In January 2017, the next update to the Galaxy A series smartphones was presented; the line was replenished with three new products. The eldest of them was the Samsung Galaxy A7 (2017) SM-A720F/DS - a middle-class phablet made in a glass case. Now you can buy it at a price of about 450-470 dollars, if we are talking about an officially imported device, or about 400 dollars, if it is a “gray” device. Our review will help you figure out what you get for this money.
Samsung Galaxy A7 (2017) SM-A720F/DS has become a logical continuation of the ideas embodied in the previous generation of the A-series, but this is not just an improved version of its predecessor. It has some important differences, both externally and internally. And not all of them will appeal to those looking for a replacement for A-series smartphones of previous generations. Why so – read further in our review.
In Series A, the Koreans do not rely on advanced hardware, so the technical characteristics of the Samsung Galaxy A7 (2017) SM-A720F/DS are not surprising. They are quite typical for a mid-class smartphone.
Samsung Galaxy A7 (2017) traditionally has a metal and glass body, but the design has been redesigned compared to the previous generation. If previously it was a rectangular block of glass and aluminum, slightly rounded at the corners, then the new device has more pronounced curves. In addition, it has become larger and heavier: 156 mm in height, 77 mm in width, and 7.9 mm in thickness, and the device weighs 185 grams. An important innovation is the sealing of the case, ensuring compliance with the IP68 water protection standard.
Despite the increase in weight and size parameters, everything is fine with the ergonomics of the Samsung Galaxy A7 (2017). It is 2 mm shorter and 1 mm narrower than the iPhone 7 Plus, which has a slightly smaller diagonal. And the rounded shapes contribute to a comfortable grip. On the other hand, users who have just managed to rejoice that Samsung has stopped making “remnants” may not like the abundance of roundness.
The entire A-series of 2017 is designed in the same style, the only differences are in size. Like its “younger brothers”, the front of the Samsung Galaxy A7 (2017) has a home button with a fingerprint scanner, a speaker and a camera, as well as a sensor window. The front panel is covered with 2.5D glass.
The back of the device is also glass, rounded on all sides. At the top in the middle there is a camera that does not protrude at all, and to the right of it is a flash. Just below there is the manufacturer's logo. 
The control buttons are located on different sides of the metal base of the case. 
On the right side there is a power/lock key and a speaker. At the bottom there is a USB Type-C port and a 3.5 mm headset jack. 
On top there is a microphone for noise reduction and a slot for a SIM card and flash drive. 
On the left side there are separate volume buttons and a SIM card slot. 
The core of the Samsung Galaxy A7 (2017) is the Exynos 7880 Octa chipset. This is a new chip produced using the 14 nm process technology. It contains 8 Cortex A53 cores with a frequency of up to 1.9 GHz and a Mali T830 MP3 graphics accelerator. This hardware is quite consistent with the middle class in 2017, but on the other hand, at the price of the Galaxy A7 (2017), the Chinese are ready to offer something cooler, for example, the flagship Snapdragon 821. However, fans of this line of smartphones do not chase hardware, so points in benchmarks - not the main thing.
Despite not the most powerful hardware, the device works quickly. And its graphics subsystem is in order; it’s fine for games. The result in AnTuTu is about 60 thousand points, of which about 18 thousand are for graphics. This is enough to play at high settings, although it won't be 60 FPS everywhere.
On board the Galaxy A7 (2017) there is 3 GB of RAM, it is equipped with LPDDR4 chips. The system at startup consumes approximately half of this capacity. The drive holds 32 GB, of which about 23 GB is allocated for the user partition. There is also an independent MicroSD slot and support for USB OTG drives.
The smartphone has a non-removable battery with a capacity of 3600 mAh. Fast charging function supported. The autonomy is decent, you can count on about 7 hours in games or a little over 10 hours of mixed loads. If you do not load the device, using it only periodically for calls and correspondence, the smartphone can last 3 days on one charge.
Galaxy A7 (2017) received cameras with higher resolution than its predecessor. On the one hand, this is good, but this decision also has its pitfalls. The main matrix has a resolution of 16 MP, and is based on a 1/3" ISOCELL sensor. This means that the pixel sizes are reduced to 1 micron, their effective area is 25% smaller than usual. And although ISOCELL technology implies improved pixel protection from mutual interference, in practice the camera takes good pictures only during the day.This is also facilitated by a good aperture of f/1.9.
In the evening everything is fine, but nothing more. Small details are lost and blurred; last year's A7 took clearer and sharper pictures in low light conditions. The picture below shows that last year's Galaxy A5 smartphone took sharper pictures than the A7 2017. 
Examples of photos:
Another “improvement” of the camera is the refusal to use the optical stabilization mechanism. There is digital stabilization, but when shooting video on the go, it does not help the situation much; shakes are smoothed out, but do not disappear. Video recording is in FullHD, with 30 FPS. Video example:
The front camera has noticeably increased in resolution. Now it is 16 MP, like the main matrix, the same module is used, but without autofocus. The fixed focus is not set very well: it seems that it is not set to infinity, but to a distance of half a meter. Because of this, you can capture the face in detail, but the background will be blurred, the sensor will not capture the depth of field, and the dynamic range is narrow. Video recording is also carried out in FullHD@30FPS.
Selfie camera shot
The diagonal of the Galaxy A7 (2017) is 5.7", which is 0.2" more than its predecessor. The matrix type is the same Super AMOLED with PenTile, the resolution is standard FullHD. Due to the increase in diagonal, PPI dropped to 386 dpi. In principle, the picture looks clear, but there will definitely be those with eagle eyes who will see the grid of subpixels. The full brightness of the display is about 410 cd/m2, the PWM backlight can only be noticeable at low brightness.
The smartphone screen is covered with 4th generation Gorilla Glass with a decent oleophobic layer. The glass has 2.5D rounded edges. Full multi-touch, capable of responding to 10 simultaneous touches.
The device has two slots for SIM cards, they are separate (each in its own tray). Support for all current networks is provided, except for CDMA (not very common in Europe). Wi-Fi can work with 2.4 and 5 GHz networks, the most recent (of the common) 802.11ac standard is supported. The GPS and GLONASS signal receiver is responsible for navigation, which works quickly and determines the location well.
Bluetooth 4.2, which supports operation in energy-saving mode, has not gone away. There is also an NFC module for contactless payments. A USB Type C port is provided for charging and connecting accessories.
The smartphone does not have a discrete DAC, however, it produces good sound. The speaker is not loud (the waterproofing is to blame), but it is enough not to miss a call. In headphones, the device is capable of revealing a wide frequency range; both bass and high-frequency sounds are reproduced. In the settings there is an equalizer menu for custom presets. There is a radio receiver in the device.
The smartphone is equipped with Android 6 OS, with a modified Samsung proprietary interface. Out of habit, it is called TouchWiz, although the shell is officially called Grace UX. The system interface is designed with high quality, unlike numerous Chinese devices, there is a separate program menu. In terms of performance and stability, everything is also in order. The only thing Samsung is sometimes criticized for now is its refusal to release a smartphone immediately with Android Nougat on board. However, there is every reason to expect that the update will come soon.
The most important feature of the Galaxy A7 (2017) is its IP68 certification. It implies that the smartphone will withstand immersion in water 1.5 meters longer than half an hour. Another interesting feature of the device is the Always On Display function, which allows you to display the time, date, missed notifications and other useful information on a locked device. It hardly eats up battery power.
Finding an alternative to the Samsung Galaxy A7 (2017) is quite difficult. Stylish devices with a similar diagonal can almost be counted on your fingers. One of them is Xiaomi Mi Note 2, but this smartphone is more expensive, it does not have water resistance, and it has an IPS screen. Last year's Galaxy A7, whose camera has OIS, also remains relevant. But this smartphone is smaller, it also does not have water protection. A cheaper alternative would be the glass Meizu U20, but it has a 5.5" screen, no NFC, and the device is afraid of water.
If you don’t start from external parameters, but look for a 5.5-5.7” phablet that is protected from moisture, the only alternatives at a similar price ($400-500) are the Moto X series (released in 2015, but still relevant) , as well as HTC 10 Evo.
Flaws:
Based on the results of the review of the Samsung Galaxy A7 (2017), it can be noted that the smartphone left slightly contradictory impressions. On the one hand, it retained the concept of its predecessor, received protection from liquids and dust, became better in terms of hardware and grew a little, while maintaining acceptable dimensions. But on the other hand, the camera, one of the main features of last year’s A7, not only did not become significantly better, but even lost OIS and became less interesting for evening shooting.
Samsung Galaxy A5 (2017) SM-A520F review: waterproof and battery-powered
In our review of the Samsung A3, we looked at the reasons for the appearance of this line of devices, its positioning within Samsung, and why it can be considered created to compete with the iPhone of previous generations. I see no point in repeating myself; I refer you to the appropriate section of the review.
With the positioning of the A7, Samsung turns out to be more interesting than the younger models. On the one hand, this is a senior A-series device, as a result, it has the most powerful chipsets for this class of devices, but it does not live up to the flagships, and this is a conscious decision. On the other hand, the A7 should act as one of the phablets that will flood the market before the fall of 2015 and will overshadow the existing Note 4, which remains the flagship without any discounts and the most interesting model in its class. But it so happens that not all people need top-end characteristics, the presence of a stylus and additional features - for many, a pleasant design, body materials, and an adequate price come to the fore, and any cost lower than that of flagships, with formally similar characteristics, is considered as such.
Among the models of large manufacturers represented in retail chains throughout the country, it is the A7 that can lay claim to being a fashion device with a lower cost than the flagship. It came as a complete surprise to me that both readers and potential buyers showed such interest in the previous A5 model. But they paid much less attention to the A3. It is completely unclear what will happen with the A7, since in Russian realities there was a cheap Note 3 from MegaFon, and it certainly confused all Samsung cards. But since the fall of last year it has not been on sale, and the changes that have taken place on the market do not allow us to say that any new model will be perceived well, especially taking into account the new price level. The release of the A7 for Russia will take place at a bad time for the market, so assessing any sales, prospects and the like for this model before the beginning of summer is a pointless exercise.
From the point of view of positioning and selection of this device, I advise you to look at it as a phablet version without a stylus, with a camera typical in its class and a certain image charge. This is by no means the most cost-effective offer; you can find similar solutions from other companies for less money, however, we’ll talk about this at the end of the review.
The design of all A-series devices is absolutely the same, there is no difference. There are no complaints about the build quality and materials.
The metal frame goes around the body, everything here is similar to the Samsung Alpha or Note 4, the edges are exactly the same, they play in the light the same way. But the entire back panel is made of metal, although it is painted in the color of the body. It has several recesses for antennas, but they are not visible due to uniform painting. This is a conscious decision, since the same iPhone uses either a plastic insert (like the iPhone 6) or an insert on the back panel (like the iPhone 5/5s), which stands out from the design of the device. Samsung considered that the appearance of the device should be uniform, and achieved this with this approach.
The colors for the A7 are typical: white, black and gold.
The white color has a pearlescent tint, it is not matte, and plays well in the light. An attempt to deliberately scratch it shows that scratches appear, but they are not visible unless you look closely.
The control elements are located traditionally, the paired volume key is on the left side, and the on/off button is on the right. There are also two slots for nanoSIM cards, one slot also has a combined holder for a microSD card. The device has two microphones, they are located at the ends. At the bottom end there is a regular microUSB connector, as well as a 3.5 mm jack for a headset or headphones.
The front camera is located above the screen, and there is also a light sensor and a proximity sensor. Below the screen there are two touch buttons and one mechanical button.
The phone dimensions are 151x76.2x6.3 mm, weight is 141 grams. Quite thin, fits well in the hand, a little smaller than the same Note 4. This format of device is convenient for me because of my large hand, but you’ll have to try it. But I note that you get used to the large screen almost instantly, and the thin body makes the model convenient for everyday use.
Screen with a diagonal of 5.5 inches and FullHD resolution (401 ppi), superAMOLED. There are all modes for adjusting colors on the screen, as on older models.
If you compare the picture quality with the same Note 4 (below), you will not see much of a difference; it is felt in the fonts, but is invisible to the eye, unless, of course, you have built-in microscopes.
An excellent screen from all points of view, a maximum number of settings for every taste. If you want to get bright colors, you can do it; if you want more natural colors, this is possible. Good screen behavior in the sun. In its segment, this device has one of the highest quality screens, and for the current generation of devices its capabilities are sufficient, plus there is a reserve for several years. The same QHD screen in the Note 4 is redundant, although pleasant. The transition from the screen in the A7 to the Note 4 will not be as noticeable an improvement as the company would like to show.
The Li-Ion battery built into the case has a capacity of 2600 mAh, which is relatively small. Video playback time is about 8.5 hours (in A5 - 12.5 hours), Samsung usually targets 10 hours. This indicator confused me, I thought that the total operating time would be noticeably shorter, but the reality turned out to be completely different - the phone lasts a long time (we tested the Qualcomm version).
With actual use of the phone, you can achieve two days of reliable operation with an hour of calls, two dozen messages, a couple of hours of listening to music. Under a very heavy load, the device will only work for one day, but for example, under the same load, the S5 will run out at about one o'clock in the afternoon. The use of an optimized chipset makes itself felt; this is a new generation device in terms of improved operating time. Although it all depends on what and how you use it, how you configured all the parameters.
The total battery charging time is just under two hours. Fast charging technology, like in Note 4, is not supported here.
The phone has a proprietary technology for maximum energy saving, when the screen switches to displaying shades of gray, and this way the device can work much longer.
The phone is available in two versions, on the Qualcomm chipset and on the Exynos. Chipset Snapdragon 615 – MSM8939, four A53 64-bit cores, frequency up to 1.5 GHz plus four cores up to 1 GHz, Adreno 405 – model A700F with two SIM cards. Exynos 5 Octa 5430 chipset – eight cores, 4 Cortex A15 cores up to 1.8 GHz, 4 Cortex A7 cores up to 1.3 GHz, Mali T628 MP6. Users will not have a choice of model options as such; each market will have one or the other modification, but not both. The question of which is better remains open - for example, the operating time on the Qualcomm chipset in mixed mode is a little longer (by about 10 percent), but the performance on Exynos is higher.
The amount of RAM is 2 GB, built-in memory is 16 GB, of which approximately 12 GB is available to the user. Memory cards are supported up to 64 GB, which will be enough for most.
The A-series devices are unusual in that it is impossible to use two SIM cards and a memory card at the same time. The second slot can accommodate either a memory card or a SIM card, but not both at the same time. Therefore, you will have to determine what is more important to you - this should be kept in mind when you choose a device.
In synthetic tests, the device has typical performance for its class. At the same time, you won’t see any brakes in the menu.
Everything is quite typical, USB version 2, there is support for NFC, Ant+, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0 LE, built-in LTE modem supports LTE Advanced Cat.4.
The front camera does not have autofocus, but has a resolution of 5 megapixels, which is not bad.
The main camera is 13-megapixel, its characteristics are similar to the cameras that were in last year’s flagships, it produces good picture quality, as you can see for yourself. But in the dark, the camera, like previous models, does not shoot very well.
The device has the latest version of Android 4.4.4, with the TouchWiz shell, it is also the latest version, like on the company's flagships. There are almost no differences from the same S5, so I refer you to the corresponding part of the review.
Unlike top models, there is a built-in FM radio, which looks like a nice bonus.
The “Musical Square” function looks much more interesting - it allows you, as they say, to indicate your wishes for music at the call of your heart, and the system, based on the amplitude in the tracks, will select the most suitable compositions. It is pleasant to note that the results of the automation often coincide with the desired ones.
The “heart” of the Samsung Galaxy A7 is the Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 processor, announced at the MWC exhibition in February 2014. The chip turned out to be somewhat out of keeping with Qualcomm, whose ideology of “fewer cores - higher efficiency per clock” at a certain point reached a dead end, after which the company produced 64-bit eight-core chips, which it had previously so actively criticized.
As a result, the Californian answer to the famous eight-core MediaTek MT6592 was released, albeit on a more elegant platform. If MediaTek, without further ado, took the archaic and not very productive Cortex-A7 architecture as the basis for the cores, then Qualcomm used more advanced Cortex-A53 cores. True, in the ARM line they are positioned as a rather modest solution for middle-end devices. The flagship Snapdragon 810, for example, uses four Cortex-A53 cores as a light-duty unit. The truly high performance in it rests on the remaining four Cortex-A57 cores, which in the premium segment Qualcomm replaced the previously self-developed Krait core architecture.
How does Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 look against this background? The usual big.LITTLE configuration is implemented in a unique way - instead of “different-sized” blocks of four cores, eight cores of the same type - Cortex-A53 - are used. The frequency of the first four cores is 1.0 GHz, and the second quad-core Cortex-A53 unit received as much as 1.7 GHz.
The advantages of the new platform are as follows:
The Cortex-A53 cores themselves are more economical than the Krait architecture, and with the possibility of separate shutdown, the eight-core chip will in most cases be more economical than its predecessor.
The once flagship video accelerator Adreno 320 has now been redesigned to a middle-end level and is called Adreno 405. Among the innovations are support for gaming technologies DirectX 11.2 and OpenGL ES 3.1 and hardware acceleration of the H.265 format (HEVC) up to a resolution of 1920x1080 pixels at 60 k /With.
The integrated modem now supports LTE cat networks. 4 and Dual SIM out of the box.
As a result, in comparison with the same MT6592, which is equipped with the flagships of second-tier brands, the economical Snapdragon turns out to be 20% more powerful in graphics disciplines, and 5% weaker in processor performance. But next to the Snapdragon 805 installed in the Sony Xperia Z3, HTC One M8 and some versions of the Samsung Galaxy S5, the hardware of the hero of our test is almost a quarter weaker. As a result, the results of Snapdragon 615 turned out to be closest to the top chip of 2013 - Qualcomm Snapdragon 800.
In essence, the power of the LG Nexus 5 or Samsung Galaxy Note 3 for a Full HD display is still enough today, but our smartphone is not able to compete with the 2015 flagships in terms of performance.
In 2014, Samsung lovers gave up. The Galaxy S5 came out in plastic, stylized as leather, which was stuffed with needles. Panic, hysteria, millions of angry posts, offensive comments addressed to the designer and curses on the entire Korean family. It seems that all this feedback shocked the company so much that the guys collectively tensed up and released a device that is now unanimously called a “masterpiece”, the Galaxy S6 and S6 EDGE, to put it simply. Meanwhile, in mid-2014, the A line of phones was introduced - smartphones in a non-separable metal tray. To appease those who suffered without metal.
The first metal swallow that we had a chance to touch was Samsung A3. Max Vatralik was half satisfied with it, and we, as a whole editorial team, suggested that what came next was better. We somehow passed on the Samsung A5 and immediately turned to the A7, the flagship of the mid-budget all-metal line. Let's start with the main thing - I have a gold-colored copy. Yulka has come to success!
The most important characteristic of the entire A line and A7 is no exception - metal. The entire body of the phone is made of metal, a kind of seamless bath with cut edges like a diamond cut. It is this feature that makes a phone even with the most basic technical specifications more expensive and premium. It’s not that I want to compare this device with Vertu, but the essence of my comparison is clear - even a push-button dialer, “wrapped” in something more expensive than shiny plastic, is already more impressive in itself.
Our gadget is a little unusual in this regard. Because it really is metal from all sides, but this can only be understood by its edges. The cut speaks loudly about this, and so does the fingernail tapping test. But the back of the lid is covered with some kind of material. Both from the tactile sensations and from the same tapping, it looks more like plastic than metal. But that's exactly him. The lid is cold (until you load the phone with games, but more on that later), very pleasant to the touch. I can’t say that it’s very tenacious; after all, there are no notches, the surface is even and smooth, but the device did not fall out of my hand and lay confidently. In general, the entire structure is very monolithic, nothing creaks anywhere and the Lyapota test passes 10 out of 10. Whatever one may say, nothing moved anywhere.
The front of the A7 is covered with glass, but there are metal sides that run almost flush with the display. At the bottom there is a single mechanical “Home” control button, next to it there are two touch ones. The backlight time can be adjusted in the settings. Near the speaker on top there are light sensors, proximity sensors and a front camera. The first of two innovative upgrades – the notification indicator was cut out. Here he was and now he was gone. Humble yourself.
The second innovation was found in one of the two SIM card slots on the right side. In addition to the power button with a clear action, there is one slot for nanoSIM, and a second one of your choice - either for nanoSIM, which must be installed vertically, or for microSD up to 64 GB, which is installed in the traditional way. On the one hand, why be indignant at such an outlandish move, other metal flagships rarely have a slot for additional memory, I’m generally silent about the second card, but here you are given the right to choose. In fact, there are people who enjoyed using all three privileges (two SIM cards, a memory card, and all this in a metal case), and it’s a shame that everything turned out that way. Apparently, some kind of Asian creative virus. ASUS puts a gadget in a gadget, and Samsung puts a slot in a slot.
All other elements are located traditionally: on the bottom edge there is a volume rocker with a distinct high stroke, on the top edge there is a microphone, on the bottom there is another microphone, microUSB and a 3.5 mm audio jack. On the back cover there is a flash and a protruding camera module, which serves as a stand for the speaker, located here. The small mesh does not produce a particularly outstanding sound; the phone will not work as a speaker at a picnic, and even if you place it on the grass or a blanket, you will muffle the sound. The call can always be heard well, even if you throw the phone at the bottom of the bag. But vibration can even wake up the dead; the minimum level can cause a tsunami, but this is from a different area.
To be honest, the A7's design point is the biggest in this review for a reason. Samsung A7 is like a peacock - it is with its appearance that it attracts hundreds of buyers. Strict, looks expensive, metal inspires confidence, cool body without seams or removable parts, the style is very correct. There is a choice of white pearlescent, business blue or this gold, super pretentious one. And thanks to the small dots (or too small polka dots) on the front under the glass at the top and bottom of the display, the thinness of the 6.3 mm body and the weight of 141 grams, the device is also suitable for girls. In short, when you take it in your hand for the first time, you immediately like it and don’t want to give it away.
The display is in my favorite tradition - 5.5 inches, wide and big as a shovel. As usual, a very rich AMOLED matrix is installed, which means that the colors are a little brighter than in your wildest dreams, the contrast is great and although the brightness level is far from IPS ideals, everything is clearly visible with what we have. True, in direct sunlight the picture becomes less readable than on smartphones with the same IPS matrix, and the white color at an angle can shimmer with all the colors of the rainbow, like a puddle of gasoline, but I still really liked it. For such a diagonal, the resolution is FullHD, which is a density of 401 ppi. Protective glass Corning Gorilla Glass 4. That is, in theory, it is very difficult to scratch. Without hesitation, I put the phone in the same pocket with the keys and you know - nothing. The little crash tester in me is indignant. I also liked the quality of the oleophobic coating - it’s pleasant to touch the display. Fingerprints remain, but are very easily erased.
If, unlike me, this range of colors eats away at your retina, go to the display settings. Here you can select not only themes, fonts and brightness, but also “Screen Mode”. My favorite is “Adaptive,” because it automatically optimizes color range, sharpness, brightness, and contrast for the most popular applications. Movie mode makes the screen a little brighter, Photo mode makes the screen a little yellower, and Basic mode is somewhere between Photo and Movie.
I’m not from the PenTile witness club, it’s not easy to notice at all, but there are those who see these subpixels. I’m saying that the thinnest fonts are easy to read and that’s enough.
And to sum it up, the display is really very, very good. It’s nice to touch it, watch movies, and it’s easy to customize to suit any taste. Great!
Very good, but only in good lighting. The 13 MP main camera takes excellent pictures, very clear, with good detail and natural colors. In daylight, it focuses very quickly and produces amazing results. Autofocus, flash, launch from the lock screen, video in FullHD mode, exposure by tapping on the display does not change - everything is fine until dusk. The less light, the longer it takes to focus, the blurrier the images, the less detail, the more noise. In short, evening = watercolor.
The same goes for the front camera. 5 MP is the key to taking awesome selfies during the day, even if you take photos with your passport, but in the evening or under yellow lamp light - good luck. In the face shooting mode, there are “beauty enhancement” functions, where you can enlarge your eyes and remove pores, and start a timer when you open your palm. You have three seconds to make the appropriate duck expression. There are “Group self-portrait” modes, where you need to move your phone like in a panorama, “Night”, “GIF animation” and the ability to download “Sports shot” and “Sound & Shot”. I think it’s great, since they removed a million modes and gave the opportunity to download all this leapfrog to those who need it. Because the majority of people don’t need so many super duper gadgets.
The main camera has “Self-portrait”, “Panorama”, “Night”, “GIF-animation” modes with the ability to download the same two free modes. You can also find hidden “Retouching”, “Post Effect”, “Continuous” (apparently “continuous”) and “Saturated Tones” in the “Manage Modes” menu to add them to the main set. Here, too, there is a timer for open palms, no fists. In the settings you can choose the format, size, exposure, ISO and all that stuff. Even set up voice control, which works great, even takes video on command.
Under the hood, our metal horse has a Snapdragon 615, built on the bigLITTLE principle, with 8 Cortex-A53 cores, but 4 of them operate at a frequency of 1 GHz, and another 4 at 1.6 GHz. There is also an Adreno 405 video accelerator and 2 GB of RAM. The memory is 16 GB, of which about 12 GB are available, and the SD card seems to be sorted out already. There is also an Exynos version of the smartphone, it does not support two SIM cards, but I haven’t found it on sale here. Thanks to the filling, the Smart gains a fabulous 27 thousand parrots. This is a fairly average figure, but I did set up races and tanks to drive. You won’t squeal with delight, the graphics are average and there may be slight slowdowns, but there is a reflection in the mirrors in Real Racing 3. The device heats up noticeably, so I advise you to always keep the tanks open in winter so as not to freeze your fingers on the body.
In general, such characteristics should be enough for cloudless control of the gadget. It should be enough for the interface to work and for the stable operation of applications. But for some reason not in my copy. I specifically talked to the kids who got tested with A7 earlier than I did. Everyone says that the gadget works quickly, there are no problems with toys or opening applications. I complain about the lag of the shell, although it is all so upgraded and beautiful, you can even choose themes, just like the older flagships, but something is clearly wrong with it. Elementary applications could fall out, nothing would be installed from the Play Market, only after the third reset everything went back to normal. In addition, false touches occurred on the back touch button. That is, I press it once, the device freezes, I don’t touch it, I feel by vibration that the button is triggered again. After a long tap, the multi-window side menu appears and you understand that I want to go to the previous menu, and the phone gets me an additional one. You have to wait for the context menu for almost 3 seconds, and this is if the touch worked, and if it worked correctly. And the mechanical “Home” button works every other time and does not work if you press it not in the center, but from the side. Judging by how many complaints I have, but none of them were confirmed by any of the other guys, I’m sure that I have a crap copy and you’re unlikely to come across one. So let it be just my troubles.
I'm not a fan of the gurgling interface at all. It always seemed too... oversaturated to me. There’s a lot in it, but you can’t change something as basic as the theme. Now the shell has been significantly redesigned; the bulbs in it can be replaced with something else. You immediately feel that Samsung is still new to these matters, it looks a little strange and ascetic, and then bam! – and that’s how I ended up on the Chinese souvenir market, but everyone started somewhere at some point.
In terms of programs and opportunities, this place is simply paradise on earth:
Until recently, Samsung's Galaxy A line was one of the least cost-effective solutions available on the market. But this year the Koreans became generous (was it because of deteriorating sales?) and offered several interesting features in the “folk” series. Samsung Galaxy A7 (2018), which we reviewed, became the company’s first smartphone with a triple main camera. But there are suspicions that this is just a marketing ploy and not a real improvement that affects the quality of photographs. Let's figure it out.
Samsung Galaxy A7 (2018) is available for purchase at a recommended retail price of 26,990 rubles. In Russia, the smartphone is available in blue, black and pink.
The design of the front panel of the Galaxy A7 (2018) is not much different from other smartphones released by Samsung in 2018. And this is more an advantage than a disadvantage: the Koreans should be praised for not bending to trends - against the background of smartphones with a unibrow that have flooded the market, the A7 does not look like another copy of the iPhone X.
Despite the fact that the thickness of the frames around the screen has almost halved compared to the previous generation, there is no framelessness here, and with its 6-inch display, the A7 is a very large device. But due to its moderate weight of 167 grams and small thickness (7.5 mm), the smartphone can be used comfortably. Not with one hand, of course.
But looking at the back cover, the new product cannot be confused with anything. The back of the body is made of glass (which feels very similar to glossy plastic in terms of tactile sensations), and it also houses the know-how of the Galaxy A7 (2018) - a triple camera. The whole thing looks expensive; people who don’t know will most likely mistake the device for some kind of expensive flagship. 
But taking a closer look at the details, it immediately becomes noticeable where the Koreans saved. And if the difference in materials, which is felt when comparing the A7 with the same Note 9, can be understood, then the use of a MicroUSB port in a smartphone for 25 thousand instead of Type-C is only puzzling. At least they left a headphone jack, and thanks for that. 
Noteworthy is the non-standard location of the fingerprint scanner, which is integrated into the power button of the smartphone located on the right side. There is now a small recess around it, allowing you to quickly feel the key blindly. After a short period of getting used to it, you begin to appreciate the convenience of this solution - when you pick up the smartphone, your thumb automatically rests on the button, the scanner works quickly, and you don’t have to press the key to unlock it.
For its price category, the display of the Galaxy A7 (2018) has no compromises; it is a large 6-inch SuperAMOLED matrix with FHD+ resolution and an aspect ratio of 18.5:9. In terms of color rendition, the screen is close to standard amoles; the maximum brightness is 400 cd/m2, which is enough for comfortable use of the smartphone outdoors. 
There is adaptive brightness control, color temperature and Always on Display mode, in which a clock and notification icons are displayed on the locked screen. To save battery power, AoD automatically turns off from 0 to 7 am, which can be changed in the settings.
This year, the Galaxy A7 became the third smartphone from Samsung to be powered by the Exynos 7885 processor (after the A8 and A8+). This is an eight-core chipset made using a 14nm process technology, in which two high-performance Cortex A53 cores operate at a frequency of 2.2, and six energy-efficient cores operate at a frequency of 1.6 GHz. The Mali-G71 MP2 accelerator is responsible for solving graphics problems. Depending on the configuration, the A7 may have 4/6 GB of RAM and 64/128 GB of permanent memory, which can be expanded with MicroSD capacity up to 512 GB. The Koreans were generous with a separate slot for a flash drive, so you don’t have to sacrifice a SIM card. 
The performance of the smartphone is average; in synthetics it is comparable to devices based on Snapdragon 636 and significantly lags behind smartphones based on the 660 Dragon, of which there are an overwhelming number in this price category.
