Samsung has put its best foot forward, to reclaim lost ground, in its race with the budding low-cost Chinese smartphone manufacturers. The mid-range A series phone did well for Samsung last year, so much that the South Korean maker has decided to update this Galaxy A series armory. Today, the electronic conglomerate has launched Galaxy A7, Galaxy A5 and Galaxy A3 (2016) in China. The second generation A-series phones are laced with a more premium design, better optics, and with convenient mobile payment technology.
Samsung has persisted with the core ethics of Galaxy A series phones. Like previous generation, the 2016 editions will flaunt a metal-clad design and sharp AMOLED display panels. For the first time, Samsung has introduced its premium phone features like fingerprint sensor and Optical Image Stabilization (OIS) in the mid-range phones.
Alas, all three phones meant for 2016 are still running on Android V.5.1 Lollipop out of the box, which means that the fingerprint scanner will be based on Samsung’s own API. Recently, Google introduced a standard fingerprint sensor API with Marshmallow for the developers to allow the integrate fingerprint sensor support in their apps. We are expecting many devices and applications adopting Google’s iteration in 2016. Since, Samsung is yet to share their plans whether it will be updating these phones to Marshmallow, it remains to be seen if these A series phones will benefit from all that development in the year ahead.
Key Features and Specifications:
|
Model name |
Samsung Galaxy A7 (2016) | Samsung Galaxy A5 (2016) | Samsung Galaxy A3 (2016) |
| Display size, type & resolution | 5.5-inch FHD Super AMOLED display | 5.2-inchFHD (1920×1080) Super AMOLED display | 4.7-inch HD (1280×720) Super AMOLED display |
| Operating system | Android™ 5.1 (Lollipop) | Android™ 5.1 (Lollipop) | Android™ 5.1 (Lollipop) |
| Processor | 1.6GHz Octa Core processor | 1 1.6GHz Octa Core processor | 1.5 GHz Quad Core processor |
| Memory | 3GB RAM, 16GB Internal Storage, expanded upto 128GB via micro SD card | 2GB RAM + 16GB ROM with expandable Micro SD up to 128GB |
1.5GB RAM, 16GB Internal Storage, expanded up to 128GB via micro SD slot |
| Camera | 13MP rear camera, OIS (F1.9) and 5MP front camera (F1.9) | 13MP rear camera, OIS and 5MP front camera | |
| Battery | 3,300mAh battery, Fast Charging | 2900mAh Battery | 2,300mAh battery |
| Dimensions | 151.5 x 74.1 x 7.3mm; Weight: 172g | 144.8 x 71.0 x 7.3mm , Weighs: 155g | 134.5 x 65.2 x 7.3mm, Weight: 132g |
| Connectivity | 4G LTE, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, Bluetooth v 4.1, ANT+, USB 2.0, NFC (UICC, eSE) | 4G LTE, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, Bluetooth v 4.1, ANT+, USB 2.0, NFC (UICC, eSE) | 4G LTE, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth v 4.1, ANT+, USB 2.0, NFC (UICC) |
