A bite-sized pictorial review of Samsung’s latest mid-ranger, the Galaxy A5.

1. Samsung
Galaxy A5
Review in pictures
The #1 gadget research website in India

2. Designed to impress
The Galaxy A5 along with its siblings, are the first unibody devices in Samsung’s
portfolio
Sports a metallic rim along its edges
Also gone are the flimsy plastic back panels and instead, the phone gets a nice back
panel, though it’s still plastic
Other than that, the smartphone looks very similar to previous Samsung devices
DESIGN

3. 3
Not just looks good, but feels good in the hand too
Even with the use of metal, the phone is quite slim measuring just 6.7mm around
the waist
It’s also quite lightweight and tips the scale at 123g
The device, with its 5-inch display, fits in the hand well and can be operated
single-handedly
Thanks to the matte back panel, it doesn’t gets slippery even after long periods of use
DESIGN

4. A captivating display
The smartphone is fitted with a 5-inch display, which bears a resolution of 1,280
x 720 pixels
The Super AMOLED display panel offers true-to-life colours and ample
brightness levels
You can chose different display modes like Adaptive Display, AMOLED Cinema
and photo
A layer of Corning’s latest, Gorilla Glass 4 protects the display against scratches
DISPLAY

5. Touching base with Samsung’s TouchWiz interface
The device runs brand’s
proprietary TouchWiz UI on
Android 4.4 KitKat
The UI brings a number of
features
Along with the
homescreens, there’s a
dedicated screen to access
news content at one place in
a visually-pleasing manner
It also comes preloaded with
a number of apps such as
Galaxy apps, Memo, My
Files, etc.
USERINTERFACE

6. Offers some high-end software enhancements as
well
With One-handed mode, you
can operate the Galaxy A5
easily with one hand
Smart Stay keeps the display
awake as long as it detects
your eyes are watching it
To secure your images, songs
or videos, you can enable
Private Mode
With Easy Mode, the device
offers a simplified interface
with enlarged icons and large
font text
Multi-window offers you the
capability to use two apps
simultaneously
USERINTERFACE

7. Delightful pair of snappers
Samsung devices are known
for their camera prowess, and
the Galaxy A5 is no different
It sports a 13MP rear camera
with an LED flash
At the front, it has a 5MP
shooter
The custom camera interface
is very easy to use and offer a
number of options and modes
Apart from usual modes like
HDR, panorama, etc., you can
also download more modes,
such as Sound & Shot
Both snappers can record
videos in full HD resolution at
30fps
CAMERA

8. Shots that are full on colours and details
The cameras offer impressive
image quality
The images offer excellent colour
variance and ample amount of
detail
However, low-light images could
have been better
The 5MP sensor on the front also
does a good job of shooting selfies
or making video calls
Close up
Long shot
CAMERA

9. Zips along, but unable to zoom ahead
Running the show is the Qualcomm Snapdragon 410 processor, a 64-bit
chipset offering four cores ticking at 1.2GHz
The SoC is complemented by 2GB of RAM
The device performs well for usual tasks even when multiple apps are running at
the background
However, there are noticeable jitters while playing heavy games
PERFORMANCE

10. Generous storage that’s expandable as well
The phone comes with 16GB
of storage on board
Users will be able to access
around 11.2GB space for
installing apps and storing
personal content
In case this isn’t sufficient, you
can make use of the hybrid
secondary slot which can
accept either a SIM card or a
microSD card
Sadly, there’s no USB OTG
support on the device
PERFORMANCE

11. Long-lasting stamina
Fuelling the Galaxy A5 is a
2,300mAh battery
While it might not sound too
high a capacity, the device
offers an outstanding battery
life
It easily lasts more than a day,
even with the use of 3G and
GPS
It played an HD video non-
stop for a period of 10 hours
There are various battery-
saving options as well, such
as a Power Saving Mode as
well as an Ultra Power Saving
Mode
PERFORMANCE

12. At a glance…
Weighs 123g
Thickness of 6.7mm
5-inch display with HD resolution
1.2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 410
processor
2GB RAM
16GB internal memory, expandable up to
64GB
13-megapixel rear camera with LED flash
5MP front shooter
Support for FDD-LTE, Bluetooth 4.0, Wi-
Fi, NFC and GPS
2,300mAh battery
Android 4.4 KitKat

13. Pros and cons
Well-built and good design
Pleasing display
Impressive pair of snappers
Long-lasting battery life
Middling performance
Pricey proposition

14. Verdict
Price:
~ Rs 24,000
“The Samsung Galaxy A5 comes across as a worthy
smartphone featuring a classy design, a pleasing
display, impressive snappers and an outstanding
battery life. Performance is also decent, though it’s
not for power-hungry users who want to play high-
end games as it’s fuelled by the budget Snapdragon
410 processor. It also seems a pricey proposition
considering similarly-priced phones like the OnePlus
One and Xiaomi Mi 4, but it’s a great choice if you
want a reliable daily driver.”