We were able to see metal in the finishing of the body of a Samsung smartphone. But not the only “alpha” - a few months later the company announced a line of metal smartphones, which so far included only two devices: A3 and A5. In this review we will look at the younger model – Samsung Galaxy A3.

First impressions and appearance

Probably everyone who held an Alpha for the first time knows this feeling when you pick up a Samsung and can’t believe that it’s a Samsung. With A3 everything is exactly the same. Just the fact that it's Samsung adds a new feeling. Which? The smartphone is compact and, you see, today it is difficult to remember a small smartphone running Android, which, no matter how trivial it may sound, felt pleasantly cool in the palm of your hand from the first touch. An analogy immediately arises with the iPhone 4, 4S, 5 and 5S, but we won’t talk about them, since this is obvious.

The smartphone is almost entirely metal. Its frame, physical buttons and back panel are made of a material beloved by geeks. Almost the entire front panel, as is customary, is occupied by protective glass. But there is a fly in the ointment in this barrel of honey - almost the entire metal surface of the A3 is covered with a certain matte-to-touch composition, which gives the smartphone a pearlescent tint and at the same time deprives the device of part of the wow effect that an all-metal body could produce.

The dimensions of the device are 130.1 x 65.5 x 6.9 mm, weight – 110.3 g. The gadget feels thin and light and, in general, small. We live in such terrible times when a smartphone with a diagonal of 4.5 inches can be called compact without the slightest remorse.

Display

If there's one thing the Galaxy A3 is pure Samsung, it's the display. A truly Korean Super AMOLED matrix with all the ensuing consequences is installed here. Some will prefer these acidic colors, while others will not like them. The long-suffering black is truly black here. The resolution of this display is 960 x 540 pixels, which on 4.5 inches gives a pixel density of 245 ppi.

Using TouchWiz, the A3 display can be calibrated and customized; there are 4 modes to choose from: “Adaptive Display” (automatically optimizes the color range, saturation and sharpness of images for gallery applications, camera and Play Books), “Movie AMOLED”, “Photo AMOLED” and “Basic”. There are no questions about the viewing angles and responsiveness of the display, but it does not recognize more than five simultaneous touches - not that this somehow limits the user’s actions, but this fact does exist.

Cameras

The resolution of the main camera of the Samsung Galaxy A3 is 8 MP. And it sticks out; Samsung engineers were unable to fit an eight-megapixel module into a 6.9 mm thick body. A diode flash was located next to it. The Galaxy A3 takes really good pictures. There are a bunch of features, filters and camera settings in the best traditions of TouchWiz, but I never found ordinary HDR. The video is recorded in FullHD resolution, its quality will also suit the average person.

The front camera in the Galaxy A3 has a resolution of 5 MP. It also has a bunch of modes and settings that are designed to make your selfies as cool and unusual as possible. But if we discard all this unnecessary tinsel, what remains is a very good front camera, which can not only take tons of selfies, but also show its owner in Skype in the best possible way.

Examples of photos and videos

Hardware and software

Inside the smartphone there are four Qualcomm cores operating at a frequency of 1.2 GHz, and they are supported by the Adreno 306 graphics accelerator. The smartphone has 1 GB of RAM, 16 GB of storage, which can be expanded using microSD memory cards. By the way, about them. In the Samsung Galaxy A3, the memory card slot is combined with a slot for a second SIM card. As you already understand, the Galaxy A3 is a dual-SIM smartphone. However, if you install a memory card in it, there will be no space left for a second SIM card.

Samsung on Qualcomm. This phrase can please or at least reassure most geeks, but specifically in this case, everything is not so smooth. It would seem that with processors manufactured by Qualcomm, modern mobile games should at a minimum run smoothly and stably, and, at a maximum, show everything they are capable of. But no. No matter how hard I tried, Real Racing 3 could not start on the Galaxy A3, but Dead Trigger 2 can be played without any problems even at maximum settings.

Operating system – Android 4.4.4 KitKat with a proprietary TouchWiz interface to boot. It’s cool (although probably not so cool today) that the manufacturer installed a relatively recent version of Android into the smartphone, and it’s not entirely cool that the version of the proprietary shell is somewhat stripped down. It’s not clear why, but the HDR mode in the standard camera application, for example, became a victim of this “cutdown”.

As befits a mid-range smartphone, the synthetic tests of the Samsung Galaxy A3 do not have enough stars from the sky.

I was pleasantly surprised by the battery. Having familiarized yourself with the characteristics of the device, you think: “How many minutes of smartphone operation will 1900 mAh be enough for today?” But after spending some time with the Galaxy A3, you realize that this battery capacity is quite enough for a day of use. Of course, the manufacturer could have installed a more capacious battery, but for the Galaxy A3 its thickness plays a big role.

Indeed, the design of the new Galaxy A3 is sharply different from that of its older brother. The metal body with fairly sharp edges was replaced by a glass body; only the rim along the edges remained metal. The new Galaxy A3 turned out to be smooth, rounded and in some ways more modern when compared, for example, with the Galaxy S6, with which the smartphone has a lot in common.

In general, a device from the mid-price segment looks and feels no worse than flagships and follows the trends that they set.

However, surprises are hidden behind the beautiful wrapper: at first you need to make an effort and control every movement of your hand and fingers just so that the device does not fall out of your hand. Such impressions arise precisely when moving from the old version of A3 to the new one. However, very quickly the problem disappears on its own.

Compared to the A3 (2015), the new model has gained a little weight (110 g versus 132), and at the same time the screen diagonal has increased, which is now 4.7 inches. The frames on the sides of the screen have become twice as narrow, now they are really almost invisible. The upper and lower ones have not changed in length, but the dotted pattern on them has disappeared. In addition, on the front panel you can see the main button that has become larger and more rounded, as well as the light sensors that have moved to the left of the speaker.

The changes affected other aspects of the smartphone more strongly. The speaker moved from the main camera to the bottom edge and acquired a look similar to that of the Galaxy S6: five neat dots arranged in two rows. In this regard, the headset jack had to move to the left side of the bottom edge. The microUSB connector remains untouched. The right side received one common connector for a memory card and a SIM card, replacing two of the previous model. On the left side, the designers decided to divide the volume rocker into two independent keys. The main camera, by the way, has become much less protruding beyond the body, but still rises slightly above the rear panel.

Dmitry Shestoperov/Gazeta.Ru

Screen

The new Galaxy A3 has a traditional Super AMOLED display. Along with the increase in screen diagonal, the display resolution has also increased. The previous model had only 960x540 pixels (qHD), the current one has 1280x720 (HD). The number of pixels per inch has also increased significantly: from 245 pixels to 312.

It is noticeable that Samsung did a good job on the screen. In the new version, the colors look more rich and rich. In addition, the screen's response speed to touches has increased; while comparing, the Galaxy A3 (2016) is noticeably ahead of its predecessor.

Hardware characteristics and performance

Changes for the better affected all indicators. The only thing that remains unchanged is 16 GB of internal memory, which is also expandable with cards, and the front camera with the same 5 megapixels.

In the new A3, Samsung abandoned the quad-core Snapdragon 410 in favor of its own quad-core Exynos 7580. The frequency increased from 1.2 to 1.5 GHz. Such changes made it possible to noticeably speed up the new version of the device - both when simply surfing the Internet, and in demanding toys. In Asphalt 8, the Galaxy A3 (2015) experiences difficulties even in the menu: the new version of the device shows quite acceptable picture quality and the absence of noticeable “lags”.

With all this, the RAM of the Galaxy A3 (2016) has not grown so much - 1.5 GB versus the old 1 GB. Interestingly, even last year's A5 and A7 models were equipped with 2 GB; Why Samsung decided to stop at a fraction of the amount of RAM is not entirely clear.

In the AnTuTu benchmark, the difference in the results of the two versions is not striking: A3 (2015) scored a little more than 23 thousand points, A3 (2016) - 30 thousand. The most significant changes affected the 3D graph, the new version received 4000 points against 460 in the previous one for this indicator.

The battery of the updated version received 2300 mAh, while the previous version had 1900 mAh. However, there is no noticeable difference in operating time.

The new device runs Android 5.1.1, while the previous model at the beginning of sales was equipped with Android 4.4, which was subsequently updated to 5.0.2.

Camera

The main camera has undergone minor changes. Now it has 13 megapixels instead of 8 megapixels. However, the quality of shooting on it has not improved much. It’s hard to distinguish two pictures from different devices with the naked eye (especially on a small display), only when you zoom in, you notice that the Galaxy A3 (2016) has clearer outlines of distant objects.

Photo taken on Galaxy A3 (2015)

Photo taken on Galaxy A3 (2016)

The front camera, despite the same megapixels, still shoots a little better. Even in low light, the smartphone manages to take good photos.

Compared to the previous model, the new A3 produces more natural colors, and there are no significant changes in terms of image detail.

Bottom line

The new Galaxy A3 has a really beautiful design, although it cannot be said to be original. However, there are several questions about the device. For example, it’s not very clear why, of the entire updated line, only the A3 received neither a fingerprint scanner, nor support for two-position Wi-Fi, nor improved image stabilization, nor even 2 GB of memory.

If you compare it with the Galaxy A5 (2015), they are similar in many respects; the new A3 even loses in terms of RAM capacity. It turns out that devices from the same line (A3, A5, A7) seem to develop indirectly from each other, A3 (2016) only came closer to A5 (2015).

Of course, compared to the A3 (2015), the updated device is more powerful, and the main trump card is the softer, smoother and more rounded design of the device. But if we take into account Samsung devices from other lines, the positioning of the A3 (2016) remains very vague. The expected price is 20 thousand rubles, a little less now costs, for example, Galaxy A5 (2015).

Information about the make, model, and alternative names of the specific device, if available.

Design

Information about the dimensions and weight of the device, presented in different units of measurement. Materials used, colors offered, certificates.

Width Width information - refers to the horizontal side of the device in its standard orientation during use.	65.5 mm (millimeters) 6.55 cm (centimeters) 0.21 ft (feet) 2.58 in (inches)
Height Height information - refers to the vertical side of the device in its standard orientation during use.	130.1 mm (millimeters) 13.01 cm (centimeters) 0.43 ft (feet) 5.12 in (inches)
Thickness Information about the thickness of the device in different units of measurement.	6.9 mm (millimeters) 0.69 cm (centimeters) 0.02 ft (feet) 0.27 in (inches)
Weight Information about the weight of the device in different units of measurement.	110 g (grams) 0.24 lbs 3.89 oz (ounces)
Volume The approximate volume of the device, calculated based on the dimensions provided by the manufacturer. Refers to devices with the shape of a rectangular parallelepiped.	58.8 cm³ (cubic centimeters) 3.57 in³ (cubic inches)
Colors Information about the colors in which this device is offered for sale.	White Black Silver Pink Blue Golden
Materials for making the case Materials used to make the device body.	Metal Glass

SIM card

The SIM card is used in mobile devices to store data that certifies the authenticity of mobile service subscribers.

Mobile networks

A mobile network is a radio system that allows multiple mobile devices to communicate with each other.

GSM GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) is designed to replace the analogue mobile network (1G). For this reason, GSM is often called a 2G mobile network. It is improved by the addition of GPRS (General Packet Radio Services), and later EDGE (Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution) technologies.	GSM 850 MHz GSM 900 MHz GSM 1800 MHz GSM 1900 MHz
TD-SCDMA TD-SCDMA (Time Division Synchronous Code Division Multiple Access) is a 3G mobile network standard. It is also called UTRA/UMTS-TDD LCR. It was developed as an alternative to the W-CDMA standard in China by the Chinese Academy of Telecommunications Technology, Datang Telecom and Siemens. TD-SCDMA combines TDMA and CDMA.	TD-SCDMA 1880-1920 MHz TD-SCDMA 2010-2025 MHz
UMTS UMTS is an abbreviation for Universal Mobile Telecommunications System. It is based on the GSM standard and belongs to 3G mobile networks. Developed by 3GPP and its biggest advantage is providing greater speed and spectral efficiency thanks to W-CDMA technology.	UMTS 850 MHz UMTS 900 MHz UMTS 1900 MHz UMTS 2100 MHz
LTE LTE (Long Term Evolution) is defined as a fourth generation (4G) technology. It is developed by 3GPP based on GSM/EDGE and UMTS/HSPA to increase the capacity and speed of wireless mobile networks. The subsequent technology development is called LTE Advanced.	LTE 800 MHz LTE 850 MHz LTE 900 MHz LTE 1800 MHz LTE 2100 MHz LTE 2600 MHz LTE-TDD 1900 MHz (B39) LTE-TDD 2300 MHz (B40) LTE-TDD 2500 MHz (B41) LTE-TDD 2600 MHz (B38)

Mobile communication technologies and data transfer speeds

Communication between devices on mobile networks is carried out using technologies that provide different data transfer rates.

Operating system

An operating system is a system software that manages and coordinates the operation of hardware components in a device.

SoC (System on Chip)

A system on a chip (SoC) includes all the most important hardware components of a mobile device on one chip.

SoC (System on Chip) A system on a chip (SoC) integrates various hardware components, such as a processor, graphics processor, memory, peripherals, interfaces, etc., as well as the software necessary for their operation.	Qualcomm Snapdragon 410 MSM8916
Technological process Information about the technological process by which the chip is manufactured. Nanometers measure half the distance between elements in the processor.	28 nm (nanometers)
Processor (CPU) The primary function of a mobile device's processor (CPU) is to interpret and execute instructions contained in software applications.	ARM Cortex-A53
Processor size The size (in bits) of a processor is determined by the size (in bits) of the registers, address buses, and data buses. 64-bit processors have higher performance compared to 32-bit processors, which in turn are more powerful than 16-bit processors.	64 bit
Instruction Set Architecture Instructions are commands with which the software sets/controls the operation of the processor. Information about the instruction set (ISA) that the processor can execute.	ARMv8
Level 0 cache (L0) Some processors have L0 (level 0) cache, which is faster to access than L1, L2, L3, etc. The advantage of having such memory is not only higher performance, but also reduced power consumption.	4 kB + 4 kB (kilobytes)
Level 1 cache (L1) Cache memory is used by the processor to reduce access time to more frequently used data and instructions. L1 (level 1) cache is small in size and works much faster than both system memory and other cache levels. If the processor does not find the requested data in L1, it continues to look for it in the L2 cache. On some processors, this search is performed simultaneously in L1 and L2.	16 kB + 16 kB (kilobytes)
Level 2 cache (L2) L2 (level 2) cache is slower than L1 cache, but in return it has a higher capacity, allowing it to cache more data. It, like L1, is much faster than system memory (RAM). If the processor does not find the requested data in L2, it continues to look for it in the L3 cache (if available) or in RAM memory.	2048 kB (kilobytes) 2 MB (megabytes)
Number of processor cores The processor core executes software instructions. There are processors with one, two or more cores. Having more cores increases performance by allowing multiple instructions to be executed in parallel.	4
CPU clock speed The clock speed of a processor describes its speed in terms of cycles per second. It is measured in megahertz (MHz) or gigahertz (GHz).	1200 MHz (megahertz)
Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) The Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) handles calculations for various 2D/3D graphics applications. In mobile devices, it is most often used by games, consumer interfaces, video applications, etc.	Qualcomm Adreno 306
GPU clock speed Running speed is the clock speed of the GPU, measured in megahertz (MHz) or gigahertz (GHz).	400 MHz (megahertz)
Amount of random access memory (RAM) Random access memory (RAM) is used by the operating system and all installed applications. Data stored in RAM is lost after the device is turned off or restarted.	1 GB (gigabytes)
Type of random access memory (RAM) Information about the type of random access memory (RAM) used by the device.	LPDDR3
Number of RAM channels Information about the number of RAM channels that are integrated into the SoC. More channels mean higher data rates.	Single channel
RAM frequency The frequency of RAM determines its operating speed, more specifically, the speed of reading/writing data.	533 MHz (megahertz)
	SM-A300FU - 1.5 GB RAM

Built-in memory

Each mobile device has built-in (non-removable) memory with a fixed capacity.

Memory cards

Memory cards are used in mobile devices to increase the storage capacity for storing data.

Screen

The screen of a mobile device is characterized by its technology, resolution, pixel density, diagonal length, color depth, etc.

Type/technology One of the main characteristics of the screen is the technology by which it is made and on which the quality of the information image directly depends.	Super AMOLED
Diagonal For mobile devices, screen size is expressed by the length of its diagonal, measured in inches.	4.5 in (inches) 114.3 mm (millimeters) 11.43 cm (centimeters)
Width Approximate screen width	2.21 in (inches) 56.04 mm (millimeters) 5.6 cm (centimeters)
Height Approximate screen height	3.92 in (inches) 99.62 mm (millimeters) 9.96 cm (centimeters)
Aspect Ratio The ratio of the dimensions of the long side of the screen to its short side	1.778:1 16:9
Permission Screen resolution shows the number of pixels vertically and horizontally on the screen. Higher resolution means clearer image detail.	540 x 960 pixels
Pixel Density Information about the number of pixels per centimeter or inch of the screen. Higher density allows information to be displayed on the screen with clearer detail.	245 ppi (pixels per inch) 96 ppcm (pixels per centimeter)
Color depth Screen color depth reflects the total number of bits used for color components in one pixel. Information about the maximum number of colors the screen can display.	24 bit 16777216 flowers
Screen area Approximate percentage of screen area occupied by the screen on the front of the device.	65.72% (percent)
Other characteristics Information about other screen features and characteristics.	Capacitive Multi-touch

Sensors

Different sensors perform different quantitative measurements and convert physical indicators into signals that a mobile device can recognize.

Main camera

The main camera of a mobile device is usually located on the back of the body and is used for taking photos and videos.

Sensor type Digital cameras use photo sensors to take photographs. The sensor, as well as optics, are one of the main factors in the quality of the camera in a mobile device.	CMOS (complementary metal-oxide semiconductor)
Diaphragm Aperture (f-number) is the size of the aperture opening that controls the amount of light reaching the photosensor. A lower f-number means the aperture opening is larger.	f/2.4
Flash type The most common types of flashes in mobile device cameras are LED and xenon flashes. LED flashes produce softer light and, unlike brighter xenon flashes, are also used for video shooting.	LED
Image Resolution One of the main characteristics of mobile device cameras is their resolution, which shows the number of horizontal and vertical pixels in the image.	3264 x 2448 pixels 7.99 MP (megapixels)
Video resolution Information about the maximum supported resolution when shooting video with the device.	1920 x 1080 pixels 2.07 MP (megapixels)
Video - frame rate/frames per second. Information about the maximum number of frames per second (fps) supported by the device when shooting video at the maximum resolution. Some of the main standard video shooting and playback speeds are 24p, 25p, 30p, 60p.	30fps (frames per second)
Characteristics Information about other software and hardware features related to the main camera and improving its functionality.	Autofocus Continuous shooting Digital zoom Digital image stabilization Geographical tags Panoramic photography HDR shooting Touch Focus Face recognition White Balance Adjustment ISO Setting Exposure compensation Scene Selection Mode Macro mode

Additional camera

Additional cameras are usually mounted above the device screen and are used mainly for video conversations, gesture recognition, etc.

Audio

Information about the type of speakers and audio technologies supported by the device.

Radio

The radio of the mobile device is a built-in FM receiver.

Location determination

Information about the navigation and location technologies supported by your device.

WiFi

Wi-Fi is a technology that provides wireless communication for transmitting data over close distances between various devices.

Bluetooth

Bluetooth is a standard for secure wireless data transfer between various devices of different types over short distances.

Version There are several versions of Bluetooth, with each subsequent one improving communication speed, coverage, and making devices easier to discover and connect. Information about the Bluetooth version of the device.	4.0
Characteristics Bluetooth uses different profiles and protocols that provide faster data transfer, energy savings, improved device discovery, etc. Some of these profiles and protocols that the device supports are shown here.	A2DP (Advanced Audio Distribution Profile) AVRCP (Audio/Visual Remote Control Profile) DIP (Device ID Profile) EDR (Enhanced Data Rate) HFP (Hands-Free Profile) HID (Human Interface Profile) HSP (Headset Profile) LE (Low Energy) MAP (Message Access Profile) OPP (Object Push Profile) PAN (Personal Area Networking Profile) PBAP/PAB (Phone Book Access Profile) SAP/SIM/rSAP (SIM Access Profile)

USB

USB (Universal Serial Bus) is an industry standard that allows different electronic devices to exchange data.

Headphone jack

This is an audio connector, also called an audio jack. The most widely used standard in mobile devices is the 3.5mm headphone jack.

Connecting devices

Information about other important connection technologies supported by your device.

Browser

A web browser is a software application for accessing and viewing information on the Internet.

Browser Information about some of the main characteristics and standards supported by the device's browser.

HTML HTML5 CSS 3

Audio file formats/codecs

Mobile devices support different audio file formats and codecs, which respectively store and encode/decode digital audio data.

Video file formats/codecs

Mobile devices support different video file formats and codecs, which respectively store and encode/decode digital video data.

Battery

Mobile device batteries differ from each other in their capacity and technology. They provide the electrical charge necessary for their functioning.

Capacity A battery's capacity indicates the maximum charge it can hold, measured in milliamp-hours.	1900 mAh (milliamp-hours)
Type The type of battery is determined by its structure and, more precisely, the chemicals used. There are different types of batteries, with lithium-ion and lithium-ion polymer batteries being the most commonly used batteries in mobile devices.	Li-Ion (Lithium-ion)
2G talk time 2G talk time is the period of time during which the battery charge is completely discharged during a continuous conversation on a 2G network.	12 h (hours) 720 min (minutes) 0.5 days
3G talk time 3G talk time is the period of time during which the battery charge is completely discharged during a continuous conversation on a 3G network.	12 h (hours) 720 min (minutes) 0.5 days
Characteristics Information about some additional characteristics of the device's battery.	Fixed

Specific Absorption Rate (SAR)

The SAR level refers to the amount of electromagnetic radiation absorbed by the human body while using a mobile device.

Head SAR level (EU) The SAR level indicates the maximum amount of electromagnetic radiation that the human body is exposed to when holding a mobile device close to the ear in a conversation position. In Europe, the maximum permissible SAR value for mobile devices is limited to 2 W/kg per 10 grams of human tissue. This standard has been established by CENELEC in accordance with IEC standards, subject to the guidelines of ICNIRP 1998.	0.39 W/kg (Watt per kilogram)
Body SAR level (EU) The SAR level indicates the maximum amount of electromagnetic radiation to which the human body is exposed when holding a mobile device at hip level. The maximum permissible SAR value for mobile devices in Europe is 2 W/kg per 10 grams of human tissue. This standard has been established by the CENELEC Committee in compliance with the ICNIRP 1998 guidelines and IEC standards.	0.554 W/kg (Watt per kilogram)
Head SAR level (US) The SAR level indicates the maximum amount of electromagnetic radiation that the human body is exposed to when holding a mobile device near the ear. The maximum value used in the USA is 1.6 W/kg per 1 gram of human tissue. Mobile devices in the US are regulated by the CTIA, and the FCC conducts tests and sets their SAR values.	1.462 W/kg (Watt per kilogram)
Body SAR level (US) The SAR level indicates the maximum amount of electromagnetic radiation to which the human body is exposed when holding a mobile device at hip level. The highest permissible SAR value in the USA is 1.6 W/kg per 1 gram of human tissue. This value is set by the FCC, and the CTIA monitors mobile devices' compliance with this standard.	1.153 W/kg (Watt per kilogram)

In the interface of the "Camera" application, in addition to "Auto", it is proposed to use the following shooting modes - "Retouching", "Panorama", "Auto selfie", "Continuous shooting", "Rich tones", "Night" and "GIF animation" . In the settings, you can select the desired image size and video resolution, turn on the flash, decide on white balance, exposure value, etc. There are also three filters available here – “Negative”, “Sepia” and “Shades of Gray”. The volume rocker can easily be assigned to release the shutter, start video recording, or digital zoom. It is convenient to move frequently used touch buttons in the settings to the top of the screen, where by default the settings, flash and camera change icons are located.

As for the front camera, it was equipped with a 5-megapixel matrix, which clearly exceeds the usual needs of video communication via Skype, but allows you to take fairly high-quality “selfies”. After all, the maximum frame size with an aspect ratio of 4:3 (5 MP) is 2576x1932 pixels. For fans of “self-shooting”, there are three modes – “Self-portrait”, “GIF-animation” and “Group selfie” (groofy). In the settings, you can take selfies using gestures, as well as simple tools for adjusting self-portraits.

GIF Animation mode allows you to take up to 20 consecutive frames and then automatically combine them into one animated GIF file.

Using both cameras, you can record videos in Full HD quality (resolution 1920x1080 pixels, 16:9) with a frame rate of 30 fps. During this process, you can take photographs with a resolution of 3264x1836 pixels for the main camera (6 MP, 16:9), and 2576x1449 pixels for the front camera (3.7 MP, 16:9). All video content is saved in MP4 container files (AVC - video, AAC - audio).

Having only one speaker, the device nevertheless reproduces music well - its sound is quite clear, although the volume control range could be increased. Even if the smartphone is lying on a flat surface “on its back”, its speaker grille does not overlap, since this is prevented by the chrome edging of the main photo module lens, which protrudes a couple of millimeters.

The A3 has a built-in FM tuner that supports online recording of any radio broadcast. Let us remind you that as a short-wave antenna, you must connect a wired headset or headphones to your smartphone.

Filling, performance

The Galaxy A3 smartphone received a 4-core Snapdragon 410 chip (MSM8916) from Qualcomm, which is made according to 28 nm design standards. This is the first 64-bit processor from this company, which uses the ARMv8 instruction system and the ARM Cortex-A53 core architecture, operating here at a clock frequency of 1.2 GHz.

Graphics acceleration is handled by the on-chip coprocessor Adreno 306 (400 MHz). The signal processor located there also supports photo modules with matrices up to 13 MP and video recording with Full HD 1080p quality. The Snapdragon 410 has a built-in LTE modem that supports the vast majority of the world's 4G/LTE and 3G generation networks, while providing work with two or even three SIM cards. There are also wireless communications Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, NFC, a multi-system receiver for satellite navigation (GPS/GLONASS/Beidou) and FM radio.

The basic configuration of the tested smartphone includes 1 GB of RAM, which is quite a bit by modern standards, especially considering the memory-hungry TouchWiz shell. Therefore, the results obtained in tests for the A3 model are, in principle, not bad, but far from record-breaking. Note that the 400 series chips are positioned for middle-class devices, while they are promoted as the optimal choice in terms of price-performance ratio.

In synthetic tests of AnTuTu Benchmark version 5.6.1, the new model was at the bottom of the displayed list of results, earning only 18,819 “virtual parrots”.

In the Vellamo benchmarks, the smartphone did not stand out in anything special in terms of the amount of horsepower (Metal) and the efficiency of using processor cores (Multicore), which only confirmed the “average” filling.

If we forget about the low screen resolution (960x544 pixels), then for the two main settings on the Epic Citadel visual test, the A3’s results turned out to be simply flagship. Thus, the average frame rate for High Performance and High Quality (performance at the expense of quality and vice versa) was 59.1 and 58.1 fps, respectively. And the result for the Ultra High Quality setting was also, in general, not so bad - 44.2 fps.

The far from record-breaking results on the universal gaming benchmark 3DMark, obtained, in particular, on the Ice Storm Extreme test recommended for this smartphone, do not look like a tragedy. Let us remind you that the A3 model is not at all positioned for cool 3D games.

Of the 16 GB of internal memory in the A3, only about 11.9 GB is available, and even less is free. For expansion, there is a slot designed for microSD/HC/XC memory cards with a maximum capacity of 64 GB. The device does not support USB-OTG technology.

As already noted, the new Snapdragon 410 chip supports wireless interfaces, of which the A3 implements IEEE 802.11 b/g/n (one frequency range 2.4 GHz), Bluetooth 4.0 (LE), and NFC. When installing a SIM card (nanoSIM), not only 2G/3G cellular networks are available, but also LTE - 4G. 4 (150 Mbit/s). It is possible to install two such subscriber identification modules (both 4FF formats), but then you will have to abandon the card to expand the built-in memory, which is not very cool.

When determining its location using the AndroiTS GPS Test program, the test copy of the smartphone was limited to only A-GPS, for some reason ignoring satellites from the GPS and GLONASS constellations. Most likely, this is a bug of the test device, although the first thing I wanted to blame was problems with the antennas in the all-metal case.

Pros:

• Compact design
• New 64-bit platform
• Protective glass Corning Gorilla Glass 4
• Good battery life
• LTE support

Minuses:

• Costs much more than other smartphones with similar characteristics
• Low screen resolution
• The second SIM card eliminates the installation of a memory card

Samsung Galaxy Note 4: smartphone review

Samsung Galaxy Note 4: smartphone review Price and availability: http://rozetka.com.ua/samsung_galaxy_note_4_frost_white/p1369627/ Video review of Samsung Galaxy Note 4 Watch reviews of other smartphones: http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDF13DB9F6AC560F2 All Samsung smartphones: http:/ /rozetka.com.ua/mobile-phones/c80003/filter/preset=smartfon;producer=samsung/ All smartphones with 5.55" - 6" screen: http://rozetka.com.ua/mobile-phones/c80003/filter /23777=114812/ Join us on social networks! VKontakte: http://vk.com/club20877147 Facebook: http://facebook.com/rozetka.ua Google+: https://plus.google.com/+rozetka/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/rozetka_news Read our news and advice on choosing! http://rozetka.com.ua/news-articles-promotions/ Super Amoled display - 5.7 inches, with a resolution of 2560x1440 pixels, with incredible infinite contrast, excellent viewing angles, good brightness and the same anti-glare filter, thanks to which even in bright conditions The sun picture is not only visible, it also practically does not fade. All this splendor is covered with Gorilla Glass 3 with slightly rounded corners, and thanks to them and the effective oleophobic coating, swiping is a real pleasure. As usual with Samsung, two versions are coming to the market on Exynos and Snapdragon 805. 3GB of RAM, 32GB of built-in memory, expandable with micro SD cards up to 128GB. Android version 4.4.4 is covered with a touch visa shell with a flat design. Note 4 is able to determine the direction and timbre of the voice and record each interlocutor in a separate file, and while listening you can turn anyone off and on, I think journalists and stenographers will be delighted. The multi-window mode has been improved - now you can run almost any application in a window that you can reduce, move, or basically do whatever you want with it. The 16MP camera with phase detection autofocus has not undergone any significant changes compared to the S5, except that optical stabilization has appeared in Samsung smartphones for the first time, and now the laptop not only has some of the best daytime photos with good color rendition and detail, but also significantly improved photos in low light, however, they do not reach the title of the best in these conditions. Autofocus works very quickly and accurately even at night, HDR images are saved exactly as long as regular ones - that is, instantly. The video is smooth, with a good bitrate, it has become even better thanks to the stabilizer and is recorded in resolutions up to 4k or 720p with the ability to slow down and speed up up to 8 times. The front camera is interesting with a resolution of 3. 7MP, aperture 1.9 and the ability to create panoramic selfies. PT12M45S

Video review of Samsung Galaxy A3

Samsung Galaxy Alpha: smartphone review

Samsung Galaxy Alpha: smartphone review Price and availability: http://rozetka.com.ua/samsung_galaxy_alpha_sm_g850f_charcoal_black/p1280725/ Video review of the Samsung Galaxy Alpha smartphone Watch reviews of other smartphones: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDF13DB9F6AC560F2 All Samsung smartphones: http:/ /rozetka.com.ua/mobile-phones/samsung/c80003/v012/ All flagship smartphones: http://rozetka.com.ua/mobile-phones/c80003/filter/price=5700-14499;sort=cheap/ Join contact us on social networks! VKontakte: http://vk.com/club20877147 Facebook: http://facebook.com/rozetka.ua Google+: https://plus.google.com/+rozetka/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/rozetka_news Read our news and advice on choosing! http://rozetka.com.ua/news-articles-promotions/ PT10M41S

Review of the Apple iPhone 5s smartphone

Review of the Apple iPhone 5s smartphone Price and availability: http://rozetka.com.ua/apple_iphone_5s_32gb_space_gray/p331005/ Video review of the Apple iPhone 5s smartphone Watch reviews of other smartphones: http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDF13DB9F6AC560F2 All Apple smartphones: http:/ /rozetka.com.ua/mobile-phones/c80003/filter/preset=smartfon;producer=apple/ Join us on social networks! VKontakte: http://vk.com/club20877147 Facebook: http://facebook.com/rozetka.ua Google+: https://plus.google.com/+rozetka/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/rozetka_news Read our news and advice on choosing! http://rozetka.com.ua/news-articles-promotions/ PT11M4S

2016-02-16 00:23:57 February 16, 2016, 0:23:57 Microsoft and Samsung are silent about the release of an update to Windows 10 Mobile for ATIV series smartphones, which has given rise to rumors that these devices will not be updated and will forever remain with Windows Phone 8.1. One user of the Reddit forum shared a rather interesting story related to a smartphone... February 14, 2016, 21:06:25 Poor or simply smart iPhone fans update smartphones in two lines: numbered (3,4,5,6) and with the “S” prefix. Fans of Samsung flagships practice a similar approach, but in relation to the Galaxy S and Note lines. The latter’s devices will be released at the end of the year, more powerful and more refined than the flagship. In 2016,...

2016-02-12 19:48:03 February 12, 2016 19:48:03 According to reports from many users from different countries, changing the date to January 1, 1970 may render your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch running iOS 9 or higher non-functional. A bug in the mobile operating system allows you to turn a device with an A7, A8, A8X, A9 and A9X processor... Today our guest is Xiaomi Mi Pad 2 - a tablet in a metal case, equipped with a new Intel Atom X5-Z8500 processor. Externally, it is very similar to the Apple iPad mini, has the same high-resolution display, but is cheaper. In the review we will talk in detail about its capabilities. LineXiaomi...

2016-01-21 00:23:00 January 21, 2016, 0:23:00 Rumors that the Chinese company Meizu plans to release a communicator based on Ubuntu Touch appeared at the beginning of last year. Throughout 2014, the company periodically demonstrates a prototype of the device at exhibitions and in the fall announces that Meizu MX4 on Ubuntu Touch will be released in December, some reports...

2016-01-20 19:45:31 January 20, 2016 19:45:31 Most Android phones I've dealt with have met a simple requirement: maximum functionality for minimum money. Therefore, when the opportunity arose to try something like an analogue of the Samsung Galaxy S3, and at the same time costing only 13 thousand (actually 12990, but these are marketing gimmicks), I... The Russian brand Highscreen has in its arsenal a large number of models for every taste and budget, no matter how formulaic it may sound. The device we’ll talk about today belongs to the budget segment (7-8 thousand rubles). At the same time, it has a nice thin case (6.9 mm) and a complete set...

The year begins with the release of three mid-priced devices in the Galaxy A line. The 2017 devices are the most impressive of them. Samsung has managed to create all three models with an exceptional look and feel, much like its high-end smartphones. Among the three new products, the Galaxy A3 is the most compact and affordable model.

The device has a 4.7-inch Super AMOLED screen and looks very much like the Galaxy S7, having the same stylish glass and metal design, the same high rating of protection against water and dust, a first for smartphones of this price.

Naturally, in order to reduce the price, compromises had to be made. It doesn't use the fastest processor, has less flash memory, and has a few other weak points, but what about the value for money?

Design

In terms of looks, the Galaxy A3 2017 is as attractive as it gets. This review looked at the beautiful glossy black version of the device; the body, made of glass and metal, feels very solid, and the build quality is at a high level. As a result, you might think that you are holding a flagship smartphone in your hands; thanks to the slight curve of the back of the case and its compact size, the device fits especially comfortably in the hand. The thickness of the case is less than one might expect, the smartphone is well balanced, its weight eliminates the feeling of excessive lightness or emptiness. The smartphone feels monolithic. Every aspect of this device feels well thought out, even the side buttons are made of metal and have a good action and feel.

One of the disadvantages of this beauty of a glass case is the presence of a lot of fingerprints on it. They accumulate very quickly and turn the device into a rather dirty one; you need to constantly wipe it or put it in a case. On the black version of the smartphone in question, this problem is especially noticeable, but with other colors it is not so noticeable. Samsung offers gold, blue and peach versions of the device.

Another distinctive feature of the smartphone is its compact size: the screen is 4.7 inches, there are thin frames around the edges, so the size of the smartphone is even smaller than that of the compact iPhone 7. As a result, it is very comfortable to hold with one hand.

Another good thing is that Samsung has abandoned the outdated microUSB connector and even the affordable Galaxy A3 now uses a modern USB type C interface. There is also a traditional 3.5 mm headphone jack, to which you can also connect speakers and AUX cables.

The main superpower of this smartphone is to protect the case from water. Galaxy A3 2017 meets the requirements of the IP68 standard, it is one of the cheapest smartphones with such protection. It can be immersed in fresh water for half an hour to a depth of up to one and a half meters. As a result, you don’t have to worry about splashes and getting caught in the rain, and you don’t have to worry about dropping your smartphone in a sink or puddle.

Screen

It uses a Super AMOLED panel with a 720 x 1280 pixel PenTile resolution, which means there are fewer colors per pixel compared to RGB, so it's sharper. If you look closely, you can see the jagged edges of some icons and text, but during normal use no one will notice this.

What makes a screen good is not its resolution or sharpness, but its color rendition. Here, in this regard, everything is in perfect order. The screen itself is extremely smooth, allowing your finger to glide smoothly across it, and colors are tuned to the sRGB range used for photos and videos. The whites are a little blue and all the colors are a little brighter than they should be, but overall this is a great screen for its price range.

Samsung allows users to customize color rendering. To do this, open Settings > Display > Screen Mode and select one of four color modes. Adaptive mode brings the most accurate colors, but at the same time they cannot be called realistic. The basic mode is close to the generally accepted standard and is recommended to be used.

The maximum brightness of the screen is 440 nits, which allows you to comfortably work with it outdoors under the sun's rays. The minimum brightness is only 1 nit, which reduces eye strain in the dark. Samsung is also keeping up with the competition and has included a blue light filter here for use in the evenings. It can be set to automatically turn on and off in the morning, as the color blue is thought to be responsible for the production of a certain hormone that interferes with sleep.

The new Galaxy A3 also has an Always-On Display feature that shows the time, date and types of missed notifications on the lock screen (but not the notifications themselves). This screen produces text with good contrast, but noticeably increases battery drain rates.

Interface and functionality

Samsung and Google developers do not waste time and are constantly improving their products, as a result Android and the South Korean manufacturer’s own software shell are becoming better and better. The Galaxy A3 2017 features Samsung's Grace user interface, which is noticeably cleaner, more logical and more thoughtful than previous versions. It not only looks nice in appearance, but is also easy to use. Samsung has also worked on its applications: mail, weather, calendar offer a modern appearance, information content and simplicity.

The updated notification panel got rid of useless switches, but the necessary ones remained. The new settings menu offers important options and no longer looks chaotic, instead we see a well-organized list with search. You can search for applications in the application list, and you can also search here in the Google Play store, which does not require a separate icon. The new device manager helps you find and get rid of malicious and energy-wasting apps.

Experienced users will appreciate features like Secure Folders that Samsung introduced in the Galaxy Note 7. This is where you can store your most sensitive data and documents. You can even put a separate Google account here.

Despite its small size, the Galaxy A3 has an excellent keyboard. True, we couldn’t find a setting to enable vibration when keys are pressed, which works great on most Samsung devices, but still the keyboard is one of the most accurate and fastest on Android.

Despite all the advantages, the new Galaxy A3 has the disadvantage of almost all Android smartphones that do not belong to the flagship category. The smartphone runs on outdated software and receives updates very late or does not receive them at all. What has recently changed for the better is the situation with receiving security updates, which began to appear monthly. However, with major Android updates, Google and Samsung need to do something to ensure they come out more quickly.

Processor, performance and memory

Galaxy A3 2017 uses Samsung Exynos 7870 processor and 2GB of RAM. This is a step down from the Exynos 7880-powered Galaxy A5. Both chips are octa-core with Cortex-A53 cores, but the Galaxy A3 is clocked at 1.6GHz versus the Galaxy A5's 1.9GHz.

As a result, the smartphone cannot be called powerful, but the processor is based on a modern 14 nm process technology. This means greater energy efficiency than previous generations of smartphones, resulting in improved battery life.

The speed of daily work is at a normal level. Samsung has optimized its interface, which is fast and smooth, but you may notice that apps take quite a long time to launch.

The low screen resolution means that the smartphone is capable of gaming performance as good as the more expensive Galaxy A5, but the smartphone is clearly not designed for regular gaming. For him, they represent too much of a burden and comfort in them may be far from what is desired.

Benchmarks show that the device’s performance is on par with MediaTek Helio P10 processors; the processor does not reach the capabilities of the Snapdragon 625. Meanwhile, the latter is used in devices of the same price category, such as Huawei Nova.

Galaxy A3 received 16 GB of flash memory, of which about 10 GB is available to the user. MicroSD memory cards up to 256 GB are supported.

Internet and communications

The smartphone supports 4G LTE frequency bands in European and global markets. For Europe, bands 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 20 are available here. There are two slots for SIM cards, one of them is hybrid and instead of a SIM card you can install a microSD memory card in it.

Supports dual-band Wi-Fi a/b/g/n/ac, and payment system Samsung Pay, Bluetooth 4.2, GPS, Glonass and USB type C.

Camera

The main camera of the Galaxy A3 2017 has a resolution of 13 megapixels and an f/1.9 aperture; there is an 8 megapixel camera on the front. There's an LED flash on the back, but there's no image stabilization and no 4K support.

Let's start by praising the excellent camera app. It can be launched by double pressing the Home button, quickly and conveniently. A new application from Samsung is used here: the developers have removed everything unnecessary from the main screen, rarely used settings are hidden from view, all that remains are the shutter and video recording buttons, a shortcut to the gallery, flash control, settings and a switch between the rear and front cameras. If you want to manually adjust white balance or ISO, swipe left and select Pro mode, which has manual settings. A swipe to the right opens modes, Panorama and others. Various filters and styles for photos are also available here.

Image quality

The quality of photos on this smartphone is above average for devices in this price category. They offer vibrant colors and a good level of sharpness. The camera takes a long time to focus, so it's advisable not to use it when photographing moving subjects, but for everything else it's very good. In dynamic scenes, the brightest parts of the image usually turn out to be too bright; HDR is not turned on automatically; it is recommended to turn it on yourself. HDR improves photo quality, but not as noticeably as on some other smartphones. Panorama mode produces stunning images that seamlessly blend into the bigger picture.

In low light, the photo quality is not as good. Details become blurred and image sharpness disappears. The single flash is quite strong, but completely destroys the correct color rendering, adding a cold green tint.

As for the front camera, it produces wide-angle photos suitable for group shots. The quality of the photos cannot be called good, there is not enough detail and the skin tone is washed out.

Video quality

The camera supports 1080p video recording at 30 fps. The lack of 4K recording is expected at this price, but the Huawei Nova has it, so Samsung is lagging behind. Luckily, even at 1080p the video quality is good, with vibrant colors and proper sharpness and dynamics. Unfortunately, there's no video stabilization at all, so the results often come out shaky. Even the slightest movement of the hands during shooting results in the image jerking. It is the lack of stabilization that can be called the main drawback of this smartphone.

Sound quality

The speaker here is located on the side of the case. This is an unusual position, and he himself is quite small. The new Galaxy A series smartphones are the first to place speakers on the side so that they cannot be covered with your hand.

The sound quality from this speaker was surprisingly good. The volume is also at a high level.

Call quality

During telephone conversations, thanks to this smartphone, you can hear your interlocutor well and clearly through the ear, voices sound natural, the same applies to the other side of the line. Your interlocutors have no complaints about the clarity and volume of your voice.

Autonomous operation

The smartphone has a relatively small 2350 mAh battery, but it is paired with an efficient processor and a screen with a resolution of only 720p. As a result, the smartphone has excellent battery life, just like the rest of this year's Galaxy A line.

With the screen on, it showed a battery life of 11 hours, while the Galaxy S7, Google Pixel and iPhone 7 flagships last about 7 hours. In real life, a smartphone lasts about two days on a single charge, but you need to disable the Always-On Display function, which consumes approximately 1% of the charge every hour.

Samsung didn't include an Adaptive Fast Charge charger in the box, but the battery's small capacity means it can charge relatively quickly. It takes 112 minutes to recharge, which is worse compared to the OnePlus 3T and Galaxy S7, but better compared to the Google Pixel with its fast charging standard. There is also no support for wireless charging.

Conclusion

The Galaxy A3 2017 is a fascinating smartphone. It brings a level of design and interface sophistication previously unseen in devices of this price category. The same can be said regarding the protection of the housing from water.

The developers know about their successes and this year the smartphone has become more expensive: 330 euros instead of last year’s 300 euros. Of course, there are also disadvantages here, one of which is slow operation compared to flagship models. There is a noticeable delay between clicking on an icon and launching applications. The video has no stabilization, so it comes out shaky. The 16GB of flash memory is too small by modern standards, and the 720p screen leaves much to be desired in terms of sharpness.

These disadvantages pale in comparison to the advantages. You will enjoy the excellent design of the device every day you work with it, the bright, rich display produces vivid images, the Samsung Grace user interface has many settings and their convenient organization, the battery life is excellent, as is the quality of the photos.

Among the alternatives to this smartphone is the Honor 8 with a 5.2-inch screen, also beautiful and stylish, with a faster processor and the same high-quality photos and videos and battery life. The interface here is not that good, although the smartphone runs on Android Nougat.

Another option is the 4-inch iPhone SE, which is noticeably more powerful and regularly updated, with better photos and support for 4K video recording. Moreover, it costs 400 euros.

Two more new alternatives are the Moto G5 and Moto G5 Plus on the latest version of Android. Which of these devices to choose is up to each user to decide independently.

Pros:

• Chic design, use of glass and metal, thin and comfortable body;
• Water protection;
• Battery life;
• High-quality photographs in daylight;
• Great keyboard;
• Support for microSD memory cards;
• USB type C.

Minuses:

• Price;
• 16 GB flash memory;
• Lack of video stabilization;
• Android Marshmallow.