Samsung Galaxy A5 (2017)

Samsung’s S series receives lots of love in the flagship arena. But their mid-tier A-series offers a similar experience at a lower price point. But when making a good mid-tier phone, it’s about cutting corners in the right places.

Does Samsung keep the Galaxy S magic without the price tag on their 2017 A5? Reviews are out and we’ve scoured them all so you don’t have to!

Let’s see what they’re saying!

Reviewers were quick to point out how the phone resembles a Galaxy S6 or S7. It has that Samsung design look. You’ll find rounded edges, a physical home button and the grilled loudspeaker. Yet, the A5’s glass and metal design separates its from the budget bracket.

PhoneArena says, “Its glass-and-metal construction feels so seamlessly well put together, we’d forgive you if you mistake it for the flagship Galaxy S7 model. The similarity is certainly there. In the hand, the phone feels well balanced, with a nice heft to it.”

There’s even IP68 water and dust resistance to save your phone from those random drops in the sink, bathtub or pool.

The only complaints we found were for users of the black model. They found the finish a fingerprint magnet when paired with the darker color.

Heading around front, reviews of the 5.2-inch 1080p Super AMOLED screen are positive. While it’s not sharp enough for VR support, reviewers loved the vibrant colors, rich blacks and clear text. Know Your Mobile said, “For normal viewing this is nice and clear, and as we’ve come to expect from Samsung display tech the color gamut is fantastic, contrast is excellent, and the brightness levels are quite capable, though not the brightest on the market by any means.”

The 1.9GHz octa-core Exynos 7 processor keeps the screen stutter-free, even with the latest games. Reviews say the 3GB of RAM offers smooth multitasking. Some reviewers question if this will cause issues as apps continue to increase in complexity.

The Inquirer put the phone through a series of tests and declared it “more than capable of meeting most people’s day-to-day smartphone performance needs.”

If you’ve found the TouchWiz UI frustrating in the past, reviews show that their new Grace UI is much less intrusive. It runs on Android 6.0 Marshmallow with no sign of if Nougat or O will be offered. The phone’s 32GB of internal storage should be enough for most users. Need more space for your movies, music or other files? A microSD slot offers quick expansion up to 256GB of extra storage.

With 16MP cameras on both sides of the phone, reviewers loved the quality of both selfies and outdoor shots. Pocket Lint said, “The camera is capable of taking balance shots in good light with eye-pleasing sharpness and depth.” Some reviews noted blurry low-light action shots. But with a steady hand, image quality improved.

Reviews for the 3000mAh internal battery are mixed. Some reviewers applauded the phone for a two-day run on a single charge. Others mentioned needing to top off before the end of day one. If you’re a gamer or power user, the included fast charge adapter will net you a full charge in 1.5 hours.

Reviews for the Samsung Galaxy A5 (2017) are positive. Know Your Mobile summed up opinions well, saying, “It is a cohesive and well-thought-out package, and again, a big part of the appeal is getting premium aesthetics and build on the outside as much as the inside; this shouldn’t be the exclusive territory of flagships, and Samsung clearly understands that with the Galaxy A5.”