Samsung Galaxy A8 vs A7 vs A5 specs and size comparison

posted by Daniel P. / Jul 14, 2015, 8:39 AM

Samsung Galaxy A8 vs A7 vs A5 specs and size comparison

Now that the latest and probably last phone for the year in Samsung's novel metallic A-series has been announced, it's time to put the fresh Galaxy A8 against its slightly smaller Galaxy A7 sibling, and the little Galaxy A5 brother that was announced late last year.

Starting with size, we have to admit that Samsung did a great job with the compact chassis of every member in this trio. The Galaxy A7 used to be the most compact metal Android for its screen size, but the A8 takes it to the shed with its 5.9mm body, the thinnest that Samsung has ever produced.

Granted, it is taller than the A7, allowing it to fit a 5.7-incher against the 5.5" panel of the A7, and a fingerprint scanner in the home key below the display, but that's about it when it comes to the size difference. The A8 is about as wide, and on top of that thinner than the middle child in the family, making it also one of the most compact Androids for its display diagonal, and just 10 grams heavier.

Front view
Side view

To see the phones in real size or compare them with other models, visit our Visual Phone Size Comparison page

The little guy A5 is, naturally, the most manageable in the hand, and the cheapest, but then again, its siblings are spec'd way better, sporting 1080p displays, against the HD panel of the A5, and running on octa-core Snapdragon 615 chipsets with multiband LTE connectivity. When it comes to memory, though, the phones are identical, with 2 GB of RAM, 16/32 GB storage models, and microSD slots for expansion. Where the A8 shines, besides its bikini body, is the camera department, as it is equipped with a 16 MP ISOCELL shooter, against the 13 MP cams on the A7 and A5.

Last, but not least, the Galaxy A8 will run battery life circles against its siblings in the A-series, as Samsung managed to fit a large, 3050mAh battery in the sub-6mm chassis. No word of official pricing on the A8 yet, but the leaks so far indicate that the A8 will be pegged at around $500 off-contract, or a level below the $600 Galaxy S6, and above the $400 Galaxy A7. The $300 munchkin is the cheapest in this gang, so there is something for everyone in Samsung's excellent A-series portfolio.

Samsung Galaxy A8 vs Samsung Galaxy A7 vs Samsung Galaxy A5

Display

Display size

5.7 inches

5.5 inches

5.0 inches

Resolution

1080 x 1920 pixels

720 x 1280 pixels

Pixel density

386 ppi

401 ppi

294 ppi

Technology

Super AMOLED

Screen-to-body ratio

73.91 %

72.54 %

71.14 %

Colors

16 777 216

Camera

Rear

Yes

Main camera

16 megapixels

13 megapixels

Hardware Features

Autofocus

Autofocus, CMOS image sensor

Autofocus

Specifications

Aperture size: F1.9; Pixel size: 1 μm

Aperture size: F2.0

Flash

LED

Software Features

Touch to focus, Smile detection, Face detection, Voice activation, Self-timer, Digital zoom, Geo tagging, Exposure compensation, ISO control, White balance presets, Burst mode, HDR, Panorama, Night mode, Effects

Touch to focus, Face detection, Voice activation, Self-timer, Digital zoom, Geo tagging, Exposure compensation, ISO control, White balance presets, HDR, Panorama, Night mode, Scenes, Effects

Face detection, Digital zoom, Self-timer, Touch to focus, Geo tagging

Video recording

1920x1080 (Full HD)

1920x1080 (Full HD) (30 fps), 1280x720 (HD), 640x480 (VGA)

1920x1080 (Full HD) (30 fps)

Recording format

MPEG4, H.263, H.264, WMV

Features

Video calling

Video calling, Video sharing

Video calling

Front

5 megapixels

Video capture

1920x1080 (Full HD)

Design

Dimensions

6.22 x 3.02 x 0.23 inches (158 x 76.8 x 5.9 mm)

5.94 x 3.00 x 0.25 inches (151 x 76.2 x 6.3 mm)

5.48 x 2.74 x 0.26 inches (139.3 x 69.7 x 6.7 mm)

Weight

5.33 oz (151 g)

4.97 oz (141 g)

4.34 oz (123 g)

Materials

Back: Metal; Frame: Metal

Back: Plastic; Frame: Metal

Biometrics

Fingerprint (touch)

Features

Touch sensitive control keys

Hardware & Performance

System chip

Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 5430

Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 8939

Qualcomm Snapdragon 410 8916

Processor

Octa-core, 1500 MHz, ARM Cortex-A53, 64-bit

Quad-core, 1200 MHz, ARM Cortex-A53, 64-bit

GPU

Adreno 405

Adreno 306

RAM

2 GB LPDDR3

2 GB

Storage expansion

Slot Type

microSDXC, microSDHC, microSD

microSD, microSDHC, microSDXC

OS

Android (6.0 Marshmallow, 5.1 Lollipop)

Android (5.0 Lollipop, 4.4.4), Samsung TouchWiz UI

Android (5.0 Lollipop, 4.4.4)

Battery

Capacity

3050 mAh

2600 mAh

2300 mAh

Stand-by time

12.7 days (304 hours)

Talk time (3G)

17.00 hours

15.00 hours

Music playback

54.00 hours

68.00 hours

Video playback

11.00 hours

12.00 hours

Cellular

LTE (FDD)

Bands 1, 3

Bands 1, 3, 5, 7, 8, 20

Bands 20, 5, 8, 3, 1, 7

LTE (TDD)

Bands 38, 39, 40, 41

UMTS

800, 850, 900, 1900, 2100 MHz

850, 900, 1900, 2100 MHz

GSM

850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz

CDMA

800 MHz

Data

LTE Cat 4 (150/50 Mbit/s), HSDPA+ (4G) 42.2 Mbit/s, HSUPA 5.76 Mbit/s

LTE Cat 4 (150/50 Mbit/s), HSDPA+ (4G) 42.2 Mbit/s, HSUPA 5.76 Mbit/s, UMTS

Multimedia

Screen mirroring

Wireless screen share

Options

16 Comments

1. WAusJackBauer

Posts: 452; Member since: Mar 22, 2015

Freaking sick of sceens bigger than 5 inches!!! I want to be able to use my phone with 1 hand.

posted on Jul 14, 2015, 8:46 AM 5

2. EC112987

Posts: 1213; Member since: Nov 10, 2014

Get an iPhone :) lol

posted on Jul 14, 2015, 9:02 AM 4

9. marorun

Posts: 5029; Member since: Mar 30, 2015

No thanks happy with my M9/Sonim XP7 combo.

posted on Jul 14, 2015, 10:48 AM 0

12. EC112987

Yea I was only jokin but I'm currently on an iphone6/note 4 combo. Just got a bb classic for cheap on EBay I hope I like it

posted on Jul 14, 2015, 11:14 AM 1

3. Clars123

Posts: 1075; Member since: Mar 16, 2015

You know the A8 is a phablet..so why did you bother opening this post to make such a complaint?

posted on Jul 14, 2015, 9:04 AM 9

5. PapaSmurf

Posts: 10457; Member since: May 14, 2012

I don't have the biggest hands in the world and I can use my 6 Plus with one hand.

posted on Jul 14, 2015, 9:27 AM 2

8. marorun

Whitout using any special mode take your phone in your right hand and try with your inch and try to hit top left side of the phone.

7. QWERTYphone

Posts: 654; Member since: Sep 22, 2014

Agreed. The A5/S6 is the widest from side to side I'd ever want. NO REMOVABLE BATTERY = FAIL

posted on Jul 14, 2015, 10:43 AM 1

15. gaming64 unregistered

Can you please wipe anything your idiotic brain told you from your arse?

posted on Jul 14, 2015, 3:50 PM 0

10. ferretsama

Posts: 32; Member since: Nov 27, 2014

Xperia Z3C?

posted on Jul 14, 2015, 10:57 AM 0

14. dimas

Posts: 3296; Member since: Jul 22, 2014

Just wait for Z5 compact. But if Z5 compact fails, start looking at Huawei, Lenovo, and Oppo models.

posted on Jul 14, 2015, 12:20 PM 0

4. waddup121 unregistered

I like it.

posted on Jul 14, 2015, 9:24 AM 1

6. yoosufmuneer

Posts: 1518; Member since: Feb 14, 2015

Every A5,A7 and A8 is awesome but A3 is seriously dissapointing

posted on Jul 14, 2015, 9:28 AM 1

11. Bm888

Posts: 517; Member since: Jul 06, 2015

A8 is a midrange beast..like it already.

posted on Jul 14, 2015, 11:11 AM 1

13. dimas

I like those small curved edges of A7, A5, and A3 but since they're all part of the first gen metal samsungs, we'll be seeing more of those S6 and A8 corners.