Samsung Galaxy A5 And A7 2016 First Impressions - Flagship Aesthetics For Less

Samsung electronics is always known to deliver the top phones for the flagship class. However, their midrange segment isn't always their forte until they changed their direction last year with the A series. This 2016, the Korean mobile giant is trying to continue that momentum by even improving that series.

Meet Samsung Galaxy A5 2016 and Galaxy A7 2016

Earlier, they just introduced the all new Galaxy A5 2016 and Galaxy A7 2016, two higher end looking smartphones with flagship features and affordable prices. So to help you guys decide, here's what we think about those phones.

Samsung Galaxy A6 2016 and Samsung Galaxy A7 2016 Specs

Specs	Samsung Galaxy A5 2016	Samsung Galaxy A7 2016
Display:	5.2 Inch FHD Super AMOLED 1920 x 1080 resolution 2.5D curved screen w/ Gorilla Glass 4 protection at 424 ppi	5.5 Inch FHD 1920 x 1080 resolution w/ 2.5D curved screen and Gorilla Glass 4 protection at 401 ppi
CPU:	1.6 GHz Samsung Exynos 7580 octa core processor	1.6 GHz Samsung Exynos 7580 octa core processor
GPU:	Mali T720	Mali T720
RAM:	2 GB	3 GB
ROM:	16 GB expandable via micro SD card slot up to 128 GB	16 GB expandable via micro SD card slot up to 32 GB
Rear Camera:	13 MP f/1.9 w/ OIS and LED flash	13 MP f/1.9 w/ OIS and LED flash
Selfie Camera:	5 MP f/1.9	5 MP f/1.9
Battery:	2,900 mAh w/ fast charging tech	3,300 mAh w/ fast charging tech
OS:	Android 5.1 Lollipop w/ TouchWiz UI	Android 5.1 Lollipop w/ TouchWiz UI
Connectivity:	WiFi, 3G, LTE Cat 6, NFC, Bluetooth, dual SIM (hybrid)	WiFi, 3G, LTE Cat 6, NFC, Bluetooth, dual SIM (hybrid)
Others:	Fingerprint sensor	Fingerprint sensor
Dimensions:	144.8 x 71 x 7.3 mm	151.5 x 74.1 x 7.3 mm
Weight:	155 g	172 g
Price:	19,990 Pesos	22,990 Pesos

Build Quality / Design

Look at the glass back

Both devices are very similar looking even if you take a look at them side by side except for the bigger screen size of the A7 2016. Like I said earlier, it resembles the regular Samsung Galaxy S6 with few improvements. They're both made of premium aluminum chamfered frames that doesn't have much heft which feels solid enough and has Gorilla Glass 4 protected front and back glass.

View on top

View below

Left side showing the volume rocker

Right side view showing the power button and SIM slot

In terms of design, it has changed in a beautiful way compared with the older A series of last year, the A8 in particular. We love that it's using a super stylish Gorilla Glass 4 protected glass, the 2.5D curved arc screen looks stunning in person too, has good slimness and smooth curves on the metal frame part for better grip. The rear camera protrudes, but we can live with it.

Ergonomically, these new Samsung handsets were well thought off. They're easy on the hands and have great button and ports placements as they're all easy to locate. The only thing that I'm not used to and didn't like is the fingerprint scanner in front, for me, that feature is really better at the back. It may have its advantage as you can unlock it even if it's placed in front of your desk, but I just prefer fingerprint scanners to be placed at the back.

Camera Samples

Outdoor shot without HDR, slightly washed out

Good indoor shot

Macro w/ bokeh

Wide angled selfie outdoors

Specs and features analysis

For a 2016 phone we love that the following handsets has some of the more modern features that we wanted to see. First the both devices uses the same midrange 1 .6 GHz Samsung Exynos 7580 octa core processor and only differs in RAM and battery size.

With that configuration, we expect the following devices to run smoothly under casual usage. In heavy gaming its should be playable, but also expect a some stutters as it only has Mali T720 GPU.

For photography purposes, this phone might do very well for stills and casual photography. It got f/1.9 lens on both the front and back that can let more light in. At the back there's a 13 MP camera with a very good type of OIS that can let you capture even moving objects with ease and shoot videos without much shaking.

Overall, you won't have much of a problem using these devices sa they're good at their own right. Just choose what fits you best. For me I'll just add a little more to get the A7 2016, but for those who wanted a smaller for the A5 2016 should be enough.

As of the moment

If you want a phone that looks like the Galaxy S6 or S7, but you can't afford it due to its premium pricing, then you should consider getting these two new devices. Both the A5 and A7 2016 rocks flagship features with high grade aesthetics, improved cameras w/ OIS and f/1.9 aperture lens and fingerprint capabilities.

They may not have the best specs for the price, but it's not all about that all the time. Plus it's great to see Samsung improve this much to capitalize in this segment that should attract a lot of their fans.

We'll get the A7 2016 by next week, so watch out for our full review soon.

What do you think guys?