What is dangerous about falling Samsung A3G? Review of the Samsung Galaxy A3 (2017) smartphone: beautiful, compact, waterproof. Good picture, low resolution

All 2017 Galaxy A series smartphones have become much more rounded. So rounded that some reviewers even call the design “soapy.” In my opinion, everything is far from so terrible. On the contrary: the gadgets look extremely neat, no pretentiousness. There is a metal panel around the perimeter, 2.5D glass with a volume effect in front, and a curved glass “back” at the back.

Galaxy A3 (2016)

Galaxy A3 (2017)

If there is anything to find fault with, it is only the rear panel, which looks a bit empty due to the small camera lens. By the way, now he doesn’t protrude out at all.

The glass body with matte metal on the ends glides in your hands. If it’s frosty outside and your hand is in a knitted glove, then you need to be extremely careful. Falls are unacceptable - this is almost a hundred percent crack or scratch on either the front or rear glass.

The main advantage of the A3 (2017) is its very compact size. The device is comfortable to hold; you can operate it with one hand, whether on the move or while running. Still, it’s a pity that there are fewer and fewer models with 4.7-inch screens on the market every year.

Not without a wow factor: like the flagships S7 and S7 edge, all Samsung A-series smartphones of 2017 are also protected according to the IP68 standard. This means that dust will not get inside the case, plus the phones can be kept for 30 minutes at a depth of up to 1.5 meters.

Samsung Galaxy A3 (2017) is protected from water: the gadget can be kept for half an hour at a depth of up to 1.5 meters.

Another important nuance: the A3 (2017) now supports Samsung Pay. The 2016 model did not have it, although the A5 (2016) and A7 (2016) work with the payment service.

The speaker is located cleverly - on the upper part of the right side. And, you know, it's convenient! It does not overlap with fingers either vertically or horizontally. The sound, however, is far from ideal. The volume is slightly above average, the audio is a little muffled due to the protective membrane, and the low frequencies are frustrating.

The fingerprint scanner, like in other Samsung smartphones, is built into the mechanical Home button under the screen. The papillary pattern is recognized quickly, and it is not necessary to press the unlock button.

Sometimes the sensor glitches: it completely refuses to recognize the fingerprint, and that’s it. Only entering a PIN, password or pattern key helps. I got fed up with this already on the second day of testing, and I simply turned off the scanner.

Good picture, low resolution

For IPS this would be enough, but the features of AMOLED are such that due to the PenTile effect, individual pixels are easily distinguishable by the naked eye. This is especially annoying when reading e-books or text from web pages. Grain also makes it difficult to adequately evaluate the quality of the resulting photos after shooting - they look better on a smartphone screen than on a computer monitor.

Samsung Galaxy A3 (2017) has a Super AMOLED screen with a resolution of 1280x720 pixels. Not enough.

The Always On function migrated from the flagships to the A3 and other A-series models in 2017. This is when in sleep mode the display shows a clock or calendar plus notifications about missed calls and messages.

According to various estimates, such a feature eats up from 1.5 to 3% of the smartphone’s charge per hour. In a day we get from minus 20 to minus 35 percent of the battery. So it’s better not to turn Always On on at all.

There is a night mode. It’s easy to guess from the name “Blue Filter” that it turns off shades of the blue spectrum, and in the dark your eyes are less tired. There are also four color profiles to choose from and the ability to manually adjust the screen color balance.

One of the options for displaying information on the screen of a locked smartphone in Always On mode

Gaming on low or medium settings

The Samsung Galaxy A3 (2017) is not designed for mobile games. The eight-core Exynos 7870 with a frequency of 1.6 GHz and 2 GB of RAM (of which the system eats up more than half) is not enough for serious mobile entertainment. For example, when playing at high (and sometimes even medium) graphics settings in demanding games like World of Tanks Blitz and Unkilled, frame drops often occur - the image jerks. So for serious projects it is better to choose the minimum. Of course, there will be no problems with simple arcade games or puzzles. But the case practically does not heat up and performance does not drop after a long load.

A much more serious difficulty is the constant lack of memory. The built-in 16 GB, of which the user only has less than 6 GB, is very little. The necessary applications, one episode of the series plus a couple of decent games and that’s it - it’s time to put a memory card in the compartment instead of the second SIM. In general, there is no need to have any illusions about the dual-SIM functionality of the Galaxy A3 (2017). The maximum allowed microSD capacity is 256 GB.

Comparison of A3 (2017) performance with other smartphones in benchmarks. The higher the result, the better.

Excellent front camera and good main camera

The 13-megapixel camera of the Samsung Galaxy A3 (2017) pleased with its quick launch by double-clicking the Home button and its user-friendly interface. Everything you need is always at hand, there is a manual mode and a convenient slider with which you can quickly make the frame lighter or darker. This is called exposure compensation.

During the day, at dusk and in rooms with artificial light, the automation works great. The smartphone focuses quickly (although the A5 and A7 are better in this regard due to phase-detection AF), there are no errors with white balance, and frames are saved to memory quickly. In a word, photography is comfortable. There is only one problem - in some places the pictures look a little blurry. When viewing on a computer, you just want to go into Photoshop and turn on the sharpening macro.

No HDR

With HDR

When it comes to night photography, things get sad. Autofocus hunts and misses, detail drops, and a lot of noise appears. It is best to switch to manual mode and compensate for automatic errors with your knowledge of shooting parameters.

Video can only be recorded in Full HD, but the modest processor would hardly be able to handle anything more. You shouldn't play operator at night, but you can during the day. The main thing is to hold your smartphone tightly, move it smoothly and do not remove it while moving. There is no optical stabilization.

To summarize briefly about the main camera, these are my impressions. The Galaxy A3 (2017) takes better photos than budget Meizu and Xiaomi, but worse than some competitor smartphones with a larger diagonal. Of the more budget alternatives, the most interesting in this regard is the Honor 6X. You can also look at the Sony Xperia XA - the quality of the pictures is higher there, but the automation is worse. Comparable in price, Huawei nova can easily compete with the A3 (2017) in terms of selfies.

By the way, about self-portraits. They are good: the 8-megapixel front camera works real miracles in normal lighting. Sharpness, detail, color rendition - everything is in perfect order. Corrections need to be made only for the lack of autofocus. See examples of shooting with comments in our gallery:

photos

photos

photos

Works for a long time, charges quickly

Inside the smartphone there is a 2350 mAh battery, but you shouldn’t be afraid of such a modest capacity. Samsung Galaxy A3 (2017) works its fair day with above-average load or 1.5 days in economy mode.

The combination of an economical processor and a low-resolution AMOLED screen has an effect. This is especially evident in monotests. The smartphone can play Full HD video at maximum brightness for 19.5 hours. Our favorite simple arcade game, Subway Surfers, at maximum brightness, drains the battery in about 7 hours.

Operating time of Samsung Galaxy A3 (2017) in comparison with competitors and record holders, indicated in minutes

The Koreans equipped all three new A-series smartphones, including the A3, with a USB Type-C connector, and rightly so. The road to unification! The A5 and A7 claim fast charging; the A3 does not support such technology, which, however, does not prevent the gadget from being fully charged from 0 to 100% in 1.5 hours.

Comparison with competitors

Finding a decent smartphone on sale with a screen diagonal of less than 5 inches is quite a quest. The Samsung Galaxy A3 (2017) actually has only two competitors in this field - Sony Xperia X Compact And iPhone SE. Both are much more expensive in official retail. However, a compact Apple smartphone from “gray” supplies can be considered as an alternative - you will get a stable OS, powerful hardware and a combination of a good main and disgusting front camera.

Starting from five inches, very good options appear. Of course, there is no IP68 protection anywhere (this is cool, but do you really need it?) and support for Samsung Pay (not everyone needs it either), but many of the main characteristics of competitors are better, and prices are lower.

The most interesting alternative is Huawei nova. You'll gain a little in price (from 1 to 4 thousand), get a better screen, an all-metal body, 32 GB of memory instead of 16 GB and slightly better performance with about the same cameras. You will lose in autonomy.

The category “budget model with guarantee” is a metal Meizu M3S mini with 32 GB of internal memory. The camera and battery are worse here, and the overall performance is slightly lower, but this is compensated by 3 GB of RAM versus 2 GB for Samsung. The screen is also HD, but IPS, so there is no graininess. The most important thing is the price. In official retail, the gadget costs 9,000 rubles cheaper.

About the same thing, but without a guarantee - this is Xiaomi Redmi 3S with 32 GB of memory, starting at 10,000 rubles. You can, of course, officially from one of the retailers for 15,500, but since there is Meizu, there is little point in this. For almost 2.5 times less money we get comparable performance, good battery life and more memory. Plus shell glitches, compatibility with applications and the possibility of running into a model without support for Russian LTE bands as a bonus.

If the screen diagonal doesn’t matter to you, then among the 5.2 and 5.5-inch models there is an even wider choice, but we won’t dwell on them. Still, the A3 (2017) is a device specifically for lovers of small smartphones; the competitors must be appropriate.

Opinion site

Samsung Galaxy A3 (2017) is an interesting smartphone. No one has yet offered mass models from the middle price segment with protection from water and dust. Ugly rubberized bricks from little-known brands don't count. These are niche products.

However, at a price of 23,000 rubles, this phone should be an almost ideal compact “mid-ranger”. The situation is different: there is a weak hardware, a lack of memory (only 16 GB, of which only 6 are free) and a hybrid slot, a grainy screen and a glitchy fingerprint scanner.

Does it make sense to replace the A3 (2016) with a new model? In my opinion, only if you really want to start using the Samsung Pay service. In A3 (2017) its support appeared. This may also be justified if you like to take self-portraits - the selfie camera is good here. Water protection is not a serious reason for updating, but everyone probably has their own opinion.

Pros:

• Water and dust protection (IP68)
• Compact and convenient body
• Excellent build quality
• Bright AMOLED screen
• Good automatic main camera
• Cool selfie camera
• USB Type-C connector
• Charges quickly
• There will be an update to Android 7.0
• Supports Samsung Pay

Minuses:

• High price
• Low performance
• Slippery body
• Low screen resolution
• 16 GB memory and hybrid slot
• Glitchy fingerprint scanner

Diagonal.
The design is quite modern for 2016-early 17th.
Moisture protection.
Passable photos in good lighting, nothing more, don't expect much.
I would like to add the fingerprint sensor as a plus, but it is now available in phones that cost 4-6 thousand rubles, and it works the same: after the 3rd try, and only if you wipe both the sensor and your finger thoroughly! Sometimes you have to apply direct pressure to begin to recognize it. Sometimes you have to re-enter the fingerprints because it can no longer be recognized, sometimes once a week, sometimes once a month, sometimes more often.
About autonomy: normal, but the sad fact is that 5% of a hundred can disappear in an hour, but 5% from 5 to 0 can suddenly disappear in a minute, and this despite the fact that the smart switched to energy saving! Just like that, for no reason at all, just zero and goodbye, and you figured that you would have enough to receive at least a couple of calls, if you didn’t touch it, but no, it doesn’t even buzz, you’ll pass out. In general, the last percentage melts right before our eyes, even without load, and this is with a fresh smart. What to expect next?
And to those who write that they switched from a more productive flagship to this smart and are delighted, check to see if your opus is corrupt?
One generally says that with 2GB of RAM, the browser navigator and instant messengers are not unloaded... well, well... they are unloaded on 8GB of private space, my 2x a320 is unloaded, and even with severe lag, but yours is not unloaded... but do you really use this smart phone?
In short, this smartphone has almost no positive aspects, and those that exist are completely canceled out by its shortcomings.

Terribly slow and laggy. The iron is quite weak for such a price. Sometimes you even wait 20-30 seconds for the camera to start, and sometimes it doesn’t start at all.
Browsing is a pain, especially when after it you try to go somewhere else.
The memory gets clogged INSTANTLY! A measly 16GB was commonplace in 2012. 5 years have passed since then. Now 16GB is not enough even for the most necessary things, especially for a smartphone starting from 10,000 rubles...
2GB of RAM... so you understand, this smartphone has multitasking (multi-window), and then there is Nox, which, consider, is a second OS within the OS (you can also create an account there and install applications separate from the main account) in itself Knox is cool, but with 2GB of RAM...
In short, all these services are already eating up a lot of RAM, and if you use your smartphone a little more than a couple of SMS and a couple of calls a day, this means terrible lags. It lags especially badly when there is 600MB left in the internal memory, and given that there is only 16GB, you will encounter this problem very soon, and the phone will start throwing annoying warnings about lack of space everywhere. If you are not the most experienced user, then most likely you will run into chronic lack of memory, terrible minute-long lags and reboots. And then you will understand that it was worth overpaying 1500 rubles and buying an iphone se with 32GB, which is 3.5 times more powerful and has enough memory, and it will not lag so much that you will constantly miss calls because the DIALER INTERFACE DRAWS 50 SEC. AND YOU JUST DON'T SEE THE PRIN BUTTON

A detailed review of the Galaxy A3 2017 with an analysis of the advantages and disadvantages. Why is it worthy of attention? What characteristics reduce the A3 2017 rating?

In this review of the Galaxy A3 2017, we will not quote features and specifications. Instead, let’s translate the technical data into practical terms and see what a potential buyer of a not-so-cheap representative of the “middle” market segment can expect from a phone.

4 reasons not to buy Galaxy A3 2017

Let's start with the shortcomings and try to judge as objectively as possible. Every smartphone has disadvantages. Galaxy A3 2017 is no exception, and therefore you can’t find fault too much - this way any model can be driven out of the gate. Nevertheless, we cannot turn a blind eye to some shortcomings - we will talk about them.

1. Not enough RAM

In 2017, 2 gigabytes of RAM is somehow quite modest. We published material in which we looked at the “gluttony” of the Android OS and popular applications and calculated. Approximately - 3 gigabytes.

But! In Samsung phones, a large piece of RAM is eaten up by the proprietary shell - TouchWiz, and therefore for the buyer of the Galaxy A3 2017, two gigs of RAM can become a problem. Crashes from applications are possible, even if you launch only a couple, and even not the most demanding ones.

2. The price of Galaxy A3 2017 is relatively high

The price of the Galaxy A3 2017 is slightly higher than we would like. Buyers from different countries directly say this, so the policies of our retailers have nothing to do with it. Samsung has raised the price tag for its mid-range phone, and we can either accept it or look towards other brands.

3. Lack of internal memory

The storage capacity of the Galaxy A3 2017 is only 16 GB. Keep in mind that only 10 GB is available to the user, so you can forget about any collection of photos or a rich music library.

The problem is not so critical due to the presence of a microSD slot that supports microSDXC memory cards (up to 256 GB), but the disadvantage still needs to be taken into account. The memory card takes up the slot for the second SIM card, and for many this is an argument against the purchase.

4. Android 6.0.1 out of the box

Of course, this is not such a problem, but it’s 2017, so why not install the seventh version of Android on the Galaxy A3 2017? Nowadays, many state employees are running 7.0 Nougat, and Samsung’s stubborn reluctance to keep up with software updates should be considered a negative for them. Although not as critical as 2 GB of RAM.

5 reasons to buy Galaxy A3 2017

Well, now let’s move on to those characteristics of the Galaxy A3 2017 that set it apart from its competitors. The A3 has plenty of advantages. In many ways, this is a cool smartphone that deserves our attention. We talked about the shortcomings not to criticize Samsung, but to provide Five-Inches readers with the most objective picture possible.

1. Compact

In the era of 5+ inch smartphones, compact devices with good specifications are rare, although there are still plenty of fans of convenient small phones.

The Galaxy A3 2017 measures 4.7 inches diagonally, which is the perfect size for daily use. For those who disagree with this, there is A5 or A7. Matrix type Super Amoled, resolution - 1280 x 720. A small resolution by today's standards can also be considered an advantage, because due to this it is possible to increase the autonomy of the smartphone.

2. Excellent autonomy

Don't look at the fact that the Galaxy A3 2017's battery is only 2350 mAh. His autonomy is in perfect order. GSMArena tests showed that in web surfing mode the smartphone lasts 15 hours 35 minutes, and in video playback mode - 16:35. It is clear that with normal use the charge will easily last for several days - according to test results in moderate use mode, the Galaxy A3 2017 lasts 93 hours.

The high autonomy is explained by two factors. Firstly, the Exynos 7870 Octa chipset is produced using a 16nm process technology and due to this consumes much less energy. Secondly, the 4.7-inch screen in combination with a 720p resolution adds a lot of points to the autonomy rating.

3. Good camera

Let's be honest - a 13 megapixel camera is not the ultimate dream, but we are not talking about a flagship. For its weight class, the Galaxy A3 2017's camera performance is quite good, and thanks to its f/1.9 aperture, it looks good even compared to some flagships.

4. IP68 protection

If the camera and the quality of the pictures are a very subjective criterion, then there can be no two opinions regarding protection from dust and moisture. IP68 in a mid-range phone is awesome! It’s not very often that manufacturers put maximum protection on the “junior” series of their portfolio.

5. Design, fast charging additional features

Let's finish the review of the Galaxy A3 2017 with additional advantages that do not constitute an independent argument in favor of purchase, but together they can tip the scales in favor of the “compact” from Samsung.

• Screen brightness is 408 nits in manual mode and 518 in automatic mode. It's almost on par with the Galaxy S7.
• Always on Display (AOD) function.
• The ability to install a 256 GB memory card, albeit at the expense of the second SIM card. Today, not every flagship has a dedicated slot.
• Fast charging: Galaxy A3 2017 charges from zero to 37% in 30 minutes.
• Samsung Pay contactless payments.
• Energy-saving modes are provided.
• A striking design borrowed from the flagship Galaxy S7.

That's all. We will not draw conclusions or summarize the results - the information is provided, and only you can decide how the characteristics of the Galaxy A3 2017 correspond to its price and your requirements for a mobile phone. In conclusion, we invite you to take part in our mini-survey. Thank you in advance!

Do you think the price of the Galaxy A3 2017 matches its specifications?

The year begins with the release of three mid-priced devices in the Galaxy A line. The 2017 devices are the most impressive of them. Samsung has managed to create all three models with an exceptional look and feel, much like its high-end smartphones. Among the three new products, the Galaxy A3 is the most compact and affordable model.

The device has a 4.7-inch Super AMOLED screen and looks very much like the Galaxy S7, having the same stylish glass and metal design, the same high rating of protection against water and dust, a first for smartphones of this price.

Naturally, in order to reduce the price, compromises had to be made. It doesn't use the fastest processor, has less flash memory, and has a few other weak points, but what about the value for money?

Design

In terms of looks, the Galaxy A3 2017 is as attractive as it gets. This review looked at the beautiful glossy black version of the device; the body, made of glass and metal, feels very solid, and the build quality is at a high level. As a result, you might think that you are holding a flagship smartphone in your hands; thanks to the slight curve of the back of the case and its compact size, the device fits especially comfortably in the hand. The thickness of the case is less than one might expect, the smartphone is well balanced, its weight eliminates the feeling of excessive lightness or emptiness. The smartphone feels monolithic. Every aspect of this device feels well thought out, even the side buttons are made of metal and have a good action and feel.

One of the disadvantages of this beauty of a glass case is the presence of a lot of fingerprints on it. They accumulate very quickly and turn the device into a rather dirty one; you need to constantly wipe it or put it in a case. On the black version of the smartphone in question, this problem is especially noticeable, but with other colors it is not so noticeable. Samsung offers gold, blue and peach versions of the device.

Another distinctive feature of the smartphone is its compact size: the screen is 4.7 inches, there are thin frames around the edges, so the size of the smartphone is even smaller than that of the compact iPhone 7. As a result, it is very comfortable to hold with one hand.

Another good thing is that Samsung has abandoned the outdated microUSB connector and even the affordable Galaxy A3 now uses a modern USB type C interface. There is also a traditional 3.5 mm headphone jack, to which you can also connect speakers and AUX cables.

The main superpower of this smartphone is to protect the case from water. The Galaxy A3 2017 meets the IP68 standard, making it one of the cheapest smartphones with such protection. It can be immersed in fresh water for half an hour to a depth of up to one and a half meters. As a result, you don’t have to worry about splashes and getting caught in the rain, and you don’t have to worry about dropping your smartphone in a sink or puddle.

Screen

It uses a Super AMOLED panel with a 720 x 1280 pixel PenTile resolution, which means there are fewer colors per pixel compared to RGB, so it's sharper. If you look closely, you can see the jagged edges of some icons and text, but during normal use no one will notice this.

What makes a screen good is not its resolution or sharpness, but its color rendition. Here, in this regard, everything is in perfect order. The screen itself is extremely smooth, allowing your finger to glide smoothly across it, and the colors are tuned to the sRGB range that is used for photos and videos. The whites are a little blue and all the colors are a little brighter than they should be, but overall this is a great screen for its price range.

Samsung allows users to customize color rendering. To do this, open Settings > Display > Screen Mode and select one of four color modes. Adaptive mode brings the most accurate colors, but at the same time they cannot be called realistic. The basic mode is close to the generally accepted standard and is recommended to be used.

The maximum brightness of the screen is 440 nits, which allows you to comfortably work with it outdoors under the sun's rays. The minimum brightness is only 1 nit, which reduces eye strain in the dark. Samsung is also keeping up with the competition and has included a blue light filter here for use in the evenings. It can be set to automatically turn on and off in the morning, as the color blue is thought to be responsible for the production of a certain hormone that interferes with sleep.

The new Galaxy A3 also has an Always-On Display feature that shows the time, date and types of missed notifications on the lock screen (but not the notifications themselves). This screen produces text with good contrast, but noticeably increases battery drain rates.

Interface and functionality

Samsung and Google developers do not waste time and are constantly improving their products, as a result Android and the South Korean manufacturer’s own software shell are becoming better and better. The Galaxy A3 2017 features Samsung's Grace user interface, which is noticeably cleaner, more logical and more thoughtful than previous versions. It not only looks nice in appearance, but is also easy to use. Samsung has also worked on its applications: mail, weather, calendar offer a modern appearance, information content and simplicity.

The updated notification panel got rid of useless switches, but the necessary ones remained. The new settings menu offers important options and no longer looks chaotic, instead we see a well-organized list with search. You can search for applications in the application list, and you can also search here in the Google Play store, which does not require a separate icon. The new device manager helps you find and get rid of malicious and energy-wasting apps.

Experienced users will appreciate features like Secure Folders that Samsung introduced in the Galaxy Note 7. This is where you can store your most sensitive data and documents. You can even put a separate Google account here.

Despite its small size, the Galaxy A3 has an excellent keyboard. True, we couldn’t find a setting to enable vibration when keys are pressed, which works great on most Samsung devices, but still the keyboard is one of the most accurate and fast on Android.

Despite all the advantages, the new Galaxy A3 has the disadvantage of almost all Android smartphones that do not belong to the flagship category. The smartphone runs on outdated software and receives updates very late or does not receive them at all. What has recently changed for the better is the situation with receiving security updates, which began to appear monthly. However, with major Android updates, Google and Samsung need to do something to ensure they come out more quickly.

Processor, performance and memory

Galaxy A3 2017 uses Samsung Exynos 7870 processor and 2 GB of RAM. This is a step down from the Exynos 7880-powered Galaxy A5. Both chips are octa-core with Cortex-A53 cores, but the Galaxy A3 is clocked at 1.6GHz versus the Galaxy A5's 1.9GHz.

As a result, the smartphone cannot be called powerful, but the processor is based on a modern 14 nm process technology. This means greater energy efficiency than previous generations of smartphones, resulting in improved battery life.

The speed of daily work is at a normal level. Samsung has optimized its interface, which is fast and smooth, but you may notice that apps take quite a long time to launch.

The low screen resolution means that the smartphone can perform as well in games as the more expensive Galaxy A5, but the smartphone is clearly not designed for regular gaming. For him, they represent too much of a burden and comfort in them may be far from what is desired.

Benchmarks show that the device’s performance is on par with MediaTek Helio P10 processors; the processor does not reach the capabilities of the Snapdragon 625. Meanwhile, the latter is used in devices of the same price category, such as Huawei Nova.

Galaxy A3 received 16 GB of flash memory, of which about 10 GB is available to the user. MicroSD memory cards up to 256 GB are supported.

Internet and communications

The smartphone supports 4G LTE frequency bands in European and global markets. For Europe, bands 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 20 are available here. There are two slots for SIM cards, one of them is hybrid and instead of a SIM card you can install a microSD memory card in it.

Supports dual-band Wi-Fi a/b/g/n/ac, and payment system Samsung Pay, Bluetooth 4.2, GPS, Glonass and USB type C.

Camera

The main camera of the Galaxy A3 2017 has a resolution of 13 megapixels and an f/1.9 aperture; there is an 8 megapixel camera on the front. There's an LED flash on the back, but there's no image stabilization and no 4K support.

Let's start by praising the excellent camera app. It can be launched by double pressing the Home button, quickly and conveniently. A new application from Samsung is used here: the developers have removed everything unnecessary from the main screen, rarely used settings are hidden from view, all that remains are the shutter and video recording buttons, a shortcut to the gallery, flash control, settings and a switch between the rear and front cameras. If you want to manually adjust white balance or ISO, swipe left and select Pro mode, which has manual settings. A swipe to the right opens modes, Panorama and others. Various filters and styles for photos are also available here.

Image quality

The quality of photos on this smartphone is above average for devices in this price category. They offer vibrant colors and a good level of sharpness. The camera takes a long time to focus, so it's advisable not to use it when photographing moving subjects, but for everything else it's very good. In dynamic scenes, the brightest parts of the image usually turn out to be too bright; HDR is not turned on automatically; it is recommended to turn it on yourself. HDR improves photo quality, but not as noticeably as on some other smartphones. Panorama mode produces stunning images that seamlessly blend into the bigger picture.

In low light, the photo quality is not as good. Details become blurred and image sharpness disappears. The single flash is quite strong, but completely destroys the correct color rendering, adding a cold green tint.

As for the front camera, it produces wide-angle photos suitable for group shots. The quality of the photos cannot be called good, there is not enough detail and the skin tone is washed out.

Video quality

The camera supports 1080p video recording at 30 fps. The lack of 4K recording is expected at this price, but the Huawei Nova has it, so Samsung is lagging behind. Luckily, even at 1080p the video quality is good, with vibrant colors and proper sharpness and dynamics. Unfortunately, there's no video stabilization at all, so the results are often shaky. Even the slightest movement of the hands during shooting results in the image jerking. It is the lack of stabilization that can be called the main drawback of this smartphone.

Sound quality

The speaker here is located on the side of the case. This is an unusual position, and he himself is quite small. The new Galaxy A series smartphones are the first to place speakers on the side so that they cannot be covered with your hand.

The sound quality from this speaker was surprisingly good. The volume is also at a high level.

Call quality

During telephone conversations, thanks to this smartphone, you can hear your interlocutor well and clearly through the ear, voices sound natural, the same applies to the other side of the line. Your interlocutors have no complaints about the clarity and volume of your voice.

Autonomous operation

The smartphone has a relatively small 2350 mAh battery, but it is paired with an efficient processor and a screen with a resolution of only 720p. As a result, the smartphone has excellent battery life, just like the rest of this year's Galaxy A line.

With the screen on, it showed a battery life of 11 hours, while the Galaxy S7, Google Pixel and iPhone 7 flagships last about 7 hours. In real life, a smartphone lasts about two days on a single charge, but you need to disable the Always-On Display function, which consumes approximately 1% of the charge every hour.

Samsung didn't include an Adaptive Fast Charge charger in the box, but the battery's small capacity means it can charge relatively quickly. It takes 112 minutes to recharge, which is worse compared to the OnePlus 3T and Galaxy S7, but better compared to the Google Pixel with its fast charging standard. There is also no support for wireless charging.

Conclusion

The Galaxy A3 2017 is a fascinating smartphone. It brings a level of design and interface sophistication previously unseen in devices of this price category. The same can be said regarding the protection of the housing from water.

The developers know about their successes and this year the smartphone has become more expensive: 330 euros instead of last year’s 300 euros. Of course, there are also disadvantages here, one of which is slow operation compared to flagship models. There is a noticeable delay between clicking on an icon and launching applications. The video has no stabilization, so it comes out shaky. The 16GB of flash memory is too small by modern standards, and the 720p screen leaves much to be desired in terms of sharpness.

These disadvantages pale in comparison to the advantages. You will enjoy the excellent design of the device every day you work with it, the bright, rich display produces vivid images, the Samsung Grace user interface has many settings and their convenient organization, the battery life is excellent, as is the quality of the photos.

Among the alternatives to this smartphone is the Honor 8 with a 5.2-inch screen, also beautiful and stylish, with a faster processor and the same high-quality photos and videos and battery life. The interface here is not that good, although the smartphone runs on Android Nougat.

Another option is the 4-inch iPhone SE, which is noticeably more powerful and regularly updated, with better photos and support for 4K video recording. Moreover, it costs 400 euros.

Two more new alternatives are the Moto G5 and Moto G5 Plus on the latest version of Android. Which of these devices to choose is up to each user to decide independently.

Pros:

• Chic design, use of glass and metal, thin and comfortable body;
• Water protection;
• Battery life;
• High-quality photographs in daylight;
• Great keyboard;
• Support for microSD memory cards;
• USB type C.

• Price;
• 16 GB flash memory;
• Lack of video stabilization;
• Android Marshmallow.