We reviewed and compared the new 2016 Galaxy A series just a couple of weeks ago. This series a much expensive mid-range compared to the Galaxy J series. We put the latest Samsung Galaxy J7 (2016), priced 15k in the Philippines, against the Galaxy A5 (2016) to find out if which has more value for your money. Is it the affordable Galaxy J7 or the premium Galaxy A5? Let’s find out the answer in our Ultimate comparison.
More comparisons and reviews
- Samsung Galaxy J5 (2016) Full Review
- Samsung Galaxy A5 (2016) Full Review
- Galaxy A5 2016 vs Galaxy A7 2016 Comparison
- Sony Xperia M5 vs Xperia C5 Ultra, Galaxy A8, Asus Zenfone Selfie
Design and build
The Galaxy A7 (2016) is way more expensive than the Galaxy J7 (2016) so we chose the Galaxy A5 instead since the only main differences between A7 and A5 are the screen size, battery, and RAM.
The Galaxy A5 is dominated by the glass and metal build, a similar footprint to Galaxy S6 if you still remember. I really like the slightly curved Gorilla Glass 4 up front and on the back. The A5 really feels premium in my hands unlike the plastic and metal build of the Galaxy J7. The fingerprint sensor on A5 is fast and accurate comparable to flagship phones. Unfortunately, the J7 and the rest of the J series lacks fingerprint scanner.
The removable battery of the Galaxy J7 is its biggest advantage in design. The J7 feels solid despite the plastic back, thanks to the metal frame that wraps around it. It also features dual-SIM and microSD card expansion as on the Galaxy A5 with hybrid SIM and SD card tray.
Overall, the A5 is a standout and looking high-end device while the J7 still felt solid but with a plain-looking exterior.
Display and viewing experience
Both are rocking a full HD Super AMOLED panel, the J7 has a 5.5-inch wide screen while the A5 tips at 5.2-inch with Gorilla Glass 4 on top. There’s not much noticeable sharpness difference at all even the J7 has a lesser pixel density. As usual, colors pop out on both panels. Contrast is really good as well as the brightness. You can’t go wrong with any of these punchy Super AMOLED screens.
Camera in daylight, low light, HDR
By papers, the camera setup on each shooter is the same as on the other. We have a 13MP f1.9 main and 5MP f1.9 selfie.
HDR and daylight
The Galaxy A5 has a slightly brighter and more contrast photos but the Galaxy J7 is more consistent producing sharper output even in low light or night shooting.
Low light with flash, night shooting
Both have really effective beautification in selfie shooting but they lack lively and natural colors.
Selfie portraits
In video shooting, the A5 beats the J7 in saturation and stabilization because of the missing OIS on the latter shooter.
Performance and benchmark
Powering the Galaxy A5 is a Snapdragon 615 octa-core chip with 2GB RAM, though, there is also an Exynos 7580 variant like what’s found inside the Galaxy J7. The speed difference is not noticeable unless you would put them side by side. Generally speaking, both felt fast and snappy as the other with occasional stuttering. In benchmark scores, the J7 beats the A5 because of the higher clocked CPU and 3GB RAM.
Antutu benchmarks
Battery and charging time
The Galaxy J7 has a removable 3300mAh battery while the A5 has 2900 mAh. Battery life on both is really good. The Galaxy A5 lasted few hours more in our endurance rating, still the Galaxy J7 nails an above average score. Charging took faster on the A5 at 1 hour 30 minutes, the J7 charges from 0 to a 100% in roughly 2 hours. If you’re looking for mid-rangers with great battery life, these are two of the better options out there.
Battery life video/PC Mark and charging time
Speaker and audio
We found out that the mono speaker on each is relatively loud as the other. Although we prefer the bottom-facing speaker on A5, the loudness on both is average with a quite weak bass but crisp vocals.
Pricing and Verdict
The price difference between the Galaxy A5 and J7 is quite high with the former priced for around Php 20k or $430 USD and Php 15k for the Galaxy J7. If you’re not really up for the premium design of the A5, then the J7 is a really good mid-ranger you should check. For the A5, it’s still worth for your money though a bit overpriced in my opinion.
Samsung Galaxy A5 (2016) vs Galaxy J7 (2016) Full Video Comparison
Specs, PH Price | Samsung Galaxy A5 2016 | Samsung Galaxy J7 2016 |
Display | 5.2-inch 1080 FHD Super AMOLED, 224 ppi, Gorilla Glass 4 | 5.5-inch 1080p FHD Super AMOLED, 401 ppi, Scratch resistant |
Size | 7.3 mm thick, 155g weight | 7.8mm thick, 170g weight |
Design | Metal + curved Gorilla Glass 4 up front and back | Metal frame + plastic removable back and battery |
Colors | Black, White, Gold, Rose Gold Pink | Black, White, Gold, Rose Gold Pink |
Chipset & CPU | Snapdragon 615 octa-core, 1.2GHz x 4, 1.5Ghz x 4 | Exynos 7580 octa-core, 1.6GHz x 8 |
Graphics | Adreno 405 graphics | Mali T720 graphics |
Memory | 2GB RAM, 16GB storage, microSD up to 128GB | 3GB RAM, 16GB storage, microSD up to 128GB |
Camera | 13MP main, f1.9 lens, 1080p video, LED flash, OIS (Optical Image Stabilization) | 13MP main, f1.9 lens, 1080p video, LED flash |
Selfie | 5MP selfie f1.9 front-facing, LED flash | 5MP selfie front-facing, LED flash |
Connectivity | 4G dual LTE micro SIM (hybrid), WiFi n, Bt 4.1, GPS | 4G dual LTE nano SIM (dedicated), WiFi n, 4G LTE, Bt 4.1, GPS |
Software | Android 5.1 Lollipop, up to Marshmallow | Android 6.0 Marshmallow |
Battery | 2900mAh | 3300mAh |
Ports, quick charge | microUSB ver. 2.0 | microUSB ver. 2.0 |
Release date | March 2016 | April 2016 |
Price | Php 19.9k / $430 USD in the Philippines | Php 15k / $320 USD in the Philippines |