Final Thoughts

When I kickoff heard that I would be receiving a Milky way A5 to review (thanks to the wonderful folks at Expansys), I thought information technology would exist another crappy mid-range Samsung device to fill out their ridiculously huge smartphone line-up. The final product was a complete surprise to me.

The Galaxy A5 uses 1 of the nicest designs I've ever seen in a Samsung smartphone. It'due south thin, light and well built, using a premium selection of materials that looks clean and fantastic from most angles. Place the A5 side by side to a Galaxy S5 and the cheaper handset far outshines the more expensive, which goes to prove how far Samsung'southward designs take come in a curt period of time.

Internally nosotros're getting a Snapdragon 410, which is a decent upgrade on the Snapdragon 400, though not revolutionary. CPU operation has increased by effectually 20% without affecting power efficiency, which helps the Milky way A5 accomplish decent life from a fairly small battery. Unfortunately GPU performance has stayed the same, restricting the Snapdragon 410'southward use to 720p displays.

Luckily the Milky way A5 comes with said 720p display, which is generally first-class. Information technology's one of the better Super AMOLEDs going around, with fantastic color quality and deep blacks reminiscent of the superb Galaxy Note four brandish. Its size, 5.0-inches, is also perfect for usability and readability with ane hand or ii.

Unfortunately the Milky way A5 doesn't come with Android 5.0 on-lath, and it's unclear when an update will exist available. Samsung doesn't have the best record of timely updates, then I'd be wary of expecting an upgrade shortly, especially if you're hoping for 64-bit support to be unlocked. Notwithstanding, Samsung'due south latest builds of Android iv.4.4 with TouchWiz are generally okay, and come with a decent choice of actress features including multi-window functionality and great power saving modes.

1 of the standout features of the Milky way A5 is its photographic camera. The 13-megapixel sensor is identical to those found in select flagships over the past few years, including the Note 3 and LG G3. It excels at capturing images in good conditions, with vibrant colour reproduction and good clarity. It's not equally good indoors or in low light, though that's typical for mid-range handsets.

While the Galaxy A5 itself is a pretty darn good mid-range smartphone, Samsung has fallen into a nasty trap: the price. Expansys currently sells the handset unlocked and off-contract for $390, which is around $100 too expensive for this class of products. If Samsung had read the marketplace correctly and priced this device just under $300, it would be an absolute winner.

They haven't, and and then the Galaxy A5 is competing confronting the last generation of flagships that accept received discounted toll tags. As adept equally the Galaxy A5 is, information technology's hard to look past the superb LG G2 for just $350, or the Nexus v. The Sony Xperia Z2 retails these days for the same $390 toll tag as the Galaxy A5, and like the aforementioned devices, it's more than powerful, has a better display and (in some cases) longer battery life.

Even though the Samsung Galaxy A5 is actually a very good mid-range device, and the all-time I've used in this category from the visitor, the price completely lets it down.

Pros: First-class build quality. Great display and camera. Snapdragon 410 is a modest, powerful enough upgrade.

Cons: This mid-range handset is at to the lowest degree $100 too expensive. No Android five.0 upgrade just nonetheless.