Samsung Galaxy A5 now available in Canada

Mar 17, 2017

7:55 AM EDT

Samsung and its Canadian carrier partners have added the Galaxy A5 to their arsenals.

This mid-range smartphone is available in Black Sky and Blue Mist and comes with Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow, a fingerprint sensor, 5.2-inch 1080p Super AMOLED display, 1.9 GHz octa-core processor, and 16-megapixel rear and front-facing cameras.

The device is available through Bell, Telus, Koodo, Virgin, Rogers, Fido, SaskTel, Videotron and Freedom Mobile. As for pricing, the A5 is available unlocked through CDW for as high as $525 or through carriers for as low as $460. The contract price is set at $100 on a two-year term. Notably, the A5 is Band 66 compatible, allowing it take advantage of Freedom Mobile’s new LTE network.

Comments

Jason van de Laar
Done with mid range phones, my next phone will be an S7 or S8.
- Techguru86
  The simplest thing to say is don’t buy mid-range from providers, go moto g4 plus, Dtek60, Oneplus3, those are great devices for the price
- unichips
  Of course, the unlocked OnePlus 3T, although with more storage in the base model, is almost $100 more expensive than the Galaxy A5 2017.
  The Dtek60 seems to occupy a fairly similar position as the OnePlus 3. Blackberry is promising to keep its security up to date for a while; that’s a plus.
  The Moto G4 Plus is less expensive than the Galaxy A5 2017, but also has 1GB less RAM. The forthcoming Moto G5 looks like it will have both less RAM, and less storage.
  There are arguments for and against any of these phones, and ultimately each consumer will have to decide which factors are more important to them.
Jonah Emery
The A5 has everything the masses need. This is a great $0 phone for a 2 year contract.
- Dimitri
  The S7 is $0 on a 2yr contract too and it has more features in it. So hard to choose one would say.
- Roger
  I’d choose the S7 if I am going to pay $80/mo. for my plan. But since my plan isn’t eligible for the upgrade, I’d buy the A5 outright and save some money.
dirtyKIMCHI
Are all carriers selling a single version/variant?
Just want to confirm this with that statement made in the last sentence of this article.
- Mel
  Oddly enough, Samsung Canada’s website doesn’t mention band 66 in the phone specs.
- dirtyKIMCHI
  Interestingly, Samsung Canada lists it with this header:
  Network/Bearer (S/W Enabled)
  2G GSM
  GSM850, GSM900, DCS1800, PCS1900
  3G UMTS
  B1(2100), B2(1900), B4(AWS), B5(850), B8(900)
  4G FDD LTE
  B1(2100), B2(1900), B3(1800), B4(AWS), B5(850), B7(2600), B12(700), B13(700), B17(700), B20(800), B29(700)
  Source: http://www .samsung .com/ca/support/model/SM-A520WZBAXAC/
- Frank Wong
  They should be as W is reserved for Canadian variants. SM-G920W, SM-G930W. Only difference is the last 3 letters BMC (Bell Mobility Canada), BWA (Bell Mobility International), VMC (Virgin Mobile), XAC (Unlocked), etc.
- dirtyKIMCHI
  Interesting.
  Samsung Canada’s XAC listing doesn’t have Band 66 listed though, so there is a bit of confusion regarding the specifications at this time, as the carriers that have detailed information list Band 66, but not all carriers list the bands or detailed specifications on their respective sites.
  http://www .samsung .com/ca/support/model/SM-A520WZBAXAC/
Garrett Cooper
The specs look solid for what it is. But I would assume at this point this and an S7 would be $0 on contract, and S7 does look to be a little better in everyday.
dirtyKIMCHI
It’s live now on FreedomMobile’s site as well.
https://www.freedommobile .ca/plans-and-devices/mobile-devices/device-details/samsung-galaxy-a5
$0 with $25/mo MyTab Boost
$49 with $15/mo MyTab Boost
$249 with $5/mo MyTab Boost
$399 on MyTab
$499 outright
- unichips
  Wrong link for SaskTel. That’s the 2015 model. The 2017 model is at this link: https://www.sasktel .com/store/product-detail/Personal/Wireless/Phones-and-devices/Samsung/Samsung-Galaxy-A5-(2017)/_/N-26v2/_/R-Samsung_Galaxy_A5__00282017_0029
  $0 (on special from $99) for 2-year
  $449.99 for 1-year
  $499.99 for monthly, device only, and prepaid.
- dirtyKIMCHI
  Thanks for the correction.
Frank Wong
Looks like a beautifully designed midranger. I think it will take off.
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unichips
Unlocked direct from Samsung for $525.
Also available unlocked through several independent online re-sellers, including Walmart Canada. Most of them are also charging approximately $525 but some charge more than others.
Paul Nor
No Optical Image Stabilization is unfortunate.

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