Samsung Galaxy A7 vs A5 vs A3 (2016): specs comparison

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The new, 2016 edition of the Samsung's mainstream Galaxy A series has just made its official debut: the new phones are the 5.5" Galaxy A7 (2016), the 5.2" Galaxy A5 (2016), and the 4.7" Galaxy A3 (2016).

This represents an interesting change over last year's A series and their screen sizes, as well as resolutions. Here is how Samsung has changed the display sizes:

  • Galaxy A7 (2016 vs 2015): 5.5" Super AMOLED displays with 1080 x 1920-pixel resolutions on both
  • Galaxy A5 (2016 vs 2015): 5.2" vs 5.0" Super AMOLED displays with 1080 x 1920-pixel resolution on the 2016 model and 720 x 1280-pixel resolution on the 2015 model
  • Galaxy A3 (2016 vs 2015): 4.7" vs 4.5" Super AMOLED displays with 720 x 1280-pixel resolution on the 2016 model and 540 x 960-pixel resolution on the 2015 model
This is quite a significant change for the more affordable Galaxy A5 and A3 models that brings them up to date, as keeping last year's resolutions would have definitely been a critical flaw in today's market.

The other major change is that now all three new phones come with 13-megapixel rear-facing cameras and 5-megapixel selfie cameras, both wide-aperture, f/1.9 lenses. We do suspect that there will be differences in the actual image quality, but it would be interesting to see whether that's in fact true and to what extent.

The other two key areas to look for are processors: the system chips inside the new, 2016 Galaxy A series have been updated, and battery sizes vary between models, so that the A7 has the larger battery (and possibly, the best battery life of the trio). For the rest of the specs and all the details, take a look at the chart below.

Display
Size
5.5-inch
5.2-inch
4.7-inch
Technology
Super AMOLED
Super AMOLED
Super AMOLED
Screen-to-body
74.27 %
72.39 %
69.30 %
Features
Scratch-resistant glass, Ambient light sensor, Proximity sensor
Scratch-resistant glass, Ambient light sensor, Proximity sensor
Scratch-resistant glass, Ambient light sensor, Proximity sensor
Hardware
System chip
Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 8939 (28 nm)
Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 8939 (28 nm)
Samsung Exynos 7 Quad 7578
Processor
Octa-core, 1600 MHz, ARM Cortex-A53, 64-bit
Octa-core, 1600 MHz, ARM Cortex-A53, 64-bit
Quad-core, 1500 MHz, ARM Cortex-A53, 64-bit
GPU
Adreno 405
Adreno 405
Mali-T720 MP2
RAM
3GB
2GB
1.5GB (LPDDR3)
Internal storage
16GB
16GB
16GB
OS
Android (5.1 Lollipop)
Android (5.1 Lollipop)
Android (7.0 Nougat, 5.1 Lollipop)
Battery
Capacity
3300 mAh
2900 mAh
2300 mAh
Charging
Fast charging
Fast charging
 
Talk time (3G)
17.00 hours
the average is 0 h (0 min)
16.00 hours
the average is 0 h (0 min)
14.00 hours
the average is 0 h (0 min)
Internet use
3G: 14 hours; LTE: 14 hours; Wi-Fi: 17 hours
 
 
Music playback
78.00 hours
75.00 hours
58.00 hours
Video playback
15.00 hours
14.00 hours
14.00 hours
Camera
Rear
Single camera
Single camera
Single camera
Main camera
13 MP (Features: OIS, Autofocus, CMOS image sensor)
13 MP (Features: OIS, Autofocus, CMOS image sensor)
13 MP (Features: Autofocus)
Specifications
Aperture size: F1.9
Focal length: 28 mm
Aperture size: F1.9
Focal length: 28 mm
Aperture size: F1.9
Video recording
1920x1080 (Full HD) (30 fps)
1920x1080 (Full HD) (30 fps)
1920x1080 (Full HD) (30 fps)
Features
Video calling, Video sharing
Video calling
Video calling, Video sharing
Front
5 MP
5 MP
5 MP
Video capture
1920x1080 (Full HD)
 
 
Design
Dimensions
5.96 x 2.92 x 0.29 inches
(151.5 x 74.1 x 7.3 mm)
5.70 x 2.80 x 0.29 inches
(144.8 x 71 x 7.3 mm)
5.30 x 2.57 x 0.29 inches
(134.5 x 65.2 x 7.3 mm)
Weight
5.96 oz (169.0 g)
the average is 6 oz (172 g)
5.47 oz (155.0 g)
the average is 6 oz (172 g)
4.66 oz (132.0 g)
the average is 6 oz (172 g)
Materials
 
 
Back: Glass
Frame: Metal
Biometrics
Fingerprint (touch)
Fingerprint (touch)
 
Features
Touch sensitive control keys
 
Touch sensitive control keys


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