Samsung Announces 2017 Galaxy A Series Devices: First Unveiling Since the Note 7 Fiasco

Moving on is difficult, yet inevitable. It is for the first time since the Note 7 fiasco that Samsung Mobiles has come out of the closet with the announcement of 2017 Series of Galaxy A phones. New additions to the A Series, an economical alternative to the Galaxy S Series of flagships, include A3, A5 and A7 – distinct from each other in terms of the screen size and host high-end features like water and dust resistance alongside, now traditional, fingerprint sensor.

The 2017 variants of the A Series have a striking resemblance to the Galaxy S series of flagships by Samsung, powered by relatively less processing capabilities and limited storage. The A series of Smartphones dons a metal frame with a 3D glass housing for the back. The three models – A3 (4.7-inch screen), A5 (5.2-inch), and the A7 (5.7-inch) – will be available tinted in Black Sky, Blue Mist, Peach Cloud and Gold Sand colours, which render the A series a premium appearance.

Colours in Samsung Galaxy A Series (2017)

The refreshed Samsung A series is believed to boast better cameras, with due focus on selfies and efficient low-light capturing. Samsung indicated that these phones will have a simplified User Interface (UI) of the camera for convenient switching between modes, applying filters or capturing selfies. For those who are diligent in letting Instagram taste their food before themselves, there is a unique Food Mode being boasted by Samsung. All three phones are IP68 Certified for protection against dust and water.

Despite scant storage on-board, Samsung’s 2017 A Series phones furnish acceptability for MicroSD cards up to 256 GB. Besides, these devices host a fingerprint sensor underneath the home button and source their power through a USB-Type C charging port which supports Fast Charging. Other notable features include Samsung Pay (with support for NFC and MST) as well as Samsung Cloud with Secure Folder. All the phones boast Samsung’s proprietary Super AMOLED displays and come with dual SIM 4G support. They will run Android Marshmallow 6.0 out of the box. However, there has been no word on the Nougat update. Evident from the released images is a speaker grill in an unorthodox position – on the right side beside the Power Lock and unlock button.

The Samsung Galaxy A3 (2017) will feature 4.7-inch HD SAMOLED display, sourcing energy from a 1.6GHz Octa-core processor chip along with 2GB of RAM. For shutterbugs, the Galaxy A3 (2017) will feature a 13-megapixel rea camera with LED flash and an 8-megapixel front camera. The apertures of these camera will be f/1.8 and f/1.9 respectively. For the power-efficient AMOLED display with mere HD resolution, the 2350 mAh can sample decent amount of juice. It will have 16GB of on-board storage with expansion upto 256GB using a MicroSD card.

The Samsung Galaxy A5 (2017) will be powered by a 1.9GHz octa-core processor in union with 3GB of RAM. The A5 (2017) will boast of a 5.2-inch Full HD display backed by Super AMOLED technology. This translates to a rich pixel density and vivid saturated colours which Samsung is famed for. It will seek power from a 3000 mAh battery, and enjoy in-built storage of 32GB, with expansion up to 256GB.

Camera on the Galaxy A5 (2017) will be italicized, thanks to its 16-megapixel rear sensor with f/1.9 aperture and LED flash, as well as a magnificent 16-megapixel front facing shooter with identical aperture.

Samsung Galaxy A Series 2017

The Samsung Galaxy A7 (2017) is evidently a Galaxy A5 (2017) with a larger screen. However, the choice of SoC manufacturer is in shadow, the A7 (2017) predominantly has exactly the same specifications in terms of the RAM, storage, cameras and screen resolution. A7 (2017), however, sports a 3600 mAh battery, considering that the larger screen would be more power hungry.

These phones will be available from end of January 2017, beginning in Russia and eventually migrating to other locations. The pricing has not been revealed so far but it is expected to be at par with the last year’s generation of Galaxy A Series phones and the phones are anticipated to cost starting $400.