January 6, 2015, Mumbai: The start of the new year can't get any better than this, Samsung decided to stay a step ahead of others and launched four mid-range smartphones straight away in India. We were invited to attend the press event which was held at Palladium Hotel Ballroom in Mumbai. I know that the news is already out and I'm a bit late posting this but I was kinda busy, so here it is. In this post I will be covering the Samsung Galaxy A series and E series devices, Galaxy A3, Galaxy A5, Galaxy E5 and Galaxy E7. I will share the technical specifications, availability in Indian market and their price.
The A series devices, Galaxy A3 & A5 are the slimmest Samsung smartphones till date, offering premium sleek unibody metal design, beautifully crafted to attract eyeballs and superior hardware to meet the requirements of today's youth. Both the A series devices; A3 & A5 offer premium built quality and sleek design. They have full-metal unibody design and come in three different colors; Pearl White, Midnight Black and Champagne Gold.
According to Samsung, India is the first country for the launch of Galaxy E series smartphones; Galaxy E5 & E7, reaffirming India's position as key market for Samsung globally. The Galaxy E5 & E7 offer superior viewing and best selfie experience. The E series phones are made keeping the young generation in mind, these mid-range devices offer stylish appearance and up-to-mark performance. Along with the Dual-SIM capabilities, the E series smartphones also offer best displays for superior viewing and powerful front camera for stunning selfies. Along with the both the A series & E series phones come with amazing camera features to enhance your selfies.
Camera Experience
Samsung also introduced their advance camera experience features along with the devices, and the best part is that all of the devices (Galaxy A3, A5, E5 & E7) will have them out-of-the-box. The features include; Wide Angle selfie which basically helps you in taking 120 degree selfies. This mode acts like panorama mode - You can click up to three photos and it will stitch them together, making an ultra wide selfie. There is also a Palm gesture for selfies; In which you just have to show your palm to camera and it will automatically detect it and click the photo. Other features include voice command for taking selfies, then there is also a Selfie alarm which helps you in taking high-quality selfies with back camera by detecting your face and sounding an alarm, so that you don't have to tap the capture button. Samsung also gave some Beautify features which helps in enhancing your selfies by making your eyes larger or by slimming down your face and removing the blemishes. There features are really helpful and will ensure that you get a perfect shot every time.
Samsung Galaxy A series
Samsung Galaxy A3
One of the slimmest Samsung smartphones till date, the Galaxy A3 comes with sleek unibody metal design. It is 6.9mm thick and weighs around 110 grams. The display is 4.5" Inch qHD Super AMOLED with resolution of 540x960 pixels. It packs Qualcomm Snapdragon 410 chipset with 1.2 GHz Quad-Core processor and Adreno 306 GPU. Memory wise it has a 1GB RAM and 16GB Internal storage which can be expanded upto 64GB using microSD card. On it's back there is an 8 Megapixel camera with Autofocus & LED Flash, it can shoot Full HD videos. There is also a 5 Megapixel front camera for selfies. Galaxy A3 runs on Android 4.4.4 KitKat and has 1,900 mAh battery.
Price in India: Rs.20,500
Availability: Mid January 2015
Samsung Galaxy A5
The Galaxy A5 is even slimmer than it's partner Galaxy A3. It features a similar metal unibody design, it is 6.7mm thick and weighs 123 grams. The display on Galaxy A5 is a 5.0" Inch HD Super AMOLED with resolution of 1280x720 pixels. It packs Qualcomm Snapdragon 410 chipset, 1.2 GHz Quad Core processor and Adreno 306 GPU, similar to the Galaxy A3. Memory wise it has a 2GB RAM and 16 GB internal storage, expandable upto 64GB. It also packs a 13 Megapixel camera with AF and LED Flash, which can capture Full HD videos. There is also a 5 Megapixel front camera which can capture amazing selfies. Galaxy A5 runs on Android 4.4.4 KitKat and has 2,300 mAh battery.
Price in India: Rs.25,500
Availability: Mid January 2015
So that was the A series, let's move to E series devices.
Samsung Galaxy E series
Samsung Galaxy E5
The Galaxy E5 comes with attractive design which consists of metallic bezel on e sides and poly-carbonate back. It is 7.3mm thick and packs a 5.0" Inch HD Super AMOLED display with resolution of 1280x720 pixels. On it's back there is an 8 Megapixel camera with LED Flash and AF, which can shoot Full HD 1080p videos. The front camera is again a 5 Megapixel shooter, perfect for taking selfies. Under the hood it packs 1.2 GHz Quad Core processor and 1.5GB RAM. The internal storage is 16GB which can be further expanded to 64GB. Samsing Galaxy E5 runs on Android 4.4.4 Kitkat, topped with TouchWiz UI and packs a 2,400 mAh battery.
Price in India: Rs.19,300
Availability: Late January 2015
Samsung Galaxy E7
With design similar to the E5, Galaxy E7 is 7.3mm thick and packs 5.5" Inch HD Super AMOLED display with 1280x720 pixels resolution. Under the body, there is a 1.2 GHz processor with 2 GB of RAM. Camera wise there is a 13 Megapixel camera on it's back, with AF and LED flash, capable of shooting Full HD videos. For selfies there is a 5 Megapixel front camera which can take wide-angle selfies. The internal storage given is 16GB and can be expanded to 64GB. Out of the box, Galaxy E7 runs Android 4.4.4 KitKat and has a 2950 mAh battery.
Price in India: Rs.23,000
Availability: Late January 2015
Conclusion
The phones do look premium and well built but looking at the specifications and hardware provided by Samsung, I can say that for a mid-range device, the price seems much higher, seeing that there are many brands in market which are offering better hardware and specifications at much lower point (like Xiaomi, OnePlus One, Yu Yureka etc.) Built and quality wise, Samsung has done extremely well and according to Samsung, the above smartphones will receive at least two major Android updates in future. You can go for it if you are style conscious and are looking for smartphone which goes with your appeal. People who are more interested in hardware and gaming can skip them, go for something else because these phone won't be able to perform up to your expectations. I can't conclude everything unless I test them on my own but till then this was my opinion about the A series & E series. Do let me know How you liked the A series & E series smartphones in comments below.
What Actually is the Galaxy A series & E series?
The Samsung Galaxy A series and Galaxy E series contains premium mid-range smartphones for style conscious people with tight budget.The A series devices, Galaxy A3 & A5 are the slimmest Samsung smartphones till date, offering premium sleek unibody metal design, beautifully crafted to attract eyeballs and superior hardware to meet the requirements of today's youth. Both the A series devices; A3 & A5 offer premium built quality and sleek design. They have full-metal unibody design and come in three different colors; Pearl White, Midnight Black and Champagne Gold.
According to Samsung, India is the first country for the launch of Galaxy E series smartphones; Galaxy E5 & E7, reaffirming India's position as key market for Samsung globally. The Galaxy E5 & E7 offer superior viewing and best selfie experience. The E series phones are made keeping the young generation in mind, these mid-range devices offer stylish appearance and up-to-mark performance. Along with the Dual-SIM capabilities, the E series smartphones also offer best displays for superior viewing and powerful front camera for stunning selfies. Along with the both the A series & E series phones come with amazing camera features to enhance your selfies.
Camera Experience
Samsung also introduced their advance camera experience features along with the devices, and the best part is that all of the devices (Galaxy A3, A5, E5 & E7) will have them out-of-the-box. The features include; Wide Angle selfie which basically helps you in taking 120 degree selfies. This mode acts like panorama mode - You can click up to three photos and it will stitch them together, making an ultra wide selfie. There is also a Palm gesture for selfies; In which you just have to show your palm to camera and it will automatically detect it and click the photo. Other features include voice command for taking selfies, then there is also a Selfie alarm which helps you in taking high-quality selfies with back camera by detecting your face and sounding an alarm, so that you don't have to tap the capture button. Samsung also gave some Beautify features which helps in enhancing your selfies by making your eyes larger or by slimming down your face and removing the blemishes. There features are really helpful and will ensure that you get a perfect shot every time.
Technical Specifications of A series & E series
Now that we know Samsung in trying to strengthen their mid-range smartphone segment with the A series & E series smartphones, let's see what they pack under the hood.Samsung Galaxy A series
Samsung Galaxy A3
One of the slimmest Samsung smartphones till date, the Galaxy A3 comes with sleek unibody metal design. It is 6.9mm thick and weighs around 110 grams. The display is 4.5" Inch qHD Super AMOLED with resolution of 540x960 pixels. It packs Qualcomm Snapdragon 410 chipset with 1.2 GHz Quad-Core processor and Adreno 306 GPU. Memory wise it has a 1GB RAM and 16GB Internal storage which can be expanded upto 64GB using microSD card. On it's back there is an 8 Megapixel camera with Autofocus & LED Flash, it can shoot Full HD videos. There is also a 5 Megapixel front camera for selfies. Galaxy A3 runs on Android 4.4.4 KitKat and has 1,900 mAh battery.
Price in India: Rs.20,500
Availability: Mid January 2015
Samsung Galaxy A5
The Galaxy A5 is even slimmer than it's partner Galaxy A3. It features a similar metal unibody design, it is 6.7mm thick and weighs 123 grams. The display on Galaxy A5 is a 5.0" Inch HD Super AMOLED with resolution of 1280x720 pixels. It packs Qualcomm Snapdragon 410 chipset, 1.2 GHz Quad Core processor and Adreno 306 GPU, similar to the Galaxy A3. Memory wise it has a 2GB RAM and 16 GB internal storage, expandable upto 64GB. It also packs a 13 Megapixel camera with AF and LED Flash, which can capture Full HD videos. There is also a 5 Megapixel front camera which can capture amazing selfies. Galaxy A5 runs on Android 4.4.4 KitKat and has 2,300 mAh battery.
Price in India: Rs.25,500
Availability: Mid January 2015
So that was the A series, let's move to E series devices.
Samsung Galaxy E series
Samsung Galaxy E5
The Galaxy E5 comes with attractive design which consists of metallic bezel on e sides and poly-carbonate back. It is 7.3mm thick and packs a 5.0" Inch HD Super AMOLED display with resolution of 1280x720 pixels. On it's back there is an 8 Megapixel camera with LED Flash and AF, which can shoot Full HD 1080p videos. The front camera is again a 5 Megapixel shooter, perfect for taking selfies. Under the hood it packs 1.2 GHz Quad Core processor and 1.5GB RAM. The internal storage is 16GB which can be further expanded to 64GB. Samsing Galaxy E5 runs on Android 4.4.4 Kitkat, topped with TouchWiz UI and packs a 2,400 mAh battery.
Price in India: Rs.19,300
Availability: Late January 2015
Samsung Galaxy E7
Price in India: Rs.23,000
Availability: Late January 2015
Other Features of A series & E series
As you know that all the A series & E series devices come with 5 Megapixel front camera for capturing stunning selfies and advance camera features which helps in enhancing the photo you've clicked. Also there are some more features which are present in all A series & E series phones like Galaxy A3, A5, E5 and E7 smartphones, and those are; Ultra-Power Saving mode, Private Mode, Studio, Wide-angle selfie capability, Selfie voice command, Selfie with palm gesture, Beauty face features for enhancing selfies, Selfie Alarm sound for taking selfies with back camera etc. These features are available on all of the above devices. |
| That's me and my Techie friends testing the devices. |
Conclusion
The phones do look premium and well built but looking at the specifications and hardware provided by Samsung, I can say that for a mid-range device, the price seems much higher, seeing that there are many brands in market which are offering better hardware and specifications at much lower point (like Xiaomi, OnePlus One, Yu Yureka etc.) Built and quality wise, Samsung has done extremely well and according to Samsung, the above smartphones will receive at least two major Android updates in future. You can go for it if you are style conscious and are looking for smartphone which goes with your appeal. People who are more interested in hardware and gaming can skip them, go for something else because these phone won't be able to perform up to your expectations. I can't conclude everything unless I test them on my own but till then this was my opinion about the A series & E series. Do let me know How you liked the A series & E series smartphones in comments below.
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