Samsung Galaxy C5 review

The midrange specs and slim all-metal bodies of the new Galaxy C models bring about another quite obvious parallel with the company's "A" family. We used the A7 (2016) and the A9 (2016) extensively as points of comparison for the C7. With the C5 the obvious go-to parallel is definitely the A5 (2016) - a much closer match. At 5.2 inches, the Galaxy C5 looks like a spruced up version of the A5 (2016), bringing about a few notable hardware improvements.


KEY POINTS AND FEATURES 
145.9 x 72 x 6.7 mm, 143g body
5.2" 1080 x 1920px Super AMOLED of 424 ppi; 2.5D scratch-resistant glass
Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow
Qualcomm Snapdragon 617 chipset, octa-core 4x1.5 GHz Cortex-A53 and 4x1.2 GHz Cortex-A53; Adreno 405 GPU; 4GB RAM
16MP, f/1.9 camera; 1080p@30fps video recording and Dual-LED flash
32GB or 64GB of built-in storage and a hybrid microSD card slot
Dual-SIM connectivity
LTE Cat.4 (150Mbps); Dual-band Wi-Fi a/b/g/n; GPS/GLONASS/BDS (region dependent) receiver, Bluetooth v4.2, FM radio with RDS, NFC compatible with Samsung Pay
Fingerprint reader in the home button
Active noise cancellation with a dedicated mic
2,600mAh non-removable battery; Fast charging support
Main shortcomings
No OIS for the camera
No phase detection, laser or other advanced autofocus technology
No 4K video recording
LTE speed cap
The Galaxy C5 and Galaxy C7 share most of their hardware. The same will likely be true for the alleged C9 as well, if and when it gets released.

Design-wise, the Galaxy C5 and C7 are identical and the only feature that has been scaled down (outside of the obvious screen and body size reduction) is the chipset. The Snapdragon 617 is definitely a step down from the Snapdragon 625 used in the Galaxy C7.

Other than that, both phones have 4GB of RAM, 32GB or 64GB of expandable storage, mostly identical connectivity options and the same camera setup including a 16MP main unit and an 8MP front-facer.


Samsung's excellent Super AMOLED screen tech is also present and if panel size is anything to go by when making parallels in Samsung's portfolio, the C5 match in the A series has got to be the Galaxy A5 (2016). And while the Galaxy C7 slotted in between existing A-series models in terms of screen size (the A8 2016 was only announced today), the C5 and A5 (2016) appear to be direct competitors. Of course, there is nothing bad about some sibling rivalry.