Shortly before CES 2017, Samsung presented its mid-range interpretation of a well-equipped smartphone at an acceptable price: In this comparison, the Galaxy A5 (2017) shows where Samsung has put a shovel on the 2016 model and where something has been saved became.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1 Design and material
2 Display
3 Equipment and performance
4th camera
5 Software and multimedia
6th battery pack
7th Conclusion
The A series from Samsung is now in its third generation and replaced the Galaxy S Mini series at that time. The slimmed-down flagships of the past were extremely popular, as they were equipped with some gimmicks from the top-of-the-range Galaxy S and came on the market at a far lower price. The move to a new nomenclature has not harmed the success of Samsung’s middle class. The Galaxy A5 (2016) has been the most popular smartphone on inside-digital.de for some time and has the Galaxy S5replaced that has enjoyed the place in the sun for years. But what are the differences between the two generations of the Galaxy A5? In this comparison, no evaluation should be made, but the bare numbers should be compared. A final evaluation, which of the smartphones is the better, will only show the test of the Galaxy A5 (2017).
DESIGN AND MATERIAL
In terms of design, Samsung did not reinvent the wheel, but instead used a pointed pen to add a different line to the look: the corners are more rounded and the flattened bar in the middle has been removed from the edges. In addition, the back of the Galaxy A5 (2017) has been rounded on the long sides and so a little Galaxy S feeling blows through the middle class. But the design was also screwed technically: the speaker was moved to the side of the 2017 model. It still remains to be seen how good the idea is, as every user has got used to holding the phone in such a way that the speakers can play from the underside of the case.
Not much has changed in terms of the material. The Galaxy A5 (2017), like the Galaxy A5 (2016), uses glass and aluminum. Why not? The choice of materials and the workmanship were completely convincing in the test of the Galaxy A5 (2016) by inside-digital.de and received the maximum score of 5 stars in this sub-area. Samsung has allowed itself a small change here: The glass used comes from Corning, as with its predecessor, but now belongs to the fifth generation and no longer the fourth.
DISPLAY
With the decision to use Gorilla Glass 5 as the protective glass for the display, Samsung left it with the display. In terms of numbers, an identical 5.2-inch panel with full HD resolution is used. The Super AMOLED of the Galaxy A5 (2016), like the design, was able to convince in the test and thus Samsung can lay on the lazy skin and leave everything as it was.
Special features such as an edge or force touch display are not expected in the Galaxy A series so far, as Samsung wants to use the rounded display edges as a trademark of its flagships. Samsung has not yet integrated a pressure-sensitive display into any model. A first-time integration in the top model and not in the middle class is to be expected here.
EQUIPMENT AND PERFORMANCE
The performance of the Samsung Galaxy A5 (2017) could not yet be measured, but the Koreans have leaned on the central processing unit and made some changes. So now an Exynos heart with the code number 7880 is beating and no longer the older 7580 heart in it. The new processor clocks on its eight cores with 1.9 instead of 1.6 Ghz in the previous year’s model. The graphics unit has also been modernized accordingly: An ARM Mali-T830 MP2 solves the GPU ARM Mali, T720 and supports the processor with sophisticated graphics work. The memory equipment has also received a boost. A 2 GB working memory and a 32 GB main memory are now installed here. It is by means of a micro SD card now expandable by 256 instead of just 128 GB as in the Galaxy A5 (2016).
The equipment also includes some small changes. First and foremost, charging is now carried out via a USB Type-C port and data is exchanged. However, USB 2.0 continues to be used, which should prevent a significant increase in charging speed. To this end, Samsung is now building on Bluetooth 4.2 instead of 4.1.
However, the list of equipment in the area of water and dust resistance has changed significantly. The Samsung Galaxy A5 (2016) only had to offer off-the-shelf goods, while the Galaxy A5 (2017) now boasts an IP68 certification. Inside-digital.de has summarized in a separate article what that means and what levels there are in the classification . This means that Samsung’s mid-range has caught up with the top-of-the-range in a wide range and you can feel the breeze of high-end floating through the room again.
CAMERA
Samsung has hit hard on the camera and is bringing the Galaxy A5 (2017) up to date. The two main components can look forward to an upgrade, at least in terms of numbers: the main camera has a resolution of 16 megapixels, just like the front camera. The Galaxy A5 (2016) had to make do with a combination of 13 and 5 megapixels.
How the new image sensors will perform remains to be seen, but the front camera with its large aperture of f / 1.9 should be a lot of fun for selfie fans. The rear camera also has a maximum aperture of 1: 1.9, which is no improvement on the previous year’s model. There is also a small step backwards: While an optical image stabilizer was built into the Galaxy A5 (2016), it is missing in Samsung’s new mid-range flagship for Germany.
SOFTWARE AND MULTIMEDIA
In terms of software, Samsung has dispensed with the latest Android version in the new Galaxy A5 and delivers the mid-range smartphone with Android 6.0. This puts Samsung on the same level that the manufacturer has now achieved with the Galaxy A5 (2016). The Galaxy A5 (2017) will get an update to version 7.0 in the foreseeable future, which is not guaranteed with the previous year’s model.
BATTERY PACK
The situation is similar with battery technology: 100 mAh more is just a small leap. There shouldn’t be any quantum leaps in charging either: the Galaxy A5 (2017) was equipped with USB Type-C, but the USB version remains at 2.0. With an upgrade to 3.1, significantly higher charging currents and thus faster charging would be possible. Not much has happened here.
CONCLUSION
Samsung has improved its new Galaxy A5 (2017) where the points of criticism in the test of the previous model began. This should increase the overall performance of the mid-range smartphone without the user having to dig deeper into their pockets. The price remained stable at just under 430 euros.
The test of the Galaxy A5 (2017) will still have some exciting points in store: How does the new processor, including the increased memory capacity, fare? Does the camera lose performance due to the omitted OIS? How is the swing affecting USB Type-C? All of this will only become apparent after a detailed test of the new mid-range Galaxy.
