Samsung’s less expensive “bullet” to take on Apple’s iPhone 6 has finally landed our pad. This is the Samsung Galaxy A5 in its classy and all-metallic grandeur. Let me quickly show you the contents of its blue box. Be sure to hover and click on the image hotspots we placed to show more information about the contents and about the device.
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The look and feel of the device are reminiscent of the Samsung smartphone we recently reviewed – the Galaxy Alpha. While the latter does not have an all-metal casing, we considered it as one of the best looking devices that Samsung launched in years. The Galaxy A5 is the perfection of Samsung’s efforts to improve their design and to effectively turnaround the dismal response of some people over the Galaxy S5.
Its unibody design is truly a sight to behold. Its side bezel is minutely tapered almost diminishing the fact that it’s a single metal slab. It’s thin – crazy thin – but it’s nothing compared to Gionee’s S5.5. As per our research, A5 is Samsung’s 2nd slimmest phone to date, next to Galaxy A7.
It’s very comfortable to hold the A5. Metal is slippery but it isn’t exactly the case on this phone. Unfortunately, as of this writing, it’s difficult to look for accessories or cases that the A5 can fit in. It’s 5-inch Super AMOLED screen with HD resolution (1280×720) occupies 71% of the screen.
Below it is the home button, sandwiched by the menu (left) and back (right) capacitive touch buttons. On top of its screen lie the speakers, sensors and front-facing camera.
When you circle your thumb to the right, you will find its sleep/wake button. Below it are the MicroSD and nano SIM slots. At its opposite side, there you shall only see the volume rockers; and when you continue to its back panel, you will find its slightly protruded 13mp camera, flash and speakers.
There is a secondary mic on top of the device, and its main mic is conveniently located at the bottom beside the microUSB and 3.5mm jacks.
Build wise, in gist, the Galaxy A5 blows. It looks gorgeous, feels great – it would be difficult to understand people who would say that this phone looks atrocious.
The phone is pre-installed with Android 4.4.4 with Samsung’s skin – TouchWiz – sitting on top of it. Samsung’s UI improved a lot; and I must say that the apps and features included in the pack give the A5 more flair and function. There’s room for improvement though. I just can’t wait for what’s in store for me when Samsung finally upgrades TouchWiz for Lollipop.
Here are some photos of the UI for your reference:
Its camera is equally impressive too and it also has features that will surely delight millennials. Here are quick sample photos. We’ll take more photos soon and post on our Facebook page.
Battery performance is still inconclusive at this point since I just got the unit this morning. I’ll definitely give you an update after a week or two.
Its processor is clocked at 1.2Ghz (4-cores). While it’s good for capturing media content, it doesn’t perform outstandingly running apps that require more processing and GPU power. I ran some benchmarks and checked how it fared compared to other devices.
- Vellamo: 1205
- Geekbench: 1334 (Multi-Core)
- Antutu: 19,920 (Non-Verified result)
These are so far what I can say at the moment about the Galaxy A5. Priced at PhP19,990, the Galaxy A5 device shows a lot of promise as a mid-range device. If you love taking photos, getting your done on the get go and play casual games, this has the right become part of your good options.
Giancarlo Viterbo is a Filipino Technology Journalist, blogger and Editor of gadgetpilipinas.net, He is also a Geek, Dad and a Husband. He knows a lot about washing the dishes, doing some errands and following instructions from his boss on his day job. Follow him on twitter: @gianviterbo and @gadgetpilipinas.
