Samsung Galaxy A5 (2017) review: Alphabet soup

20 January 2017
A 5.2-inch Super AMOLED display, 14nm Exynos chipset, a body made out of a glass/metal combo, IP68 certification, 16MP f/1.9 cameras front and back - it sure sounds like Samsung’s next flagship. Only it's not the flagship we're talking about, but the Galaxy A5 (2017) premium mid-ranger.

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AnonD-104084, 22 Jan 2017Come on, this is midrange phone not flagship Last year's A 2016 series aren't flagship either, yet they featured OIS. The excuse?

    AnonD-292864, 21 Jan 2017Without upgrade ? A5 (2017) 16MP back ... moreWhat about the removal of camera OIS? A simple thing but very significant to the device. Those upgrades you mentioned aren't that huge. Some competing phones like the X Performance features better hardware (excluding battery and Type C port) and costs roughly the same, and sometimes even cheaper

      Anonymous, 21 Jan 2017Noe nokia is a china too.Nokia is Finnish, not Chinese

        Umer, 21 Jan 2017Its Really wonderful.. only one thing is missing "Notificat... morePhew! I thought I was the only one asking for it

          Cassy O, 22 Jan 2017Ugly? Protruding camera? Huge bezel? Nope, Galaxy A 201... moreFanboy,indeed.I wonder where are those protruding camera and large bezel was,they just like to bash one product before doing research or using it though.Ignore those guy,anyway A5(2017) looks pretty nice and quite capable selfie camera(Lots of girl love the selfie camera,anyway.)

            DAVE, 21 Jan 2017what an UGLY DESIGN . Samsung back to its pre S5 ugly desig... moreUgly? Protruding camera? Huge bezel?

            Nope, Galaxy A 2017 is beautiful, has flush camera and 71.5% screen body ratio is acceptable.

            Get your eyes checked!!!

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              • AnonD-104084
              • 7um
              • 22 Jan 2017

              geewaiho, 22 Jan 2017The battery was so bad, it's fairly big but didn't last me ... moreCurrently I'm using aurora rom (cm12.1) and the performance much better than miui, also the battery quite good compared to miui

                AnonD-104084, 22 Jan 2017Yup I have redmi note 2 at the moment and hopefully this ph... moreThe battery was so bad, it's fairly big but didn't last me long at all!!.

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                  • AnonD-104084
                  • tDM
                  • 22 Jan 2017

                  geewaiho, 21 Jan 2017I totally agree with you. I have had a Xiaomi note 2 which ... moreYup I have redmi note 2 at the moment and hopefully this phone will be available in Indonesia sorry I can change my current phone

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                    • AnonD-104084
                    • tDM
                    • 22 Jan 2017

                    AnonD-236871, 21 Jan 2017For me, the lack of OIS is a deal breaker...Come on, this is midrange phone not flagship

                      • J
                      • JackTheIPhoneKiller
                      • KIA
                      • 21 Jan 2017

                      Anonymous, 21 Jan 2017why a3 is in touchwiz and a5 is in grace ux?"Samsung is launching the Galaxy A3 (2017) with Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow, but is working on the 7.0 Nougat update, which should arrive soon. The current software already uses Grace UX, the successor to TouchWiz."
                      Happy now?

                        • J
                        • JackTheIPhoneKiller
                        • KIA
                        • 21 Jan 2017

                        Anonymous, 21 Jan 2017Noe nokia is a china too.Going by your logic, Apple, Samsung's Galaxy global models, LG, HTC and Sony, all are Chinese too?? Because all these brands phones are manufactured in China. So??

                          Frenna, 21 Jan 2017There's a reason why Chinese brands are cheaper. I'm not ta... moreThe only chinese brand im aware of that installed spyware was BLU but they publicly addressed this and patched it.

                            Frenna, 21 Jan 2017There's a reason why Chinese brands are cheaper. I'm not ta... moreI totally agree with you. I have had a Xiaomi note 2 which was great for what I paid but software and battery is awful and buggy. Ive heard allot of reports about phones dying after few months and poor after sales care(xiaomi). I would still consider a chinese phone but would never pay a premium. Deffo stick to Samsung or Sony personally.

                              Had a play around in store, very nice phones. Look and feel better in person with the blue variant being my fave. Still on the fence wether to upgrade my a5 2016 as I prefer the design or but I like the feel of the curved back, ip68 rating, AOD, better processor but are these enough to upgrade.....

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                                • DAVE
                                • XjH
                                • 21 Jan 2017

                                what an UGLY DESIGN . Samsung back to its pre S5 ugly design.
                                Protruding Camera and huge button what a sick...
                                dont forget the huge bezels... where r thr sammy fans

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                                  • AnonD-236871
                                  • s3D
                                  • 21 Jan 2017

                                  For me, the lack of OIS is a deal breaker...

                                    • ?
                                    • Anonymous
                                    • LaB
                                    • 21 Jan 2017

                                    AnonD-292864, 21 Jan 2017Without upgrade ? A5 (2017) 16MP back ... moreYes, there are some changes in the numbers, but the truth is that the new 2017 model has almost the same battery life (+5% is not much of an upgrade, anything in the 10% limit can be considered normal tolerances between more or less the same device), an identical screen (just look at the numbers you like so much), more or less the same cameras quality (the front camera seems worse considering the focus distance) and you can see the lack of OIS when it comes to video, the only things where the 2017 model is better is at performance and the IP68, but these are not worth the extra money, considering the fact that you also get some downgrades (OIS, front camera focus distance, worse audio quality on the A5 2017 and bigger overall dimensions with the same 5.2" screen size). I am keeping my A5 2016 while I'm waiting for the next flagships, as the new Samsung's midrange device it's just not worth it.

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                                      • AnonD-292864
                                      • npY
                                      • 21 Jan 2017

                                      Without upgrade ?
                                      A5 (2017)
                                      16MP back and front camera
                                      1.9 Ghz Octa-Core CPU
                                      32GB internal memory
                                      3GB RAM
                                      IP68 certificate
                                      USB Type-C
                                      Always-on display
                                      3000 mah battery

                                      A5(2016)
                                      13MP back and 5MP front camera
                                      1.6 Ghz Octa-Core CPU
                                      16GB internal memory
                                      2GB RAM
                                      No IP Certificate
                                      Micro USB
                                      No Always on display
                                      2900 mah battery

                                      It seems you need to have your eyes checked. Almost everything is upgraded.

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                                        • AnonD-237389
                                        • 3be
                                        • 21 Jan 2017

                                        AceShot, 21 Jan 2017After Samsung lost plenty of money with note 7 , now they j... moreExactly, you realized the truth,
                                        Samsung misuse its fans