Samsung Galaxy C5, C7 Unveiled In All Their Metal Glory

After a few rounds of rumors and leaks, Samsung has finally formally announced the Galaxy C5 and, somewhat more invisibly, the Galaxy C7, the first two members of the OEM's "C" series. While still pretty much China-only, like the Galaxy A line, there is a chance the two will find their way to other markets. If so, Samsung will be bringing its new all-metal design down to a more budget-friendly level, and hopefully signaling the end of its love affair with plastic.

Like the Galaxy A family, the Galaxy C5 and C7 are birds of the same feather, sporting exactly the same design and differing only in hardware specs. Unlike the Galaxy A, which has seemingly moved on to a metal and glass combination like the Galaxy S7, the Galaxy C is all metal. Parallels between it and the iPhone 6 are going to be common, but Samsung has seemingly "borrowed" a few details from HTC as well. In particular, the plastic lines that cross the width of the back are more reminiscent of the HTC One flagships, especially the strip that runs down to the camera. The rounded edges, however, are more indicative of Apple's design. The colors, too, are likely going to be compared.

Moving beyond the external design, the Galaxy C5 and C7 are no underdogs. They practically occupy the higher run of the mid-range ladder, with a few interesting high-end specs. For example, the processors are from the Snapdragon 600 series, but both have a generous 4 GB of RAM. Cameras are also quite high at 16 and 8 megapixels, back and front respectively. The display isn't even some LCD but a Super AMOLED one usually reserved for Samsung's higher end devices.

Here are the core specs for the Galaxy C5:

• Operating System: Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow• CPU: Qualcomm Snapdragon 617, 1.5 GHz octa-core• RAM: 4 GB• Storage: 32/64 GB, microSD up to 128 GB• Display: 5.2-inch 1920x1080 Super AMOLED• Main Camera: 16 megapixel, f/1.9 aperture, dual-tone LED• Secondary Camera: 8 megapixel, f/1.9 aperture• Battery: 2,600 mAh, Quick Charge 3.0

The Galaxy C7 varies little, bumping up only the size, processor, and battery:

• Operating System: Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow• CPU: Qualcomm Snapdragon 625, 2 GHz octa-core• RAM: 4 GB• Storage: 32/64 GB, microSD up to 128 GB• Display: 5.7-inch 1920x1080 Super AMOLED• Main Camera: 16 megapixel, f/1.9 aperture, dual-tone LED• Secondary Camera: 8 megapixel, f/1.9 aperture• Battery: 3,300 mAh, Quick Charge 3.0

Both have fingerprint sensors tucked underneath the home button. They also support Samsung Pay but only via NFC, as they don't have the hardware for MST support.

The Samsung Galaxy C5 goes for 2,199 RMB ($335) with 32 GB and 2,399 RMB ($366) for 64 GB of storage. The Samsung Galaxy C7, on the other hand, naturally starts higher at 2,599 RMB ($396) for 32 GB and 2,799 RMB ($427) for 64 GB. Both offer colors in Silver, Grey, Gold, and Pink.

SOURCE: Samsung