The Samsung Galaxy A3 is light weight smartphone with a full metal body. This dual SIM handset is powered by qualcomm snapdragon 64 bit quad core processor running Android KitKat over a 4.5 inch sAMOLED screen with qHD resolution.
Inside the Box
Galaxy A3, warranty card, quick start guide, data cable, travel charger, earphone with earphone plug caps and SIM tray ejector pin.
Design, Display and OS
The galaxy A3 looks somewhat similar to the Samsung Galaxy Alpha, however it comes with low end features. The A3 is packed inside a metal body, the frame as well as the back is metal. Handset looks good, feels good, the shiny silver borders gives a very premium look to the handset.
Samsung Galaxy A3 is light weight at 111 grams and it is 7.11 mm thick. The metal frame and the body makes the handset look really tough. Even the buttons have got the shiny silver border. Mic, Micro USB port and 3.5mm audio jack is placed at the bottom. Volume rocker is on the left side and power button on the right. There is a secondary mic on the top. Rear side is matte finish and front panel has got some textures.
This is a dual SIM handset and the SIM slots are placed on the right side. There are two slots SIM 2 / Micro SD and SIM 1. You need 2 nano SIM. On the SIM slot 2 can either use a micro SD card or a nano SIM, you cannot use both simultaneously.
A3 sports a super AMOLED 4.5 inch screen with 960 x 540 pixels (qHD) resolution. Touch is very smooth and responsive. Viewing angles are pretty good. There are Accelerometer, Magnetic, Hall Sensor, Light Sensor and Proximity Sensor.
The Galaxy A3 is running Android 4.4.4 out of the box with TouchWiz UI.
Memory and Storage
This handset comes packed with 1GB RAM, 16GB Storage and micro SD card support. Of the 1GB RAM you will get about 418MB free and of the 16GB storage you will get around 12GB free. Apps got installed on internal storage and OTG is not supported.
Performance
The handset houses a 1.2GHz Cortex A53 64 bit Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8216 quad core processor coupled with Adreno 306 GPU. No issues with the performance, it is smooth and lag free.
Benchmark
| App | Result |
| Quadrant | 11420 |
| Antutu | 19395 |
| Vellamo | Metal (966) Multi core (1213) Browser (1836) |
| Nenamark 2 | 59.4 fps |
| Multi Touch | 5 point |
Gaming
I played Asphalt 8 in highest visual quality mode. The game got installed on internal storage. Gameplay was smooth, no issues found (check video review for Asphalt 8 in action).
Camera and Entertainment
The A3 comes with 8MP rear AF camera and 5MP front camera. The camera app is the same as seen on other Galaxy handsets. There are different modes but no option to download additional modes. Rear camera can shoot 1080p videos. Camera quality is above average (check sample images at the end). Native video calling is supported.
Front camera supports palm and voice selfies. You can also shoot wide angle selfies (120 degree in landscape and 110 degree in portrait mode).
Others
Sound is loud and clear, no issues with that. 3G, Wi-Fi, GPS and Bluetooth worked well. A3 supports 14 Indian regional languages.
Battery
There is a 1900 mAh non-removable battery. You can expect continuous usage time (Moderate to High) of about 5 to 6 hours.
| Task | Time | Battery drop (%) (max temp) |
| Running Benchmark apps | 23 minutes | 7% (33) |
| FHD video playback with Wi-Fi on + full brightness | 16 minutes | 4% (31) |
| Asphalt 8 Game Play | 13 minutes | 4% (34) |
| Full Wall Charge | Less than 3 hours | 13% to 100% |
Verdict
The Galaxy A3 handset has got a premium look, very good built quality and finishing and the body is made of metal. Performance is good and camera quality is above average. Not a bad option for Rs. 20,500 however there other options available for a lower price tag and using a 64bit chipset.
Rating : 3.5 out of 5 (Decimals not allowed in the rating box below).
A3 Image Gallery
Rear camera Sample
Front camera Sample
