SAMSUNG32Gb Sm A520Fz 4G Lte Single Sim International Version Galaxy A5 - Black Sky

Right, I’ve had this phone for 2 weeks now and I can say it is better than I expected for the price of it!The phone itself is nice in the hand, although I opted for the black model so I had to get a case for it as the back is glass and acts as a fingerprint magnet.In terms of looks, the device looks very similar to the Galaxy S7, and if you looked at both the A5 and the S7 from the front, you couldn’t tell the difference.With the software included, it is a skinned version of Android 6, which I have no problem with as it works really well. Unlike my older Galaxy Tab 2, the Galaxy A5 comes with very little preinstalled apps, and the ones that do come installed can easily be replaced with the Google equivalent (such as Chrome, Gmail, Keep, and Play Music- other apps are vital to the system such as the camera, clock, etc.)A neat security feature that Samsung included is Samsung Knox, which allows you to set a pin number to boot up the device if it is powered off, preventing someone from stealing your device, easily wiping your data then reselling the phone.The inclusion of a fingerprint scanner was a must for me (coming from an iPhone 5s which used TouchID), and Samsung have done a really good job with this one. It is super responsive (less than a second to unlock) and I’ve yet to have a problem with it not recognising my fingerprint.Fast Charging is a godsend, as the phone can charge from around 20% to 100% in around 2 hours uf using the charger that came in the box, although i’m not sure if fast charging will have any negative impact on the battery life in the long run.In terms of battery life, the Galaxy A5 is brilliant. As a student I am often on my phone, and the battery life in combination with the large screen makes it a joy to use. Before, with my iPhone 5s, I would often get home to around 25% battery left after a full day. Now I get home with around 40%-60% (depending on my usage) and the fast charging can easily refill It in no time!In terms of actual usage of the phone, I have yet to see any performance drops or lagging, even with about 8 apps running in the background (thanks to 3GB of RAM). Storage on the phone is fine (I have around 10GB left with all my music loaded onto it, and all the apps I use on a daily basis), but storage can be expanded with the Micro SD Card slot located on the top of the phone (up to 256GB).I can’t really say much about the camera besides it is good. I haven’t really used it much, and as long as photos come out looking good, I can’t complain.In terms of if this phone is right for you, it depends on your budget, and what you are looking for. The Galaxy A5 is a perfect mid-range phone from Samsung, and if you want something very similar to the Galaxy S7, but do not want to spend too much money, you cannot go wrong with the A5! Coming from an older iPhone, the A5 is a breath of fresh air as it is still new (released Jan 2017), and is using Samsung’s latest processor and USB C. Along with IP68 Water and Dust resistance, the Galaxy A5 (2017) is a very compelling choice for this price range!(Will update this review if I encounter any problems with the device)

Alright, guess I'll weigh in on this one.I'll get the cons out of the way first, as I have a rather important one that may apply to some UK users.Con #1: This device comes with a Portuguese version of Android 7.0 pre-installed. This can have an adverse effect on some UK users' ability to access mobile data. I had this exact problem which has only been resolved today (06/01/17) by Samsung themselves.The problem is not with the sim you use, however it is caused by the software which is conflicting with the UK sim. I happen to be on O2 and even with the correct APN settings the Data would not work. It to a trip to the Samsung Repair Center in Belfast to get this working. They had to remove the Portuguese version of the software completely and install a UK one. My 4G is now working.Worry not, Samsung will take care of this for you for free as it is covered in the standard 24 month Samsung Warranty (which you DO get with this phone).Con #2: The front camera is a little dodgy, in that if you move your hand ever so slightly while taking a picture, no matter how insignificant the movement is, you will get a blurry picture. Needs some stabilization. Rear camera is fine for the most part and pictures that you do get without blurry-ness are fairly good (I'm content with this, others may not be).Con #3: The glossy back of the phone can get very dirty (finger-prints / dust / dirt) I highly recommend getting a case for this phone.Now for the pro's.Pro #1 This phone has a fantastic screen, 1080x1920 is great, I've went from a Samsung J5 2017 to this phone and I'm really impressed with the jump from 720x1280. Brightness is also really good, it has a very fine adjustment. blue light filter is especially useful if operating in the dark or low-light.Pro #2 This phone is fast. With the 1.9GHz 8-core CPU and 3 GB of RAM the phone is great for multi-tasking, giving me a good reason to use the split-screen functionality and use of multiple apps without performance hit. The default storage space for this particular phone is 32GB. (Minus about 7-8GB for android software, the phone will arrive with ~24-25GB of free space).Pro #3 This phone now comes with Android 7.0 pre-signed. While this might also be a con for some users (see con #1) I am very pleased as I'm well versed in using this version of Android from my experiences with my previous J5 2017. The A5 2017 will also be getting the upgrade to Android 8.0 (Oreo) (as it's second lifetime upgrade), when the manufacturers and service providers complete testing.Pro #4 USB type-c charging is super fast. I have seen the phone go from 5% to 80% in the space of an hour and a half. If you have the phone in flight-mode/switched off it can probably reach 100% in that time. The charge also lasts for a good amount of time, you also have the battery save option should it be needed.Pro #5 Like most phones on the market, This one also allows you to extend storage space up to 128GB using a micro-SD card. I have an additional 16GB in my phone.Pro #6 This phone has been given the IP68 resilience certification, meaning it is resistant to water splashes and dirt and dust. (I stand by getting a case for this phone, you can never be too careful, especially when you're paying for this phone already).Pro #7 The finger print scanner is very accurate, and you are allowed to register a maximum of 3 separate finger print readings, I have two for my thumbs and one for my index finger (wish I could have a 4th for my other index finger, but I guess there has to be a limitation somewhere. I went with the index finger on my dominant hand).Pro #8 Listening to music on this phone is an absolute treat. I have been using an additional app from Samsung called "Samsung Music" (it can be got in the play store) and this app allows exclusive access to the device's sound output. Giving you additional options for EQ, volume matching for all your songs, and a feature that I find personally very helpful, "adjust sound" which puts you through a small hearing test to determine how well you hear in both ears, if one ear is not good at hearing a certain frequency, it is boosted to a certain level, giving you a personalized listening experience.There are also standard presets for under 30's, people in 30's-60's and over 60's. This sound adjustment can be applied to phone calls as well.Pro #9 This may be a small feature, but one worth telling of anyway. This phone supports moving wallpapers and lock screens. The software uses the phone's rotation to change colours and move your wallpaper. This gives a very subtle effect that is nice to have.Pro #10 This phone is also very good for playing games, I am currently addicted to Geometry Dash and it is a very smooth experience playing this game. Smooth FPS with no hitching and very clear and clean graphics.All in all, I like this phone and now that I have access to my 4G data, I will be able to use it like normal.4 stars. (Could have been 5 starts had my 4G worked out of the box)

I was looking to buy a top-end phone, but was put off by the price. Being a bit nerdy I decided to draw up a list of what I wanted from a phone, and this met all the criteria bar one. I am an Android user and have previously had Samsungs so decided to take a punt.There are no real surprises here. Colours on the camera are amazing, although taking a shot with a dark foreground and bright sky was a bit disappointing. Battery life is good (when you first set it up it will consume power updating etc, so let it settle for a couple of days and you'll see how good the power is). Fast, simple and attractive with good audio.Maybe, as I was, you are concerned about how cheap this phone is compared to buying elsewhere. Firstly, it is the real deal. Brand spanking new, genuine Samsung product. It's sourced from within the EU. The instruction manual in the box is not in English (easily downloadable should you need it). Additionally, I asked at a phone-shop why their sim-free price for this phone is £380. The honest answer was that they are trying to sell you contracts. By hiking up the handset price on a sim-free phone you are more likely to go for a contract deal and be tied in.Based on this experience I will re-use this seller for my next phone: a third cheaper than standard price, good quality, great service (I used the "local collect" option because previously I have had to wait around all day for phones to be delivered by other sellers).

Bought this phone 2 months ago. Initially I was very pleased with it and it did exactly what I wanted having previously had a Samsung S3 mini. As others have mentioned, the fingerprint scanner doesn't work at all but I can live with that (although am miffed about paying for a technology that clearly doesn't work based on plenty of people's experience). However, I've had issues with the phone in the last couple of weeks. It keeps on dropping WiFi signals but then won't allow me to use 4G either. I keep on having to restart the phone to get it to recognise any WiFi and if I happen to want to use 4G i.e. due to the WiFi on the phone not working, I have to manually switch off WiFi on the phone (even though it's not working) and then restart it to get a 4G signal. Tonight it would not recognise my home WiFi at all. I did a restart and got the black screen of death which I'm mightly unhappy about given that the phone is only 2 months old. Fortunately, I've managed to force a restart by holding down the power button and volume down button simultaneously for 10 seconds. Given that my S3 mini died a sudden death after a similar black screen incident and I lost EVERYTHING that was on that phone, if it happens again with this new A5, I'll be returning it and looking for something else that doesn't start throwing a wobbly at less than 2 months old.One other thing, it's not possible to use the phone while it's on fast charge. The screen is really skittery, does not respond properly to any command and you have to unplug it from fast charging if you want to make/receive a call or use the phone in any way. The upside is that it does charge pretty fast i.e. 2-3 hours to fully charge from 0% battery.

After using the phone for the last couple of months I've decided to re-write my inital review of the phone. First it's sleak and looks amazing compared to most other phones currently availble. It's the mid range of the Samsung family for 2017, whilst it lacks a snapdragon processor like its bigger brothers the galaxy s8, the phone performs better than most of my previous iPhones/one plus 2.My second inital thought that occured to me when using it is how fast it handles apps, I never knew chrome could load up pretty darn fast for a mid ranged device. The battery also holds up well and I can normally get about a whole days worth of power with intense use (was also suprised even when streaming to the A5 that the power consumption wasnt as bad either!).It also comes with fast charging capabilites which by the way is amazing, leave the phone on charge for say an hour and I've got nearly a days worth of power out of it. Sadly I can't go into depth on taking pictures/videos with the device as I'm not really for one to take a whole bunch. But, from what I've used the picture quality is also very good.Now the most important part, I've dropped my phone countless times because I'm a clumsy person by nature. Suprisingly the screen hasn't smashed as of yet. I do recommend getting a case though as you never know what will happen.Overall, I'm very satisfied with my purchase and I don't think I'll be straying far from Samsung products in the future.