Samsung Galaxy A7 Review – The Best Mid-Range with Flagship Features. Review of Galaxy A7 (2018) - the first smartphone from Samsung with a triple camera Stylish and minimalistic

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 entire new Galaxy A line, can rather be classified as a middle class, but certainly not a top-end one.

Instead, the emphasis in the new line is largely on the image component. The main feature of the entire Samsung Galaxy A series is that the Koreans have rethought 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 powerful 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), Wi-Fi hotspot, 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.

The easily recognizable design of Samsung smartphones has not 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, the all-metal bodies of the new Galaxy A look and feel 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 is held 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-SIMs 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 a microSD card. However, nothing is said about those who may need both. It is completely unclear what benefits 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 Apple iPhone 6/6 Plus, which only the lazy did 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 of the smartphone is completely covered with protective Gorilla 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 that, unlike the younger Galaxy A5 model, Micro-USB here supports connecting external devices and flash drives in OTG mode.

The smartphone is not protected from dust and moisture, does not support wireless charging, and there is no strap mount on the case. In addition to the white color option, the 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 frames 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).

A detailed examination using measuring instruments was carried out 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 when the screens are turned off (on the left is Nexus 7, on the right is 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 screen of the Samsung Galaxy A7 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 was displayed in full screen and with manual brightness control, its 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 brighter it is, that is, the actual maximum brightness of the white areas will almost always be higher than the 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 test it). The reduced brightness level allows you to use the device even in complete darkness without any problems. There is automatic brightness adjustment based on 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 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 the fairly high resolution, they have a minimal impact on image quality.

The screen is characterized by excellent viewing angles, although white color, when deviated even at small angles, acquires a slight blue-green tint, but 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 a 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 screen of the Samsung Galaxy A7 visually looks much brighter (compared to LCD screens), since you often have to look at the screen of a mobile device from at least 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 in most cases be ignored, since color balance there is not very important, 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 remind you about 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, and the speaker is not deprived of 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”). The radio will not work without headphones connected as an external antenna, but it can record programs. The device cannot record telephone conversations from the line.

Camera

The Samsung Galaxy A7 features the exact same two physical digital camera modules as the cheaper model in the lineup, the 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. You can take pictures with the front camera without contacting the camera, using the 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 cell 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 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.

The video camera of the Samsung Galaxy A7 can shoot with 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 blurry 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 camera's advantages also include good noise reduction performance.

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 is desirable to see a good result of its 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 LTE Cat4 networks 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). Connecting external devices to the USB port in OTG mode is supported, 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 on virtual keyboards is quite large; for the convenience of quick typing, there is an additional row with numbers at the top. It is also possible to change the size of the entire desktop, or you can separately reduce the virtual keyboard block and even move it to any place on the screen. The phone application supports Smart Dial, that is, while dialing a phone number, a search is immediately carried out by 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 the context menu from the notification 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 runs initially on the Google Android software platform version 4.4.4, an update to version 5.x has just been promised. The proprietary TouchWiz graphical user interface is traditionally installed on top of the OS interface. The drawing 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 from the left with a side swipe - 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. The Snapdragon 615 SoC is made using a 28 nm process technology, belongs to the mid-level category, does not differ in particular power and performance, a full list of 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 of 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 complete most tasks for some time.

Testing in the latest versions of comprehensive tests AnTuTu and GeekBench 3:

For convenience, we have compiled all the results we obtained when testing the smartphone in the latest versions of popular benchmarks into tables. 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 of benchmarks, so many worthy and relevant models remain “behind the scenes” - due to the fact that they once passed the “obstacle course” on previous versions of test programs.

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

When testing in 3DMark, the most powerful smartphones now have the ability 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 the omnivorous nature of video playback (including support for various codecs, containers and special features, such as subtitles), we used the most common formats, which make up the bulk of the content available on the Internet. 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.

We did not find the MHL interface, like Mobility DisplayPort, in this smartphone, 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 associated with 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 the standard range of 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 telephone conversation on 3G networks, or 13 hours of Internet use via a 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 energy consumption by turning off non-essential functions and preserving vital functions at the moment, including turning the image on the screen into 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 continuously watching video in high quality (720p) with the same brightness level via a home Wi-Fi network, the 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.

In January 2017, the Korean company Samsung announced three new versions of smartphones: A3, A5 and A7. They did not change the name, leaving it the same as its predecessors, adding only the year of manufacture (2017). Each of these models is worthy of a detailed review, but today we’ll look at the pros and cons of the Galaxy A7.

The smartphone is packaged in a white box with a minimalist design. Looks very stylish.
Package Included:

1. Cable;
2. Headphones;
3. Documentation;
4. Charger;
5. Type-c adapter.

Considering that in 2018, rarely do any manufacturers include a wired headset in the kit, then I would like to thank the creators of the A7. Plus there is USB Type-c, the convenience of which will definitely be appreciated by the user. Below is a little more detail about it.

USB Type-c

At first, the type-c connector format may seem useless and incomprehensible - all its advantages will be revealed later.

For example, when you don’t have a charger at hand, you no longer need to run around all the nearby stores in search of a charger - this connector will help out. You can also charge using a USB cable.

Design

The body of the device is made of metal around the perimeter, and the back cover is made of rounded glass. There is no oleophobic coating on the back of the smartphone. This is both a plus and a minus - fingerprints collect heavily, but the smartphone fits more firmly in the hand, and there are fewer opportunities for it to slip out.

The Galaxy A line is positioned as a fashion line, that is, more attention is paid to the design and appearance of the device than to the hardware platform and filling.

The external speaker is located on the top, on the right side of the phone body. The convenience of this solution is felt while watching a video - holding the phone with both hands does not block the sound.

A fingerprint scanner is built into the home button. This location is very convenient - it is almost impossible to miss.

Water and dust protection

The smartphone received protection against water and dust according to IP68 standards. This means that it can withstand immersion in fresh water to a depth of one and a half meters. The safe time for the device to be in swimming is 30 minutes.

Screen

Since the A7 is the older model in the A line, it received the largest display with Full HD resolution and a diagonal of 5.7 inches. There are no complaints about the quality, the viewing angles are maximum, and the colors are rich and bright. Pixel density 386 ppi. Supports up to ten simultaneous touches to the screen using multitouch technology.

In the screen settings you can adjust the blue color mode. This feature allows your eyes to rest while viewing content in the evening. You can move the slider and the screen color will acquire a warm tone.

The display of white color is not satisfactory - the tint does not turn pink or blue. This is important because some brands had this problem.

Using the smartphone in the sun will also be comfortable due to the special anti-reflective coating. There are no problems with display readability. A high-quality matrix and good light filters did their job.

Always on Display

The active screen feature in rest mode has not disappeared. The 2017 A7 model also has the option.

If the display is turned off, you still won’t miss an important event. The screen displays information about missed notifications, calls, calendar events, date and time.
Always on Display will help out at a business meeting, or when you can’t pick up the phone, but you need to monitor incoming calls.

Main characteristics

Processor and RAM

The smartphone boasts an eight-core Exynos 7880 processor with a clock frequency of 1.9 Ghz. The Mali-t 830 chip is responsible for the graphics.

In operation, the A7 shows the capabilities of a device you can trust. Reacts quickly to assigned tasks, skillfully solving them.

The amount of RAM is three gigabytes. Considering the model and price segment of the smartphone, this is optimal.

According to the results of synthetic tests, the smartphone cannot boast of high performance. But if you go beyond Antutu into real life, it copes with most modern toys. At maximum settings it slows down a bit, but this does not diminish the enjoyment of the game.

The device hardly heats up even under long loads. The case remains cool, which is nice.

The volume of built-in memory is 32 gigabytes. The system takes about 19 GB, and the user is left with 13. It’s not enough, but to expand the memory it is possible to insert a Micro SD card with a capacity of up to 256GB - this will be useful.

operating system

Out of the box, the Galaxy A7 received the Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow operating system. Of course, it would be nicer to get Android 7 Nougat, but the manufacturers decided otherwise.

You can easily download and install the latest version of the OS yourself. Fortunately, Samsung releases update packages for devices quickly and smoothly.

Interface

The standard interface is minimalistic and easy to understand. All the necessary shortcuts are easily placed on the desktop and collected in folders at the user's request. Samsung's proprietary shell only looks minimalistic, but when used, it becomes clear that it is simply “stuffed” with useful options.

A separate settings item is designed to optimize the operation of the device. The smartphone itself monitors usage parameters and advises how to improve them.

It is possible to run applications in different “windows”, dividing the screen in two. This is convenient if you correspond with friends in the messenger and at the same time scroll through the news feed. This way both applications will be visible.

Useful functionality

To facilitate the use of the device and user comfort, Samsung comes up with various useful functions.
In A7 (2017) these include:

Yes, you can take a screenshot by simply swiping your hand across the display. The resulting image can be edited. You can write a note on it, trim it and send it to the desired recipient, or to a third-party application.

S Health, Microsoft Office and Google Services

Built-in program from Samsung Apps to monitor the user's health status. Helps control your water and caffeine intake. Monitor your blood sugar and blood pressure levels. Track your daily activity and adjust your load. Enter your data into the app and it will give you tips on how to maintain a healthy lifestyle.

Microsoft apps come in handy when you need to save, print, or edit documents. By logging into your account through One Drive, you can access all files saved on other devices.

The built-in set of applications from Google will also pleasantly surprise you. The Chrome browser is suitable for surfing the Internet; YouTube – for watching your favorite videos. Gmail will help you group all your mailboxes in one place and not miss an important letter. Google Maps won't let you get lost, and Play Music will collect all your favorite songs in one music library and help you find new genres and artists.

There is also a personalized Flipboard news feed. It collects and displays only those news and events that the user wishes to see, having previously configured them for himself.

The Samsung Themes app allows you to download themes, wallpapers and desktop icons to personalize and express your personal style.

Autonomy

The smartphone has a battery capacity of 3600 mAh. With a good load - calls, social networks, using a GPS navigator and active data transfer - the A7 worked for 9 hours.

If desired, the phone can last a day and a half - it all depends on the activity of use. There are two levels of economy mode. Selecting maximum energy saving will turn the device into a regular “dialer”, but will save battery power. The function will be useful in the forest or while fishing, when all the assorted capabilities of the smartphone are not required.

Main and front camera

The Korean company places the main emphasis on camera quality in its flagship models. The A series gets basic shooting capabilities because it is positioned as a mid-price segment, occupying its place between the S series flagships and the J series budget models.

Rear camera 16 megapixels. With a focal length of 27 mm. f/1.9 aperture with autofocus and flash.

The front camera is also 16 MP and f/1.9 aperture. There is no optical stabilization. The settings have a number of modes (panorama, food, night).

The camera app is easy to use, so no advanced photography knowledge is required. You can launch the camera even from a locked screen.

In the daytime, in good light, it takes decent photos. Good for the average undemanding user.

How he takes photos during the day:

Shooting in the dark also showed good image quality.

How he takes photos at night:

Video

Video recording is available in Full HD resolution. The model has not yet reached 4K, but this is quite enough. The built-in player for watching videos can be found using the file manager. Most popular formats are supported and played.

Volume and sound

The external speaker does not shine at high volume levels. Even its location on the top of the body did not save it. At an average noise level, you won’t be able to hear the phone ringing right away.

There is no built-in music player. You can listen and download songs through the Play Music application - it is preinstalled on the device by default.

Headphones

If you use a wired headset, the A7 produces pleasant sound, voluminous and elastic bass. The built-in equalizer is present in the model and contains many functions to improve the current sound.

The headphone jack was left 3.5 mm in size, for which special thanks to the developers. Some manufacturers, for example, Apple, are beginning to actively abandon the standard connector in favor of wireless headphones. Samsung is still listening to the wishes of consumers.

An interesting feature is hidden in the sound settings - adaptive sound. The user is offered three sets for people of different age categories - under 30 years old, from 30 to 60 years old and over 60 years old. Having selected the appropriate profile, the device automatically adjusts the recommended sound level and volume.

The speaker clearly conveys the speech of the interlocutor - the opponent can also hear it loudly.

Wireless interfaces and technical characteristics

The Galaxy A7 is fine when connecting to networks wirelessly. There is both Wi-fi and wi-fi direct, Bluetooth 4.2, GPS, GLONASS. The NFC antenna and Samsung Pay will help you use mobile payment systems - you can pay for your purchase with your smartphone.

Characteristic	Meaning
Display	5.7; super Amoled;1920 x 1080;FHD
Graphics chip	Mali-t 830
CPU	Exynos 7880, 1.9 GHz; 8 cores
OS	Android 6.0.1 Marsmallow
RAM	3 gigabytes
Built-in memory	32 gigabytes
Memory card (under.)	up to 256 GB, micro SD + USB Type-c
Connection	GSM(900/1800/1900),LTE 1,3,7,34,39; UMTS 900/2100
Dual Sim	2 nano-sim, separate slot for each
Navigation	A-GPS,GLONASS
Cameras	16mp
Battery	3600MAH
Sensors	accelerometer, illumination, proximity, fingerprint, compass, Hall, microgyroscope.
Weight	187 grams
Dimensions	156.8 mm by 77.6 mm by 7.9 mm
Wireless connection	WI-FI,802.11 a/b/g/n/ac (5 GHz), Bluetooth 4.2 LE, FM radio, NFC.

Dual sim

The Korean company loves when consumers are happy, and therefore made a separate slot for a MicroSD card and two slots for nano-sim in the A7.

Now the buyer does not have to make a painful choice between expanding memory and using a second number. Thanks Samsung for this.

Price

According to data for 2018, the cost of the Galaxy A7 version 2017 in Russia varies from 16,500 thousand rubles to 17,100 rubles, depending on the region.

Samsung Galaxy A7 (2017)

Advantages vs. Flaws

Having taken a closer look at all the main functions of a smartphone, we can confidently highlight its pros and cons. Let's begin.

Advantages:

1. Two separate slots for SIM cards + slot for Micro SD;
2. Screen;
3. Water and dust protection according to IP68 standards;
4. Design;
5. Build quality;
6. No heating of the case;
7. NFC antenna.

Flaws:

1. Quiet external speaker;
2. I would like the main camera to be better.

Bottom line

The phone is pleasant to use, large 5.7-inch screen, high-quality case materials. The performance is enough to work with the device without any problems.

Samsung decided to celebrate the beginning of the new year by releasing several mid-segment smartphones. One of these devices Samsung Galaxy A7 (2017) is the hero of our review. Time flies and the gadget was released to replace the Samsung Galaxy A7 (2016), which was also introduced a year ago. Well, let's see what features the new smartphone has and whether owners of the previous solution should upgrade.

Design

The seventh A-series is distinguished by a large diagonal and greater characteristics in comparison with the younger models of the A-line. In this case Samsung Galaxy A7 (2017) received a 5.7" screen with a resolution of 1080x1920 pixels. The display is made using AMOLED technology, which, however, should not be surprising, given that this is Samsung’s proprietary technology.

As befits a modern smartphone, the design is dominated by the use of metal and rounded 2.5-D glass. Thus, the device’s signature design features are preserved, it just looks a little more modern. Traditionally, the hardware “home” button has also been preserved. By the way, thanks to this key, the company enabled support for Samsung Play, because the key has a fingerprint scanner.

But the most important feature, as in the still current generation, is the presence of dust and water protection. So IP68 is now available in the middle segment. Moreover, the design does not indicate this: there is no brutality here that is offered in the niche of secure smartphones. Well, this is a definite plus: for this alone it’s worth upgrading; most of the company’s previous devices were not protected from water.

Technical features

Before moving on to discussing the platform, it’s worth starting with the fact that the smartphone supports LTE category 6: the new modem is capable of providing 300 Mbit/s. Now about the platform: the device uses the Exinus 7880 Octa processor. The frequency of the cores responsible for productive tasks is 1.9 GHz, while the processor works in conjunction with three gigabytes of RAM. Interestingly, smartphones have 16 megapixels and high-aperture optics with f1.9 are used in both the main camera and the front one. Of course, the quality of front-facing cameras is growing every year; in the end, it was only a matter of time to come across a device where it would be equal in both cameras. Finally, about the battery capacity: the smartphone has 3600mAh.

The Samsung A7 smartphone is a bright representative of the A line, which has a large screen, a thin metal body and good technical characteristics. The gadget does not fall into the category of TOP devices due to insufficiently impressive hardware indicators, but it is rightfully awarded the title of a stylish middle peasant.

Appearance

The Samsung A7 received positive reviews primarily due to its attractive metal body. A small aesthetic drawback was the material with which the metal base is covered, which is why the surface of the smartphone can feel like ordinary plastic. There are the following color options for the Samsung A7: gold, silver, white, turquoise, black and pink. The case cannot be opened, so users will not be able to independently

More than 70 percent of the front panel of the Samsung Galaxy A7 is occupied by a large screen. Above it are motion and light indicator sensors, a front camera and a speaker for conversations. There are three main control keys under the screen: one physical and two touch.

On the left side of the device there is a volume rocker, on the right side there is a button to turn the device on and off, as well as two connectors for various cards, hidden by special plugs. The latter have a small round hole that can only be opened with a special key. Its loss will force the owner to use ingenuity and use, say, an unbent paper clip as a key. In general, this may cause some discomfort, because you won’t be able to open the plug with your fingernail. One of the connectors is designed exclusively for a SIM card, the second accepts both SIM cards and memory cards, and this is another drawback. Simultaneous use of two SIM cards and a memory card on the Samsung Galaxy A7 is physically impossible, so you will have to choose what is more important - the ability to use the services of two operators simultaneously or expand the smartphone’s memory.

At the bottom end of the model, the developers have installed a microphone, a 3.5 mm headset jack and a micro-USB connector. The top one was limited to the second microphone. The back panel of the device has a main camera, LED flash and a music speaker.

Overall dimensions of the device: 151 x 76.2 mm, weight - 141 grams. These data suggest comfortable use of the device, which is convenient to store in a pocket or bag, so the A7 is perfect for both men and women.

Screen

The Samsung A7 also earned positive reviews thanks to its excellent 5.5-inch display. In the process of its creation, Super AMOLED technology was used, which allows achieving the highest quality images. In addition to the advanced matrix, a resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels FHD is responsible for the stunning picture.

The color rendering of the smartphone shows clear and rich colors. In the brightness settings you can adjust the picture: from saturated to natural shades. Good viewing angles are also impressive: when viewed from the side, information is viewed quite normally, and the font is not distorted. The color does not fade in direct sunlight, which is why users will not have any problems using the device in clear weather.

The Samsung A7, whose screen characteristics are amazing, will allow you to enjoy the image to the fullest by launching a video, movie or high-quality game. The picture will pleasantly surprise you with its realism. It is especially interesting to watch what is happening in 3D games: the detailed graphics, bright colors, three-dimensional models and impressive special effects will not allow you to tear yourself away from the screen for a long time.

Specifications

As for the hardware, the smartphone looks quite decent. On board the device is an eight-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 processor: 4 cores operate at a frequency of 1500 MHz, and 4 at a frequency of 1000 MHz. To match the processor, 2 GB of RAM is installed, allowing you to process information quite quickly. The Mali-T628 MP6 was chosen as the video processor, which does its job well. For data storage, 16 GB of memory is provided on the hard drive; it is expandable using MicroSD memory cards up to 64 GB. The gadget runs on the Android 4.4.4 platform. Communication capabilities include Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi Direct, Bluetooth 4.0, USB 2.0, NFC technology and support for LTE networks.

The technical component of the Samsung A7 (the instructions are supplied with the device) is not satisfactory: the smartphone is quite fast, has good results when tested in the AnTuTu program, supports multitasking and does not slow down. Unfortunately, no matter how impressive the hardware may look, it cannot compare with models from the top device category. The test in the same AnTuTu leaves the A7 behind its more famous and expensive competitors. But this fact should not be too depressing, since the device places more emphasis on the image component and is presented primarily as a stylish and not a super-productive laptop computer. But even despite the not-so-advanced hardware, there are practically no cases where the Samsung A7 freezes, so it is quite possible to use this device as a full-fledged pocket computer.

Camera

The Samsung A7, whose price is determined not only by its stylish body and bright display, also has good optics. The main camera is capable of taking pictures with a resolution of 13 megapixels in a wide-angle format. This is a nice feature, since this option allows you to take a photo, for example, of a large company, while capturing the maximum distance. In daylight the pictures come out great. They can easily be displayed on a large screen, say, on a monitor or TV: there is virtually no grain, and thanks to almost perfect color rendition, the photographs look very presentable.

Pictures taken at night or in a dark room are much inferior in quality. Still, this is not a “camera phone”, and the flash here is just an LED bulb that is not capable of providing full-fledged illumination. But it cannot be said that in the dark the photos come out very bad. However, it is recommended to give preference to daytime shooting or take photos indoors with plenty of light.

The front camera can only take pictures in 5 megapixel resolution, but they are also taken in wide format, and their quality is slightly inferior to that of photos taken on the main camera.

The developers have installed many interesting and different functions that allow you to achieve interesting effects. Among the options there are the following: “Night”, “Gif-animation”, “Panorama”, “Change resolution”, “Auto-selfie” and much more. You can take a photo of yourself without even pressing any keys: just set the automatic selfie mode, bring the phone to your head, and the camera will capture the image. You can set up a voice mode, which is also a very convenient feature, since while taking a selfie it is not very convenient to press any keys on the smartphone or its screen.

It is worth saying a few words about video shooting in the Samsung A7 model. The camera characteristics are notable for its resolution of 1920 x 1080 and a frame rate of 30 frames per second. It should be noted that, although the video comes out very bright and clear, the matrix is ​​not implemented ideally. There are also problems with autofocus performance. The automation is very bad at independently rearranging itself from distant objects to near ones, so you have to stabilize the picture with a touch.

Sound

Although the speaker looks quite small, it produces quite loud sound. Incoming calls, melodies in the player or clips in movies sound loud and clear. But the traditional problem with speakers located on the back of smartphones remains to this day: if the device is lying on any surface, the sound hole becomes jammed, so the melody becomes much quieter - this is the risk of missing an important call. A smartphone is quite capable of replacing an mp3 player: if you buy good headphones, the sound will be of very high quality. Options include automatic and manual bass adjustment, playlist creation, and more. Using the headset, playing games or watching movies becomes much more interesting due to the special effects that allow you to achieve more attractive and realistic sound.

Applications

Today, there is not much software that the hardware of a device like the Samsung A7 cannot handle. The review showed that the system works quite well with many resource-intensive applications and advanced toys.

Traveling on the Internet will bring real pleasure to fans of the World Wide Web. Pages are processed very quickly, and there will be no problems downloading content or searching for satellites for the GPS navigator.

Games

Thanks to advanced image transmission technologies, good resolution and large display sizes, spending time playing games on the A7 becomes even more enjoyable. The filling of the model launches most complex and resource-demanding toys. Rich pictures and realistic sound effects, which can be achieved using a high-quality headset, turn any game into an exciting adventure.

Battery

The battery for the device is quite modest, only 2600 mAh. This is too little for the Samsung A7: the screen and system characteristics are very decent, so the battery should match them. As mentioned earlier, the battery cannot be replaced. With moderate use, the smartphone will “live” for about two days. Reducing the brightness can slightly increase this period.

To increase the operating period, the phone has an energy-saving mode function. When activated, the bright palette of the screen acquires dull gray shades, which allows you to extend battery life. Still, such a device requires a battery of no less than 3000 mAh. Naturally, intensive use of applications, active viewing of videos and games at maximum brightness will “eat up” the battery very quickly. The developers claim that the device's operating life when starting a video with maximum sound is 9 hours. In reality, this figure is somewhat less - about 8 hours.

Conclusion

Here we have a stylish device in a metal case with a large, high-quality screen, good optics and decent technical characteristics. Thanks to its excellent design, the device is convenient to carry with you, and multi-colored design options will allow everyone to choose a device to their liking. You will also be able to choose an excellent case for the Samsung A7. In addition to its elegant appearance, I was pleased with the very high-quality screen of the model, which shows a stunning picture. The camera also turned out to be quite good, but the autofocus performance leaves much to be desired. The technical characteristics have become somewhat better when comparing the Samsung A5 and A7. Now even more high-quality games and advanced software are available to users.

Among the minuses, we highlight a weak battery, the same unstable autofocus and the inability to run 2 SIM cards and a memory card on the smartphone at the same time.

The Samsung A7, whose price starts at about 22,000 rubles, has proven to be an elegant, moderately powerful device with a large, bright display. Of course, there are a lot of competitors on the market for phones in a similar price category that are worth paying attention to, but the A7 is a very worthy opponent for them.

Reviews. Samsung A7: pros and cons

The design of the device impressed most users. They liked the various colors of the case, style and small thickness. The smartphone is easy to carry, and although it looks quite large, the gadget is quite suitable even for a female audience. It is also easy to choose a case for the Samsung A7.

Hardware-demanding users did not have the best impressions regarding performance. They believe that the smartphone is clearly not intended for advanced games and applications. Also, the speed of information processing leaves much to be desired - this is due to a weak processor and only 2 GB of RAM.

Other users claim the opposite: everything that is installed runs perfectly. It was also noted that the device quickly picks up satellites and works well as a GPS navigator.

There are other reviews: “Samsung A7” received a too weak battery. The energy saving mode somewhat corrects the situation. In general, the owners agreed that the device requires a more resource-intensive battery.

Some believe that the price-performance ratio is not entirely correct. The owners consider the amount to be somewhat overpriced for a device, albeit a fashionable one, but, in their opinion, with rather modest technical indicators that do not allow using the device as comfortably as possible.

There was a single case of problems with calls: the screen went dark during the dialing process. After this, the gadget stopped working normally and needed to be replaced.

Most liked the high-quality camera, capable of taking excellent pictures using both the main optics and the front one. The possibility of wide-angle shooting and an abundance of selfie modes have impressed many mobile photo lovers. I was pleased with the clear and bright video recording with good frame processing. Other optical functions were also noted, for example, voice control.

The rich screen of the Samsung A7, the characteristics of which were excellent, impressed all the owners. Color rendition, viewing angles, brightness - everything, according to users, is five points here. Good performance under sunlight was noted: if the information on the display fades, it is only slightly, and it is quite possible to make it out.

No one had any problems with the sound or the player. Loud speakers: both conversational and musical - perfectly reproduce voices and melodies. The player pleased me with a large number of functions and high-quality playback of songs through the headset.

The owners were dissatisfied with the following nuance in the Samsung A7: only one SIM card can work together with a flash drive, since the connector for the second SIM card is also a slot for microSD.

Last year, Samsung introduced the updated “A-series”, which received the 2016 prefix to separate it from previous models. The line of smartphones turned out to be really successful; for the first time for itself, the company endowed it with characteristics close to flagship ones, leaving the price at an average level. As you might expect, Samsung updated the A-series in 2017. We have already tested the Galaxy A3 and Galaxy A5 smartphones, and now it’s the turn of the Galaxy A7. Let's see what the top model of the line has to offer.

Like last year's A7, the new smartphone takes on the features of one of Samsung's flagships, this time it turned out to be the Galaxy S7. The shape of the case, the glass of the front panel rounded to the edges, as well as the identical speaker grille and navigation keys really make the models similar.

But to emphasize the positioning of the Galaxy A7 (2017), the camera unit was made noticeably smaller than in the S7, which is why the smartphone looks a little toy-like from the back. Especially in the pink color that we tested. In general, the design of the device is made in the spirit of Samsung of the last few years, and the similarity with the flagship model is only a plus for it.

The same applies to case materials. Already last year the company significantly improved the quality of the “A-series”, and this year it has only slightly improved it. The main material of the Galaxy A7 (2017) is glass, which covers the entire front and rear panels.

At the same time, the frame is made of aluminum to add additional rigidity to the case. The fit of materials is excellent; the glass of both the front and front panels smoothly transitions into metal, leaving virtually no gap. And since the body cannot be disassembled, the entire structure is monolithic.

The Galaxy A7 (2017) case dimensions are 156.8 x 77.6 x 7.9 mm and weighs 186 grams. For a 5.7-inch smartphone, the device is relatively compact.

Water and dust protection

For the first time for the A-series, models in the line received protection from water and dust according to the IP68 standard. Thus, the Galaxy A7 (2017) can easily survive being caught in a downpour; it can be washed under the tap and generally immersed in water to a depth of 1.5 meters and for up to 30 minutes.

The smartphone case is sealed, so dust cannot get into it either. A sensor on the USB Type-C connector, which is used for charging, warns that moisture has entered it and you need to wait until it dries before connecting the charging cable.

Display

Galaxy A7 (2017) is the older model of the new A-series, so it has the largest display. Its diagonal is 5.7 inches, with a resolution of 1920x1080 pixels. Traditionally, Samsung uses a Super AMOLED matrix with a PenTile pixel arrangement. However, given the diagonal and resolution, the pixel density is 386 per inch, so you can only get a hint of screen grain if you hold it directly to your eyes. Also, the peculiarities of vision cannot be ignored, however, for most users, images and fonts on the display of the Galaxy A7 (2017) will look clear.

The calibration of the smartphone screen depends on the selected setting, for example, in the “Adaptive Screen” and “Cinema AMOLED” modes, colors can be made very rich and vibrant, while in the “Basic” and “Photo AMOLED” modes they will be closer to natural. We took measurements in Basic mode, and the display showed excellent calibration with more than 100% coverage of the sRGB color space, a color temperature of 6500K, a uniform gamma and backlight.

The Galaxy A7 (2017) also features a recently popular blue light filter for the screen, which makes it noticeably “warmer”. This option can be enabled manually or according to a schedule.

In addition, the smartphone was equipped with another feature of Samsung’s flagship smartphones – an always-on screen. Since the display here is Super AMOLED, and each pixel in it is individually illuminated, even when the screen is locked with minimal battery consumption, you can display the time and date, notifications, calendar or image on it.

Platform and performance

Mid-price smartphones may look similar to flagship models, but they are very rarely able to match them in terms of performance. This happened with the Galaxy A7 (2017), despite the similarity in design, it lags behind the S7 in terms of performance. However, this does not prevent the smartphone from working quickly and performing all the tasks assigned to it, including games.

The Galaxy A7 (2017) is powered by a 14nm octa-core Exynos 7880 processor clocked at 1.9GHz, coupled with Mali T830MP3 graphics. In addition, the smartphone is equipped with 3 GB of RAM and 32 GB of internal memory, which can be expanded with microSD cards.

The performance of the Galaxy A7 (2017) platform will be sufficient for all tasks that a smartphone user may encounter, but in resource-intensive games you will have to choose medium graphics settings.

Despite the popularity of hybrid slots for SIM and memory cards, in the Galaxy A7 (2017) they are implemented separately, thanks to which you can install two nanoSIM cards and a separate microSD card in the smartphone. To implement this, Samsung used not one universal tray, but two. One is installed on the upper end of the case and you can install a nanoSIM and a memory card in it. And the second is on the left side and is intended for installing one nanoSIM.

Interface

The Galaxy A7 (2017) uses Android 6.0.1 and a new shell called Grace UX. This is not to say that TouchWiz did not look modern, but the new interface was developed for the seventh version of Android, so it immediately adopted some of its features. This mainly concerns standardized icons, organization of alerts in a drop-down panel, as well as a better organized settings menu.

Overall, Grace UX looks nice, but the most important thing is that it works really fast. Animations in the new interface are smoother and occur without jerks. This gives the impression that the smartphone has a more powerful processor and more memory.

Camera

The main camera in the smartphone is 16-megapixel with f/1.9 aperture, 27 mm focal length, autofocus and flash. Compared to last year's A7, the number of megapixels has increased, but optical stabilization has disappeared.

In daylight, the camera takes good pictures as expected. Moreover, they can be done both in automatic and HDR mode. The latter saves photos a little longer than we would like, but this is often found in mid-price smartphones.

At night, the f/1.9 aperture allows the Galaxy A7 (2017) to capture more light, however, high resolution plays less of a role here than the size of the pixels on the sensor. Thus, the camera manages to capture more detail in low light, but it lacks sharpness. In addition, the lack of optical stabilization can lead to blurred images in poor lighting conditions.

Overall, the camera of the Galaxy A7 (2017) is on par with the two-year-old flagship Galaxy S6, which is excellent considering the positioning of the new model.

The front of the smartphone also deserves attention, as it also uses a 16-megapixel module with f/1.9 aperture.

It is not the same as the main one, but it also provides good picture quality.

Multimedia

The external speaker in the Galaxy A7 (2017) is located on the right side, above the power button. This allows you not to block it when you hold the smartphone horizontally with both hands, for example, while watching a video.

However, it itself sounds muffled, since it has a moisture-proof membrane installed.

The 3.5mm headphone jack is on the bottom edge. The smartphone sounds good, and there is an equalizer in the settings, as well as proprietary Adapt Sound technology, which allows you to customize the sound to suit your hearing characteristics.

Fingerprint's scanner

Traditionally for Samsung smartphones, under the display of the Galaxy A7 (2017) there is a mechanical “Home” button, which contains a fingerprint scanner.

The user can add up to 5 fingerprints and use them to unlock the smartphone, as well as for purchases on Google Play. The scanner works quickly, subjectively it is no worse than in the flagship Galaxy S7.

Autonomy

The Galaxy A7 (2017) has a 3600 mAh battery, thanks to this, as well as an energy-efficient processor, the smartphone demonstrates an excellent level of autonomy. In the PCMark battery test at 200 cd/m2 brightness, it lasted 9.5 hours. At an average load level, with active data transfer and 20 minutes of calls per day, you can count on 2 days of battery life.