Galaxy A 2017 Series Revealed With Three Water Resistant Phones
Following quite a few different leaks, Samsung has officially announced its Galaxy A phones for 2017. This fresh batch of phones includes three models: the A7, A5, and A3. They're getting announcements before an event later this week, where Samsung will likely reveal some key details such as pricing and launch dates.
Though those important tidbits of information were missing from today's announcement, we still received a lot of information about these phones. The A7, as you may have already guessed, will be the more premium of the three devices, sporting a 5.7-inch 1080p Super AMOLED display and a 1.9GHz octa-core CPU. The display drops to 5.2-inches on the A5, though it keeps 1080p resolution, while the A3 has a 4.7-inch HD display.
It seems that the A5 uses the same processor as the A7, but in the A3, clock speed on the octa-core CPU drops to 1.6GHz. Battery capacity in the A 2017 series is also dependent on model: the A7 has a relatively beefy 3,600mAh battery, the A5 strikes the middle ground with 3,000mAh, and the A3 rounds out the group with 2,350mAh. It should be noted that the A7 and A5 both feature fast charging capabilities while the A3 does not.
Indeed, the A7 and A5 are similar in a lot of ways while the A3 is clearly the more budget-minded device of the group. For example, the A7 and A5 both offer 16MP front and rear-facing cameras, but the rear camera on the A3 is 13MP and the front-facing one is 8MP. Still pretty good in terms of megapixels, but not quite on the same level as the A7 and A5.
All three, however, will be running Android 6.0.16 Marshmallow out of the box, and all three offer IP68 dust and water resistance as well. USB Type-C is present in all three, as is the always-on display that we see in other devices like the Galaxy S7.
In fact, there are a few similarities to be found between the A series and the Galaxy S7. Not only is the always-on display featured here, but the A 2017 series also has a design that seems to reference Samsung's current flagship. All three phones feature a metal frame and a 3D glass back, and the end result is a device that looks (and presumably feels) like the Galaxy S7.
As previously mentioned, there's no word on pricing just yet, but Samsung will likely announce that at its event later in the week. The A7 series will launch first in Russia later this month before rolling out to other regions around the world afterward. Stay tuned, because more information about these devices will be coming up on January 5.