For those who are familiar with Samsung products, the design of the Galaxy E5 can be described in one phrase: a plastic copy of the Galaxy A5. Seriously, if you don’t pick them up, it will be difficult to distinguish smartphones. The E5 repeats everything: a matte-smooth back cover, a non-separable body, chrome-plated ends and the usual design of the front panel. Only it's all made of plastic, not metal. Except that the E5 has more rounded corners. There should be a similarity, but not complete, right?
Considering the Samsung Galaxy E5 separately from the A5, nothing more than usual can be said about it. This is still the same typical Samsung, especially if you look only at the front panel. A physical Home button, a speaker captured by the same mesh - we have seen all this many times. The only difference is that the frame around the screen has become thicker.
The rear of the smartphone has changed more. The lid is made more sloping, although this is completely unnoticeable if you have a white color option. By the way, the color may also be black or brown. The cover on the lid is unusual, but nothing special. It has an interesting greenish tint and a velvety surface, although it doesn’t qualify as a “soft-touch” – it’s too hard for that. But the most important thing is that it is not easily soiled.
The Samsung Galaxy E5 has prominent side ends. They seem to have a thick chrome-plated solid frame on them. Yes, it’s plastic, but its shape is the same as the Galaxy Alpha that made a splash in August 2014. In particular, this applies to the lower sidewall, where a noticeable “step” is made.
The phone is assembled perfectly. Although it shouldn’t be otherwise - firstly, it’s Samsung, and secondly, it’s non-separable. The thickness of the smartphone is very small - 7.3 mm, which is quite small for an average-priced product. True, the Galaxy A5 is even thinner – 6.7 mm. Thinner and lighter – 123 grams versus 140 grams for the Galaxy E5. But in any case, do not forget that the devices are positioned differently, although they are similar in many ways.
The Galaxy E5 itself does not stand out in any way. It has a typical “Samsung” appearance, high-quality assembly, thin body, and relatively light weight. We'll tell you about the rest in the next section.
Connectors and controls
Despite the fact that the appearance of the Samsung Galaxy E5 and, in general, the entire line of Samsung smartphones in 2015 has changed little, the transition to a non-separable body led to the addition of a couple of elements on the side ends. But let's first go through the front and back of the smartphone.
Above the screen is the usual set: a speaker covered with a metal mesh, light and proximity sensors, and a front camera lens.
At the bottom there are also traditional Samsung elements: two touch buttons for calling up the task manager and Back, as well as a physical Home button. “Home” does not have a built-in fingerprint scanner, so in addition to its main function, it can only wake up the smartphone from standby mode.
The touch buttons are visible only when the backlight is on. The backlight is not very bright, but it is quite enough.
At the back of the Galaxy E5, the rear camera lens is located at the top in the center. To the left of it is an LED flash, and to the right is an external speaker. We have a similar configuration of elements on the back cover.
The volume control was placed on the left - no changes here.
Almost everything “new” went to the right side. The power button is in its traditional place, so you don’t have to change your habits. There are also compartments for SIM cards and microSD cards. But we will tell you more about this below.
The top side became completely empty, except for the second microphone for noise reduction.
The audio connector has moved to the bottom edge. Here it is adjacent to a microUSB connector and a speaking microphone. It's nice to note that Samsung has also picked up the trend for a 3.5 mm mini-jack at the bottom - connecting headphones here is much more convenient. More precisely, it is more convenient to lower the handset, with headphones connected from below, into a pocket or bag.
And now about installing cards. The holders for them are removed using the supplied ejector or, at worst, a paper clip.
The holders are plastic. They're strong, but it's still easier to overdo them than if you had a metal smartphone from the Galaxy A series. You should also keep in mind that only nanoSIM cards are supported. And, to top it off, Samsung’s new feature – the slot for the memory card and SIM card is combined into one. That is, you can install one of the cards in the holder. So get ready to choose: either you have a dual-SIM smartphone or a lot of memory. If you have any difficulties installing a memory card or SIM card in the Samsung Galaxy E5, our short video will help you solve the problem:
In fact, the inability to use three cards at once can hardly be called a disadvantage. Simply because about 10-12% of those who bought dualSIM smartphones constantly use both cards. So we won’t write down such an organization of slots as a disadvantage.
On the plus side, the Galaxy E5 offers exactly the same user experience as many Samsung smartphones before it. It’s even a little better - the 3.5 mm mini-jack on the bottom is a benefit and it’s hard to argue with that. Otherwise, nothing has changed. Communication and memory cards will only be installed once, so this does not count. The only pity is that you cannot replace the battery yourself - you will have to contact a service center.
Case for Galaxy E5
Samsung smartphones occupy a leading position in sales, and therefore many accessories are produced for them. So finding a cover for the Galaxy E5 was not a problem.
The starting price for a case for the Galaxy E5 is only 500 rubles. For this money you can get a simple translucent silicone cover with a matte surface.
A better quality silicone case will cost twice as much. But it is very thin.
A flip case for the Galaxy E5 also exists. If you like this one, then its price is 1500 rubles.
A cover case for the Galaxy E5 with a window will cost a little more – already 2 thousand rubles.
And there is a quality leather case for the Galaxy E5. For 3 thousand rubles.
We have listed a far from complete list of available covers for the described Samsung smartphone. But the price level is exactly the same, as are the types of covers available.
Screen
Gone are the days when Super AMOLED screens were only installed in Samsung flagships. Today, even tablets with them are widely available (yes, that’s us), as well as smartphones from the middle segment, which includes the Galaxy E5. Of course, it does not have the most advanced AMOLED matrix from Samsung. But, nevertheless, this display is excellent, almost without any complaints.
In terms of resolution, the screen of the Samsung Galaxy E5 reaches the maximum “medium” characteristic. The 5-inch diagonal provides a resolution of 1280x720 pixels, which gives a resulting pixel density of 294 ppi. The picture does not look grainy, but for better perception 320-350 ppi is preferable. On the other hand, the next step in terms of resolution is Full HD or 1920x1080, which is a completely different level. Even the more expensive Galaxy A5 lacks this - it offers similar display options: 5", 1280x720 and Super AMOLED.
The maximum brightness was measured at 306.2 cd/m2, which is not a record at all. This value fits into the lower limit of the average brightness range - most often we measure it at the level of 300-350 cd/m2. At the same time, the screen behaves confidently in the sun, and we also do not forget about the deep black color characteristic of OLED technology. It is useless to measure contrast for it - it is formally equal to infinity.
The color gamut is, as always, very wide. It easily covers the sRGB color space and approaches Adobe RGB. This is a typical picture for AMOLED matrices.
The color temperature also turned out to be not much higher than the optimal value of 6500K - we measured it at 7500K. More often for smartphones it is somewhere in the range of 7800-8500K. In other words, the white balance of the Galaxy E5 display is distorted towards a “cold” picture less than that of most analogues.
But the gamma curve runs slightly above the reference curve 2.2. Light and mid-bright areas of the image appear brighter than expected. The deviation is not very serious, but noticeable.
Of course, the Galaxy E5 screen recognizes 10 simultaneous touches. It’s somehow strange to expect anything else.
The screen settings section, as always, has been supplemented with the “Screen Mode” item, where you can select the “Adaptive Display” and “AMOLED Movie” modes. “Photo AMOLED” and “Main”. If anyone doesn’t know, this allows you to change the color gamut of the display if it seems too saturated to you. You can achieve softer shades characteristic of IPS matrices. This is another advantage available to AMOLED technology.
For a mid-priced smartphone, our Galaxy E5 has a decent screen. Yes, it does not have record brightness and resolution, but it has wide viewing angles, the ability to select an operating mode, and excellent color rendition. By the way, the phone in question is not without an extreme power saving mode, when not only many system services are disabled, but everything also becomes black and white. If anyone doesn’t know, a grayscale picture allows you to save energy solely due to the features of the AMOLED matrix.
Camera
Samsung Galaxy E5 is equipped with cameras with a resolution of 8 and 5 MP. Yes, Samsung has already begun to move towards “selfies”. However, the number of megapixels does not affect their quality in any way. But in any case, from this point of view, the Galaxy E5 camera shoots at that very average level.
The capabilities of the Samsung camera app have been described many times in our reviews. In short, it is quite conveniently organized. On the left panel you can change the camera (front or rear), turn on the flash, and call up settings. On the right are buttons for starting video shooting and for taking photos. Here you can also call up mode change and gallery. Please note that the maximum resolution of 8 MP is only achieved when shooting with an aspect ratio of 4:3.
Shooting modes are well known from many Samsung smartphones and tablets. They include self-portrait, panorama, night photography, you can create GIF animation and so on.
The shooting quality is actually decent. Not the best you can find, but the frames are reasonably clear, even in poor lighting conditions. White balance is determined correctly from above.
Video is captured in Full HD resolution. Samsung has so far reserved more only for flagships.
The video quality is also good. The picture looks quite natural, there is no blurring.
The front camera already has a decent resolution of 5 MP, which, however, is also achieved with a 4:3 aspect ratio.
The front camera takes pictures worse than the rear one, which is natural. But overall it’s also good. It will definitely be enough for a selfie. And so the pictures lack clarity - they turn out somewhat blurry, and sometimes overexposed. But the white balance is almost intact.
The front camera shoots video with the same resolution as the rear one – Full HD.
And, of course, she takes it off worse. The shooting resolution may be high, but the picture is somehow blurry.
In principle, we liked the Galaxy E5's camera. For a smartphone with such a price, it’s very good.
The Galaxy E lineup for March 2015 consists of two products: E5 and E7. We'll tell you about the first one now, while the second one has a 5.5-inch screen with the same resolution, 2 GB of RAM and a 13 MP camera. The hardware platform of smartphones is the same. It is possible that a Galaxy E3 model with a smaller diagonal display will be launched in the future.
As a result, the Samsung Galaxy E5 looks like a strong middling product. It has a modern, powerful processor, a good amount of memory, you can install a microSD card, a good camera and screen. What else is needed for complete happiness? So that it all works well! Let's stop at this further.
Performance testing
Comparing the performance of the Galaxy E5 and Galaxy S5 mini is interesting from the point of view of how much the new Qualcomm processor is better or even worse than its predecessor. After all, they have the same screen resolution, so this will not affect the final result.
Old system-wide tests show a clear advantage for the Galaxy E5. True, it’s not very significant - the difference is partially eaten up by the lower processor frequency. Please note that parity can be observed in graphics tests. They have the same video card.
The Galaxy E5 also has a slight advantage in the SunSpider browser test.
Formally, in the simple three-dimensional tests Nenamark2 and RD 3D, the winner was the Galaxy S5 mini. However, in both cases, the result of the Samsung Galaxy E5 does not exceed 55 FPS. This leads us to believe that the drivers of this smartphone somehow included a limitation on the maximum FPS level of 55 frames, and not 60, as is usually the case.
But a more complex benchmark puts the Galaxy S5 mini ahead. Not very significant, but apparently the higher-frequency processor played a role here.
If you suddenly don’t like this option, then you can turn off the ribbon and return to the classic version when you have several desktops. By the way, it is possible to set the effect of flipping through them.
In our numerous reviews of Samsung equipment, we somehow never focused on the themes of the shell design. They turned out to be well designed - not only the background changes, but also each has its own beautiful icons.
As always, the Samsung smartphone is equipped with a full set of proprietary software. Moreover, what is important, the device is not overloaded with applications that will not be used by everyone.
After they began to complain that out of 16 GB only about 8-9 GB were available to them, Samsung reconsidered the approach to software content for its mobile devices. On the second desktop at the top there is a Galaxy Essentials shortcut widget, which, when clicked, launches a special section of the Galaxy Apps application store. If anyone doesn’t know, here you can download everything that was previously pre-installed out of the box. Thus, Samsung killed two birds with one stone: there is now more free space on the smartphone and a set of proprietary programs remains easily accessible.
There is no particular point in describing Samsung applications in detail - they are well known to many. And if you suddenly don’t belong to “many”, then take my word for it - all these programs for the most part copy the standard ones from Android, although in some moments they are made more convenient. So let's go through some. For example, there is an application for working with FM radio - if anyone is not aware, the top Samsung models do not have this module at all.
The notes app is relatively simple. Although it allows you to do some text formatting, insert pictures, and save notes to the cloud in your Samsung account.
The calculator is the same as in other smartphones of the company. It was slightly redrawn, but the functionality remained the same. What supernatural things can be done there?
And a few words about other features of the TouchWIZ shell. For example, the task manager - it is made in the style of Android 5.0. All applications are presented in the form of tabs. Let us remember that this option was first proposed in the Galaxy Note 4.
The design of the settings section also dates back to the Galaxy Note 4. Let us recall that in the Galaxy S5 Samsung radically revised it, presenting all sections in the form of a huge list of icons, and then returned to the classic version. This is exactly what we see on the Galaxy E5. Moreover, at the beginning of the list there is a “Quick Settings” subsection, where you can add the most frequently used settings.
Standard applications are configured from the settings. Moreover, there was a hint of disabling the TouchWIZ shell, although for now it will not be possible to return to “pure” Android - just switch to the simple mode of the proprietary interface. Here you can also choose an application for working with SMS messages: Hangouts from Google or the standard one from Samsung.
The notification panel is highly customizable. Also, the “Multiple Windows” function has not gone away, allowing you to run two applications on the screen at once.
The Galaxy E5 does not lack an NFC module, which works fully, including for synchronization between devices. There is also a special blocking mode, within which you can turn off all calls and notifications at certain times of the day. For example, so as not to interfere with sleep.
In general, TouchWIZ remains an easy-to-use interface, not very different in its principles from the original Android. In the Galaxy S6, the differences between them are even smaller, but the Galaxy E5, even if it receives firmware with Android 5, unfortunately, it will not get the new shell.
By the way, it should be added that despite the Galaxy E5 smartphone’s processor supporting 64-bit computing, it operates in 32-bit mode. Android 4.4 and earlier, if anyone is not aware, is 32-bit and cannot fully use the capabilities of ARMv8 instructions. Android 5.0, in turn, works fine in both 32- and 64-bit modes. However, the choice of system version depends entirely on the manufacturer. And it’s not at all a fact that Samsung, even updating the Galaxy E5 to modern Android, will provide it with a 64-bit build. Rather, quite the opposite - if the Galaxy Note 4 was left to work in 32-bit mode, then why suddenly such an indulgence for “some” E5?
Conclusion
We liked the Samsung Galaxy E5. This mid-price smartphone is well-balanced. Its interface does not slow down, games all launch and run quickly, without reducing the quality of graphics. The software behaves stable. At the same time, the phone has decent battery life – Samsung, as always, optimizes power consumption well. And the battery capacity of 2400 mAh with a case thickness of 7.3 mm is a very good indicator.
Some people won’t like the plastic body, but Samsung makes all its smartphones plastic. The only exceptions are a few models from late 2014 and early 2015. In the end, no one forbids you to buy the Galaxy A5 - in many respects it repeats the E5, but is made in a metal case and has slightly smaller dimensions and thickness. And it costs noticeably more.
Somewhat confusing is the change in Samsung's policy, which now produces many of its smartphones in a non-separable case. This fully applies to the Galaxy E5 - replacing the battery without the help of a service center will be problematic. But the build quality is excellent as always. But the design remains generally the same, although there are some noticeable differences in the side ends and back cover.
What else can you add? The Galaxy E5 has a good camera, a good Super AMOLED screen, ergonomics have been improved by moving the audio jack to the bottom, and the built-in memory is 16 GB. One question remains: how much does the Galaxy E5 cost?
Galaxy E5 price
You can buy a Galaxy E5 for 20 thousand rubles. The cost is quite affordable, although it cannot be called low. On the other hand, do not forget that this is Samsung - the largest A-brand. And we wouldn’t call it overpriced, considering that the smartphone doesn’t have that many downsides, but has noticeably more advantages. What about competitors?
Galaxy S5 mini is more likely not a competitor, but an analogue. At a price of 17 thousand rubles, it still looks interesting. If anyone hasn’t read our Galaxy E5 review carefully, we’ll note that both smartphones have almost identical performance. At the same time, the S5 mini is cheaper, has a waterproof body and a fingerprint scanner. In addition, it will receive firmware with Android 5. But do not forget that the E5 screen diagonal is larger and has better battery life. But on the Galaxy S5 mini you can change the battery yourself.
Huawei Ascend P7 can be bought for somewhere around 19-20 thousand. Even though it was released in the spring of 2014, at this price it looks like an excellent alternative to the Galaxy E5. See for yourself: 5-inch screen with Full HD resolution, 2 GB of RAM, 16 GB of internal memory, 13 MP camera, weight 124 grams (140 grams for E5), thickness only 6.5 mm with a 2500 mAh battery! Processor – 4-core HiSilicon Kirin 910T. In general, the device is interesting, especially if you are not inclined towards one brand or another.
ASUS PadFone S is also not one of the newest. Announced in the summer of 2014, today it costs 18-19 thousand. But the smartphone looks extremely interesting. First of all, the fact that an 8.9-inch docking tablet can be purchased for it. And the device itself has excellent characteristics: Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 processor, 2 GB of RAM, 16 GB of internal memory, 5-inch Full HD screen. True, the battery is only 2300 mAh with such a powerful platform, as well as the weight of 150 grams and a thickness of almost 10 mm.
The sensational Lenovo S90 costs about 22 thousand. Let us remember that he made a splash because of the similarity of his . The rest of the characteristics of this smartphone are typical: thin metal body, 5-inch screen with a resolution of 1280x720, weight 129 grams. The processor is the same as in the Galaxy E5 – Snapdragon 410. The battery has a capacity of 2300 mAh. RAM is as much as 2 GB, and flash memory is 32 GB. But it cannot be expanded.
Pros:
- high-quality materials and assembly;
- good SuperAMOLED screen;
- thin body;
- 16 GB of internal memory;
- convenient location of the audio jack;
- decent camera;
- convenient TouchWIZ shell with a set of useful software;
- good autonomy.
Minuses:
- non-demountable body.
Back at the end of 2014, Samsung started thinking about significantly reducing its smartphone portfolio. The first step was the release of a new line of premium phones with the “A” prefix, such as the Galaxy A5 and A7.
The next point in Samsung’s plan was the release of a budget line of smartphones that began with the letter “J,” and their first and so far only sign was the Galaxy J1. You can find a detailed review of the latter by following the link.
Of course, the big gap between budget and premium smartphones has to be closed somehow, and this is where the line of... mid-rangers, or phones with average technical characteristics compared to the A and J series, whose names contain the letter "E", comes into the arena. The first-born of this line were the E5 and E7 models, the difference between which lies solely in the plane of the screen diagonal. Therefore, the Galaxy E5 is equipped with a 5-inch display, while the Galaxy E7 has grown to 5.5 inches. Today, we will take a closer look at the smaller of the two brothers - the Samsung Galaxy E5.
At first glance, this device is a typical Samsung creation. Nothing special. A white/black panel around the screen on the front, glossy gray metal-look plastic on the sides, and the manufacturer's logo immediately under the stylish speaker grille.
The entire front part is covered with protective glass, which showed excellent performance during two weeks of testing. Immediately below the screen there was a place for Samsung’s proprietary physical “Home” button, as well as two touch “Back” and “Settings”. The side edge, and the one that looks like metal, protrudes slightly above the screen, thereby creating a protective rim.
The back panel is here, one on one, like in the Samsung Galaxy A5. It has a white color. By the way, they can also be black or brown. The cover on the lid is unusual, something special. The thing is, the back cover has a velvety surface, although it doesn’t qualify as a “soft-touch”, because it’s too hard for that. The most important thing is that it is not easily soiled.
The side edges are equipped as follows: on the right - the power button (clear movement, easy to feel blindly), two slots, one for a nano SIM card, the other for a second SIM card or micro SD memory card; the bottom has a place (exactly like in the Galaxy Alpha), as well as a micro USB charging and synchronization connector, a microphone slot and a 3.5 mm audio jack; left — volume rocker button; Top additional microphone for noise reduction.
On the front there is a proprietary 5-inch Super AMOLED display with a resolution of 1280x720. The dot density is 294 ppi .. Recently, AMOLED panels have not been the exclusive prerogative of Samsung flagships, now you can find them on Galaxy Tab S tablets, as well as on mid-range ones such as the Samsung Galaxy E5. Of course, the latter are not equipped with the most advanced screens of this technology, but nevertheless they can pamper their owner with incredibly rich and rich colors.
Unfortunately, the manufacturer forgot to equip this smart sensor with automatic brightness adjustment, since at least changing it manually is nowhere easier. To manually change the brightness, you just need to swipe your finger from top to bottom, and in the status bar that opens, adjust the brightness.
The maximum brightness is enough for comfortable work on a sunny day, but fortunately there is a separate “Outdoor” mode, which, when activated, you will see a significant increase in brightness and color saturation. Activating this mode in complete darkness is fraught with loss of vision. The protective glass received a fairly good oleophobic coating. And of course, the screen accepts 10 simultaneous touches.
Telephony and sound in Samsung Galaxy E5
In the smart, the second slot is optional, that is, if desired, it can change its role. If you are a photography fan or a music lover, then you can use the second slot for a microSD memory card, while for those who like to chat or save on calls to other operators, you can adapt the same second slot for a second nano SIM card.
The multimedia speaker is located on the rear panel. He is alone here, but he calls out “as it should.” The sound is clear and loud. With a camera lens that protrudes above the rear panel, the speaker is difficult to drown out. The vibration alert is powerful.
The device is equipped with two cameras with a resolution of 5 megapixels and 8 megapixels. The first one copes well with tasks such as video communication and selfies. The quality of images from the front camera corresponds to average status. The main camera has autofocus and LED flash. In good lighting, photos and videos turn out to be of good quality, but in a poorly lit room, noise appears and the detail of the objects you are shooting drops somewhat.
The Galaxy E5 runs Android 4.4.4 KitKat OS with the proprietary TouchWiz shell, but an update to Android Lollipop has already been promised by the manufacturer. Let's talk a little about the shell itself.
The desktop is familiar to Samsung devices, with a bright colorful background. To the left of the main “table” is the Flipboard news feed. Samsung has been using this format since the Galaxy S5. If you suddenly don't like this option, you can turn off the ribbon and return to the classic version when you have several desktops. By the way, it is possible to set the effect of flipping them. Only recently it became known that the Samsung proprietary shell can be completely changed thanks to the themes available in TouchWiz. They turned out to be well designed - not only the background changes, but also their own beautiful icons for each of them.
The smartphone is built on the Snapdragon 410 chip and includes four Cortex-A53 cores with support for 64-bit computing. It is paired with the Adreno 306 video core. The level of performance is almost similar to that in the Galaxy A5 with the only adjustment being 1.5 GB of RAM. You'll also get 16GB of internal space, of which only about 11.5GB will be available to you in practice. True, the manufacturer took care of those “who never have enough” and predicted the possibility of installing a memory card, although then you will have to sacrifice a second SIM card. The power of the smartphone is sufficient to carry out everyday tasks, smooth operation of the interface, as well as games. It happened that there were freezes in toys. But this happened very rarely, less often than Cristiano Ronaldo changes his hairstyle.
Independent experts showed the following results:
- AnTuTu - 21338 points;
- Quadrant - 12182 points;
- NenaMark 2 and Vellamo Metal/Multicore - 54.2 and 968/1,169 points;
- SpeedTest Download/Upload - 24.58/47.16 Mb/s.
Autonomy of the Samsung Galaxy E5 smartphone
Unfortunately, it’s impossible to call the Samsung Galaxy E5 a long-liver. The phone has a fairly capacious battery with a capacity of 2400 mAh, which is enough for a day with active use. The biggest energy hog here is the 5-inch screen. By our active use of the phone we mean: synchronization with two Google accounts at once, correspondence via SMS and several conversations on the phone (all together no more than 1.5 hours), browsing the Internet (after all, we had to find out where to find out that the 105 liter tank of the Bugatti Veyron at a speed of 407 km/h empties in just 12 minutes), also about 1.5 hours, and constant communication on social networks.
Broods
Typical of Samsung gadgets, the Galaxy E5 is a well-built phone with an excellent display and a hefty price tag. Another disadvantage of this smart phone is the lack of an automatic brightness control sensor (as well as a gyroscope and compass). But the advantages of the Galaxy E5 include good sound, thin body, good performance, good battery life (not stellar, but not bad), and strange rear panel material.
Advantages of Samsung Galaxy E5:
- Slim body;
- Stylish design (strongly reminiscent of Samsung Galaxy A5);
- Loud and high-quality sound;
- Average camera quality in terms of image quality (only in good lighting conditions);
- Good performance (smooth interface).
Disadvantages of Samsung Galaxy E5:
- Inflated price tag;
- Optional second slot (or second SIM card, or memory card);
- Lack of automatic brightness adjustment sensor;
- Inflated price tag (how much can you pay for a brand?).
Specifications Samsung Galaxy E5
Dimensions and weight: 70.2 x 141.6 x 7.3 mm, 140 g;
Screen: 5-inch, super Amoled, 1280 x 720, that is, HD, 294 ppi;
Processor: 4-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 410 operating at a maximum clock frequency of 1.2 GHz, paired with Adreno 306;
Memory: 1.5 GB RAM, 16 GB internal memory, microSD memory card slot (optional with a second SIM card);
Connectivity: Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n (2.4), Bluetooth 4.0, GPS, with A-GPS support;
Operating system: Android 4.4.4 KitKat, TouchWiz;
Camera: main 8 MP with autofocus and flash, front 5 MP;
Interfaces: Micro USB 2.0, 3.5 mm audio jack, nano SIM card;
Power: 2400 mAh battery;
Appearance: February 2015.
Released February 2015 Samsung Galaxy E5 is designed to become an inexpensive and fairly productive alternative to expensive flagships with a 5-inch screen diagonal. Having average technical characteristics, the device is sold at a favorable price, providing everything necessary for daily use, competing not only with devices in the same weight category (Lenovo A6000 and Lenovo Sisley S90), but also with more advanced models (Xiaomi Mi4i, etc.).
The key to success Samsung Galaxy E5– balanced characteristics and a bright Super AMOLED display protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 4, providing high-quality color reproduction and displaying more than 16 million colors. At the same time, manufacturers did not skimp on a high-quality matrix: the display supports a maximum resolution of up to 1280x720, providing a density of 294 pixels per inch, which almost reaches Retina standards.
Main characteristics
The device is based on a quad-core processor with an operating frequency of 1.2 GHz and is equipped with 1.5 GB of RAM, which is enough for most everyday tasks. The phone runs Android 4.4, with the manufacturer announcing the possible release of updates to more modern versions of Android.
In addition, you should pay attention to the following features Samsung Galaxy E5:
1. Supports two Nano-SIM in alternating operating mode.
2. A fairly high-quality 8MP camera, with LED flash, automatic focus, panoramic shooting function and face recognition. Video recording in 1080p format is available.
3. The front camera will also please selfie lovers with good quality: as much as 5 MP.
4. Support for 3G, as well as current wireless data transfer interfaces.
5. The device is equipped with A-GPS with support for GPS and GLONASS.
6. It is possible to install memory expansion cards, the maximum supported volume is 64 GB.
Wide multimedia capabilities
With these characteristics Samsung Galaxy E5 is a multifunctional media device that allows for vibrant communication, interesting pastime and productive work. The 2400 mAh battery provides up to 12 hours of video viewing or over 100 hours of Internet surfing. A high-quality camera allows you to take pictures and instantly send them to the cloud.
Overall, the phone gives the impression of a solid, powerful, and most importantly lightweight device, ideal for daily use.
Today we will begin to get acquainted with the new line of mid-level devices from Samsung. The Galaxy E line was introduced at CES 2015 and currently includes two smartphones: Galaxy E5 and Galaxy E7. The main differences between them are the display diagonals - 5 and 5.5 inches, respectively. Galaxy E is positioned as a budget solution in relation to the A line and is distinguished primarily by a slightly different appearance and body materials. Read about this and other differences in today's review.
Design and usability
The appearance of the Samsung Galaxy E5 is unlikely to be a revelation, but nevertheless it does not make it any worse. You can’t call it original, and there is no doubt that this is a product from Samsung, even if there were no markings on the case. Here we can see some elements used in the Galaxy S5, certain features of the Galaxy Alpha, and the rear panel is completely identical to that of the Galaxy A5.
The device looks expensive, not least thanks to Samsung’s love for glossy body parts, and it doesn’t feel cheap either in appearance or in the hand, but more on ergonomics later. The white version of the smartphone was tested; brown and dark blue versions will also be available for sale.
The front panel has a pattern of small stripes with glitter, which adds some elegance to the Galaxy E5. Above the display is a traditional set of earpieces, a proximity sensor, and a camera lens, which is traditional for many of the company’s devices. There is no light sensor or missed events indicator. Below the display there is a mechanical Home button protruding above the surface of the case and a pair of touch keys.
The set of connectors and the location of controls on the side faces are familiar from the latest Samsung models. On the right side there is a lock key, on the left there is a paired volume key, the bottom edge houses a micro-USB interface connector, a 3.5 mm audio jack and a microphone. The top edge is empty except for the second microphone hole. By the way, the sides are slightly raised above the level of the glass, which on the one hand will protect the display when placed on the table with the screen down, and on the other hand it is a prime candidate for loss of presentation.
When looking at the back surface, it seems that this is a Galaxy A5 and they are truly identical. On the sides of the camera lens protruding beyond the body are a loudspeaker and an LED flash. The chrome design of the camera is a nice touch to complement the appearance. The beautiful bronze tint in the light also adds similarities to the A5.
The dimensions of the Samsung Galaxy E5 are 141.6 x 70.2 x 7.3, which is quite acceptable for a 5-inch smartphone. The rather small thickness is emphasized by the smoothed sides, and thanks to the not as sharp corners as in the A-series, holding the smartphone is somewhat more pleasant. The only drawback is that the case is quite slippery, you should be careful at first, as it’s easy to let go of the smartphone. Another nuance that you pay attention to is that the keys are quite tight, they have a distinct stroke and click and require noticeable force to press, which eliminates accidental pressing. Unlike the Galaxy A line, representatives of the E-series are made entirely of plastic, while the body is non-separable, and the build quality is excellent, not a single part of the smartphone makes unnecessary sounds and perfectly resists twisting.
Display
The Samsung Galaxy E5 has a 5-inch Super AMOLED matrix with a resolution of 1280x720. The dot density is 294 ppi. The minimum brightness is 9.6 cd/m², and the maximum is 366. At the same time, it is possible to increase the maximum brightness of the display to 443 cd/m², which in fact gives a very slight advantage on a sunny day, but in general the information remains readable. At the same time, there is no possibility of automatic brightness adjustment. The protective glass received a very good oleophobic coating.
The color rendition was very pleasing for a matrix of this type. White color looks truly white, not gray, and regardless of the screen mode set, bright shades do not look aggressive or unnatural. We can say that in this indicator the display is almost close to IPS matrices and is quite good for viewing photos.
Hardware platform and shell
The smartphone is built on a Qualcomm Snapdragon 410 system-on-chip that includes four Cortex-A53 cores with support for 64-bit computing. The video core is Adreno 306. The overall performance level is almost the same as that in the Galaxy A5, adjusted for 1.5 GB of RAM, however, given that the press sample was tested, the final benchmark results may differ slightly. After downloading, almost 1 GB is available to the user.
The device has 16 GB of built-in memory, which can be expanded using microSD memory cards. True, in this case you will have to sacrifice the ability to install a second SIM card. The already familiar scheme is used, when the first slot supports the installation of a Nano-SIM, and the second either a memory card or a second Nano-SIM.
The smartphone runs Android KitKat 4.4.4. I was frankly pleased and even surprised by the smoothness of the interface of the proprietary TouchWiz shell. If we ignore the analysis of benchmark results, the device will appeal to lovers of smooth interfaces; programs are launched instantly, and the only bottleneck may be the 1.5 GB of RAM in particularly heavy applications. There are also no complaints about the stability of work.
Gaming performance is at a sufficient level, but no more. A synthetic omnivorous test of the built-in player showed a satisfactory level of support for well-known codecs. The sound in the headphones is high-quality and loud, which will be enough for most.
There were no comments regarding the operation of Wi-Fi and Bluetooth in the test sample. But the quality of communication left much to be desired, despite the maximum signal level, the interlocutors complained about interference and speech distortion, where other devices worked flawlessly. Perhaps this point will be further refined. The volume and quality of both speakers is at a high level. The power of the vibration motor will also be enough not to miss a call.
Galaxy E5 is equipped with a non-removable battery with a capacity of 2400 mAh. With a medium-moderate load, synchronization of mail and social networks disabled, and a minimum of games, the smartphone will last about two days. However, with more active use - 30 minutes of calls, 15 minutes of games and several hours of music, the smartphone allows you to count on a full day. The situation is not bad with reading mode and watching videos.
| Device | Music | Reading | Navigation | Watch HD video | Watching HD videos from YouTube | Antutu Tester (points) | 7844 |
| GFX Bench (minutes) | 320 | ||||||
| GFX Bench (points) | PCMark | Geekbench 3 (Time) | Geekbench 3 (scores) | 2765 |
In mode reading All wireless communications are turned off, including data transmission on the mobile network, and the display brightness is set to 200 cd/m². When listening music automatic data synchronization and data transfer worked. The sound volume in the headphones is at 12 out of 15 possible levels. All music files are in MP3 format, bitrate 320 Kbps.Navigation includes route planning in the Google Navigation application. The brightness is set to 200 cd/m², all data communication modules are disabled. During playback video Data transmission on the mobile network is active, the display brightness is set to 200 cd/m², the sound volume in the headphones is at level 12 out of a possible 15. Video file format is MKV, resolution 1024x432 pixels, frame rate 24. Playing video from Youtube was accompanied not only by working on a Wi-Fi network, but also by active data transfer. The display brightness is set to 200 cd/m², the sound volume in the headphones is set to 12 out of 15 possible levels.
*– data were obtained under similar conditions, but with brightness set to 50% of possible
You can get acquainted with the testing methodology in material.
Cameras
Galaxy E5 is equipped with two cameras, the main one takes pictures with a maximum resolution of 8 MP, and the front one - 5. Both modules allow you to record FullHD video. The quality of images taken by both cameras is quite average; good images are obtained only in sunny weather, although, in fairness, it is worth noting that even in the absence of natural light you can get satisfactory images. For selfie lovers, the front camera can be described as entry-level. The camera interface is almost completely similar to that in .
Examples of photos taken with the main camera:
An example of shooting FullHD video:
Example photo taken with the front camera:
Results
On the one hand, users receive a somewhat simplified version of the Galaxy A5, and on the other, the E5 is a pretty good trump card for Samsung at the lower price level of the mid-segment. Of course, there were some compromises, such as, for example, the absence of a light sensor or the use of a second SIM card or memory card.
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