Samsung has officially unveiled the second generation of its Galaxy A series of smartphones. The devices, the Galaxy A3, A5 and A7, feature several improvements in both design and functionality over their predecessors.
The devices range in different display size configurations with the Galaxy A3 featuring a 4.7-inch display while the Galaxy A5 and Galaxy A7 pack 5.2-inch and 5.5-inch displays respectively. They also retain the thin profile of their predecessors coming in at just 7.3 mm thick and weighing 172g, 155g and 132g for the Galaxy A7, A5 and A3 respectively.
The 2016 Galaxy A smartphones also include support for Samsung’s mobile payments service, Samsung Pay, syncing with the previous rumours we heard that the company was mulling bringing the service to its other device lineups other than the super premium Galaxy S and Note lineups. This, naturally, means that they have fingerprint sensors baked into the physical home button. Samsung’s enterprise security software, Knox, is also included.
Here is a quick breakdown of their technical specifications:
| Galaxy A7 | Galaxy A5 | Galaxy A3 | |
| Display | 5.5-inch Full HD Super AMOLED, 1920 x 1080 pixels | 5.2-inch Full HD Super AMOLED, 1920 x 1080 pixels | 4.7-inch HD Super AMOLED, 1280 x 720 pixels |
| Processor | Octa-core chip clocked at 1.6 Ghz | Same | Octa-core chip clocked at 1.5 Ghz |
| Memory | 16 GB internal memory (expandable via microSD upto 128 GB), 3 GB RAM | 16 GB internal memory (expandable via microSD upto 128 GB), 2 GB RAM | 16 GB internal memory (expandable via microSD upto 128 GB), 1.5 GB RAM |
| Camera | Rear : 13MP OIS (F1.9), Front : 5MP (F1.9) | Same | Same |
| OS | Android 5.1 (Lollipop) | Same | Same |
| Battery | 3,300 mAh | 2,900 mAh | 2,300 mAh |
| Network | 3G, LTE (Cat 6) | Same | 3G, LTE (Cat 4) |
| Connectivity | WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n/, MIMO(2×2), Bluetooth v 4.1, ANT+, USB 2.0, NFC |
Same | Same |
| Others | NFC and MST (for mobile payments – Samsung Pay), Fast charging, Dual SIM | Same | Same |
The devices will be available in China from mid-December and are expected to hit the global smartphone markets thereafter.
The devices are available in Black, White, Gold and Pink Gold.
