Samsung Galaxy A5 6 (2016)

Last year, Samsung put a lot of effort into upgrading its top-end S-series with the then-flagship Samsung Galaxy S6. In 2016, amid criticism that there’s not a lot new in the Galaxy S7 and S7 edge (see page 17), we can now see that it’s focused that same care and attention on its mid-range A-series. The new Samsung Galaxy A3, A5 (reviewed here) and A7 are now well worth a second look.

Price

The A5 2016 is not yet available direct through Samsung, but our review sample was supplied by Mobile Fun for £319. This is around £50 lower than last year’s flagship Galaxy S6, now available SIM-free for around £363 from Amazon UK. While we like the new A5, if you can afford that extra outlay you get a lot more bang for your buck – the S6 is faster, with more internal storage (although no microSD support) and has a Quad-HD screen, to name just a few of its advantages over the A5.

Design

The Galaxy A5 is in many ways similar in design to the S6, with the new mirror-finish glass front and rear and fingerprint scanner built into the home button. There are some subtle differences in the overall shape and size (the A5 has a slightly larger 5.2in screen, for example), but it’s a gorgeous and premium-looking smartphone.

With no removable back panel the A5 feels tough, and not at all fragile thanks to its Gorilla Glass 4 protective armour. Unfortunately, we see the same problems here as we did with the S6: fingerprints – and they’re everywhere.

You’ll barely notice the increase in thickness over the A5’s predecessor, but this has allowed Samsung to pack in a 2900mAh battery that offers very good runtime. It’s still slim at 7.9mm, but feels sufficiently weighty in the hand at 155g. The rear camera juts out a little at the rear, but not enough to make the A5 2016 rock on a desk.

A standout feature is the fullHD SuperAMOLED panel, which measures 5.2in on the diagonal and is large enough for all your multimedia needs. We’re huge fans