The latest Galaxy A (2017) series is now official and they have just revealed its full hardware specs. This is their new mid-range smartphones that offer premium design and IP68 water/dust resistance. Like its previous generations, it will come in 3 models which vary in sizes – Galaxy A3 (4.7″), Galaxy A5 (5.2″) and Galaxy A7 (5.7″).
Keeping up with the times, the new Galaxy A series uses a metal frame and a 3D glass back which follows its current flagship models. Using AMOLED displays across the range, it will also feature an always-on display that will show the current time and incoming notifications. Following the Galaxy Note7, all 3 will be using a USB Type-C port for data transfer and charging. Also included is full support for Samsung Pay which is compatible with both NFC (Near Field Communication) and MST (Magnetic Secure Transmission) terminals.
The Galaxy A7 (2017) is the biggest of the lot with a 5.7″ Full HD AMOLED display. It runs on a 1.9GHz Exynos Octa-Core processor with 3GB of RAM and 32GB of storage. If you need more, it also accepts microSD up to 256GB.
For imaging, it uses 16MP f/1.9 cameras for both front and back. Over at the front, the home button also comes with a fingerprint sensor and this is standard across the range.
Connectivity wise, the Galaxy A series trio supports WiFi 802.11ac, Bluetooth 4.2, Cat 6 4G LTE and dual-SIM (selected markets). Keeping the lights on for the A7 is a 3,600mAh battery which supports Fast Charging.
For the Galaxy A5 (2017), the specs are roughly the same as the bigger A7. Instead of a 5.7″ display, it gets a compact 5.2″ Full HD AMOLED display and a 3,000mAh battery. The rest of the hardware remains unchanged with the same 3GB of RAM, 32GB of expandable storage and dual 16MP cameras.
The Galaxy A3 (2017) is the smallest in the family that comes with a 4.7″ HD 720p AMOLED display. The hardware is a notch below with a 1.6GHz Octa-Core processor mated to 2GB of RAM along with just 16GB of storage. The main rear camera is a 13MP f/1.9 shooter while the front gets an 8MP f/1.9 unit. As expected, it comes with a smaller battery with 2,350mAh capacity. All three models have the same 7.9mm thickness and they run on Android 6.0 Marshmallow with TouchWIZ skin on top.
For the Malaysian market, we are only getting the Galaxy A5 and A7. Both will be launched this coming Thursday at RM1,699 and RM1,899 respectively. Pre-orders will commence the next day, 6th January until 15 January 2017 and Samsung Malaysia is giving away a Level U Pro wireless headset (worth RM399) for free.
