.

BY

The Galaxy A5 (2015) comes with a new one, which is almost guaranteed to be updated to - in this regard, Samsung behaves very well, especially when dealing with expensive smartphones.

As always, the TouchWIZ shell is installed on top of the Google system. Samsung has one for all smartphones, but its content differs from pre-installed applications.

There's even a dedicated Galaxy Essentials section in the Galaxy Apps app store. Here are links to download the translator S Translator, text recognizer Optical Reader, children's mode, audio editor Soundcamp. It should be noted that Samsung flagships have even more applications, and at the same time there is a Galaxy Gifts section with a complex of subscriptions to various services.

And so the set of pre-installed applications has something from the flagships.

In particular, this is the S Health sports activity diary application. True, on top Samsung products you can still measure your heart rate here, while the Galaxy A5 (2016) does not have a built-in heart rate monitor.

There is also the S Voice voice assistant, which the South Korean company continues to develop, despite Google Now and the release of Microsoft Cortana on Android. Moreover, according to the latest information, Samsung does not yet intend to curtail this development.

Smart Manager is no longer “exclusive” - it is the norm for all Samsung devices. Let us remind you that this application allows you to monitor the consumption of RAM, built-in flash drive, battery consumption, and at the same time includes the Knox application, which allows you to increase the security of your device.

Microsoft applications on Samsung smartphones and tablets are also nothing special - they are here by agreement between the companies. Moreover, Word, Excel and PowerPoint will have to be downloaded separately, for which special thanks - they take up a lot of space! Also pleasing is 100 GB of space in the OneDrive cloud.

A set of standard applications, consisting of a file manager, calculator, clock, calendar, voice recorder, FM radio, and so on, is also present. In a special redesigned version from Samsung.

The notification panel, compared to Android 5.x, has been noticeably changed. More precisely, the quick settings panel has been replaced - it does not slide out by pulling it down, but scrolls horizontally. Notifications are displayed as usual.

There is also the traditional MultiWindow mode, which allows you to run two applications on the screen at once. Moreover, you can drag and drop data between them. Something like this has long been expected as a standard feature in Android, but it certainly won’t appear there before Android 6.1.

The settings have been redrawn and offer their own version of the interface. In particular, a customizable list of quick parameters is displayed at the top, and then follows their full set.

In terms of software, the Samsung Galaxy A5 (2016) is a slightly “simplified” version of the company’s flagship. There is a proprietary shell, some proprietary software, and in the future we can expect the release of Android 6.0 for the Galaxy A5 (2016).

Conclusion

We like the Samsung Galaxy A5 (2016). Just like a good smartphone - it immediately attracts attention, you want to pick it up, touch it yourself, see what’s installed, and so on. From a design point of view, everything is good here: metal and glass, everything is stylish and beautiful, so the effect is appropriate. It's really nice to hold the handset - it feels like a reliable metal bar.

At the same time, the smartphone turned out to be more than practical. For the sake of appearance, the designers did not compromise, giving up ease of use. The only complaint here is the non-separable case and the inability to change the battery yourself. And so, compared to Samsung flagships of 2015, even memory cards are supported!

In terms of speed, the Galaxy A5 (2016) is not a record-breaker, but its performance is high, thanks to the 8-core Samsung processor. Although its characteristics are not maximum, they are enough for games and smooth interface animation. The phone is excellent for everyday use from all points of view, including in terms of autonomy - everything is fine here. But how much does the Galaxy A5 (2016) cost?

Galaxy A5 (2016) price

It was not possible to buy the Galaxy A5 (2016) at the time of publication of this article. However, you can still estimate its cost - it will be somewhere between the Galaxy A7 and Galaxy S6, that is, about 25-28 thousand rubles. Quite a lot, but this is to some extent a simplified version of the flagship. What alternatives are there for this amount?

Samsung's flagship from 2014 may well compete with the Galaxy A5 (2016). Let us remind you that it has a very productive 8-core processor, an excellent AMOLED screen with Full HD resolution and a diagonal of 5.1", an excellent camera, a heart rate monitor, a fingerprint scanner and even moisture protection. A good device, and not very expensive at the price - around 23-25 ​​thousand.

This 2015 flagship from Huawei also looks decent. The P8 has a metal body, a good 5.2-inch Full HD screen, a good 13 MP camera, a fast 8-core processor and 3 GB of RAM. But it costs more – around 30 thousand so far.

Sony Xperia M5 is no longer quite a flagship, but a little lower in positioning, like the Galaxy A5 (2016). The device is made on the basis of an 8-core top-end MediaTek Helio X10 processor, has 3 GB of RAM, a 21 MP camera, and a 5-inch Full HD screen. But believe me, the screen on a Samsung smartphone is noticeably better. And the Xperia M5 costs a decent amount – around 27-28 thousand.

Pros:

• interesting design;
• glass and metal body;
• excellent assembly;
• fingerprint scanner;
• good cameras;
• high performance;
• excellent SuperAMOLED screen;
• good autonomy;
• Conveniently located bottom audio jack.

Minuses:

• non-separable body;
• The video card could be more powerful.

Galaxy A5 is one of the most popular models from Samsung. The reason for its popularity is the premium case materials and attractive design, fairly powerful hardware, and a solid set of communication capabilities. The price tag is not the most affordable, but the majority of consumers are inclined to trust a well-promoted brand, and that’s what they pay for. To obtain the right to own the device, you will have to leave the store from $346 to $390 (current at the time of writing the review). Sales started at the beginning of 2016.

The frame of the Galaxy A5 is made of metal, covered with protective glass on both sides. The Home button has a fingerprint scanner. There are several body colors available: black, white, pink, and gold. Device dimensions: 71 x 144.8 x 7.3 mm. Weight: 155 g.

Specifications Samsung Galaxy A5 SM-A510F (2016) Duos

The technical content corresponds to the average level as of 2015 and the beginning of 2016. Although the device itself is perceived by many as a less expensive alternative to flagship models.

CPU

Samsung wants to squeeze out Qualcomm in the microchip market, so the new Galaxy A5 received Exynos 7580: 8 cores with ARMv8 architecture, clock frequency 1.6 GHz. Graphics system - Mali-T720.

Processor performance is on par with Snapdragon 615 and MediaTek MT6752 - even higher. The device copes with any task, everything works smoothly and quickly. In AnTuTu, the smartphone scores 41,292 thousand points; in tests, the video chip does not reach the S6/Edge flagships, but at medium settings it can handle any 3D game.

Memory

The A5 has 2 GB of RAM and 16 GB of internal storage (the system takes up about 5 GB). The MicroSD slot will help increase the amount of free space to a maximum of 128 GB, but then you cannot install a second SIM card.

Autonomous operation

The battery capacity is 2900 mAh. Despite the fact that this is not a very outstanding indicator for such hardware, power consumption has been perfectly optimized. A5 is enough for a day of active use at medium brightness, and for two days in moderate mode. The manufacturer promises 14 hours of video viewing. Fast charging is supported: in 1.6 hours the device will fully “restore its strength”.

Display

The A5 (2016) has a FullHD screen with wide viewing angles - a traditional Galaxy SuperAMOLED matrix. Diagonal 5.2 inches. If the colors seem too saturated, you can adjust their temperature and contrast using different modes.

The pixel density per inch is 424, individual dots cannot be seen. Multi-touch supports five touches simultaneously. The display is protected by Gorilla Glass 4 with 2.5D curvature. The display is one of the strongest aspects of a smartphone, and it is very difficult to find fault with it.

Camera

The main photo module shoots with a resolution of 13 megapixels, f/1.9 aperture. In the settings you can find features such as continuous shooting, HDR, night mode, panorama and the option to manually adjust ISO, exposure and white balance. In automatic mode, the device sometimes does not focus correctly, but in daylight it takes photographs no worse than the top Xperia. The light-sensitive matrix allows you to get acceptable results even at night.

Example shot in good lighting

Camera shot at dusk (auto mode)

Macro photography

The front camera sensor resolution is 5 megapixels. For beautiful self-portraits, there are sliders for skin retouching, eye enlargement, and jaw tightening. The front camera can take full-length shots of you at arm's length.

Example of a photo taken with the front camera

The maximum resolution of recorded video is Full HD.

Networking capabilities

The first Galaxy A was criticized for poor reception. Refusal of the all-metal body solved the problem - the new representatives of the line have a back panel covered with glass. A5 (2016) supports 2G GSM, 3G WCDMA, 4G LTE FDD, 4G LTE TDD communication standards. There are two slots for nano-SIM - one of them is hybrid, for a memory card. NFC supported. GPS navigation works correctly and quickly.

Sound

The main speaker was moved to the bottom end: this way the sound is not distorted when the smartphone is lying on the table with the screen facing up. Conversational - neat mesh above the logo on the front side. Both are of high quality: when making a call, it is better to use a third of the volume so as not to involve others in the conversation. On top of the smartphone there is a second microphone for noise reduction.

Software part

Galaxy A5 (2016) runs on TouchWiz Nature UX 5.0 - based on Android 5.1.1 Lollipop. There will be an update to Marshmallow: support for the fashion A line is not inferior to the premium S line, although the company did not give exact dates.

You can open two applications on the screen and drag content between windows - previously the mode only worked on flagships and Note phablets.

Samsung collaborates with Microsoft, so the device comes pre-installed with Office and OneDrive with 100 GB of free space.

Differences between Galaxy A5 SM-A510F and Galaxy A5 A500H

Essentially, the A5 SM-A510F is an improved A5 A500H. Let's see how much the new version has changed compared to the previous one. Key innovations in the 2016 A5:

• Compared to the 2014 model, the resolution was increased from HD to FullHD, and the diagonal was increased from 5 to 5.2 inches.
• The place of the 4-core Snapdragon 410 is taken by the more powerful 8-core Exynos 7580 processor.
• An optical image stabilization system was added to the camera module, the aperture increased to f/1.9, but the functionality of the interface was reduced.
• The battery capacity has increased by 600 mAh, and fast charging has been added.
• A fingerprint sensor has appeared.
• Initially, the A5 A500H ran on Android 4.4, then received an update to version 5.0.2. The A5 SM-A510F comes with Android 5.1.1 installed out of the box, and the TouchWiz shell is the same as in top Samsung models.
• The new model looks more solid; glass has been added to the body materials. The smartphone has also become 32 grams heavier.

As a result, the Samsung Galaxy A5 SM-A510F (2016) Duos is superior to its predecessor in many ways. Considering that some stores are still selling the old version for $352, the advantage is clearly on the side of the A5 SM-A510F.

For clarity, we decided to make a table with the characteristics of two competing models from other manufacturers, as well as the first generation Samsung Galaxy A5, in order to visualize the difference between it and the new product., like the A3, received an update after its success in 2015, becoming a little more productive and improving its visual appeal. The screen is larger, the resolution is higher, the battery is larger, but the changes do not end there.

Fast passage:

Appearance and ergonomics

The shape of the smartphone remains the same, but the appearance has changed slightly compared to last year's model. The 2016 version is no longer all metal, but that's a good thing. The device is covered with glass on both sides, the edges are framed by a metal frame. The design is presented in three variations: black sapphire, dazzling platinum and white pearl.

The camera lens body continues to protrude slightly above the body of the smartphone - not critical, but there are people who absolutely do not like it. All buttons and slots are in their usual places; no dramatic external changes were found that cast doubt that this is a Samsung product.

The smartphone has become a little heavier – up to 155 grams. The hand already pulls a little, but it is a pleasant heaviness, and not the feeling of a brick in the palm. Dimensions are determined by a 5.2-inch display. Thanks to the rounded edges, the phone fits well in the palm of your hand, making it quite possible to operate it with one hand.

Video: unpacking a smartphone

Display

As noted above, the physical size of the display is 5.2 inches. Along with the size, not only the resolution has increased (up to 1920x1080), but also the density, so the screen has definitely become better.

There is no such problem with “loose” fonts as in the Galaxy A3, so perfectionists can safely examine the display through a magnifying glass – the picture will remain clear.

The smartphone tracks the user's gaze and does not turn off while the user is looking at the display. There are traditionally four color rendering modes, which allows you to adjust color saturation to suit your needs. Oleophobic coating helps to quickly clean the display from dirt. But another coating is missing - anti-reflective. True, this becomes noticeable only at large viewing angles.

Video: Galaxy A5 2016 review

Interface

The smartphone runs Android 5.1 Lollipop with the TouchWiz shell, which is becoming more and more pleasant in appearance. The locked screen shows the time, weather and recent notifications. It quickly launches the Phone and Camera applications. Another way to launch the camera is to double-press the Home button, which has a built-in fingerprint scanner - new to the A-series.

The notification panel has a familiar TouchWiz look: quick settings, brightness level, notifications from active applications. The keyboard and dial window are comfortable and functional - typical Samsung.

Cameras

The resolutions of the main and front cameras remained at the same level - 5 and 13 megapixels, respectively. But if the camera on the front panel remained completely unchanged, maintaining good quality of pictures and videos, then the main one acquired several improvements. In particular, a Pro mode has appeared, which allows you to set the ISO value, adjust white balance and exposure.

The pictures turn out to be detailed and have high-quality color rendition, but there is an important condition - the lighting must be good. With a certain camera setup, there is no shame in printing photos, let alone posting them on social networks.

Video: example of camera recording

Specifications

The characteristics are not top-end, but decent for the stated price of the device. The eight-core (1.6 GHz) Exynos 7580 processor is supported by a Mali-T720 graphics accelerator. The amount of RAM is 2 GB, internal memory is 16 GB, there is support for microSD.

The hardware provides fast operation without lags or freezes when flipping through work screens or launching applications. Online videos and FullHD videos from the smartphone’s memory are loaded without unnecessary delays.

There is support for a second SIM card, provided that the user refuses to expand the memory by installing microSD, since one slot is universal - for a SIM card and a memory card.

The non-removable 2900 mAh battery allows you to count on a day of work with a light load: a dozen photos, a couple of videos, 2-3 hours of web surfing, 15-20 minutes of calls and SMS communications. Only games eat up the charge quickly - about 32% per hour. But the device supports fast charging, which it cannot boast of