Samsung Announces The 2016 Galaxy A Series, Coming First To China Later This Month

Samsung has updated the mid-range Galaxy A series with three new models set to debut later this month. The Galaxy A7, A5, and A3 (seen in that order above, not to scale) will come to China first, but they’ll expand globally later. These are positioned as cheaper alternatives to the Galaxy S series, but they do have some solid features and Samsung’s now-standard metal/glass construction.

The Galaxy A7 is the most premium of the new devices. Here are the specs.

Galaxy A7

• Display: 5.5-inch FHD (1920×1080) Super AMOLED
• AP: 1.6GHz Octa Core
• OS: Android 5.1 (Lollipop)
• Camera: 13MP OIS (F1.9), Front : 5MP (F1.9)
• Additional features: MST technology(Samsung Pay), Samsung KNOX, S-Voice, Dual SIM option
• Connectivity: Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, Bluetooth® v 4.1, ANT+, USB 2.0, NFC (UICC, eSE)
• Sensor :Accelerometer, Proximity, Geomagnetic, RGB Light, Hall Fingerprint scanner
• Memory: 3GB RAM + 16GB Storage, Micro SD slot (up to 128GB)
• Dimension: 151.5 x 74.1 x 7.3mm, 172g
• Battery: 3,300mAh, Fast Charging
• Network: LTE cat 6

So, that’s a respectable phone. It has some of Samsung’s biggest features, namely MST and the fingerprint scanner. The display is only 1080p, but that’s alright for a slightly cheaper phone. The A5 is the step down from this one, but it doesn’t lose much.

Galaxy A5

• Display :5.2-inch FHD (1920×1080) Super AMOLED
• AP: 1.6GHz Octa Core
• OS: Android 5.1 (Lollipop)
• Camera: 13MP OIS (rear), 5MP (front)
• Additional features :MST technology(Samsung Pay), Samsung KNOX, S-Voice, Dual SIM option
• Connectivity: Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, Bluetooth® v 4.1, ANT+, USB 2.0,
  NFC (UICC, eSE)
• Sensor: Accelerometer, Proximity, Geomagnetic, RGB Light, Hall Fingerprint scanner
• Memory: 2GB RAM + 16GB Storage, Micro SD slot (up to 128GB)
• Dimension: 144.8 x 71.0 x 7.3mm , 155g
• Battery: 2,900mAh, Fast Charging
• Network: LTE cat 6

The A5 has a slightly smaller screen, but it’s still a 1080p AMOLED and there’s still MST and the fingerprint reader. RAM is only 2GB, though. The A3 is a bigger step down. Here’s what you can expect.

Galaxy A3

• Display: 4.7-inch HD (1280×720) Super AMOLED
• AP: 1.5 GHz Quad Core
• OS: Android 5.1 (Lollipop)
• Camera: 13MP (F1.9), Front : 5MP (F1.9)
• Additional features: Samsung KNOX, S-Voice, Dual SIM option
• Connectivity: Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth® v 4.1, ANT+, USB 2.0, NFC (UICC)
• Sensor: Accelerometer, Proximity, Geomagnetic, RGB Light, Hall
• Memory: 1.5GB RAM + 16GB Storage, Micro SD slot (up to 128GB)
• Dimension: 134.5 x 65.2 x 7.3mm, 132g
• Battery: 2,300mAh
• Network: LTE cat 4

This phone will only have 1.5GB of RAM, and it loses the fingerprint reader and MST technology found in the other two Galaxy A phones. The screen is also smaller at 4.7-inches and 720p. Maybe that’s something you’re into, though.