Samsung Galaxy Alpha vs A5 vs A3: specs comparison
Last year, Samsung execs gathered together, and concluded that the single biggest obstacle against their Galaxy line of phones' world domination was design. Specs they had mastered, but users were constantly clamoring for a little something something in the premium chassis department.
Well, that little something materialized in the form of the ultrathin, metal-sided Galaxy Alpha, that is undoubtedly a piece that looks and feels very premium, yet still keeps the signature removable plastic back cover. After reviewing the Alpha, we think that Samsung is on to something here, but now it went even further, and released the all-metal Galaxy A3 and A5, with sealed aluminum bodies. Let's recap what can we expect from those allegedly pricey lookers.
Well, that little something materialized in the form of the ultrathin, metal-sided Galaxy Alpha, that is undoubtedly a piece that looks and feels very premium, yet still keeps the signature removable plastic back cover. After reviewing the Alpha, we think that Samsung is on to something here, but now it went even further, and released the all-metal Galaxy A3 and A5, with sealed aluminum bodies. Let's recap what can we expect from those allegedly pricey lookers.
Samsung is actually making a U-turn with these not only in terms of design, but in specs as well, as it has equipped them with "mere" HD 720p and qHD 540x960 pixels AMOLED displays, and powered the phones with a lowly Snapdragon 410 that carries Adreno 306 GPUs, while the Alpha comes with more powerful chipsets. The 410 is a 64-bit processor, though, so the new metal phones from Samsung are Lollipop-ready, too. The A3 comes with 1 GB of RAM, while the A5 doubles that amount, so both fit nicely within their respective low-end and the midrange categories.
Tailoring these phones to the youth demographic, Samsung gives quite a bit extra in the camera department, outfitting the A5 with a 13 MP sensor, compared to 12 MP in the Alpha, while even the lowly A3 still comes with an 8 MP shooter on the back. It's the frontal cameras that are more interesting here, though - Samsung placed 5 MP wide-angle snappers on both, knowing perfectly well that the kids love'em selfie times. It has also introduced a few new software shenanigans to beautify and edit your selfie, before posting it on the social networks as if that's the real you. These include Wide Selfie, Palm Selfie, Animated GIF, Beauty Face Features, and Rear-cam Selfie - selfies go for the kill with those.
The choice of battery capacities is a bit underwhelming - a 1900 mAh juicer for the Galaxy A3, and a 2300 mAh one for the A5, though these are perhaps the highest capacities Samsung could fit in such Slim Jims. Given the wonders that Samsung achieved with the 1860 mAh pack of the Alpha, we wouldn't discard the possibility that these two are going to have excellent endurance either, though. Any takers?
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| Samsung Galaxy A5 | Samsung Galaxy A3 | Samsung Galaxy Alpha |
Design
| Dimensions | ||
|---|---|---|
| 5.48 x 2.74 x 0.26 inches 139.3 x 69.7 x 6.7 mm |
5.12 x 2.58 x 0.27 inches 130.1 x 65.5 x 6.9 mm |
5.21 x 2.58 x 0.26 inches 132.4 x 65.5 x 6.7 mm |
| Weight | ||
| 4.34 oz (123.0 g) | 3.89 oz (110.3 g) | 4.06 oz (115.0 g) |
| Materials | ||
| Back: Plastic Frame: Metal | Back: Plastic Frame: Metal | Back: Plastic Frame: Aluminum |
| Biometrics | ||
| Fingerprint (swipe) | ||
| Features | ||
| Touch sensitive control keys | ||
| Keys | ||
| Left: Volume control; Right: Lock/Unlock key | Left: Volume control; Right: Lock/Unlock key | |
| Colors | ||
| Pearl white, Midnight black, Platinum silver, Soft pink, Light blue, Champagne gold | Black, Gold, Gray, Pink, Blue, White | Black, Gold, Gray, Blue, White |
Display
| Size | ||
|---|---|---|
| 5.0-inch | 4.5-inch | 4.7-inch |
| Resolution | ||
| 1280x720px, 294 PPI | 960x540px, 245 PPI | 1280x720px, 312 PPI |
| Technology | ||
| Super AMOLED | Super AMOLED | Super AMOLED |
| Screen-to-body | ||
| 71.14 % | 66.09 % | 70.22 % |
| Colors | ||
| 16 777 216 | 16 777 216 | |
| Features | ||
| Ambient light sensor, Proximity sensor | Ambient light sensor, Proximity sensor | Scratch-resistant glass (Corning Gorilla Glass 4), Ambient light sensor, Proximity sensor |
Hardware
| System chip | ||
|---|---|---|
| Qualcomm Snapdragon 410 8916 | Qualcomm Snapdragon 410 8916 | Samsung Exynos 5 Octa 5433 |
| Processor | ||
| Quad-core 1200 MHz ARM Cortex-A53 | Quad-core 1200 MHz ARM Cortex-A53 | Octa-core 1800 MHz ARM Cortex-A15 and ARM Cortex-A7 |
| GPU | ||
| Adreno 306 | Adreno 306 | Mali-T628 MP6 |
| RAM | ||
| 2GB | 1.5GB | 2GB (LPDDR3) |
| Internal storage | ||
| 16GB, available to use: 12 GB | 16GB | 32GB, available to use: 25 GB |
| Storage expansion | ||
| microSDXC up to 64 GB | microSDXC up to 64 GB | |
| OS | ||
| Android (5.0 Lollipop, 4.4.4) | Android (5.0 Lollipop, 4.4.4) | Android (5.1 Lollipop, 4.4.4), Samsung TouchWiz UI |
Battery
| Capacity | ||
|---|---|---|
| 2300 mAh | 1900 mAh | 1860 mAh |
| Type | ||
| Li - Ion | ||
Camera
| Rear | ||
|---|---|---|
| Single camera | Single camera | Single camera |
| Main camera | ||
| 13 MP (Autofocus) Aperture size: F2.0 |
8 MP (Autofocus, CMOS image sensor) | 12 MP (Autofocus, CMOS image sensor) Aperture size: F2.2 Focal length: 31 mm |
| Flash | ||
| LED | LED | LED |
| Video recording | ||
| 1920x1080 (Full HD) (30 fps) Video calling | 1920x1080 (Full HD) (30 fps) Video calling | 3840x2160 (4K UHD) (30 fps), 1920x1080 (Full HD) (60 fps), 1280x720 (HD) (120 fps) HDR, EIS |
| Front | ||
| 5 MP | 5 MP | 2.1 MP, Video capture: 1920x1080 (Full HD) |
Connectivity & Features
| Bluetooth | ||
|---|---|---|
| 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 |
| WLAN | ||
| 802.11 a,b,g,n,dual-band Wi-Fi Direct, Hotspot | 802.11 b,g,n Wi-Fi Direct | 802.11 a,b,g,n,ac,dual-band Multiple antennas, MIMO, Hotspot, Wi-Fi Direct |
| USB | ||
| microUSB, USB 2.0 | microUSB, USB 2.0 | microUSB, USB 2.0 |
| Location | ||
| GPS, A-GPS, Glonass | GPS, A-GPS, Glonass | GPS, A-GPS, Glonass |
| Sensors | ||
| Accelerometer, Compass, Hall (for flip covers) | Accelerometer, Compass, Hall (for flip covers) | Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Compass, Hall (for flip covers), Gesture |
| Other | ||
| NFC, ANT+, Tethering, Computer sync, OTA sync | NFC, Tethering, Computer sync, OTA sync | NFC, ANT+, Tethering, Computer sync, OTA sync |
Multimedia
| Headphones | ||
|---|---|---|
| 3.5mm jack | 3.5mm jack | 3.5mm jack |
| Speakers | ||
| Earpiece, Loudspeaker | Earpiece, Loudspeaker | Earpiece, Loudspeaker |
| Features | ||
| Album art cover, Background playback | Album art cover, Background playback | Album art cover, Background playback |
| Screen mirroring | ||
| Wireless screen share | DLNA | |
Cellular
| 4G (FDD) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Bands 1(2100), 3(1800), 5(850), 7(2600), 8(900), 20(800 DD) | Bands 1(2100), 3(1800), 5(850), 7(2600), 8(900), 20(800 DD) | Bands 1(2100), 2(1900), 3(1800), 5(850), 7(2600), 8(900), 20(800 DD) |
| 3G | ||
| Bands 5(850), 8(900), 2(1900), 1(2100) | Bands 5(850), 8(900), 2(1900), 1(2100) | Bands 5(850), 8(900), 2(1900), 1(2100) |
| Data Speed | ||
| LTE Cat 4 (150/50 Mbit/s), HSDPA+ (4G) 42.2 Mbit/s, HSUPA 5.76 Mbit/s, UMTS | LTE Cat 4 (150/50 Mbit/s), HSDPA+ (4G) 42.2 Mbit/s, HSUPA 5.76 Mbit/s, UMTS | LTE-A Cat 6 (300/50 Mbit/s), HSDPA+ (4G) 21.1 Mbit/s |
| SIM type | ||
| Nano SIM | Nano SIM | Nano SIM |
Phone Features
| Notifications | ||
|---|---|---|
| Haptic feedback, Music ringtones (MP3), Polyphonic ringtones, Vibration, Flight mode, Silent mode, Speakerphone | Haptic feedback, Music ringtones (MP3), Polyphonic ringtones, Vibration, Flight mode, Silent mode, Speakerphone | |
| Other features | ||
| Voice dialing, Voice commands, Voice recording | Voice dialing, Voice commands, Voice recording | |
Regulatory Approval
| FCC approval | ||
|---|---|---|
| Date approved: Oct 17, 2014 FCC ID value: A3LSMA500G | Date approved: Aug 06, 2014 FCC ID value: A3LSMG850F | |
| Measured SAR | ||
| Head: 0.37 W/kg Body: 0.94 W/kg Simultaneous Transmission: 0.96 W/kg Wireless Router: 1.07 W/kg |
Head: 1.05 W/kg Body: 0.48 W/kg Simultaneous Transmission: 1.18 W/kg Wireless Router: 0.71 W/kg |
|
Availability
| Officially announced | ||
|---|---|---|
| Oct 30, 2014 | Oct 30, 2014 | |
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Samsung Galaxy A5 vs Samsung Galaxy A3 vs Samsung Galaxy Alpha specs comparison
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