For Samsung 2017 was a year of excellence. The Koreans not only released one of the most technologically advanced this moment flagships Galaxy S8, setting the bar for the famous iPhones, but also updated many younger and simple models. Among those that were noticeably upgraded was the mid-range Samsung Galaxy A line. And not only the older models of the series, but also its youngest representative - the Samsung Galaxy A3.

Technical characteristics of Samsung Galaxy A3 (2017)

The South Korean developer is quite cunning - while most manufacturers are still chasing the screen size of their smartphones, Samsung is chasing the quality of the equipment. The guys from this company know their customers. And they know that a small but productive gadget is valued much more among ordinary people than a large smartphone with a weak processor.

As a result, we see annual updates to the South Korean mid-range lineup.

IN technically Samsung Galaxy A has undergone significant changes. However, the models in the series differ not so much from each other.

Frame

Like its older colleagues, the A3 has become smoother and more rounded. The corners of the body no longer protrude so clearly, and the edges smoothly flow from one to another. Many people don’t like this decision regarding the redesign, saying that the phone has become like a soap dish. However, these are modern trends - angular buildings now seem to be a trend of the last century.

The perimeter of the phone is framed by a metal frame, the front panel is covered with Corning Gorilla Glass 4 with a 2.5D effect. At the back, the same glass covers a slightly curved back panel. By the way, the panel is now smooth, there are no protrusions on it, the camera lens is perfectly tucked deeper into the body, which is quite convenient. The glass surface can sometimes play a cruel joke on its owner - glass and metal in the body materials make the phone uncomfortably slippery. If you are going to carry it without a case, be careful and hold the device tightly. Any fall in this case guarantees cracks and scratches on the phone body.

The front panel is not much different from the 2016 version - the screen occupies about 70% of the entire front part of the device, above it there is a speaker, the company logo, front-camera and a proximity sensor. At the bottom is the “Home” button on the mechanics with a built-in fingerprint scanner. There is also “Return” and “List of Applications” on the sensor. The touch buttons do not remain visible on the panel in inactive mode, although this is one of the signs of budget - more luxury models no longer have this.

Photo gallery: features of the appearance of the smartphone

Many users noted that after the redesign the phone looked like a point-and-shoot device
The camera now practically does not protrude beyond the surface of the body

Below are located mechanical button return to home screen and touch " Context menu" and "Back"
The speaker is placed on the side in an original way, next to it is the lock key

There are two connectors on the bottom - for headphones and for a charger.
Above the display you can find a speaker, front camera lens, motion sensor and the usual logo of the developer company

On the top edge of the phone, the developers placed a SIM card slot and microphone
Traditionally, volume up and down buttons are located on the left side

The dimensions of the device remained virtually unchanged. The length and width of the phone were 135.4 x 66.2 mm, respectively, and its thickness was 7.9 mm. The weight of the model is 138 g. Compared to last year’s version, the length of the case, its thickness and weight have increased, but the width has decreased. Apparently, the developer tried to bring the phone as close as possible to FullHD parameters with 16:9 proportions.

There are only three color options: black (Black), blue (Blue), gold (Gold), pink (Pink). In general, we tried to please everyone.

The small dimensions of the phone make it extremely ergonomic and convenient. It’s pleasant to hold the phone in your hand, and an attempt to reach the opposite corner, if necessary, will be crowned with undoubted success, even for girls.

Tech stuff

Samsung Galaxy A3 2017 runs on a fairly powerful eight-core Exynos 7 Octa 7870 processor, which is manufactured using 14 nanometer technology. Four ARM Cortex-A53 cores were placed here, whose clock frequency is 1.6 GHz, and the same number of cores GPU Mali-T830. By the way, this chipset was previously found in the oldest representative of the budget J line - Samsung Galaxy J7 last year. You shouldn't expect high results from hardware designed for medium-class phones. However, for its price and niche, the phone demonstrates good performance and stable work. For everyday work, local equipment is quite enough. More resource-intensive tasks, although they significantly load the processor, are still up to the task. But in heavy 3D games it is useless to test the power of the hardware.

Photo gallery: Galaxy A3 2017 performance tests

Samsung Galaxy A3 2017 runs on a fairly powerful eight-core Exynos 7 Octa 7870 processor. Four ARM Cortex-A53 cores are placed here, whose clock frequency is 1.6 GHz. The smartphone also has four Mali-T830 graphics processor cores.
For its price and niche, the phone demonstrates good performance and stable operation. In single tests, the cores show low results. A joint test of cores will show a completely different picture - the result is “above average”
Despite the fact that the smartphone is significantly inferior to the company's leading flagships, its performance is absolutely sufficient to complete most everyday tasks. Difficulties in work are caused only by heavy and resource-intensive 3D games If you are buying a smartphone for work and everyday tasks, and not for games and entertainment, the device will not cause any complaints

Installed here Android versions 6.0.1 Marshmallow with Grace UX shell, which is among model range Samsung was only used in the Note7. It has a non-standard notification panel and settings menu, and also provides the phone owner with an additional screen on which current news is displayed. In addition, Grace UX allows you to change the appearance of standard icons and the theme (you will, however, have to buy them), can respond to the owner’s gaze (activating the display when you look at it), and offers to optimize the phone’s energy consumption yourself. In general, Grace UX has a wagonload of useful gadgets and a small cart. Despite their abundance, the shell works quickly, and noticeable slowdowns are observed only when loading news into the panel.

It is also worth noting that the Samsung Galaxy A3 2017 can be upgraded to fresh Android 7.0 Nougat.

Photo gallery: operating system features

The phone is equipped with 2 GB of RAM

Almost half of the phone's memory will be occupied system files and folders that are impossible to get rid of. Fortunately, the developers thought about their customers and placed a slot for a flash card here, maximum volume which can reach 256 GB. Considering that the A3 is Samsung's junior model in the mid-price segment, the gift from the creators seems impressive. Although we should not forget that the additional memory slot will simply be inaccessible if the owner of the gadget uses two SIM cards. You will have to sacrifice either contacts or documents.

Of the available 16 GB of internal memory, about half will be available to the smartphone owner

Battery

The battery on the Galaxy A3 is lithium ion and non-removable. Its capacity is only 2350 mAh, but the screen with low resource consumption and the built-in processor, which intelligently distributes the load on the battery, more than compensate for the small capacity.

The battery in the Samsung Galaxy A3 2017 is not very spacious, but the results and operating time are pleasantly surprising

The time of continuous work on the Internet reaches 12-17 hours, the phone can play video for up to 17 hours in a row, play audio for up to 41 hours when the screen is periodically turned on and up to 55 hours when it is turned off. At the same time, the talk time without interruptions is about 17 hours. In general, at an average load level, the smartphone can easily withstand almost two days of work.

Fast or wireless charging Galaxy A3 2017 does not. However, even without them, the device is fully charged quite quickly - in 1.5 - 2 hours the battery replenishes its reserve to the maximum level.

The battery is undoubtedly the strong point of the smartphone, even with low figures for its capacity.

Other amenities

In addition to good technical characteristics, the Samsung Galaxy A3 2017 also added several special functions that will pleasantly surprise the owners of the gadget.

IP68

The IP68 standard guarantees your smartphone reliable protection from dust and moisture entering the phone body. Now you don’t have to worry that your gadget will suddenly stop working after encountering water or a sandstorm. It can be safely placed at a depth of 1.5 meters for as long as 30 minutes. If during such a time even water cannot get inside, let alone dust.

Despite the fact that the smartphone occupies the youngest place in the line, since 2017 it is also equipped with dust and moisture protection properties

Samsung Pay

One of the undoubted advantages of the updated version of A3 is the ability to pay without a physical card. In the 2017 version appeared NFC support and MST technologies, which allows you to link a card to your phone, and then calmly pay with it, even without having this card in your pocket. The data is reliably protected and there is no need to worry about its loss - every transaction of funds is confirmed by your fingerprint.

They didn’t forget to put it in the smartphone and Samsung Pay

Always-On-Display

This feature, previously exclusive to luxury models, appeared on Samsung Galaxy A line smartphones only this year. Moreover, as you can see, not only among its senior representatives, but also among the youngest A3. The function itself is as follows: the screen of your phone, even in inactive mode, displays all current notifications, events, calendar, clock and other important and useful information.

Like its older brothers in the line, the Samsung Galaxy A3 2017 is not without an always-on screen feature

Blue filter

This mode changes the phone's current color scheme to a softer, warmer, autumnal color scheme. This change has a very beneficial effect on the eyes of the owner of the device, relieves tension from them, and allows the eye muscles to relax. As a result, the time you spend using the phone increases, and discomfort and fatigue decrease.

USB Type C (1.0)

Among other things, the phone has a new USB connector. This is now USB Type C version 1.0. How is the new connector different from the old one? Yes, because it is symmetrical, which means that it doesn’t matter which side you try to insert it into the phone. Any will do.

Fingerprint's scanner

The fingerprint scanner is built into the mechanical Home button on the front of the phone. Users have very mixed reviews about its work. Some are satisfied with the device, noting the fast response (less than 1.5 seconds to unlock) and smooth operation. Others categorically state that the scanner is mediocre and only works every time. Considering that we are talking about a junior phone in the budget line, such flaws seem forgivable.

The fingerprint scanner in the Samsung Galaxy A3 2017, although weak, is still present

Camera

The smartphone is equipped with a camera with a main camera resolution of 13 megapixels. The focal power of the lens is f/1.9. Like older models, Samsung Galaxy A3 2017 is available as built-in standard modes, and Pro mode, which involves manual setting most parameters. So, in this mode you can easily adjust ISO, i.e. the light sensitivity of the lens, select the white level, set exposure and much more. The camera interface is also very standard and is unlikely to cause confusion among those who have used Samsung smartphones in recent years.

In addition to the standard ones, the camera is equipped with an HDR mode. If some time ago this mode justifiably seemed useless and ineffective to many users, now HDR often “pulls out” many pictures. On the Samsung Galaxy A3 2017, this mode works very smoothly. After applying HDR, dark holes do not acquire unnatural shades, and highlights do not turn gray.

Left - picture without HDR, right - with HDR mode

Daytime shooting

During the day, the camera focuses the image very accurately and quickly. The frames are detailed, bright, rich and pleasant. The color gamut of the photographs is close to natural, the range of shades is high and varied. As for the white balance, the camera determines it quite close to the original, i.e., real, picture.

However, it is also noticeable that the smartphone is a junior version of the line. The Samsung Galaxy A3 2017 lacks optical stabilization, due to which, even during the day, pictures can sometimes come out insufficiently clear and blurry in places. In this situation, the quality of the photo directly depends on the stamina and reliability of the hand that holds it. Given the light weight of the product, as well as its size, trying to take a good, clear photo becomes a serious task. And in conditions of night shooting or indoor shooting, it becomes even more difficult.

Photo gallery: daytime shooting

The front camera of the phone has a resolution of 8 megapixels and an aperture equal to the main camera, f/1.9

The Samsung Galaxy A3 2017 carries over the same convenience in handling the front camera as its older S-series brothers. You can switch from camera to camera with a simple swipe on the display, take pictures with a quick touch of the screen, or shoot using a voice command or gesture.

With the updated front camera, you don't have to worry about the quality of the pictures - they will be beautiful

Video

The Samsung Galaxy A3 2017 shoots videos in FullHD quality, with a frame rate of 30 fps. The user has access to a panorama mode, as well as a Pro mode with the same settings as the camera.

Video: Samsung Galaxy A3 2017 camera review

Price

The price range of the Galaxy A3 2017 is very large - from 14,700 to 22,990 rubles. The cost of the model in the official Samsung store as of July 2017 is 19,990 rubles.

Video: review of the Samsung Galaxy A3 2017 smartphone

The beginning of 2017 for Samsung fans was marked by the release of new smartphones in the A line, aimed at producing phones in the mid-price segment. From the very beginning of the release of A-line mobile phones at the beginning of 2015, it was represented by models A3, A5, and A7. In 2017, Samsung decided not to change its traditions and also released three phones with the same numbers.

In this article, we will take a detailed look at the advantages and disadvantages of the youngest of the three brothers, the Samsung Galaxy A3, and analyze how it differs from the older ones, so that you can make your own conclusion: whether to buy it or not.

The equipment for this model is quite standard for more or less new Samsung phones. It includes:

• The phone itself;
• Charger with USB connector at 1.5 Ampere;
• New generation Type-C cable for high-speed data transfer. It is used in almost all new devices. The cord length is standard and is 1.2 meters;
• Quite good wired ones in-ear headphones with volume control and answer/reject button on the wire;
• An interesting surprise was a small adapter from microUSB to Type-C, which can be useful if you have an old microUSB cable or Charger, which, thanks to this adapter, can still serve you.

Design and convenience

The diagonal of the screen, which, by the way, has a SuperAmoled matrix with HD resolution, is 4.7 inches; under the screen there is a proprietary Samsung mechanical HOME button, which is also a fingerprint scanner. To the left and right of it are 2 touch buttons.

Above the screen - speaker, a proximity light sensor, the one that goes out when you raise the phone to your ear, and a front camera. On the right, the manufacturer has placed buttons for adjusting the volume, while on the left there is a speaker and a power button. The speaker is not too loud, but the sound is clear and pleasant.

Connector for dual sim slot is located at the top of the phone. Since a separate cell for microSD cards is not provided, the user will have to choose between two SIM cards or a SIM card and a memory card. At the bottom there is a connector for a Type-C cable and a 3.5 mm headphone input.

The body itself is made of aluminum, and the front and back panels protected by Gorilla glass 4. The phone is available in three colors: gold, blue and black. The most impressive of them is, perhaps, black, since due to the design feature, the switched-off screen seems to merge with the body and the transition border is almost invisible.

The device is also quite comfortable and fits well in the hand. It's just a little slippery due to the glass on the back. So if you are afraid that it might slip out of your hands, then you should purchase a case. The A3 weighs only 138 grams, making it the smallest in the entire line. A5 and A7 weigh 159 and 186 grams respectively.

Peculiarities

It's worth starting, perhaps, with the Always On Display function. It allows you to look at the clock, calendar, battery charge indicator and other useful information without unlocking the phone. In 2018, almost all phones already have this built-in function, but until 2017 it was implemented only in Samsung flagship models.

The phone also supports Samsung service pay, with which you can pay for purchases by phone instead of a plastic card. It can even simulate a magnetic stripe using MST technology. From the moment of their release until now, the 2017 A line is the most budget phones, supporting this payment method.

The IP68 water and dust protection standard used makes the A3 quite reliable, like its brothers. You don’t have to worry too much if it falls into the water, since with its water resistance level it can lie under water up to 30 at a depth of 1.5 meters without any damage to performance. And there’s no need to even talk about dust and dirt inside the phone.

Main characteristics

Memory

The A3 has at its disposal only 2 GB of RAM and 16 GB of internal memory, which is quite a bit, and having only a combined slot for a SIM card and memory card, owners of two SIM cards will have to be content with only these 16 gigabytes. The A5 and A7 do not have such shortcomings, since in addition to 3 GB of RAM and 32 GB of internal memory, they also have an additional slot for a microSD card.

CPU

Models A5 and A7 have a completely new, at that time, 8 nuclear processor Samsung Exynos 7880, operating at a frequency of 1.9 GHz, but the A3 was slightly deprived by installing a Samsung Exynos 7870 processor, whose frequency is only 1.6 GHz. Therefore, the A3 is not as fast as its brothers from the same line, and produces only 45,000 in the AnTuTu test, while other models from the same series easily score about 60,000.

If we talk about games, it’s not a fact that such power will be enough for the new products of 2018, but for active games of 2017 it will be suitable. Although with difficulty. Take, for example, the rather demanding Asphalt Extreme. She works quietly maximum settings. However, really heavy games like Unkilled slow down even at medium graphics settings. With light two-dimensional or simply not very demanding games, problems should not arise at all. True, when recording video from the screen, almost any game, even not at all demanding, begins to slow down.

Another advantage of this processor is that its temperature almost does not rise, despite the absence of throttling (specific protection against overheating of the processor by skipping machine cycles (cycles) and the subsequent decrease in processor performance, but preventing further heating).

This became possible thanks to the modern FinFET process, which allows you to create processors with a thickness of only 14 nm

Camera

The rear camera is 13 megapixels with a good aperture – f/1.9 and autofocus. The camera's capabilities are small and will not provide much scope for shooting. Regular photos, HDR mode, panoramic shots, food, night photography, and basically everything. There is a PRO mode, but it doesn’t have too many settings. You can only change the white balance, adjust light sensitivity to increase sharpness and adjust exposure compensation.

The shots taken by the camera, however, turn out quite good, but you often have to wait 2-4 seconds for focusing before the camera takes a picture if you are photographing in non-ideal lighting conditions.

You can see how the camera takes pictures below:

And here is an example of how he takes photographs at night:

The front camera deserves special praise. Having a matrix resolution of 8 megapixels and the same aperture as the rear camera, selfies are highly detailed and with excellent color rendition. There is a built-in photo retouching program that allows you to whiten your skin, smooth out wrinkles, widen your eyes and some other little things. In general, selfie lovers should like it.

Example photo of the front camera:

You don't have to worry about the video camera at all. The phone can shoot video in FullHD at 30 fps. The sound and detail are at a high level. There is also autofocus. Some people complain, however, that it is too smooth, even slow, but this is completely uncritical. Shaking from walking when shooting is not compensated for, so you should shoot carefully.

Interface

Samsung galaxy A3 was released on Android 6.0 Marshmallow OS with a subsequent update to Nougat. The smartphone uses the standard Samsung shell. There is no particular point in describing it in detail. These are the same familiar desktops with widgets and icons.

You can take a screenshot by pressing HOME keys and a lock key, which is almost impossible to do with one hand. Unlocking by default is done by pressing the power button and swiping up on the screen.

Software

About 45 applications are initially installed on the phone, the vast majority of which cannot be deleted. (Except perhaps UBANK, Yandex and a couple of standard Samsung programs).

These include: a standard set of utilities used in all smartphones, redesigned by Samsung for its models. Such branded applications from Samsung, such as: S Voice, Samsung's own Siri, Samsung Health, which is useful for those who need to monitor health indicators, Samsung technical support, Galaxy Apps, etc. analogue of Google play for Samsung phones, not going anywhere.

Also installed by default are applications from Google, a software package Microsoft Office, Skype, Facebook, cloud service One Drive, Samsung pay, mentioned above, and others.

The settings look quite compact due to the fact that a large number of parameters are collected in various sections, such as:

• "Optimization" - includes settings for RAM, ROM, battery and security settings
• “Sound and Vibration” - contains sound control parameters, as well as an equalizer and even things like reverberation, which may please people who are inclined to use a smartphone as a full-fledged audio player.
• "Display" in addition standard settings screen allows you to turn off the Always on Display function, but it does not consume a lot of battery, and the thing is quite convenient, so you can leave it.
• « Additional functions» These are mostly things like gesture control, eye tracking (the phone doesn't turn off until you look away) and practically useless screen reduction tools.

In general, the firmware seems to be a solid and complete shell, but perhaps too overloaded. The manufacturer stuffed a lot of things into it. Take at least 45 pre-installed applications. However, in such a large functionality you can find almost any function that you may need, so it’s up to you to choose whether it’s a plus or a minus.

Battery

The energy source for this model is Li-Ion battery, capacity 2350 mAh. It easily provides the phone with high autonomy, despite such a seemingly modest capacity. Fast charging is not implemented in this model, but with a charging speed of 1 hour 35 minutes with a standard charger, it is not needed.

Despite the small size of the battery, it lasts quite a long time. If you keep the screen on for 3-5 hours a day, with active data transfer in LTE and making calls, then the battery charge will easily last for 2 days

If you use the phone exclusively for calls, you can even count on 5-6 days of work, depending on the operator and the frequency of these calls, of course.

Watch video in high resolution with the brightness turned up to maximum, it will drain the battery in about 17 hours, which is very, very good, especially considering such a small battery capacity.

With such indicators, operating time is definitely an advantage of this model. After all, even with active use and a heavy load on the processor, it is unlikely that you will be able to discharge this device in less than a day. And at such a charging speed, the problem of lack of energy goes away by itself.

Communication capabilities

There is no need to talk about the availability of Internet access, WI-FI and GPS for a long time, especially in 2017 models. Although it is worth noting that these functions are implemented just fine here.

GPS access speed takes only about 10 seconds. Navigation works perfectly and without failures, thanks to a competent approach to antenna design.

The device operates on almost all necessary LTE frequencies, which can also be considered a compliment to antenna manufacturers

There is also a built-in FM radio. Just like a nice bonus.

What is the price

As of August 2018, the average price for this device is:

1. In Russia – 13,500 rubles;
2. In Belarus – 500 denominated Belarusian rubles;
3. In Ukraine – 6500-8000 hryvnia;
4. In Kazakhstan – 75,000 tenge.

Here we have indicated the approximate cost in online stores in various countries. In order to better understand the price and find where you can buy it at a good price this model You shouldn’t limit yourself to the first store you come across in your region, but consider offers from several points of sale. You may be lucky enough to stumble upon discounts. However, you already know about this.

Samsung Galaxy A3

conclusions

Summing up, I would like to say that the phone turned out to be quite good, although there are controversial points, but first things first:

Advantages

• In the manufacture of the case, the manufacturer used good and high-quality materials, and the assembly itself is beyond praise;
• The advantage of the processor can be called it small size and manufacturability, as a result of which it almost does not overheat and at the same time ensures stable and smooth operation of the phone in operating mode;
• The biggest advantage of the phone is its battery, which simply holds a charge amazingly and does not run out for a long time;
• The high class of protection against water and dust IP 68 makes the phone quite durable and will protect it from unpleasant accidents if something happens;
• Availability of Samsung pay service;
• Always on Display function;
• An excellent speaker that produces good sound and is also well protected from water.

Flaws

• The disadvantage of the processor is that its performance is still not very high. If it is quite enough to work with applications, then problems arise with games;
• An unnecessarily overloaded shell that takes up about 10 GB of memory out of the standard 16, leaving the user with only 6;
• A small disadvantage is that the phone, due to its design, is quite slippery and purchasing a case is highly advisable;
• Although the camera on the phone is not bad, it lacks stabilization, which negatively affects the quality of images when shooting moving objects. Also, after reading the reviews, you can see that the focusing speed is not only us.

Samsung Galaxy A3 is a worthy smartphone from the Korean brand in the budget class.

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Today we will talk about a compact 4G smartphone with a 4.7-inch screen, the body of which is protected from dust and water. We're talking about the Samsung Galaxy A3 2017. The model received a stylish appearance, reminiscent of the flagship Galaxy S7, powerful chip, bright display and for a long time work without recharging. During our test review, we will determine whether the device is worthy of its price and how it compares to its competitors.

At the beginning of 2017, Samsung introduced the third generation of Galaxy A series smartphones. As before, the line included three models. The main feature is that all new products look like the flagship Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 edge. At the same time, their functionality is not so much inferior to their more expensive counterparts. The most affordable Galaxy A 2017 device has a 4.7-inch display, the middle one is 5.2 inches, and the older one is 5.7 inches.

In general, the Samsung Galaxy A3 2017 is a rare example of a compact smartphone. In an era when all manufacturers are chasing the maximum screen size, there are practically no models on the market with high performance and, at the same time, small dimensions. Of those available for sale, I can only remember Apple iPhone SE. Now the Samsung Galaxy A3 2017 has appeared among them. It is very similar to the Galaxy S7 in appearance, but costs 20,000 less.

Metal and glass are used in the decoration of the device. The performance is ensured by a powerful Exynos 7870 processor, Mali-T830 graphics, and 2 GB of RAM. The user interface works without any hesitation. There is support for all modern wireless technologies, including 4G, dual-band Wi-Fi and NFC. You can use the built-in fingerprint scanner to unlock your smartphone. There is also a payment service Samsung Pay. But first things first.

Technical parameters of Samsung Galaxy A3 (2017) SM-A320F

Delivery package and first impressions

Samsung Galaxy A3 2017 model series comes in a white thick cardboard box. The model name is printed on the front, and the main technical parameters are on the back. There is no image of the gadget.

Inside, the device itself is placed on a plastic backing - Samsung Galaxy A3 SM-A320F. In addition to this, the kit includes:

Charger adapter with USB connector
Sync cable computer USB- USB Type C
Adapter from USB Type C to microUSB
Stereo headset with miniJack 3.5 mm
SIM card tray clip
Instructions, warranty card

It is noteworthy that Samsung decided to include an adapter from USB Type C to microUSB in the kit. This fact significantly makes life easier for potential owners of the new Galaxy A3. There are twice as many options for recharging the device: the newfangled USB Type C or standard microUSB.

Currently on sale you can find four types of body colors: black, gold, blue and pink. All colors look good. Each of them has a metallic sheen that shimmers in the light in an interesting way. It looks much more impressive than glossy iPhone case 7. I had a black version at my disposal.

The 2017 Galaxy A3 fits comfortably in your hand. The phone is quite compact. The screen diagonal is 4.7 inches - the same as the iPhone 6/6S/7. The Galaxy A3 (2017) dimensions are 135.4 x 66.2 x 7.9 mm and weighs 138 grams.

You can reach the edges of the display with one hand. At least in my male hands, such a trick was easily accomplished. In the settings you can activate special mode, which reduces the image by 30%, allowing the thumb of a miniature hand to reach the corners of the display. In some cases this may be useful.

In clothes it is completely invisible. You can easily forget that you have a phone in your pocket, it doesn’t feel like a big burden. You can carry the device in the pockets of tight clothes without any problems. There will definitely be no inconveniences.

Design and appearance

The appearance of the Galaxy A3 (2017) largely copies flagship model Galaxy S7. There is also a metal case in which not only the screen, but also the back panel is covered with glass. The glass has a slight curvature, the so-called 2.5D effect. Corning Gorilla Glass 4 is used here. It is assumed that it is not afraid of cuts and proximity to metal keys and various fittings. However, there is no protection against falls. Owners of devices should worry about protection in advance and buy a case, bumper or protective cover in case of falls.

The glossy surfaces of the gadget have an oleophobic coating, which copes with its tasks: fingerprints, dust and dirt do not stand out much. On models in blue, pink and gold, prints are generally difficult to see. In black they are still noticeable.

A frame is made of steel that runs along the entire contour of the device. There are small notches on the sides. The metal had a positive effect on the overall perception of the device. The body is monolithic, looks durable and reliable. The assembly is high quality. The smartphone looks good and is much more expensive than its price. It is clear that this is not a rattle, but a serious device.

On the front you can see a 4.7-inch SuperAMOLED screen. Above it there is a speaker, light sensors, a front 8 megapixel camera, as well as the manufacturer’s logo. Below the display there is a mechanical key with a built-in fingerprint scanner. Biometric identification when unlocking or paying with Samsung Pay is fast and accurate. I did not find any problems with the operation of the button. On the sides of the central key there are two touch buttons. One is responsible for returning to one level, and the other for launching the manager of programs running in the background.

On the right side of the Galaxy A3 there is a power and screen lock button. In addition, here you can see a speaker for notifications and playing external sounds. This layout stands out from existing phone models. The speaker itself is average in volume, but the sound in it is quite pleasant and spacious. During testing, an interesting pattern emerged. If you put the smartphone speakers down in a handbag, the ringtone will not be heard (although it all depends on the contents of the bag! =)). There are no problems with winter clothes.

The volume keys are located on the left side. On the bottom edge there is a 3.5 mm jack for a headset and headphones, as well as USB port Type C for charger and connection to computer. At the top end there is a tray for SIM cards and memory cards. At the same time, either two nanoSIM cards or a memory card and one SIM card are installed in it. That is, a combined tray. High capacity memory cards are supported - up to 256 GB.

There is a microphone on the bottom and top ends, there is a noise reduction system, it does its job perfectly. The interlocutor can clearly hear your voice in any conditions, even in noisy transport or during strong winds outside.

On the back side you can see a 13 megapixel camera lens with autofocus and LED flash. The lens does not protrude relative to the plane of the smartphone itself.

The battery is located inside the case. It is not removable.

During the test, I did not find any external defects or poor quality assembly. The impressions are extremely positive. The device looks like a real flagship. The smartphone is assembled at the Samsung plant in Vietnam.

Screen. Graphics capabilities

For your price category The screen on the Galaxy A3 2017 is good. It is bright, contrasty, images and fonts are very smooth, without roughness, the black color is very deep. The viewing angles are maximum; colors do not change when tilted.

It uses a 4.7-inch SuperAMOLED screen. Resolution 720x1280 pixels (312 ppi). On top it is covered with durable Corning Gorilla Glass 4 with a 2.5D effect, that is, the edges of the display are slightly rounded.

This is one of the best screens in its class. Retina screen on iPhone 7 with the same diagonal it has a comparable resolution - 1334x750 pixels. At the same time, the quality of the screen in the A3 2017 is better in many aspects, the picture is more vibrant and bright.

Thanks to the “Adaptive” option, the user can significantly reduce the strain on their eyes. The device analyzes the level of lighting around and, depending on the conditions, sets the contrast and brightness, plus adjusts the colors on the screen. In addition, there is the ability to use color settings " Movie AMOLED", "Photo AMOLED", "main".

The screen looks great in the sun. I did not notice any problems with reading the information. There is no glare or discoloration of the picture.

The sensitivity of the display is 10 points out of 10. All clicks are processed correctly and clearly. Samsung Galaxy A3 2017 supports glove operation.

A pleasant bonus is the presence of the AlwaysOn Display option, which allows you to display icons on a locked and inactive screen individual applications, date, time or pictures. The display is black and white, the operation of this function does not drain the battery much: per day of use the consumption is 4%. Previously, this function worked exclusively in flagship devices; since 2017, it has come to the mid-price segment.

Hardware platform: processor, memory, performance

The performance of the Samsung Galaxy A3 (2017) is ensured by the 64-bit Exynos 7870 chip manufactured by Samsung with an eight-core processor with clock frequency 1.6 GHz per core (Cortex A53). It is made using 14 nm technology. Mali T830 graphics are used. Random access memory 2 GB. Built-in memory in the device is 16 GB (9.7 GB available to the user), supported removable media microSD up to 256 GB.

In general, the performance of the smartphone is good. The interface works smoothly, the browser runs smoothly even when opening heavy pages. All this is confirmed by synthetic tests. The model is up to standard, and the safety margin is enough for at least a couple of years. The processor hardly heats up when loaded with productive games.

The advantages include the low power consumption of the Samsung chip and HD screen resolution. This has a positive effect on time battery life. The smartphone lasts longer than its competitors.

To summarize, I can say that the characteristics fully correspond to the positioning. Samsung Galaxy A3 (2017) is a typical average or slightly above. Social networks, videos, music, games - all this works without flaws or restrictions. For the youth who love beautiful gadgets, but I’m not ready to pay a lot, I’ll like the device.

Communication capabilities

The smartphone supports all modern communication networks: 2G/3G and 4G cat. 6 on Russian frequencies, confidently receives the signal and does not lose it for no apparent reason. The quality of signal reception is not satisfactory, the device confidently maintains communication indoors and does not lose the signal in areas of poor reception (tested on MegaFon and Yota networks). Talking on the phone is comfortable. The speaker has a good volume reserve, and the interlocutors did not complain about poor audibility during testing.

The device can work with all modern wireless networks. Among them are dual-band Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, Wi-Fi Direct, you can organize wireless point access via Wi-Fi or Bluetooth channels. There is a built-in LTE modem. All modules work quickly and without failures. The device also has ANT support+, NFC and Samsung Pay.

Connection to a computer is carried out using a USB Type C 2.0 connector. From additional communication tools It is worth noting GPS, A-GPS, GLONASS (standard Google Maps cartography is built into the smartphone). The navigation error radius during testing was about 3 meters, which is very little. The gadget copes well with the role of a navigator.

Battery. Duration of work

Samsung Galaxy A3 (2017) has lithium-ion battery capacity 2350 mAh. Under testing conditions, with a number of calls of 35-40 minutes per day, browsing the Internet for about 2 hours via 4G, listening to an mp3 player through a headset for about 2 hours a day, the device worked for two days. When watching videos, the smartphone worked for 16 hours, in navigator mode - about 5.5 hours.

If we take average data, the device can work from 2 to 3 days. Those who use only calls can easily count on 5-6 days of work. In terms of autonomy, the device differs from the vast majority of Android smartphones for the better. Personally, battery life matters a lot to me, and the Galaxy A3 SM-A320F was a pleasant surprise.

In addition, there is a power saving mode, when the screen backlight and processor frequency are limited. In this scenario, the operating time will increase by at least 20%. There is an extreme (maximum) energy saving mode. In this case, the screen displays only white and gray colors, all applications except telephone communication, SMS, calendar and alarms are disabled.

Technology fast charging I did not receive the phone, but the included charger charges the battery in 1 hour 40 minutes. This is a completely reasonable time.

User Interface and Operating System

Currently, Samsung Galaxy A3 (2017) comes with Android firmware 6.0.1 with Clean UI. The same shell is used in the Galaxy S7 and S7 edge. Software You can “update over the air”. From March 2017, the model will receive an update to Android 7. This is a big plus.

Smartphone owners have access to all Samsung branded programs, including S Health for monitoring physical activity and health, voice assistant S Voice, gesture support, KNOX - for separating data into personal and work, etc. Missing programs can be downloaded from Samsung App Store And Google Play. The model supports the Samsung Pay service.

Unlike the Galaxy S models, there is a built-in FM radio, which is a plus. Also pre-installed and uninstallable Office package and Skype, but Kaspersky can be removed before it begins to eat up already limited system resources and drain the battery.

Camera. Photo and video capabilities

Galaxy A3 2017 has a 13 megapixel camera. The quality of the pictures is good. The camera interface is made in the traditional Samsung style. There are many settings and preset modes, including self-portrait, panorama, night, continuous shooting, HDR (maximum resolution of 8 megapixels) and GIF animation creation.

For example, “Two-way shooting” allows you to take photos using both cameras at the same time. As for the other settings, automatic contrast allows you to achieve good quality pictures. In manual mode, ISO settings are available at 50, 100, 200, 400, 800. The following shooting modes are available: single shot, smile detection, continuous, panorama, vintage, portrait, landscape, night mode, sports, indoor, beach/snow, sunset, dawn, autumn colors, fireworks, text, twilight, against the light.

The phone supports video recording in mpeg4 format for maximum resolution, and in the settings you can specify whether the video will be recorded with or without sound. All settings are comparable to those for photographs, but the video resolutions are different, plus effects are supported. The camera can shoot videos with a resolution of 1920x1080 pixels, there are also 1280x720, 720x480 pixels (30 frames), or a resolution of 640x480 pixels (30 frames). Two additional resolutions - 320x240 and 176x144 pixels.

The recorded video is not bad. It looks great on a phone screen and looks good on a computer too.

The front camera has a resolution of 8 megapixels. It is quite photosensitive (f/1.9), but does not have autofocus. The pictures are of decent quality provided there is good lighting. In difficult conditions the camera is not ideal.

Results

Samsung Galaxy A3 (2017) left an extremely positive impression. At its core, this is the flagship Galaxy S7, but 20,000 rubles cheaper. Among the undoubted advantages I can attribute its compactness without sacrificing functionality. The Android OS interface on a high-quality 4.7-inch SuperAMOLED screen looks impressive and beautiful. The device is fast, functional, has a stylish appearance, and is protected from water and dust. The gadget will calmly survive a fall into water for no more than 30 minutes to a depth of 1.5 m. The battery life was a pleasant surprise - with average use it is possible to achieve three days of operation without recharging.

In technological terms, the smartphone is also in perfect order. LTE, dual-band Wi-Fi up to 100 Mbit/s, support for two SIM cards, NFC, Samsung Pay. By default, users have access to the S Health application to monitor their physical activity, KNOXX to create a protected data area.

The main camera is a typical average one. It takes good pictures for its class, but the Galaxy A5 2017 has a better camera. This applies to both photography and video shooting.

Of the minuses, if I’m being picky, I can mention the combined slot of one SIM card and a microSD memory card. In addition, I recommend taking care of fall protection. Although the Samsung Galaxy A3 2017 looks durable, it may not survive a hard fall on rocks, concrete or asphalt.

For young people who love beautiful gadgets, but are not ready to pay a lot, the device will appeal to their taste. There are very few competitors with comparable characteristics on sale. What comes to mind is Sony Xperia X Compact and iPhone SE.

Advantages

High quality build

Good screen

Support LTE cat. 6

Water and dust protection

Dual SIM support

Long battery life

Flaws

High risk of glass parts breaking if dropped

Combined slot for one SIM card and memory card

On the day of publication of this test review, you could buy the Samsung Galaxy A3 2017 (SM-A320F) at a price starting from 22,990 rubles.

It’s not very often that people come to us for a test. Samsung smartphones middle and budget segments. It’s almost a shame to admit: the last time we had a non-flagship from this company was almost three years ago, and it was the Galaxy Alpha (review). That model was largely a turning point for the Koreans: after an extremely unsuccessful design experiment in the Galaxy S5 (review), the company finally stopped considering plastic as the only possible material for a smartphone body and began actively using metal and glass. The success of the Galaxy Alpha led to the birth of the line of stylish “strong mid-rangers” Galaxy A. At the beginning of 2017, the third generation of these devices was introduced, the youngest representative of which we will now get to know.

Technical Samsung specifications Galaxy A3 (2017):

• Network: GSM (850/900 MHz), UMTS/WCDMA (Band 1, 2, 5, 8), FDD-LTE (Band 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 20), TDD-LTE (Band 40 )
• Platform: Android 6.0 Marshmallow with proprietary shell
• Display: 4.7", 1280x720 pixels, 312 ppi, SuperAMOLED with PenTile
• Camera: 13 MP, f/1.9, Sony IMX258 sensor, LED flash, 1080p@30fps video recording
• Front camera: 8 MP, f/1.9, Sony IMX219 sensor
• Processor: 8 cores, 1.6 GHz, 14 nm, 64 bits, Samsung Exynos 7870
• Graphics chip: Mali-T830
• RAM: 2 GB
• Internal memory: 16 GB
• Memory card: microSD (up to 256 GB)
• Two SIM slots (nano-SIM + nano-SIM/microSD)
• GPS, GLONASS
• Bluetooth 4.2
• Wi-Fi (802.11a/b/g/n/ac), 2.4/5 GHz,
• USB Type-C 2.0
• Fingerprint's scanner
• Battery: non-removable, 2350 mAh
• Dimensions: 135.4x66.2x7.9 mm
• Weight: 138 g

Video review

Design

Samsung Galaxy A3 (2017) is available in three colors - black, blue and gold. We got the most classic version for testing, that is, the first one (but for the photo shoot we took the blue one). The body is made of glass (front and back panels) and metal. The design is full of curves: 2.5D glass on the front, 3D glass on the back (this means that both the internal and external surfaces are not flat), rounded corners of the body, rounded ends, squares with rounded corners as camera eyes and flash. The abundance of roundness, in my subjective feeling, only spoils the impression of the design - the appearance of the device seems too soft and soothing, soapy. However, you may like these features, this is pure taste.

Let's study the arrangement of elements on the body, there are a lot of interesting things here. On the left are only the volume keys. At the top is the first surprise: in addition to the additional microphone, there is a tray for SIM cards (a common location for Samsung, but unusual for its competitors; there is one nano-SIM slot and one combined nano-SIM+microSD slot in the sled). On the right is the second surprise: not only the lock key, but also a multimedia speaker. It seems that only a well-drunk designer could have placed it there, but in fact the place is very good: you can only block the sound with a grip in portrait orientation, and that is unlikely (your finger will most likely land in the area of ​​the lock key). At the bottom there is a 3.5 mm microphone jack, a double-sided USB Type-C connector and a microphone, the relative position of which will anger a perfectionist:

The back panel (it is non-removable, the battery cannot be removed by “legal” means) is boring: only the camera, flash and Samsung logo. There is no oleophobic coating on the glass, so it quickly becomes covered with unpleasant fingerprints. On the front, everything is traditional for Samsung: a logo, a protruding earpiece, a front camera and sensors above the screen, two backlit touch buttons and a hardware home button below it. There is a fingerprint scanner built into the button, which works quite well if you enter your finger several times (with a dirty and clean button, with a dirty and clean finger).

The screen of the Samsung Galaxy A3 (2017) has a diagonal of 4.7" and a resolution of 1280x720 pixels. 312 ppi is a good pixel density, but... Samsung uses SuperAMOLED screens with a special pixel structure (PenTile), which is why the pixel density indicator It’s reasonable to divide by one and a half. Indeed, it’s much more like 208 ppi: the diagonal grid is visible to the naked eye, the fonts are loose and with red halos. The screen has excellent maximum brightness, it’s not a problem on a clear day, and excellent minimum readability from the screen in the dark. - this is not a problem at all, especially with the blue filter turned on. The viewing angles are excellent, but even at slight angles there are slight color inversions. However, as the angle increases, they do not increase, so this should not be considered a serious disadvantage. The black color is very deep, and the white color is very deep. , as usual with organic LED screens, it is dirty. There are four screen modes - “adaptive”, “film”, “photo” and “main”. Unlike the flagship Galaxy, where all modes are working, the Galaxy A3 has a low one. Only “adaptive” permissions can be recommended for use. The other three produce very dirty light colors.

Software

Samsung Galaxy A3 (2017) is based on the operating Android system 6.0 Marshmallow, an update to Nougat is being prepared. Like all other smartphones of the Korean giant, our today's hero uses the Samsung proprietary shell. This is one of the most feature-rich and cluttered firmware I've seen. It is impossible to describe it in any detail; I will limit myself to the necessary minimum. So, in the shell there are traditional desktops with icons and widgets, and the leftmost table is the Briefing news aggregator, simplified by Flipboard. The application menu also contains desktops and folders. In the curtain, the switches are opened by swiping again, but the five most important ones (of your choice) are available immediately. Screenshots are taken by pressing the “home” and lock keys; it is almost impossible to take them with one hand.

There are 45 applications pre-installed on the smartphone, and almost all of them cannot be deleted (the exceptions are Yandex, UBANK and a couple of Samsung proprietary programs). Many can be disabled, but this is akin to deleting shortcuts from the desktop - this does not free up the device’s resources much. What are these applications? Utilities standard for all smartphones (every one of them redesigned by Samsung), Samsung proprietary applications ( voice assistant S Voice, Samsung Health tracker, technical support + Samsung news Members, Gifts from Samsung Galaxy ( free apps), Samsung online store, KNOX-based “Secure Folder” and Galaxy Apps store), set Google applications, Microsoft Office package, OneDrive cloud, Skype, Facebook, payment method Samsung Pay, Yandex and Ubank.

There aren't many options in Settings, but that's because a lot of things are grouped together. Thus, the RAM, ROM, battery and security parameters are hidden in a single “Optimization” section. In “Sounds and Vibrations” there is an equalizer and audiophile features like reverberation, in “Display” there is the ability to enable simple mode and Always On Display (shows the clock, calendar or picture of your choice). The discharge rate in Always On is low, you don’t have to worry about that. “Additional functions” are mainly gesture controls, eye tracking (not turning off the screen while you are looking at it, etc.), as well as features for reducing the screen (they are almost useless at 4.7"). There are also game functions - screencast , blocking buttons, etc. There are a lot of cross-references in the application itself, which is very convenient - if the function you are looking for is not in the section where you looked, you will still find this item via the link.

In general, the firmware gives the impression of something solid, but very overloaded and redundant. And it’s not just the 45 pre-installed applications - in the shell, behind each menu there are two new ones, which is why it seems endless in its hidden sub-items. On the other hand, the abundance of functions hides convenience, because every little thing that may be useful to you will probably be found somewhere. And the shell also lags in the menu, yes, how could it be otherwise?

Camera

Samsung Galaxy A3 (2017) is equipped with a 13-megapixel camera based on the Sony IMX258 sensor. It has a good aperture ratio – f/1.9. The camera app doesn't offer a lot of options: regular photos, panoramas, HDR, food and night photography. There is a professional mode, but in it you can only adjust white balance, ISO and exposure compensation. All pictures below were taken in automatic mode. You can evaluate the quality of the images using a series of examples. I can say that their detail is not the best (more like 8 megapixels), which the camera is trying to correct by oversharpening, but there are no problems with color rendition or noise. I didn’t like the fact that in non-ideal lighting conditions (cafe, house), the camera can take a picture for up to 2-3-4 seconds, trying to figure out the algorithms and shutter speed, without reacting in any way to the shutter key. After this, the frame turns out good, but only if you were shooting a stationary object.

The video is recorded in 1080p@30fps. The detailing is high, the sound is recorded with high quality. There is autofocus. It is so smooth that it is more slow than smooth. The shaking from walking is not compensated for.

The front camera pleased me. It has a resolution of 8 megapixels and the same aperture as the rear one – f/1.9. The Sony IMX219 sensor is used. Selfies come out with excellent detail and good color rendition. Fans of self-portraits will love this. There is a face decorator that widens the eyes, whitens the skin and smoothes out wrinkles.

Don't forget that you can quickly launch the camera from any application by double-clicking Home. An extremely convenient opportunity.

Performance and tests

Samsung Galaxy A3 (2017), according to official specifications, uses an eight-core chipset with a frequency of 1.6 GHz. Koreans traditionally do not name the model of the system-on-chip, but you can’t hide from AIDA64 - this is the Samsung Exynos 7 Octa 7870. It is made using a 14-nm process technology, and the Mali-T830 video accelerator is responsible for the graphics. Of the 16 GB of internal memory, only 6.5 GB are at the user’s disposal, the amount of free RAM is 0.9 GB. This is what this filling shows in benchmarks.