Hands-on with Samsung's Galaxy A3 and A5

Although Samsung killed off its Alpha handset after a couple months, the spirit of that handset lives on in the Galaxy A3 and Galaxy A5. Although they are both solid entries in the Galaxy lineup, the Galaxy A3 and A5 will most likely not be making an appearance in the United States. Luckily, I got some quick hands-on time with both handsets at CES 2015.

Both the Galaxy A3 and A5 are fairly similar handsets sporting nearly identical specifications. Just as a refresher, I've listed the specifications down below.

Galaxy A3

6.9 mm thickness
1.2 GHz quad-Core CPU
1 GB RAM
4.5” qHD Super AMOLED screen
Android 4.4 KitKat
8 Mpx rear camera, 5 Mpx front
16GB storage + MicroSD support
1,900 mAh battery

Galaxy A5

6.7 mm thickness
1.2 GHz quad-Core CPU
2 GB RAM
5” HD Super AMOLED screen
Android 4.4 KitKat
13Mpx rear camera, 5 Mpx front-facing
16GB storage + MicroSD support
2,300 mAh battery

But, the similarities don't stop there, as the Galaxy A3 and A5 share nearly identical construction and design. Both also have 5MP front-facing camera, making them the perfect device for shooting selfies. Although the Galaxy Alpha was a good start, the A3 and A5 are clear refinements. The handset feels much lighter and the construction feels top-notch thanks to its full metal unibody design.

Overall, Samsung is taking a step in the right direction with the Galaxy A3 and A5. Although Samsung is still new to utilizing metal in the their handsets, experimenting with their mid-tier devices will prove essential when they translate the formula to their future flagship devices. Naturally, it will be interesting to see how far Samsung has evolved when they release their next flagship, the Galaxy S6 sometime in 2015.