Content
- Delivery sets
- TECH SPECS
- Positioning
- Appearance
- Displays
- Working hours
- Communication capabilities
- Камеры
- Memory, processor and performance
- Musical possibilities
- Impressions
Delivery sets
- Smartphone
- Network adapter
- Usb cable
- Instructions
- Warranty Card
TECH SPECS
| ZTE Blade A5 | ZTE Blade A7 | |
| Dimensions and weight | 156 x 72 x 8 mm, weight 155 grams | 155x 72 x 8.95 mm, weight 164 grams |
| Body materials | Glossy plastic and glass | Glossy plastic and glass |
| Display | 6 inches, 1560 x 720 pixels, IPS, aspect ratio 19.5: 9, PPI 282 | 6 inches, 1560 x 720 pixels, IPS, aspect ratio 19.5: 9, PPI 282 |
| Operating system | Android 9.0 | Android |
| Сеть | 2G: 850/900/1800/1900 МГц 3G: 850/900/1700/1900/2100 МГц 4G Dual sim card |
2G: 850/900/1800/1900 МГц 3G: 850/900/1700/1900/2100 МГц 4G: Bands 1/3/5/7/8/20 Dual sim card |
| Platform | UNISOC SC9863A, 28 nm process technology, 8 cores (4 x Cortex-A55 1600 MHz, 4 x Cortex-A55 1200 MHz), PowerVR Rogue GE8322 graphics | MediaTek Helio P22, 12 nm process technology, 8 cores (4 x Cortex-A53 2000 MHz, 4 x Cortex-A53 1500 MHz), frequency up to 2.0 GHz; PowerVR GE8320 graphics |
| Memory | 2 GB arrangement 32 GB of internal memory Combo memory card slot up to 512 GB |
2/3 GB RAM 32/64 GB of internal memory Combo memory card slot up to 512 GB |
| Wireless Interfaces | Wi-Fi b / g / n, Bluetooth 4,2 BLE, FM radio | Wi-Fi b / g / n, Bluetooth 4.2, FM radio
NFC |
| Navigation | GPS, A-GPS, GLONASS, BeiDou | GPS, A-GPS, GLONASS |
| Sensors and connectors | No fingerprint scanner Accelerometer, gyroscope, light and proximity sensors, microUSB connector, headphone minijack |
No fingerprint scanner Accelerometer, gyroscope, light and proximity sensors, microUSB connector, headphone minijack |
| Main camera | 13 MP, f / 2.0 2 MP for background blur |
16 MP, f / 2.0 8 MP, f / 2.0, wide-angle optics 2 MP for background blur |
| Front-camera | 8 MP, f / 2.4 | 8 MP, f / 2.4 |
| Battery | 3200 mAh, 5V / 1A power adapter | 4000 mAh, 5V / 2A power adapter |
| Price | 7000 rubles | 8000 rubles |
Positioning
Smartphones ZTE Blade A5 and A7 are two inexpensive devices for those who have simple devices with all the necessary functions: NFC chip, VoLTE, VoWi-Fi, wide-angle camera, adequate battery life, pure Google Android and so on.
Since the devices are very similar, I decided to prepare the material as a comparison. I still had a ZTE Blade A3 in my hands, but in many respects it did not fit into the general canvas with the Blade A5 and A7. If suddenly you are interested to know about it – write in the comments and I will make a small text on Blade A3 too.
The cost of the Blade A5 is 7000 rubles, and the price of the Blade A7 starts from 8000 rubles, depending on the amount of memory.
Appearance
From a design point of view, everything is very simple, I would say primitive. There are no recognizable elements or design features here: a piece of no-name plastic with sloping edges and corners. In addition, for the review I got the most boring color – black. More precisely, like this: the Blade A5 version has a radical black, and the Blade A7 has a slight shade of blue, but except in bright light it is invisible.
The covers of both devices are textured, outwardly reminiscent of the pattern on the fingers. Slightly rough to the touch.
The best friends of these smartphones are fingerprints. Phones are noticeably covered with handprints, are abundantly smeared all over the body, and if you leave them in this form for a couple of hours, the layer hardens and turns into dirt.
Oleophobic coating is present, but its quality is poor. In addition to this description, there are probably still missing removable covers. But no, they cannot be removed here.
But with the assembly of the Blade A5 / A7, everything is fine, even the plastic back panel does not bend to the battery.
It is more convenient to use the ZTE Blade A5, despite its slightly larger dimensions. I think the point is in the side edges: on this model, they sharply taper towards the front side. One gets the impression that you are holding a thin and light phone.
But the impression from the ZTE Blade A7 is the opposite: plump and heavy. Although, I repeat once again that the weight and size parameters are almost the same.
The arrangement of the elements is similar:
- right – power button and rocker key (Blade A7 has two separate buttons) volume control
- on the left – a slot for a memory card and a SIM card (combined)
- bottom – microphone and microUSB
- top – 3.5 mm
On the front panel there is an earpiece. The volume is slightly higher on the Blade A7, and all other parameters are the same. The interlocutor is heard perfectly, legibly. Below the speaker is a front-facing camera inscribed in the screen.
In addition, you can find a bright indicator of missed events and battery charge on the top right of the front part.
On the back, there are three cameras for the Blade A7 and two cameras for the Blade A5; flashes and speakerphone.
Displays
| ZTE Blade A5 | ZTE Blade A7 | |
| Display | 6 inches, 1560 x 720 pixels, IPS, aspect ratio 19.5: 9, PPI 282 | |
Brief table with data on screens. As you can see, they are exactly the same. But in real life, the Blade A5 has a slightly larger display. All because of the slightly larger “chin”.
Nevertheless, I found the differences – brightness! In the older model it is 450 cd / m2, in the younger model it is only 330 cd / m2. Color rendition and other things, plus or minus, are similar. The viewing angles are maximum, I did not notice any distortions.
In the settings of the ZTE Blade A7, you can choose several contrast options. In the image, this almost does not play any role, however, there is no such option on the Blade A7.
In the light, the picture fades on both devices.
Light displays (Blade A7 left):
Working hours
| ZTE Blade A5 | ZTE Blade A7 | |
| Battery | 3200 mAh, 5V / 1A power adapter | 4000 mAh, 5V / 2A power adapter |
The difference in battery life is decent here. The Blade A5 in the video test shows 7.5 hours of screen luminescence. In fact, it is not much. For example, the Blade A7 smartphone demonstrates 15 hours of screen glow.
But in toys the following situation: 5 hours for the Blade A5 and almost 8 hours for the Blade A7.
In normal operation, the Blade A5 glows at auto brightness for about 4 hours, and the Blade A7 for about 5.5 hours.
In fact, I tested the battery life on the Blade A3 in parallel. Oddly enough, the runtime was similar to that of the Blade A5. Literally up to minutes.
The ZTE Blade A5 comes with a 1 A power adapter, while the ZTE Blade A7 has 2 A. The first device charges in 3.5 hours, and the second in 2.5 hours.
Communication capabilities
| ZTE Blade A5 | ZTE Blade A7 | |
| Wireless Interfaces | Wi-Fi b / g / n, Bluetooth 4,2 BLE, FM radio | Wi-Fi b / g / n, Bluetooth 4.2, FM radio
NFC |
| Navigation | GPS, A-GPS, GLONASS, BeiDou | GPS, A-GPS, GLONASS |
| Sensors and connectors | No fingerprint scanner Accelerometer, gyroscope, light and proximity sensors, microUSB connector, headphone minijack |
No fingerprint scanner Accelerometer, gyroscope, light and proximity sensors, microUSB connector, headphone minijack |
| Сеть | 2G: 850/900/1800/1900 МГц 3G: 850/900/1700/1900/2100 МГц 4G Dual sim card |
2G: 850/900/1800/1900 МГц 3G: 850/900/1700/1900/2100 МГц 4G: Bands 1/3/5/7/8/20 Dual sim card |
It would seem that in terms of parameters, everything is the same. However, in practice, there is simply an abyss between these devices.
The first thing to note is that the satellite systems are much better on the Blade A7. The accuracy here is from one meter, he sees more satellites.
The quality of cellular communication is a little more stable on the Blade A7. The same goes for Wi-Fi network reception. Now I’m at the dacha, and the router is 30 meters away – on the second floor. So, Blade A5 either does not see it, or can hardly connect with one division. The A7 displays two divisions stably.
As a nice addition, the Blade A7 has an NFC chip.
So, by the way, in the Blade A3 model there is not even a light sensor.
Камеры
| ZTE Blade A5 | ZTE Blade A7 | |
| Main camera | 13 MP, f / 2.0 2 MP for background blur |
16 MP, f / 2.0 8 MP, f / 2.0, wide-angle optics 2 MP for background blur |
| Front-camera | 8 MP, f / 2.4 | 8 MP, f / 2.4 |
It was a little unexpected to find out that the older Blade A7 shoots worse than the younger Blade A5. In the latter, frames come out with the best ratio of brightness, color and contrast. Almost always accurate exposure and white balance.
The Blade A7 still shows poor exposure meter performance. However, sometimes the device is better at realizing the dynamic range. Take a look at the comparison frame with the tree.
The front camera is also better on the ZTE Blade A5. The details are the same, but the exposure is more accurate.
And the situation is similar with video: the impression that the Blade A7 does not shoot in FullHD, in 720p. The only plus of the Blade A7 is FullHD video on a selfie camera.
By the way, it is impossible to shoot video on “shirik”.
The interface on gadgets is different. On 5 it is very simple: three elements at the bottom and several at the top. The Blade A7 has a lot of small elements at the bottom: there is a video, a photo, a portrait, the “More” section. For some reason, “Volume” was installed there. It turned out that this is a switch to “shirik”.
Sample Photos
Blade A5:
Blade A7:
Memory, processor and performance
| ZTE Blade A5 | ZTE Blade A7 | |
| Memory | 2 GB arrangement 32 GB of internal memory Combo memory card slot up to 512 GB |
2/3 GB RAM 32/64 GB of internal memory Combo memory card slot up to 512 GB |
The RAM speed of the Blade A5 and A7 is 3600 MB / s, which is a value that corresponds to budget smartphones. Such values were given by gadgets 5-7 years ago.
On-board memory speed of the Blade A5 is 150/100 MB / s, the Blade A7 is 80/80 MB / s. In the first case, you can live, in the second case, it will be difficult to install and open files. Actually, that’s why the Blade A5 is a little more thoughtful than the Blade A7.
| ZTE Blade A5 | ZTE Blade A7 | |
| Platform | UNISOC SC9863A, 28 nm process technology, 8 cores (4 x Cortex-A55 1600 MHz, 4 x Cortex-A55 1200 MHz), PowerVR Rogue GE8322 graphics | MediaTek Helio P22, 12 nm process technology, 8 cores (4 x Cortex-A53 2000 MHz, 4 x Cortex-A53 1500 MHz), frequency up to 2.0 GHz; PowerVR GE8320 graphics |
Processors are also different. But then I remember Escobar’s axiom – a famous meme. I think you understand me ?
Both gadgets are gaining only 80 points – an extremely low value. However, for simple games such as Marvel: Contest of Champions will do. Loading will only take a long time, and you can play at 000 fps, even with almost no lags.
In general, phones are laggy, especially when there is a load on memory, such as installing and running applications.
The devices have an ancient version of Google Android 9.0. The manufacturer did not put anything on top of it – an almost clean “barrel”.
Musical possibilities
The volume of the speakers is about the same. It is not high, the quality is better in the ZTE Blade A7 – less distortion and wheezing.
The devices have standard 3.5 mm audio outputs for headphones. And here again the gap between the sound quality: Blade A5 produces a primitive sound without any hint of bass – only mids, even almost no treble. I liked the Blade A7. Radio is available in both models.
Impressions
Frankly, the devices turned out to be strange: there are no clearly expressed positive points that can distinguish the ZTE Blade A5 / A7 from competitors. Perhaps only wide-angle optics in the older model.
Of course, if you buy, then exclusively Blade A7 and highly desirable with 3 GB of RAM. The choice in favor of 2 GB of RAM in 2020 is if the device is needed except for calls. It’s just that in other cases there will be wild brakes.
Why Blade A7? The brightness of the screen backlight is higher here, there is NFC, the operating time is longer, the sound on the headphones is better, the front camera writes FullHD. The ZTE Blade A7 has better Wi-Fi and GPS / GLONASS signal reception.
When should you take the ZTE Blade A5? I think not in any. It seems to me that here you need to either save money with the Blade A3, or immediately look towards the Blade A7.
Let me remind you that ZTE Blade A3 costs 4500 rubles, Blade A5 – 7000 rubles, Blade A7 – 8000 rubles.
I’m waiting for you in the comments: which budget smartphones are worth testing?
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