Samsung a seven. Samsung Galaxy A7 Review – The Best Mid-Range with Flagship Features. Appearance and ease of use

Samsung always has a lot of different, but outwardly almost identical smartphones. Every year, Koreans offer more and more new solutions, which in fact are old ideas in new wrapper. The culprit of our review is the flagship of the A line from Samsung - the Galaxy A7. Let's find out how it differs from other representatives of the segment?

Equipment

Following the trend of minimalism, the packaging is much smaller in size than you would expect. The smartphone lies very comfortably in it. When opening the partition, we see a standard set of accessories: adapter charger(output at 5 V and 1.55 A), USB cable-> MicroUSB, headset and a couple of warranty cards.

The smartphone itself is carefully wrapped in protective films from the front and back of the case. Traditionally, the front film contains the main technical information and describes the possibilities and key functions smartphone.

Design and ergonomics

Before I tell you all the advantages and disadvantages of the case, I want to draw your attention to the fact that before using this Samsung, I had an iPhone 5S. Therefore, further there will be a certain amount of criticism, which will seem unconstructive and absurd to owners of lampshades with large screens.

So, let's go. The dimensions of the device are, of course, impressive: 76.20 x 151 x 6.30 mm, the lion's share of the area on the front side is occupied by a 5.5-inch screen. I don’t know about you, but I personally have doubts about the appropriateness of such diagonals. Of course, such phones are convenient for people with poor vision, but due to the increase in screen size, you have to sacrifice form factor size and thickness. However, here only the convenience of the lampshade is sacrificed.

It does not lie very comfortably in the hand and during everyday use it can cause a lot of inconvenience. For example, you are walking home from the store, a bag of groceries in one hand, and then you receive a message from a friend. To read it you need to take it out of your pocket and unlock it. This is where the first trap lies: if you value the security of your data, you will definitely set a password or graphic key to unlock. Unless you have long fingers, entering a password or quickly drawing a graphic with one hand will not be an easy task. And everything like that.

For such cases, the developers have proposed a function for adapting the screen size to one-handed control: you need to swipe from the edge of the screen to the middle. This action will reduce the picture to the size of a 4-inch display. There is one drawback to this function: it does not always work. You need to make 3-4 swipes for a miracle to happen and the interface to shrink. By the way, to find this function, you will have to rummage through the settings.

The same inconvenience awaits you when typing a response to a message. After two weeks of use, I found the most convenient way for me to type messages while holding the smartphone with both hands. This way, there will be no problems with typing text, formatting it, and correcting errors.

The thickness of the device is 6.8 mm, which is an impressive figure. However, in my opinion, Samsung went a little overboard with it. This screen size will already make you feel like a hobbit with small hands, and because of this thickness, ease of use is greatly impaired. The device strives to escape from your hands towards the asphalt.

The body is made from a single piece of aluminum. No plastic, only metal. The back wall is matte due to the thick paint coating. There are small chamfers on the edges that expose the metal. A good design decision, because this way the body becomes more rounded and the metal elements add a premium appearance. The coating resists scratches well and is difficult to stain.

So, let's make a circle around the body:

On the front side, nothing special or unusual. Large screen and small home button. To the right and left of it there are touch buttons: back and running applications. If there is no backlight, these buttons are not visible at all. That is, you need to randomly click on empty spaces near the “home” button. Next is a 5.5-inch touch display, with a light and proximity sensor on top. The front of the device is covered protective glass Gorilla Glass fourth generation. There is also an oleophobic coating, so you don’t have to worry about dirt and fingerprints.

On the left side there is a volume rocker. It must be said that the buttons are a little hard and require some force to press them. Such rigidity negatively affects the reliability of the buttons themselves and after long use there is a high probability that they will fail.

On the right side there is a power/lock button and 2 trays: for two SIM cards and a memory card (MicroSD). And here lies the biggest, in my opinion, mistake of Samsung engineers: the tray for the second SIM card is also a slot for a memory card. In other words, we are dealing with the SM-A700FD version Duos. The user will have to choose: either expand the memory on the phone, or use a second SIM card. It should be noted that the first SIM card is in Nano SIM format, and the second is Micro, so if you have two phones and decide to switch to Galaxy, you will have to replace operator cards.

That is, buying this smartphone for more money, you still have to make compromises.

There is nothing interesting on top, only holes for the microphone for the camera. Below we have a 3.5 inch audio jack, a MicroUSB input for connecting the supplied (or not so supplied) cable and a hole for a microphone.

On the back side we have a camera eye protruding 2 mm above the body (I wonder where such an original idea came from?) and symmetrically located between a single-LED flash and a speaker. Due to the protruding chamber, the device cannot lie flat on a flat surface. However, personally, I don’t see anything wrong with this, since thanks to the slight elevation of the upper part of the body, it is convenient to pick up the smartphone, say, from a table, without the danger of slipping out.

Summing up the appearance of the smartphone, I can conclude that Samsung, as usual, was in a hurry and tried to release a new product the faster the better. This is evidenced by small gaps between the glass and the side walls of the case and a small gap in the glass in this place.

Having experience in releasing devices with big screen Samsung does not consider it necessary to competently adapt the competitive advantages of its smartphones and churns them out one after another, as if according to a pattern.

Display

The phablet has a 5.5-inch screen with Full HD resolution 1920 x 1080, pixel density is 401 ppi. The display turned out to be not of its own production, but of PenTile. The screen is in many ways reminiscent of the Galaxy S5, but with small reservations: due to the increased diagonal, the pixel density has dropped, and due to the features production process and matrix design, it is slightly inferior to competitors with FullHD and QuadHD. However, if you don’t go into such details, the Super AMOLED matrix does its job perfectly well, without any problems. Pixels are not visible even to the naked eye, except when displaying texts. If you look closely at the font, you'll notice faintly illuminated subpixels, but nothing to worry about. Almost everyone has this problem modern smartphones. In my opinion, the screen in this phablet is not much different from others Samsung devices. They consider these screens their pride and, I must say, they have something to be proud of.

As with many Samsung smartphones, the screen sensitivity here is a little too high. With normal sensitivity, the sensor works even if you don’t touch the screen, and when you turn on the “gloves” mode, you can move your finger 2 mm closer to the screen to make it come to life. Unfortunately, this increases the likelihood of false positives, which will negatively affect your nerves. This applies to all touch elements on the front panel of the smartphone.

Below are sample photos of the A7 display compared to the iPhone 6 Plus (bottom). As you can see, color rendition in both devices is at an excellent level, with the exception of minor changes in green tint in a Samsung smartphone. There are also no problems with viewing angles.

Specifications Samsung Galaxy A7 SM-A700FD

• Processor: Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 MSM8939 with a frequency of 1.5 GHz (4 Cortex-A53 1.5 GHz cores and 4 Cortex-A54 1 GHz cores);
• Graphics: Adreno 405 with a frequency of 550 MHz;
• Screen: Super AMOLED 5.5”, Full HD 1920 x 1080, 480 ppi, Corning Gorilla Glass 4, Multitouch;
• RAM: 2 GB (available after reset;
• Storage: 16 GB (10 GB available for user);
• Supports MicroSD cards up to 64 GB;
• Front camera: 5 MP (photo resolution 2576 x 1932), real-time effects, gesture control;
• Main camera: 12.8 MP (maximum image resolution 4128 x 3096), autofocus, manual mode, gesture control;
• Battery: non-removable Li-ion 2600 mAh;
• Sensors: accelerometer, proximity and light sensor, digital compass, barometer;
• Wireless interfaces: Bluetooth 4.0 LE, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Micro USB 2.0 (OTG protocol supported), NFC, GPS/A-GPS/Glonass;
• OS: Android KitKat 4.4
• Dimensions: 151 x 76.2 x 6.3 mm;
• Weight: 141 grams;

• EDGE/GPRS/GSM (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz);
• HSDPA (850, 900, 1900, 2100 MHz);
• LTE, Dual-SIM;
• LTE cat. 4;

Performance

The smartphone has an eight-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 MSM8939 processor. To save battery, the device is configured so that when using functions that do not require large computing power, only low-power 4 cores of 1 GHz are used, and when running heavy applications, such as games, all 8 cores are activated.

The proprietary interface works smoothly, without brakes, even if there is a lot of memory open applications. The clutter of widgets and live shortcuts never made the firmware slow down. Apparently, thanks for this we should say high-speed RAM in 2 GB.

On Youtube you can find a video where they installed it on this smartphone pure Android KitKat without a proprietary shell. At the same time, he began to “fly” even faster and the speed of the system reached a completely new level.

To test performance, I installed several powerful games: the popular racer Real Racing 3, the puzzle game Monument Valley, and the increasingly popular runner Crossy Road.

I can say one thing about the first: with 100% battery, you will be able to play for about 3 hours before the requirement to connect your smartphone to a charger appears. The picture is smooth, but after a long game it starts to lose frames per second (FPS). With the rest GPU Adreno 405 does a great job. It's strange, but long work, the device heated up barely noticeably, which indicates good heat dissipation efficiency in the housing design.

The rest of the games worked without lags or problems.

I discovered an interesting point during operation: without running productive games and without using 4 powerful processors, the smartphone lasts for about one and a half to two days. And when used at full capacity – a few hours at best.

Cameras

The front camera has a resolution of 5 megapixels and is capable of taking pictures measuring 2576 x 1932. Unfortunately, there is no autofocus here, but there are several dubious, but still interesting features.

Firstly, this is a gesture shot. Everything is simple here: stand in a pose and raise your palm so that it covers the entire screen. Next, a timer will appear on the screen and after 3 seconds a photo will be taken. The function works poorly, it works about 4 times. The logic of the palm is also not completely clear, since in order to start the timer, you need to completely close the screen, thereby losing the settings for the appearance and facial expression that you are striving for. It often happens that the user does not have time to remove his palm in time, thereby getting a selfie of his hand. Addition sound signal Turning on the timer would be a good idea.

Secondly, standard for the front camera, there is a face recognition function and a set of tools for face correction in real time: retouching, thin face and eye enlargement. If you turn them all up to maximum, the camera will turn you into a character from an anime cartoon. In reality, they are useless functions that do not work well enough to be used on a daily basis. On the other hand, in South Korea this function came in handy.

Do you know what the most popular gift parents give their girls when they graduate from school? Plastic surgery to increase the size of the eyes. And the guys from Samsung give people the opportunity to save on an expensive operation. Bravo!

Regular selfie

Selfie with eye magnification effect

The main camera has a resolution of 12.8 megapixels. It shoots at the level of last year’s flagships, that is, not bad, but not great either. In low light, noise is noticeable, which even with manual ISO adjustment is not removed. Below I suggest looking at a composite image from many photographs from different settings matrix sensitivity.

And on top of that, the camera app has so many buttons and levers that the person you’re photographing will very quickly get tired of posing for you.

One of the interesting features of the camera is the creation of GIF animations. You just need to select the appropriate mode and hold down the shutter button. And at the end we will get a finished animation that we can send to friends.

There are really a lot of settings and to understand them you will need to set aside a whole evening for this. Samsung decided to give the HDR mode its name “Rich Tones”, apparently to make it easier to find. As with many cameras, it is this mode that saves, from frame to frame, the deteriorating impression of the camera. Here the colors become richer, the light is softer and warmer, the shades acquire a natural color. As an example, here are the pictures I got:

The original photographs for detailed study can be downloaded in one archive from here.

Autonomous operation

The smartphone has a 2600 mAh Li-Ion battery. As I said earlier, with average use, the battery lasts about one and a half to two days. By average use, I mean a constant connection to either Wi-Fi or LTE, periodic replies to messages on VKontakte and viewing your Instagram feed, and 15-20 minutes of talk time, that is, without games. But when you turn on the game, get ready for the frantic gluttony of the processor and all the accompanying chips.

The smartphone has an extreme power saving mode. Its essence is that all unnecessary wireless interfaces and system services, and the functionality is limited to a clock, calendar, alarm clock and browser. The list of applications for working in this mode can be customized.

The second most gluttonous “organ” – the screen – is also subject to restrictions. It becomes black and gray, the brightness of the backlight decreases and disappears bright colors.

According to the manufacturer, in this mode with 10% battery, the smartphone can last 7-9 hours. But it would be necessary to clarify that such time is achieved only if you do not touch it at all.

As a result, I can say one thing about battery life: it could have been worse, but it couldn’t.

Pros and cons of purchasing the Samsung Galaxy A7

• Large and colorful screen;
• Not top-end, but still powerful filling;
• Balanced time battery life;

Against:

• An incredible number of settings that are difficult to quickly understand (this is not an iPhone!);
• The form factor is not convenient for everyone;
• Average retail price ~ 30,000 rub.

Bottom line

What we have: a beautiful picture supported powerful iron with a battery life slightly above average in its class. On the other hand, the size of the form factor will make you wince with inconvenience when you climb the steps, and the smartphone is in your front jeans pocket, and the camera could take better pictures for the money.

And now the answer to the question: “Is it worth it? buy?, - I think not. You see, Samsung, in light of recent events, has significantly raised prices for its products. Moreover, it increased by an order of magnitude more than that of competitors. 30,000 rubles is still a lot, even for a device made entirely of metal, which it is Samsung Galaxy A7 SM-A700FD.

After two weeks of using this lamp and returning to my iPhone 5S, I was surprised to find that I was missing a big screen! Apparently this is how Samsung decided to lure away Apple lovers.

Already on sale Price: 30,000 rubles

Specifications

• Android 4.4.4 TouchWiz shell
• Screen 5.5 inches, SuperAMOLED, 1920x1080 pixels, 401 ppi, light and proximity sensor
• Metal, non-separable body
• Supports two SIM cards, one radio module (A700F)
• Front camera 5 megapixels, main camera 13 megapixels with autofocus, video recording 1080p (30 frames per second)
• Snapdragon chipset 615 – MSM8939, four cores A53 64 bit, frequency up to 1.5 GHz, plus four cores up to 1 GHz, Adreno 405 – model A700F with two SIM cards
• Exynos 5 Octa 5430 chipset – eight cores, 4 Cortex A15 cores up to 1.8 GHz, 4 Cortex A7 cores up to 1.3 GHz, Mali T628 MP6
• RAM 2 GB, internal memory 16 GB, memory card up to 64 GB
• LTE cat. 4, GPS/A-GPS/Glonass
• BT 4.0 LE, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, USB 2.0, microUSB, NFC
• FM radio, supports all audio and video codecs out of the box
• Li-Ion battery 2600 mAh
• Dimensions – 151x76.2x6.3 mm, weight – 141 grams
• Color options - Pearl White, Midnight Black, Champagne Gold

Scope of delivery

• Telephone
• Charger with USB cable
• Instructions
• Pin for opening the SIM card tray
• Wired stereo headset

Positioning

In the Samsung A3 review, we looked at the reasons for the appearance of this line of devices, its positioning within Samsung, and why it can be considered created to compete with the iPhone previous generations. I don’t see any point in repeating myself; I refer you to the appropriate section of the review.

With the positioning of the A7, Samsung turns out to be more interesting than the younger models. On the one hand, this is a senior A-series device, as a result, it has the most powerful chipsets for this class of devices, but it does not live up to the flagships, and this is a conscious decision. On the other hand, the A7 should act as one of the phablets that will flood the market before the fall of 2015 and will overshadow the existing Note 4, which remains the flagship without any discounts and the most interesting model in your class. But it so happens that not all people need top-end characteristics, the presence of a stylus and additional features– for many, the first priority is a pleasant design, case materials, and an adequate price, and any price lower than that of flagships, with formally similar characteristics, is considered as such.

Among the models large manufacturers, presented in retail chains throughout the country, it is the A7 that can lay claim to being a fashion device with a lower cost than the flagship. It came as a complete surprise to me that both readers and potential buyers showed such interest in the previous A5 model. But they paid much less attention to the A3. It’s completely unclear what will happen with the A7, since in Russian realities there was a cheap Note 3 from MegaFon, and it certainly confused everything Samsung cards. But since the fall of last year it has not been on sale, and the changes that have taken place on the market do not allow us to say that any new model will be perceived well, especially taking into account the new price level. The release of the A7 for Russia will take place at a bad time for the market, so assessing any sales, prospects and the like for this model before the beginning of summer is a pointless exercise.

From the point of view of positioning and selection of this device, I advise you to look at it as a phablet version without a stylus, with a camera typical in its class and a certain image charge. This is by no means the most cost-effective offer; you can find similar solutions from other companies for less money, however, we’ll talk about this at the end of the review.

Design, dimensions, control elements

The design of all A-series devices is absolutely the same, there is no difference. There are no complaints about the build quality and materials.

The metal frame goes around the body, everything is the same here Samsung Alpha or Note 4, the edges are exactly the same, they play in the light the same way. But the entire back panel is made of metal, although it is painted in the color of the body. It has several recesses for antennas, but they are not visible due to uniform painting. This is a conscious decision, since the same iPhone uses either a plastic insert (like the iPhone 6) or an insert on the back panel (like the iPhone 5/5s), which stands out from the design of the device. Samsung considered that the appearance of the device should be uniform, and achieved this with this approach.

The colors for the A7 are typical: white, black and gold.

The white color has a pearlescent tint, it is not matte, and plays well in the light. An attempt to deliberately scratch it shows that scratches appear, but they are not visible unless you look closely.

The control elements are located traditionally, the paired volume key is on the left side, and the on/off button is on the right. There are also two slots for nanoSIM cards, one slot also has a combined holder for a microSD card. The device has two microphones, they are located at the ends. At the bottom end there is a regular microUSB connector, as well as a 3.5 mm jack for a headset or headphones.

The front camera is located above the screen, and there is also a light sensor and a proximity sensor. Below the screen there are two touch buttons and one mechanical button.

The phone dimensions are 151x76.2x6.3 mm, weight is 141 grams. Quite thin, fits well in the hand, a little smaller than the same Note 4. This format of device is convenient for me because of my large hand, but you’ll have to try it. But I note that you get used to the large screen almost instantly, and the thin body makes the model convenient for everyday use.

Display

Screen with a diagonal of 5.5 inches and FullHD resolution (401 ppi), superAMOLED. There are all modes for adjusting colors on the screen, as on older models.

If you compare the picture quality with the same Note 4 (below), you will not see much of a difference; it is felt in the fonts, but is invisible to the eye, unless, of course, you have built-in microscopes.

An excellent screen from all points of view, a maximum number of settings for every taste. If you want to get bright colors - you can do it, if you want more natural ones - and this is possible. Good screen behavior in the sun. In its segment, this device has one of the highest quality screens, and for the current generation of devices its capabilities are sufficient, plus there is a reserve for several years. The same QHD screen in the Note 4 is redundant, although pleasant. The transition from the screen in the A7 to the Note 4 will not be as noticeable an improvement as the company would like to show.

Battery

The Li-Ion battery built into the case has a capacity of 2600 mAh, which is relatively small. Video playback time is about 8.5 hours (in A5 - 12.5 hours), Samsung usually targets 10 hours. This indicator confused me, I thought that the total operating time would be noticeably shorter, but the reality turned out to be completely different - the phone lasts a long time (we tested the Qualcomm version).

With actual use of the phone, you can achieve two days of reliable operation with an hour of calls, two dozen messages, and a couple of hours of listening to music. Under a very heavy load, the device will only work for one day, but for example, under the same load, the S5 will run out by about one o'clock in the afternoon. The use of an optimized chipset makes itself felt; this is a new generation device in terms of improved operating time. Although it all depends on what and how you use it, how you configured all the parameters.

The total battery charging time is just under two hours. Technology fast charging, as in Note 4, is not supported here.

The phone has a proprietary technology for maximum energy saving, when the screen switches to displaying shades of gray, and this way the device can work much longer.

Memory, RAM, chipset and performance

The phone is available in two versions, on the Qualcomm chipset and on the Exynos. Snapdragon 615 chipset – MSM8939, four A53 64-bit cores, frequency up to 1.5 GHz plus four cores up to 1 GHz, Adreno 405 – model A700F with two SIM cards. Exynos 5 Octa 5430 chipset – eight cores, 4 Cortex A15 cores up to 1.8 GHz, 4 Cortex A7 cores up to 1.3 GHz, Mali T628 MP6. Users will not have a choice of model options as such; each market will have one or the other modification, but not both. The question of which is better remains open - for example, the operating time on the Qualcomm chipset in mixed mode is a little longer (by about 10 percent), but the performance on Exynos is higher.

The amount of RAM is 2 GB, built-in memory is 16 GB, of which approximately 12 GB is available to the user. Memory cards are supported up to 64 GB, which will be enough for most.

The A-series devices are unusual in that it is impossible to use two SIM cards and a memory card at the same time. The second slot can accommodate either a memory card or a SIM card, but not both at the same time. Therefore, you will have to determine what is more important to you - this should be kept in mind when you choose a device.

In synthetic tests, the device has typical performance for its class. At the same time, you won’t see any brakes in the menu.

Communication capabilities

It's all pretty typical USB versions 2, there is support for NFC, Ant+, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0 LE, built-in LTE modem supports LTE Advanced Cat.4.

Camera

The front camera does not have autofocus, but has a resolution of 5 megapixels, which is not bad.

The main camera is 13-megapixel, its characteristics are similar to the cameras that were in last year’s flagships, it produces good picture quality, as you can see for yourself. But in the dark, the camera, like previous models, does not shoot very well.

Software

The device has the latest version of Android 4.4.4, with the TouchWiz shell, it is also the latest version, like on the company’s flagships. There are almost no differences from the same S5, so I refer you to the corresponding part of the review.

Unlike top models, there is a built-in FM radio, which looks like a nice bonus.

Fashionable slim model with a large screen in an all-metal case

Samsung Galaxy A7 went on sale a little later than its brothers in the new line (Galaxy A3 and A5), and immediately stood at the head of this new series, the positioning of which, in fact, is not so obvious. Looking at the characteristics of any of the new devices belonging to the Galaxy A line, including their flagship, it becomes clear that these smartphones do not belong to the truly top level in most respects. Even the Galaxy A7 cannot compare in capabilities with the same Galaxy S5, which, even after almost a whole year of sales, remains a much more technically advanced device, being a true flagship. The new product, in comparison, has a much less productive platform, a simpler camera, a non-removable battery, no fingerprint scanner, no heart rate sensor, for some reason MHL was cut, and, finally, no protection from water. So the Galaxy A7, like the rest new line Galaxy A can rather be classified as a middle class, but certainly not a top-end one.

Instead, the emphasis in the new line is mostly on the image component. Main feature The entire Samsung Galaxy A series is about the Koreans rethinking their approach to the choice of materials: instead of traditional plastic, metal has finally appeared in the cases. All models of the new family have all-metal bodies made entirely of aluminum, but at the same time, all smartphones in the series are similar to each other, like twin brothers - the difference can only be noticed by placing all three models side by side. Compared to its family brethren, the Galaxy A7 looks the most preferable - for starters, it has a slightly more productive hardware platform (the younger models in the series use a very budget entry-level platform as a filling), although the Galaxy A7 is still not up to the top solutions in terms of performance far. A thin, metallic and lightweight body, as well as a large, bright Super AMOLED display are the main and most noticeable advantages of the device. Well-selected lightweight and durable modern materials, a large bright screen, as well as improved capabilities of the front camera for creating popular selfies - all this, according to the creators, should appeal to a young audience who loves to take pictures of themselves and spend their leisure time on social networks.

Video review

First, we suggest watching our video review of the Samsung Galaxy A7 smartphone:

Now let's take a look at the characteristics of the new product.

Main characteristics of Samsung Galaxy A7 (model SM-A700FD)

	Samsung Galaxy A7	Samsung Galaxy A5	Oppo R5	Fly Tornado Slim	Lenovo Vibe X2
Screen	5.5″, Super AMOLED	5″, Super AMOLED	5.2″, AMOLED	4.8″, Super AMOLED	5″, IPS
Permission	1920×1080, 401 ppi	1280×720, 294 ppi	1920×1080, 423 ppi	1280×720, 306 ppi	1920×1080, 440 ppi
SoC		Qualcomm Snapdragon 410 (4 Cortex-A53 cores) @1.2 GHz	Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 (8 cores ARM Cortex-A53) @1-1.5 GHz	MediaTek MT6592 (8 cores ARM Cortex-A7 @1.7 GHz)	Mediatek MT6595m (4x Cortex-A17 @2.0 GHz + 4x Cortex-A7 @1.3 GHz)
GPU	Adreno 405	Adreno 306	Adreno 405	Mali 450MP	PowerVR G6200
RAM	2 GB	2 GB	2 GB	1 GB	2 GB
Flash memory	16 GB	16 GB	16 GB	16 GB	32 GB
Memory card support	microSD	microSD	—	—	—
operating system	Google Android 4.4	Google Android 4.4	Google Android 4.4	Google Android 4.4	Google Android 4.4
Battery	non-removable, 2600 mAh	non-removable, 2300 mAh	non-removable, 2000 mAh	non-removable, 2050 mAh	non-removable, 2300 mAh
Cameras		rear (13 MP; video 1080p), front (5 MP)	rear (13 MP; video 1080p), front (5 MP)	rear (8 MP; video 1080p), front (5 MP)	rear (13 MP; video 1080p), front (5 MP)
Dimensions and weight	151×76×6.3 mm, 141 g	139×70×6.7 mm, 123 g	149×74×4.9 mm, 157 g	140×67×5.2 mm, 97 g	140×69×7.3 mm, 120 g
Average price	T-11927009	T-11755838	T-11168103	T-11553831	T-11168521
Samsung Galaxy A7 offers	L-11927009-10

• SoC Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 (MSM8939), 4+4 ARM Cortex-A53 cores, 1/1.5 GHz
• GPU Adreno 405 @550 MHz
• Operating system Android 4.4.4
• Touch display Super AMOLED, 5.5″, 1920×1080, 401 ppi
• Random access memory (RAM) 2 GB, internal memory 16 GB
• SIM cards: Nano-SIM (2 pcs.)
• Supports microSD memory cards up to 64 GB
• 2G communication: GSM 850/900/1800/1900 MHz
• 3G Communication: WCDMA 850/900/1900/2100 MHz
• Data transmission 4G LTE FDD (Cat4, up to 150 Mbps)
• Wi-Fi 802.11a/b/g/n (2.4/5 GHz), point Wi-Fi access, Wi-Fi Direct
• Bluetooth 4.0, NFC
• USB 2.0, OTG
• GPS/A-GPS, Glonass, BDS
• Position, proximity, lighting sensors, electronic compass
• Camera 13 MP (F2.0), autofocus, LED flash
• Camera 5 MP (F2.2), front
• Battery 2600 mAh
• Dimensions 151×76×6.3 mm
• Weight 141 g

Appearance and ease of use

In design, as mentioned above, the Galaxy A series smartphones are practically no different from each other, but that’s not all. The main thing is that even despite the rethinking of the interests and aspirations of the modern market, despite the sharp transition from plastic to metal in manufacturing materials, the new Samsung smartphones still remain in appearance almost the same as they were before. That is, their appearance remained so recognizable that those who were somehow dissatisfied with the design of Korean devices are unlikely to see anything encouraging this time.

Easily recognizable design Samsung smartphones hasn't changed much:

As for materials, the devices actually received metal cases, and entirely made of this material. The back wall and sides in such a case form a solid “trough”, and gluing occurs in the place where the glass of the screen adjoins the metal in the front part. And yet, owners of new Korean smartphones will not have the opportunity to touch real metal and feel all its cold appeal. The fact is that all surfaces here are carefully covered with a special plastic coating so as to completely hide all the metal underneath. That is, entirely metal cases new Galaxy And they look and feel to the touch as if we were still looking at the same plastic. The presence of metal can be recognized, perhaps, only by the unpainted chamfers on the side faces.

Due to the matte finish, thin body and low weight, the device fits comfortably in the hand, does not slip out and does not collect fingerprints. New Samsung smartphones have become very pleasant to the touch, this cannot be taken away. Even with a huge display, the Galaxy A7 remains such a thin and light solution that the smartphone can easily be carried in your pocket, although the dimensions are certainly large.

The assembly does not cause any complaints; Samsung is fine with this. Having abandoned the removable cover for the first time, the developers resorted to a common solution for placing cards in the side slots: now here, too, you need to press in the hidden buttons with a paper clip in order to remove the slide with the SIM card and memory card. In place of the memory card, you can put a second Nano-SIM card, but then you will have to leave the memory card at home - a very controversial, and it is completely unclear how justified the decision of the developers was.

According to the not very pleasant tradition that has developed recently, here it is also proposed to compromise and choose only one of the possible options for using cards: either install two Nano-SIM without the possibility of expanding the memory, or put a microSD card in the second slot, but then you will have to say goodbye to your second SIM card. This strange idea of ​​saving captured the minds of not only Chinese developers, but, as it turned out, Korean ones too. In marketing materials, this solution is usually presented as ideal: those who need a second SIM card will insert it, and those who need additional memory will choose microSD card. However, nothing is said about those who may need both. It is completely unclear what kind of gain such a solution should provide - after all, the market is full of devices with simultaneous support for two SIM cards and a memory card, and even with two “full-size” Mini-SIM cards, there is nothing special about it.

Despite the fact that the smartphone body is not particularly thin, the camera module still protrudes quite noticeably from the back wall. In this matter, the new Samsung smartphones turned out to be no better than the notorious ones Apple iPhone 6/6 Plus, which only the lazy would not “wash their bones” for this option of placing the camera module. The same square-shaped LED flash and chrome speaker grille are symmetrically distributed on both sides of the camera lens. Since the protruding camera module does not allow the grille to overlap with the surface of the table, the sound of a smartphone lying “on the back” is practically not muffled. However, since the main contact with the surface will be the glass of the protruding chamber, it will most likely be scratched first. There was no built-in flashlight mode for the flash; the flash module itself has only one section.

The front part of the smartphone is completely covered with a protective Gorilla glass Glass. As in the case of the Galaxy A5, there was no place in the device for such a useful element as an LED notification sensor.

At the bottom, under the screen, there is the usual oval mechanical key and two touch buttons on either side of it. The buttons have a bright white backlight with the ability to adjust the duration. The front panel under the glass has a dotted texture, like previous Samsung smartphones.

The mechanical volume and lock keys are also made of metal, the buttons are quite large, the action is springy and responsive, and there are traditionally no complaints about the controls in Samsung devices.

For some reason, the Micro-USB 2.0 connector and the audio output for headphones with a diameter of 3.5 mm were clustered on one, bottom end, very close to each other. This is inconvenient if you have to use both sockets for connecting power and headphones at the same time. It’s good at least that, unlike the younger one Galaxy models A5, here Micro-USB supports connecting external devices and flash drives in OTG mode.

The smartphone is not protected from dust and moisture and does not support wireless charging, there is no strap mount on the case. In addition to the white color option, dark blue and golden body colors, familiar from previous series of Samsung smartphones, are also offered. With a clear focus on the youth segment, the developers perhaps should have given their new products fresher and brighter colors, since they decided to cover the metal with a plastic coating that is easy to paint.

Screen

The Samsung Galaxy A7 smartphone is equipped with a large Super AMOLED touch matrix. The physical dimensions of the display are 68x122 mm, diagonal - 5.5 inches. The screen resolution in pixels is 1920×1080 (dot density 401 ppi), a decent figure, but do not forget that the screen here is made using Pentile technology.

The side bezels around the screen are not impressive: the distance from the edge of the body to the edge of the screen on the sides is about 4 mm, and on the top and bottom - approximately 14 mm. The display brightness has manual and automatic adjustment, the latter based on the operation of the light sensor. There is also a proximity sensor that blocks the screen when you bring the smartphone to your ear. Multi-touch technology allows you to process 10 simultaneous touches. In the settings, you can enable support for working with the screen while wearing gloves (this was not the case in the Galaxy A5).

Detailed examination using measuring instruments conducted by the editor of the “Monitors” and “Projectors and TV” sections Alexey Kudryavtsev. Here is his expert opinion on the screen of the sample under study.

The front surface of the screen is made in the form of a glass plate with a mirror-smooth surface that is scratch-resistant. Judging by the reflection of objects, the anti-glare properties of the screen are no worse than those of the Google Nexus 7 (2013) screen (hereinafter simply Nexus 7). For clarity, here is a photo in which a white surface is reflected in the switched off screens (on the left - Nexus 7, on the right - Samsung Galaxy A7, then they can be distinguished by size):

The screen of the Samsung Galaxy A7 is slightly lighter (brightness according to photographs is 102 versus 98 for the Nexus 7) and does not have a pronounced tint. Note that the reflection from bright objects in the screen of the Samsung Galaxy A7 has a pale bluish halo that is slightly more pronounced in the transverse direction. The ghosting of reflected objects on the Samsung Galaxy A7 screen is very weak, which indicates that there is no air gap between the layers of the screen. Due to the smaller number of boundaries (glass-air type) with very different refractive indices, screens without an air gap look better in conditions of strong external illumination, but their repair in the case of cracked external glass is much more expensive, since the entire screen has to be replaced. On the outer surface of the Samsung Galaxy A7 screen there is a special oleophobic (grease-repellent) coating (very effective, noticeably better than that of the Nexus 7), so fingerprints are removed much easier and appear at a lower speed than in the case of regular glass.

When the white field is displayed in full screen and when manual control its brightness maximum value was 350 cd/m², the minimum was 1.9 cd/m². You also need to take into account the fact that in this case, the smaller the white area on the screen, the lighter it is, that is, the actual maximum brightness of the white areas will almost always be higher specified value. For example, when outputting white on half the screen, the maximum brightness with manual adjustment increases to 410 cd/m². As a result, readability during the day in the sun should be at a fairly good level (there was no opportunity to check it). The reduced brightness level allows you to use the device even in complete darkness without any problems. Works automatic adjustment brightness by the light sensor (it is located to the right of the front speaker slot). You can make adjustments to the operation of this function by moving the adjustment slider from −5 to +5 units. Below, for three conditions, we present the screen brightness values ​​for three values ​​of this setting - for −5, 0 and +5. In complete darkness in automatic mode, the brightness is reduced to 3.8, 10 and 18 cd/m², respectively (the first is a bit dark, the rest are normal), in an office illuminated by artificial light (approximately 400 lux) the brightness is set to 76, 113 and 300 cd /m² (dark - just right - light, which corresponds to the specified correction), in a brightly lit environment (corresponds to lighting on a clear day outdoors, but without direct sunlight - 20,000 lux or a little more) - increases to 350 cd/m² regardless of slider position. This value is equal to the maximum for manual adjustment. In general, the result of the automatic brightness adjustment function is as expected. Only at medium and low brightness levels there is modulation with a frequency of 240 Hz. The figure below shows brightness (vertical axis) versus time (horizontal axis) for several brightness settings:

It can be seen that at maximum and close to it brightness, the modulation amplitude is minimal and its frequency is 60 Hz (screen refresh rate), as a result, there is no visible flicker. However, when the brightness decreases (somewhere below 75%), modulation appears with a frequency of 240 Hz and a large relative amplitude. Therefore, the presence of such modulation can already be seen in a test for the presence of a stroboscopic effect or simply with rapid eye movement. Depending on individual sensitivity, this flickering may cause increased fatigue.

This screen uses a Super AMOLED matrix - an active matrix on organic light-emitting diodes. A full-color image is created using subpixels of three colors - red (R), green (G) and blue (B), but there are twice as many green subpixels, which can be referred to as RGBG. This is confirmed by a fragment of a microphotograph:

For comparison, you can see the gallery of microphotographs of screens used in mobile technology.

In the fragment above you can count 4 green subpixels, 2 red (4 halves) and 2 blue (1 whole and 4 quarters), and by repeating these fragments, you can lay out the entire screen without breaks or overlap. For such matrices Samsung company introduced the name PenTile RGBG. The manufacturer calculates the screen resolution based on the green subpixels; based on the other two, it will be two times lower. The location and shape of the subpixels in this version is close to the case of the screen of the Samsung Galaxy S4 and some other newer devices from Samsung and not only with AMOLED screens. This version of PenTile RGBG is better than the old one with red squares, blue rectangles and stripes of green subpixels. However, some unevenness of contrast borders and other artifacts are still present. However, due to enough high resolution they have minimal impact on image quality.

The screen is characterized by excellent viewing angles, though white when deviated even at small angles, it acquires a slight blue-green tint, but the black color is just black at any angle. So black that the contrast setting is not applicable in this case. When viewed perpendicularly, the uniformity of the white field is excellent. For comparison, here are photographs in which the screens of the Samsung Galaxy A7 (profile Movie AMOLED) and the second comparison participant, identical images were displayed, while the brightness of the screens was initially set to approximately 200 cd/m², and the color balance on the camera was forced to switch to 6500 K. White field:

Note the excellent uniformity of brightness and color tone of the white field. AND test picture(profile Basic):

Color reproduction is good, however, the color balance of the screens is slightly different and the colors of the Samsung Galaxy A7 are a little more saturated. The photo above was taken after selecting a profile Basic in the screen settings, there are four in total. Profile Adaptive display differs in some kind of automatic adjustment to the type of displayed image and environmental conditions, which is obtained by selecting the two remaining profiles shown below.

Movie AMOLED:

Saturation and color contrast are noticeably increased.

Photo AMOLED:

Saturation is still high, but color contrast is back to normal. Now at an angle of approximately 45 degrees to the plane and to the side of the screen (profile Basic). White field:

The brightness at an angle for both screens has noticeably decreased (to avoid strong darkening, the shutter speed was increased by 2.5 times compared to the previous two photographs), but in the case of Samsung the drop in brightness is much less pronounced. As a result, with formally the same brightness, the Samsung Galaxy A7 screen visually looks much brighter (compared to LCD screens), since the screen mobile device often you have to look at least from a slight angle. And a test picture:

It can be seen that the colors have not changed much on both screens and the brightness of the Samsung at an angle is noticeably higher. Switching the state of the matrix elements is performed almost instantly, but at the switching edge there may be a step with a width of 16.7 ms (which corresponds to a screen refresh rate of 60 Hz). For example, this is what the dependence of brightness on time looks like when moving from black to white and back:

In some conditions, the presence of such a step can lead to plumes trailing moving objects, but in normal use these artifacts are difficult to see. Quite the contrary - dynamic scenes in films on OLED screens are distinguished by high clarity and even some “jerky” movements.

For profiles Photo AMOLED And Basic constructed using 32 points with equal intervals according to the numerical value of the shade of gray, the gamma curve did not reveal any blockage in either highlights or shadows, and the index of the approximating power function is equal to 2.30, which is slightly higher than the standard value of 2.2, while the real gamma -the curve deviates little from the power-law dependence (the captions in parentheses show the exponent of the approximating power-law function and the coefficient of determination):

For profile Movie AMOLED The gamma curve has a slightly pronounced S-shape, which increases the apparent contrast of the image, but shades are still distinguishable in the shadows.

Let us recall that in the case of OLED screens, the brightness of image fragments dynamically changes in accordance with the nature of the displayed image - it decreases for generally light images. As a result, the resulting dependence of brightness on hue (gamma curve) most likely slightly does not correspond to the gamma curve of a static image, since the measurements were carried out with sequential display of shades of gray on almost the entire screen. This image dynamism increases when you select the option Auto tuning screen brightness. In this case, on the graph of brightness (vertical axis) versus time (horizontal axis), when moving from black to white and back, a descending section appears, that is, the brightness of the white field begins to decrease after about 0.4 s:

Color gamut in the case of a profile Movie AMOLED very wide, it almost covers the Adobe RGB gamut:

When selecting a profile Photo AMOLED The coverage decreases slightly:

When selecting a profile Basic the coverage is significantly compressed, almost to the limits of sRGB:

Without correction, the spectra of the components are very well separated:

In case of profile Basic with maximum correction, the color components are already noticeably mixed with each other:

Note that on screens with a wide color gamut, without appropriate correction, the colors of regular images optimized for sRGB devices appear unnaturally saturated. Hence the recommendation - in most cases, watching movies, photographs and everything natural is better when choosing a profile Basic, and only if the photo was taken on an Adobe RGB setting, does it make sense to switch the profile to Photo AMOLED. Profile Movie AMOLED, despite the name, is the least suitable for watching movies or anything else.

The balance of shades on the gray scale is not ideal, but, in general, acceptable. Color temperature in profile Movie AMOLED above 6500 K, in the remaining two - close to 6500 K, while in a significant portion of the gray scale this parameter does not change very much. The deviation from the blackbody spectrum (ΔE) over most of the gray scale remains below 10 units, which is considered a good indicator for a consumer device, and also does not change much:

(The darkest areas of the gray scale can be ignored in most cases, since there is no color balance of great importance, and the error in measuring color characteristics at low brightness is large.)

Let's summarize. The screen has a fairly high maximum brightness and has good anti-glare properties, so the device can most likely be used outdoors even on a sunny summer day without any problems. In complete darkness, the brightness can be reduced to a comfortable value. It is permissible to use a mode with automatic brightness adjustment, which works quite adequately. The advantages of the screen include a very good oleophobic coating, as well as a color gamut close to sRGB and an acceptable color balance (if you select the appropriate profiles). At the same time, let us recall the general advantages of OLED screens: true black color (if nothing is reflected in the screen), excellent uniformity of the white field, noticeably less than that of LCDs, and a drop in image brightness when viewed at an angle. Disadvantages include modulation of screen brightness. For users who are particularly sensitive to flicker, this may cause increased fatigue. However, overall the screen quality is very high.

Sound

The sound of the Samsung Galaxy A7 is very decent. The smartphone produces a fairly loud sound, saturated with the entire spectrum of frequencies, the speaker is not deprived and low frequencies. The smartphone sounds really nice, at the maximum volume level the sound is not distorted, does not wheeze, there are no complaints at all. In conversational dynamics, the voice of a familiar interlocutor, timbre and intonation remain recognizable, the conversation is quite comfortable.

With headphones, the smartphone also sounds at the level of modern flagships; to play melodies, a proprietary player with a maximum number of settings is used as standard. All sound effects are combined with a technology called SoundAlive - although some of them are only available with connected headphones. The same applies to the sound optimization function. There are a lot of different virtual effects, visually they are combined into a matrix of squares.

An FM radio is included as standard with the smartphone, and there is also a voice recorder. The voice recorder is simple - unlike top Samsung smartphones, there is not such a variety of recording modes, everything is standard (“normal”, “voice note”). Radio without connected quality external antenna headphones will not work, but can record programs. The device cannot record telephone conversations from the line.

Camera

Samsung Galaxy A7 is equipped with exactly the same two physical digital camera modules as more cheap model in the line, Galaxy A5. The front camera here is equipped with a 5-megapixel module with an f/2.2 aperture; it shoots video at a maximum resolution of 1080p. For popular selfie-style entertainment, there are group selfie modes, as well as shooting with GIF animation. Animated Selfie mode allows you to take up to 20 continuous photos and automatically combine them into one animated GIF that replaces a short video. Shoot on front camera possible without contact with the camera, using an open palm gesture.

The main, rear 13-megapixel camera has an f/2.0 aperture, autofocus and LED flash. The settings menu is clear and intuitive; it is divided into equal cells, each of which is always visible and interactive. In addition, each of the cells can be pulled up and made into a shortcut for quick access in a separate top line. The icons are clearly drawn, everything is perfectly visible even in the brightest sunlight, and in general the implementation of the camera control menu in the latest Samsung devices is one of the best on the market.

However, the camera itself is not nearly as rich in capabilities as the cameras of flagship devices: there is no optical stabilization and a selective focus mode for blurring the background, there is no slow or fast video recording, and there is no ability to shoot video in 4K or at 60 fps. Of the shooting modes, there are only traditional panoramic, portrait, night, and again, the notorious selfie, which can be taken here with the main camera too; a special auto-selfie mode has been invented for this.

Video samsung camera Galaxy A7 can shoot at a maximum resolution of Full HD 1920×1080 (30 fps); 4K resolution and 60 fps shooting speed are not supported here. The quality of video recording can be judged by the test video.

• Video No. 1 (30 MB, 1920×1080 @30 fps)

	Good sharpness throughout the entire frame, it drops a little in the upper corners.
	Good sharpness in distant shots.
	Details are lost when the shot is removed, especially at the edges, but the sharpness in the central part of the frame is quite good.
	The camera's sharpness problems are noticeable only in the upper left and lower right corners.
	Good sharpness in mid-grounds. At distances it’s noticeably worse, although it’s worth taking snowfall into account.
	Good job with noise.
	The camera works well with shadows.
	The license plates of cars that are not closest can be made out. The tree branches in the central part of the frame are well done.
	The sharpening on the wires is quite noticeable, but not very bright.
	The camera copes well with macro photography.
	The text as a whole is excellent, only slightly blurred in the upper left corner.

We also tested the camera on a laboratory bench using our method.

Overall the camera is of a fairly high standard. It has some shortcomings that do not allow it to be called a flagship, but they do not make it unsuccessful. Rare and not very stable, but good highlighting of details by sharpening the camera can be forgiven. But blur at the edges of the frame occurs quite often and spoils the impression. At the same time, the sharpness in the central part of the frame is excellent in most cases. The advantages of the camera can also be written down good job noise reduction

Lab testing shows really good sharpness in the center of the frame and acceptable sharpness around the edges. And the very shape of the resolution curve in the center looks quite decent. But still, something is wrong in the cell. And the point here is not even a drop in sharpness towards the edges. Most likely, the algorithms used in software processing are somewhat outdated. But I want something new. At a minimum, you don’t want to see white sharpening stripes on contrasting borders, but at the same time it’s desirable to see good result his work. Samsung can afford to work on this, but apparently the manufacturer treats this camera in a completely different way than it should treat a flagship one. However, the camera is well suited for documentary and art photography.

Telephone and communications

The smartphone works as standard in modern 2G GSM and 3G WCDMA networks, and also supports fourth-generation networks. LTE generation Cat4 with a maximum possible speed of up to 150 Mbit/s for reception. In practice, with a SIM card from the domestic operator MTS, the smartphone confidently recognizes and works with 4G networks.

Network capabilities are implemented as standard: there is support for NFC technology, Wi-Fi Direct, Wi-Fi Display, you can organize a wireless access point via Wi-Fi or Bluetooth channels. The Wi-Fi module supports operation in both frequency bands (2.4 and 5 GHz). Supports connection of external devices to USB port in OTG mode, but there is no support for MHL and DLNA.

The navigation module works with both GPS and the domestic Glonass system, and also sees satellites of the Chinese Beidou (BDS). There are no complaints about the navigation module; satellites are found very quickly. The device is also equipped with a magnetic field sensor, on the basis of which the magnetic compass of navigation programs operates.

The drawing of letters and numbers of virtual keyboards is large enough for convenience speed dial At the top there is an additional row with numbers. It is also possible to change the size of the entire desktop, or you can separately reduce the block virtual keyboard and even move it to any place on the screen. The phone application supports Smart Dial, that is, while dialing phone number A search is also carried out immediately using the first letters in contacts. For Swype fans, there is a continuous typing method using a stroke from letter to letter.

The smartphone supports working with two SIM cards, and in general, working with them in the menu is organized according to a familiar principle: you can designate any of the SIM cards as the main one for organizing voice calls, transferring data or sending SMS messages. When dialing a number, you can also select the desired card by calling context menu from the notifications menu. A SIM card in any slot can work with 3G (LTE) networks, but only one of the cards can work in this mode at the same time (the second will only work in 2G). There is only one radio module installed in the device.

OS and software

Samsung Galaxy A7, like its brothers in the new line, even after the official release of the fifth version of Android OS goes on sale and works initially on software platform Google Android versions 4.4.4, an update to version 5.x has just been promised. A proprietary graphic is traditionally installed on top of the OS interface. user interface TouchWiz. The design of all elements, the internal arrangement of the shell, the location of menu items, settings sections and pop-up contextual submenus - everything is familiar and very similar to what is implemented in the same Galaxy S5 or Galaxy Alpha, with the exception of some flagship features that are missing in the new smartphone. For example, the Galaxy A7 has a very limited set of supported gestures. The energy-saving mode, privacy mode, the ability to work in two windows simultaneously, and the sidebar of virtual keys remain in place. The function of reducing the working area of ​​the screen is convenient for working with the fingers of one hand, including for left-handed people. Added the Briefing news panel, called up with a side swipe on the left - an analogue of HTC Blinkfeed.

Performance

The Samsung Galaxy A7 hardware platform is based on the latest eight-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 (MSM8939) single-chip system (SoC). This recently announced 64-bit platform is made using big.LITTLE technology, where four Cortex-A53 processor cores are adjacent to four of the same Cortex-A53 cores, but these “fours” have different maximum operating frequencies. Depending on the nature and degree of load, either 4 “junior” or 4 “senior” (up to 1.5 GHz) cores are turned on, which saves energy. The Adreno 405 video accelerator with a frequency of up to 550 MHz is responsible for graphics processing here. SoC Snapdragon 615 is made using a 28 nm process technology, belongs to the mid-level category, does not differ in particular power and performance, full list characteristics can be found.

The device has 2 GB of RAM. The smartphone doesn’t have a lot of built-in memory - out of the nominal 16 GB internal memory about 11 are available to the user. It is possible to expand the built-in memory: you can install a microSD card in the smartphone, but then the second SIM card will have to be removed. In addition, the device supports the mode of connecting external devices to the USB port (USB Host, USB OTG) - an external flash drive can be connected via an OTG adapter, purchased separately.

According to testing results, the eight-core hardware platform of the Samsung Galaxy A7 showed average results, far from truly top-end modern flagships. The performance of the Snapdragon 615 platform is approximately at the level of the alternative eight-core MediaTek MT6592, or even slightly lower. According to AnTuTu, the performance of the smartphone is at the level of 30K, while for top solutions this value is now 40-45K. There is nothing special to add here; the platform is far in its capabilities from the most productive modern Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 series platforms, just as it is far from the fresh flagship MediaTek MT6595. The destiny of devices with such filling is a confident average level, nothing more. However, the smartphone we are describing today is powerful enough to not have to worry about not having enough power to perform most tasks for some time.

Testing in latest versions comprehensive tests AnTuTu and GeekBench 3:

All the results we obtained when testing the smartphone in the most latest versions popular benchmarks, we have summarized them in tables for convenience. The table usually adds several other devices from different segments, also tested on similar latest versions of benchmarks (this is done only for a visual assessment of the obtained dry figures). Unfortunately, within the framework of one comparison it is impossible to present the results from different versions benchmarks, so many worthy and current models- due to the fact that at one time they went through an “obstacle course” on previous versions test programs.

Testing the graphics subsystem in 3DMark game tests,GFXBenchmark, and Bonsai Benchmark:

When tested in 3DMark for the most productive smartphones It is now possible to run the application in Unlimited mode, where the rendering resolution is fixed at 720p and VSync is disabled (which can cause the speed to rise above 60 fps).

	Samsung Galaxy A7 (Qualcomm Snapdragon 615/ Adreno 405)	Samsung Galaxy A5 (Qualcomm Snapdragon 410/ Adreno 306)	Oppo R5 (Snapdragon 615/ Adreno 405)	Fly Tornado Slim (Mediatek MT6592/ Mali 450MP)	Lenovo Vibe X2 (Mediatek MT6595m/ PowerVR G6200)
3DMark Ice Storm Extreme (more is better)	5373	2624	5527	5028	8566
3DMark Ice Storm Unlimited (more is better)	7700	4386	8055	7131	14067
GFXBenchmark T-Rex HD (C24Z16 Onscreen)	14 fps	9.6 fps	13.1 fps	16.3 fps	17.0 fps
GFXBenchmark T-Rex HD (C24Z16 Offscreen)	15 fps	5.4 fps	13.5 fps	—	17.8 fps
Bonsai Benchmark	1946 (28 fps)	1726 (25 fps)	1721 (24 fps)	2330 (33 fps)	3549 (51 fps)

Browser cross-platform tests:

As for benchmarks for assessing the speed of the javascript engine, you should always make allowance for the fact that their results significantly depend on the browser in which they are launched, so the comparison can only be truly correct on the same OS and browsers, and this is possible during testing not always. For Android OS, we always try to use Google Chrome.

Playing video

To test omnivorousness when playing video (including support for various codecs, containers and special features, for example subtitles), we used the most common formats, which make up the bulk of the content available on the Web. Note that for mobile devices it is important to have support for hardware video decoding at the chip level, since it is most often impossible to process modern options using processor cores alone. Also, you shouldn’t expect a mobile device to decode everything, since the leadership in flexibility belongs to the PC, and no one is going to challenge it. All results are summarized in a single table.

According to the testing results, the subject was not equipped with all the necessary decoders that are necessary for full playback of most of the most common multimedia files on the network. To successfully play them, you will have to resort to the help of a third-party player - for example, MX Player. True, it is also necessary to change the settings and manually install additional custom codecs, because now this player does not officially support the AC3 sound format.

Format	Container, video, sound	MX Video Player	Standard video player
DVDRip	AVI, XviD 720×400 2200 Kbps, MP3+AC3	plays normally	plays normally
Web-DL SD	AVI, XviD 720×400 1400 Kbps, MP3+AC3	plays normally	plays normally
Web-DL HD	MKV, H.264 1280×720 3000 Kbps, AC3		The video plays fine, but there is no sound¹
BDRip 720p	MKV, H.264 1280×720 4000 Kbps, AC3	The video plays fine, but there is no sound¹	The video plays fine, but there is no sound¹
BDRip 1080p	MKV, H.264 1920×1080 8000 Kbps, AC3	The video plays fine, but there is no sound¹	The video plays fine, but there is no sound¹

¹ sound in MX Video Player was played only after installing an alternative custom audio codec; The standard player does not have this setting

Tested video output features Alexey Kudryavtsev.

MHL interface, like Mobility DisplayPort we are in this smartphone We didn’t find it, so we had to limit ourselves to testing the output of video files on the screen of the device itself. To do this, we used a set of test files with an arrow and a rectangle moving one division per frame (see “Method for testing video playback and display devices. Version 1 (for mobile devices) Red marks indicate possible problems related to the playback of the corresponding files.

According to the criterion of frame output, the quality of playback of video files on the screen of the device itself is good, since frames (or groups of frames) can be output with more or less uniform alternation of intervals and without skipping frames. When playing video files with a resolution of 1920 by 1080 pixels (1080p) on a smartphone screen, the image of the video file itself is displayed exactly along the border of the screen, one to one in pixels, that is, in the original resolution. The worlds show the peculiarities of PenTile - the vertical world through the pixel looks like a grid, the horizontal world with stripes through the pixel has a typical greenish tint. The brightness range displayed on the screen actually corresponds to standard range 16-235 - in the shadows only a couple of shades merge with black, but in the highlights all gradations of shades are displayed. Only in the case of very dark scenes with low average brightness on dark objects can you notice artifacts in the form of increased variation in hue and brightness, which reveals the inevitable scatter in the characteristics of the emitting LED pixels.

Battery life

The capacity of the lithium-ion battery installed in the Samsung Galaxy A7 is not a record, but quite modern - 2600 mAh. Thanks to the far from the most productive and, accordingly, more economical hardware platform, as well as a quite decent amount of built-in battery, the smartphone has proven itself worthy in terms of battery life, showing excellent autonomy in most standard usage scenarios. The developers themselves promise that the smartphone is designed for 17 hours of continuous use. telephone conversation in 3G networks, or 13 hours of work on the Internet via Wi-Fi network.

It should be noted that to save energy, the device settings traditionally contain two proprietary energy saving modes: normal and extreme. The maximum energy saving mode significantly reduces the level of energy consumption by turning off non-essential ones and saving vital ones. at the moment functions, including converting the image on the screen to black and white.

	Battery capacity	Reading mode	Video mode	3D Game Mode
Samsung Galaxy A7	2600 mAh	22:10	12:00 pm	3 hours 20 minutes
Samsung Galaxy A5	2300 mAh	14:00	11:00 am	4 hours 20 minutes
Huawei Ascend G7	3000 mAh	20:00	13:30	6:30 a.m.
Sony Xperia C3	2500 mAh	14:30	9:30 a.m.	5 hours 50 minutes
Yotaphone 2	2500 mAh	12:00 pm	9:30 a.m.	3 hours 15 minutes
Samsung Note 4	3220 mAh	10:30 a.m.	8:30 a.m.	3 hours 50 minutes
Meizu MX4 Pro	3350 mAh	16:00	8 hours 40 minutes	3 hours 30 minutes
Huawei Mate 7	4100 mAh	20:00	12:30 pm	4 hours 25 minutes
Sony Xperia Z3	3100 mAh	20:00	10:00 am	4 hours 50 minutes
HTC One M8	2600 mAh	22:10	13:20	3 hours 20 minutes
Samsung Galaxy S5	2800 mAh	17:20	12:30 pm	4 hours 30 minutes

Continuous reading in the FBReader program (with a standard, light theme) at a minimum comfortable brightness level (brightness was set to 100 cd/m²) lasted about 22 hours until the battery was completely discharged. When watching videos continuously high quality(720p) with the same brightness level through home network The Wi-Fi device lasted 12 hours. In 3D gaming mode, the device worked for almost 3.5 hours. Full charging time is approximately 2.5 hours.

Bottom line

In the Samsung Galaxy A series of smartphones, a lot of what was previously invented for the Galaxy S line was removed, and the oversaturation of various superpowers suddenly gave way to complete asceticism. It seems that the developers were tasked with simplifying everything possible, and they clearly overdid it. The fingerprint sensor, heart rate sensor are lost, the flashlight, notification sensor, removable battery, water resistance, infrared transmitter are gone, MHL support is removed, and a ridiculous compromise has appeared with the choice between inserted cards. But the most unpleasant thing is that they saved even on the holy of holies - the hardware platform: the smartphone, which is offered in official retail for 32 thousand rubles, did not even receive a decent processor from the Snapdragon 800 series usual for such cases, although at such a price it would be more than justified . And this despite the fact that the same Galaxy S5, which has everything listed above in stock, is offered at retail for 30 thousand rubles, that is, even cheaper! Galaxy A series smartphones are extremely overpriced, their level of technical equipment does not correspond to the level of prices set for them.

If we collect the positive aspects that are present in the smartphones of the new line, we can note a pleasant thin, light and high-quality body, a good bright AMOLED screen, decent sound and long battery life. The camera quality is average, it is worse than that of the Galaxy S5, so there is nothing special to praise in this regard, except that the frontal shooting capabilities have improved. The fundamental characteristics are good, but they are not enough for the level to which Samsung is trying to push the modest line of fashion devices of the Galaxy A series.

Consumer reviews will help you navigate the choice of a new gadget. "Samsung A7" is the senior model in the line of metal smartphones from the Korean manufacturer. It has a pleasant, laconic design, powerful processor and many other positive characteristics.

A little about series "A"

The senior device in its line is the Samsung Galaxy A7 phone. Reviews note that the positioning of this series cannot be called obvious. If you look at the characteristics of the devices, you can understand that they do not claim to be at the top level. Thus, the A7 does not live up to the popular S5 even though it is a little outdated. The "A" line is much simpler, moreover, its devices are less productive. Thus, this is no longer a “state employee”, but not yet a “flagship”.

In the "A" series the main emphasis is on the image component. Instead of the usual plastic, high-quality aluminum is used in the manufacture of the case. If we talk about the Samsung A7, reviews and photos are proof that it is like a twin brother to the younger devices in this series. The external difference is only in size. However, in terms of performance it is significantly ahead of them.

Characteristics

The characteristics of the Samsung A7 smartphone will help you appreciate it. Reviews, of course, provide an objective assessment, but “dry” data can be useful. You should know the following about this device:

• 2 SIM cards of "Nano" format;
• operating system - Android;
• 2 GB RAM;
• 16 GB of internal memory;
• possibility of memory expansion up to 64 GB;
• weight - 141 grams;
• non-removable battery with a capacity of 2600 mAh;
• screen diagonal - 5.5 inches;
• capacitive touch panel;
• Qualcomm MSM8939 processor;
• 8 cores;
• main 13-megapixel camera;
• front 5 megapixel camera;
• non-demountable metal case;
• Light sensors, proximity sensors, accelerometer.

Appearance

Reviews contain a lot of interesting information about this smartphone. "Samsung A7" looks the same as two younger models of this line. The exception is the screen diagonal, which reaches 5.5 inches. Below the display there is a mechanical Home key, as well as a pair touch buttons. Above the screen there is a corporate logo, a speaker, a camera eye, as well as proximity and light sensors. Like most Samsung smartphones, this device does not have an event indicator, which is an undoubted drawback.

The front panel is decorated with a small dot pattern. You can only notice it upon closer inspection, but this idea greatly refreshes the design. As with all other Galaxy smartphones, the volume key is on the left side and the power button is on the right. There are also two slots with holes for the key. The bottom one is for the main SIM card. The top slot can be used for a second SIM card or for memory expansion.

The thoughtful design of the device is noted by reviews. The Samsung A7 has a top edge free of any buttons and connectors. It only has a microphone hole. The headphone and charger jack is located on the bottom edge. There is also an additional hole for a microphone. The back panel, traditionally, is equipped with a camera (the eye protrudes slightly above the plane of the lid), a flash and an external speaker. There is also a corporate logo.

This smartphone model is available in three shades. White has a pleasant pearlescent sheen. Black color cannot be called bright and pure. It is characterized by blue-gray notes. The gold version is more reminiscent of bronze. The case is assembled with high quality.

Features of the material

Despite the fact that the Samsung A7 is completely metal, reviews from owners note that their hands do not feel the pleasant coolness inherent in aluminum. The fact is that all edges are tightly covered with a special plastic coating. Thus, purely externally, the device looks as plastic as phones from cheaper series. But, thanks to the matte finish, the gadget fits comfortably in the hand and does not slip out. But the chamfers of the side edges are not painted, and therefore there is a metallic shine and a pleasant characteristic coolness.

Screen Features

Many useful information contain reviews about the smartphone. Samsung A7 is equipped with a screen made using the Super AMOLED system. Its diagonal is 5.5 inches, which will appeal to fans of games, videos and just viewing beautiful pictures. Users are spared the need to stick film or glass on the screen, because it is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 4, which is one of the most advanced coatings.

Brightness adjustment range from 14 to 237 cd/sq. m. may seem insufficient. However, for screens of this type this is quite a decent indicator. Given the presence of a light sensor, it is possible to use the automatic mode for adjusting the backlight intensity. In addition, the brightness of the screen may vary depending on what picture is displayed on the display.

The Samsung Galaxy A7 is characterized by excellent factory settings. Reviews note that the screen is perfectly calibrated and does not require additional adjustments. However, you can always adjust the color rendering to suit you. Both super-bright shades and a more natural picture, which is formed using the PenTile system, can be installed. The special arrangement of pixels eliminates graininess and “looseness” of the image.

As one of the most important advantages of the Samsung Galaxy A7, reviews note the high-quality oleophobic coating. It protects the screen from unsightly fingerprints. But the main drawback is that the screen becomes very blind in bright sunlight. The touchscreen supports up to 10 simultaneous touches, which will certainly appeal to game lovers. A nice feature will be the presence of an option, the inclusion of which allows you to operate the smartphone with gloves.

Undoubtedly, the advantage of the screen of this device are excellent viewing angles. The picture does not “blind” or become distorted even with strong deviation. However, the white color takes on a greenish tint. But this will be noticeable only upon careful examination.

Sound

One of the most popular devices today is the Samsung Galaxy A7. Reviews note excellent sound quality. The smartphone is quite loud, and therefore you will hear it on the street, in transport and even from your bag. The speaker is rich in a wide range of frequencies. At the same time, even on maximum volume the sound is not distorted. This applies not only to the external, but also conversational dynamics. The voice of the interlocutor will always be clear and recognizable; you can make out the timbre and even intonation.

Special attention should be paid to playing audio files through headphones. The sound quality is top notch high level and keeps up with flagship models. An additional advantage can be considered a proprietary player, which has a lot of settings to improve sound quality. SoundAlive effects make the melody more realistic and pleasing to the ear. A nice addition will be the presence of a huge number of visual images that accompany the playback.

Hardware component

Many users have already tested the Samsung A7-2016. Reviews note good performance. The device runs on the Android operating system. Comfortable use provides a proprietary TouchWiz shell. The smartphone is equipped with the Qualcomm platform. The 8-core processor is divided into 2 blocks that operate at different frequencies. All these features ensure fast and uninterrupted operation of the system.

Cameras

Such a device as the Samsung A7-2016 managed to gain popularity among users. Reviews note good quality cameras The main one (13 megapixels) takes good photos, for a device in the mid-price category. During the daytime, autofocus works smoothly, but at dusk you may encounter a number of problems.

The settings menu is quite extensive. At the same time, it is convenient and understandable. The menu is divided into several different cells, each of which is responsible for adjusting a specific function. If you have to change some settings item quite often, you can create a shortcut for it that will be located in the shooting area. It’s not for nothing that the camera application in Samsung devices is considered one of the best among those currently on the market.

Unfortunately, despite all the advantages, the camera of this device lags significantly behind the flagship models. The lack of optical stabilization, selective focusing, and speeding up or slowing down video significantly affects the final result. In addition, there are no innovations in terms of modes here either.

Based on user analysis of images taken on the Samsung Galaxy A7 2016 smartphone, reviews note the following:

• in the upper corners of the frame, sharpness noticeably decreases;
• clear shooting of distant plans;
• absence of noise;
• clear shadows;
• small parts are poorly processed;
• excellent macro quality;
• Clear text capture.

As for the front-facing 5-megapixel camera, it takes decent selfies. But, given the lack of an LED flash, you can only count on good selfie quality in the daytime. Selfie lovers will appreciate the fact that pictures can be taken using gestures or voice commands. Another positive aspect is the ability to take wide-angle selfies, thanks to which you can fit more friends in one photo.

Telephone part

When considering the wide capabilities of a smartphone, do not forget about the telephone part of the Samsung Galaxy A7 device. Owner reviews positively evaluate the ability to work in the LTE Cat4 network. As for the phone application, it is worth noting the clear depiction of letters and numbers. The keyboard is quite large, and therefore it is convenient to dial a number with both miniature female and large male fingers. If necessary, the number pad can be reduced to allow one-handed operation. The ability to move the keyboard from side to side will be an additional advantage for left-handers.

Like other Samsung devices, this smartphone works Smart app Dial. Its usefulness lies in the fact that when you dial a number, your contact list is automatically searched. As for the text keyboard, the continuous typing function will be useful.

Work with two SIM cards is conveniently organized. They can be controlled through the notification shade. Any SIM card can be designated as the main one. Any of them can work with 3G (LTE) networks, but not simultaneously. This is due to the fact that only one radio module is installed in the smartphone.

Autonomy

The battery capacity is not the largest - 2600 mAh. Considering the screen diagonal, this is not enough for long-term battery life. However, in reality the battery performed well. Considering that the smartphone’s processor is not the most productive, the charge is consumed quite economically. So, in continuous conversation mode the device should work for 17 hours, and in wireless Internet mode - 13 hours. Continuous reading in the FBReader program at a comfortable brightness level can last up to 22 hours. Fans of watching videos can enjoy the smartphone for 12 hours. But in 3D gaming mode the battery drains quickly - in less than 4 hours.

To extend the battery life, you can turn on the extreme power saving mode, which is equipped with almost all Samsung smartphones. It involves the screen transitioning to a monochrome (black and white) state. In addition, all applications and functions except vital ones will be disabled.

2016 version

Based on the experience of using the smartphone, work was carried out to correct errors, which resulted in the release new version smartphone "Samsung A7 2016". Owner reviews note significant improvements. The following points can be considered the most significant:

• updated design that makes the device similar to flagship devices;
• Only the side frames are made of aluminum, and the front and back panels are covered with durable protective glass;
• a fingerprint scanner is built into the mechanical button;
• the touch keys have a pleasant backlight;
• The frames around the screen have been significantly reduced, which allows the smartphone to be more compact;
• RAM capacity increased to 3 GB;
• internal memory can be expanded up to 128 GB;
• operating system - Android 5.1.1;
• battery capacity increased to 3300 mAh;
• fast charging support;
• an indicator of missed events appeared.

Positive Feedback

There are a lot of fans for such a device as the Samsung A7 smartphone. The reviews contain a lot of positive information. The main advantages of the device can be considered the following:

• good image quality (rich colors, no grain, excellent viewing angles);
• comfortable headphones included;
• the side buttons have a fairly smooth click and a nice design;
• there is automatic brightness adjustment depending on the light level;
• a large number of camera settings, which allows you to take pictures of excellent quality;
• excellent sound quality (both through an external speaker and through headphones)
• Convenient grouping of contacts in the phone book.

Negative reviews

Such an impeccable, at first glance, device as the Samsung A7 is not without its shortcomings. Customer reviews contain the following negative comments:

• the phone is too sensitive to falls and shocks (it breaks down almost immediately);
• there is no protection against water, despite the fact that the body is all-metal;
• at simultaneous launch several applications, the device begins to heat up;
• you have to choose between the ability to install a second SIM and a memory card;
• insufficient internal memory;
• the main camera protrudes greatly above back cover, and therefore its edging is quickly scratched;
• It’s inconvenient that the audio output and USB cable connector are located too close;
• Missing events indicator is missing;
• weak non-removable battery;
• the case gets scratched quickly if you use the device without a case;
• unreasonably high cost (a metal case covered with plastic coating is not worth overpaying for it).