Another Sony and Sammy battle is under way, its Sony’s mid-ranger Xperia M5 (priced at Php 23,390) versus Samsung’s A-series mid-ranger, the Galaxy A7 (priced at Php 24,990). Which among these two mid-rangers would likely be your everyday companion? Check out their specs, features and prices and find out.
Table of Contents
Design and build
The Xperia M5 kept most of its design, from its predecessor the M4 Aqua, with additional adjustments, such as a more exquisite back cover and side designs, while the Galaxy A7 also was loyal to its predecessor, with its all-metal construction, which looks premium-like. The IP 68 certification of the Xperia M5, sets it apart from the A7, with its water-resistance and dust-proof feature, as well as the oleophobic coated back cover that is quite glossy. The A7 on the other hand kept most of its A-series trademark design of metal and slim bezels, giving the latter a very A-series look. Unfortunately, none of the two features fingerprint scanners.
Which among these would you want in your pocket? The glossy M5 or the metallic A7? share your thoughts with us.
See also: Sony Xperia Z5 Compact VS M5 Comparison, Camera Review, Benchmarks
Display and viewing experience
The Galaxy A7 sports a 5.5-inch 1080p Super AMOLED FHD display, while the Xperia M5 carried over a 5-inch IPS 1080p FHD display. One thing to mention is the Galaxy A7’s 5.5-inch OLED screen briefly gives more depth in the image, with the larger and OLED tech-powered display, while as for the Xperia M5, it seems that the colours are a bit cooler and off, in comparison to the aggressive and vibrant colour blending seen on the A7. It seems that the A7 shows a livelier display, but the M5 shows a more balanced one.
If you prefer the aggressive imagery of Super AMOLED, then the A7 is a good option, however, if you prefer a bit lower in brightness and colour, then the M5 is a better choice, overall.
See also: Samsung Galaxy A7 Unboxing, Hands-on, First Impressions
Camera basic/quality/still image
The Xperia M5 carries a 21.2MP fast focusing rear shooter, with phase detection feature and 13MP selfie shooter, while the Galaxy A7 carries along a 13MP rear shooter and 5MP selfie shooter. In daylight shooting, the Xperia M5’s 21.2MP rear shooter is seen to be more in depth and livelier. Colour blending on the Xperia M5’s outputs were seen to be more effective, however, the Galaxy A7’s daylight shooting was more dimmed and standard, in comparison to the M5’s outputs.
For night shooting, it was obvious that the Xperia M5 struggled a bit and by this point, both the Xperia M5 and the Galaxy A7 was a bit at par with each others outputs, however, the edge on the A7 is that it had better noise control over the M5, providing a pretty decent night output, but was nevertheless dim and dark, such as on the M5.
The Galaxy A7 shoots 1080p videos, while the Xperia M5 shoots 4K UHD videos and with that, its outputs were simply seen to be better, quality-wise.
Which among these two shooters would you want to use? Hit us up on the comments section below and share your thoughts.
See also: Sony Xperia M5 Review – The Best Mid-range Smartphone
Performance and benchmark
The Xperia M5 carries along a MediaTek Helio X10 in its arsenal, while our Galaxy A7 carries a Snapdragon 615 chip. For RAM, the Xperia M5 carries a larger 3GB of RAM, in comparison to the Galaxy A7’s 2GB of RAM. Both devices carry a 16GB internal storage, with the Xperia M5 having 200GB of microSD card limit ,while the Galaxy A7 had a 64GB microSD card limit. For benchmark scores, the Xperia M5 showed better ratings than the year-old Galaxy A7.
AnTuTu
- Galaxy A7: 26623
- Xperia M5: 37753
Basemark OS II
- Galaxy A7: 594
- Xperia M5: 880
Geekbench 3
- Galaxy A7: single core:434, multi-core: 1802
- Xperia M5: single core-786, multicore-2897
See also: Sony Xperia M5 VS Lenovo Vibe Shot Camera Review Comparison, Benchmark, Speed Tests
Battery life
Both devices carry a 2600mAh battery capacity, However, on our conducted standard battery test, the Xperia M5 stepped up its game, with its 1 day running capability, thanks to its 2-day battery life, while a 2-hour HD video is running on a loop, with the Galaxy A7 lasting only for 9 hours.
- Galaxy A7: 9 hours
- Xperia M5: 2 day battery life (moderate use), 1 day battery life (heavy use)
See also: Samsung Galaxy A7 VS A8 Comparison, Camera Review, Benchmarks
Speaker and audio
On the speaker department, the Xperia M5 was heard to dish out louder sound outputs than its competition, the Galaxy A7. However, in terms of sound quality, the Galaxy A7 wasn’t that far with the M5, its just that the sound power on the Xperia M5 was heard louder.
See also: Apple iPhone 6S VS Sony Xperia M5 Comparison, Camera Review, Benchmarks
Price and verdict
The Samsung Galaxy A7 is priced at Php 24,990, while the Sony Xperia M5 is priced at Php 23,390. Price-wise, the Xperia M5 is a better buy, with the Xperia M5, surpassing the year-old A7 in performance and camera, however, we are going to see a newer A7 in 2016, with better specs, which is going to be interesting.
Now, would you wait for the new Galaxy A7 to arrive or go with the Xperia M5? Hit us up on the comments section below and share your thoughts.
Also, check out this video comparison, starring the Sony Xperia M5.
| Specs/PH price |
Sony Xperia M5 specs, PH price, features |
Samsung Galaxy A7 specs, PH price, features |
| Display | 5-inch IPS 1080p LCD display, Bravia engine, 441ppi | 5.5-inch 1080p Super AMOLED display, 401ppi |
| Size | 7.6mm thickness, 142g weight | 6.3mm thickness, 141g weight |
| Color | Black, Gold, White | Pearl White, Midnight Black, Champagne Gold |
| Protection | scratch-resistant glass, IP68 water and dust resistant | Cornings Gorilla Glass 4 |
| Chip | MediaTek Helio X10 octacore chipset | Qualcomm MSM8939 Snapdragon 615 – A700FD Exynos 5 Octa 5430 – A700F |
| Graphics | PowerVR G6200 GPU | Adreno 405 GPU – A700FD Mali-T628 MP6 GPU – A700F |
| Processor | 8x 2.0GHz Cortex A54 processor | Quad-core 1.5 GHz Cortex-A53 & quad-core 1.0 GHz Cortex-A53 processor – A700FD Quad-core 1.8 Cortex-A15 GHz & quad-core 1.3 Cortex-A7 GHz processor- A700F |
| Memory | 3GB RAM, 16GB internal, microSD card 200GB max | 2GB of RAM, 16GB of internal storage, microSD card up to 64GB |
| Main Shooter | 21.2MP AF, phase detection, fast focus, LED flash | 13MP rear shooter, autofocus, LED flash |
| Multimedia | 4K UHD video, HDR | 1080p video recorder |
| Front facing shooter | 13MP AF, 1080p video | 5MP selfie shooter, 1080p video recorder |
| Connectivity | WiFi ac, Bt 4.1, GPS, NFC, dual SIM 4G LTE, FM radio | LTE, WiFi n, BT 4.0, GPS GLONASS, FM Radio with RDS; recording |
| OS | Android 5.0 Lollipop update to 6.0 Marshmallow | Android 4.4.4 KitKat, upgradable to v5.0.2 (Lollipop) |
| Software features | Xperia UI (close to stock Android experience) | Ok google, Android TV |
| Battery Capacity | 2600mAh battery | Non-removable 2600mAh battery |
| Ports and charging | microUSB 2.0, MHL | microUSB v2.0 |
| Released date | September, 2015 | January, 2015 |
| Official price | P23,390 from Sony PH | Our unit bought from hotgadgets | Php 24,990 (16GB) in lazada Ph |
| Where to buy | Lazada, Hotgadgets, Sony PH store and other Online stores or retail sellers | Any Samsung store and online stores nationwide |
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- Sony Xperia M5 Review – The Best Mid-range Smartphone
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- Apple iPhone 6S VS Sony Xperia M5 Comparison, Camera Review, Benchmarks
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