Samsung Galaxy A7 (2018) is the company's first smartphone to sport a triple camera setup on the back. The phone does feature a lot of nice hardware and is an overall decent performer. The company seems to have had plans to make the Galaxy A7 (2018) one of the best camera smartphones in the market. However, plans that aren't properly executed are never worth it. In this review we will find out if Samsung was able to execute this plan properly or not.
Samsung Galaxy A7 (2018)
Samsung Galaxy A7 (2018) comes with an octa-core Exynos 7885 processor developed by Samsung themselves. This is coupled 4GB/6GB RAM and 64GB/128GB of internal storage depending on the variant you choose to purchase.
The device sports a 6-inch (1080 x 2220 pixels) Super AMOLED display. For the optics, it features a triple camera set up at the back, consisting of a 24 MP, f/1.7 aperture main sensor with PDAF along with an 8 MP, f/2.4 aperture ultrawide sensor and a 5 MP, f/2.2 aperture depth sensor. For selfies, it packs a 24-megapixel sensor with an f/2.0 aperture sensor. All of this is backed by a 3,300mAh non-removable battery.
The device sports a polycarbonate back panel that looks and feels like glass. It runs Google’s Android 8.0 Oreo operating system with the company's own Experience 9.0 skin on top. The phone sports dual SIM card slots, a dedicated microSD card slot, 3.5mm headphone jack, a micro-USB port for charging and data syncing and a fingerprint sensor integrated into the power button.
Samsung Galaxy A7 (2018) Review: Design
The design of the Samsung Galaxy A7 (2018) is really good. The back which is made out of polycarbonate looks and feels like glass proving consumers sturdiness of plastic and the sheen of glass all at once. The device is not flashy like some other smartphones in the market, but it still manages to catch other peoples eyes.
The device sports a 6.0-inch Super AMOLED display with an aspect ratio of 18:9. In true Samsung manner and unlike the trend of 2018, there is no notch on the display, However, the display is stretched a bit to reduce bezels.
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The speaker grille, 24-megapixel front camera, and the sensor array are all placed inside of the top bezel. Due to it not sporting a notch, like every other smartphone in this segment, the bottom chin doesn't look out of the place, which in my personal opinion is a good thing.
Coming to the back, Galaxy A7 (2018) sports a triple camera setup paired with an LED flash aligned vertically on the top left corner. The triple camera unit has a small bump, however, it was expected considering the size of the sensors integrated into the device.
The right edge consists of the volume rockers and the power button with an integrated fingerprint sensor. The left edge holds the SIM card tray with two SIM card slots and a dedicated micro-SD card slot. The top edge houses a secondary microphone, while the bottom edge houses the primary microphone along with a microUSB port, a headphone jack and the loudspeaker.
Overall, the design of Samsung Galaxy A7 (2018) feels pretty good. It's not flashy but still manages to catch other peoples eyes. Integrating the fingerprint sensor inside of the power button according to me is the perfect placement. Implementing a no notch design is also something that makes this smartphone unique providing it symmetry.
Samsung Galaxy A7 (2018) Review: Software
Samsung Galaxy A7 (2018) runs Google’s Android 8.0 Oreo with the company’s own Samsung Experience 9.0 skin on top. Samsung Experience is as the name suggests is a skin that makes the smartphone experience tailored to what Samsung thinks is the best. It offers a heavily customized Android experience with its icon packs and some additional apps by the company. What is good is while setting up the smartphone you are asked which Samsung Apps do you want to install. These apps can also be uninstalled later if you wanted to do so. There are also a few Microsoft Office apps pre-installed, which cannot be uninstalled, however, these apps are quite handy.
Overall, with its Experience UI, Samsung has evolved a lot from its old days of what used to be the TouchWiz UI. There are many small features that have been added here and there, which make the experience much better than most of the other skins.
Samsung Galaxy A7 (2018) Review: Performance
Performance is a major area of concern on any device, the same goes for the Samsung Galaxy A7 (2018). It is powered by an Exynos 7885 processor coupled with a Mali G71 GPU and 4/6GB of RAM. Our review unit came with 4GB RAM and 64GB of internal storage.
We ran our usual benchmark tests to evaluate how the Samsung Galaxy A7 (2018)'s performance. On AnTuTu the device was able to score 120905, which is great considering the price and competition.
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On GeekBench it managed to get a single core score of 1524 and a multi-core score of 4419. The performance numbers of the device on paper are great for the value.
While playing light games such as Temple Run and Crossy Chicken, the phone runs flawlessly. Heavy games like Asphalt 9 Legends and PUBG Mobile also run without any hiccup.
Samsung Galaxy A7 (2018) Review: Display
Samsung Galaxy A7 (2018) sports a 6-inch Super AMOLED display with a resolution of 2220x1080 pixels. The brightness levels are able to get super low and immensely high depending on the situation. The colours are great for a smartphone at this price. The sunlight legibility is also great.
Samsung Galaxy A7 (2018) Review: Camera
Samsung Galaxy A7 (2018) features a triple camera setup at the back. There is a 24 MP, f/1.7 aperture main sensor with PDAF along with an 8 MP, f/2.4 aperture ultrawide sensor and a 5 MP, f/2.2 aperture depth sensor. For selfies, it packs a 24-megapixel sensor with an f/2.0 aperture. The triple camera setup on the back might seem a little overkill but performs quite well.
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Images that were taken with the rear camera come out very good. The images have good details and come out very sharp. Due to a dedicated depth sensor and a wide angle lens, it can take perfectly stable shots even on while zoomed in at the maximum capacity.
Coming to the front camera, that is a completely different story. The camera app has a smart beauty mode turned on by default, which tries to make you look better. However, this makes the colours more brighter and messes with the white balance. Turning it off solves most of those problems. The details and sharpness on the front camera are okay.
Also Read: Samsung Galaxy Note 8, Galaxy S8 and S8+ to soon get Android 9 Pie based One UI Beta update
Overall, the overkill triple camera setup at the rear provides amazing photos. The details and sharpness obtained from that setup are unbelievable for the price segment. If you want a great camera phone in this segment, look no more.
Samsung Galaxy A7 (2018) Review: Battery
Samsung Galaxy A7 (2018) is backed by a 3,300mAh battery Li-Po, which easily lasts for a whole day. Charging time with the included charger is less than 2 hours, which is good. According to me, you might want to connect this smartphone to the charger in the night before going to bed so that it doesn't die on you during the day.
We ran PCMark's Work 2.0 Battery Life test, which subjects the phone to heavy usage and finds out how the battery performs in those conditions. The device yielded a result of 11 hours and 27 minutes, which is quite good in comparison to similar battery capacity smartphones.
Samsung Galaxy A7 (2018) Review: Verdict
Samsung Galaxy A7 (2018) starts at Rs. 21,990, for the 4GB RAM and 64GB storage variant. The bigger 6GB RAM and 128GB storage variant is priced at Rs 25,990. If you are a camera buff, look no more and buy the Samsung Galaxy A7 (2018).
If you don't care about the camera at all and demand only raw performance, there are some better options out there but they don't offer the same amount of after sales support and build quality and brand satisfaction that Samsung devices provide. So this makes the Samsung Galaxy A7 (2018) a good choice.
Update: The price of the smartphone was cut just after we reviewed it. It is not available for Rs 18,990 for the base model and 22,990. With that price, the phone is definitely worth the money considering its camera and performance
