Samsung has introduced a pair of new smartphones, the Galaxy A3 and Galaxy A5, which are the first in a flashy new range of mid-level, but still highly desirable devices. Although it took Samsung some time to the hang of premium design, it did so with the Galaxy Alpha, and the A3 and A5 both share a similar look to the attractive Alpha, and are wrapped up in super slim metal unibodies.
It’s pushing the A series phones to a young and fashion-orientated crowd, and will sell both phones in various colors. Pink, light blue, champagne gold, silver, white, and black are all among the options at launch. The A3 and A5 both tap into the selfie craze, and have strong front cameras, with special software features to help entice the vain.
The Galaxy A5 is the technically superior model. A 5-inch Super AMOLED touchscreen with a 720p resolution is fitted to the 6.7mm thick body, which weighs only 123 grams. A quad-core, 1.2GHz processor of unknown origin powers the Galaxy A5, along with 2GB of RAM, and 16GB of internal memory. The body may be slim, but there’s room for a MicroSD card slot, and a sensible 2300mAh battery.
The rear camera has 13 megapixels, auto-focus, and an LED flash, while the front cam has 5 megapixels. Samsung wants you to take selfies with either camera, and has added automatic face detection to the rear cam, letting it snap away when your face is in view. There’s even a wide angle selfie mode, and Beauty Face mode for when you’re not looking your best.
Android 4.4 KitKat is the operating system, and the phone has 4G LTE connectivity, NFC, Bluetooth 4.0, and various Samsung software features such as the handy Ultra Power Saving Mode.
Moving on to the Galaxy A3, it has a slightly smaller 4.5-inch, 960 x 540 pixel Super AMOLED screen, and a more basic 8-megapixel rear camera. The front camera still has 5 megapixels, and the same selfie software features are all included. Samsung has used the same 1.2GHz processor inside the A3, but dropped the RAM down to 1GB. The battery has also been shrunk, and a 1900mAh cell hides inside the phone, despite the device being slightly thicker at 6.9mm. Otherwise, the spec sheet mimics the Galaxy A5.
Samsung will put the Galaxy A3 and Galaxy A5 on sale in November, but has only mentioned China by name, although it promises those in “selected markets” will also get the chance to buy one of the new devices in the near future.
CONTINUE TO PAGE 2 TO READ ALL THE RUMORS LEADING UP TO THE GALAXY A3 AND A5’S ANNOUNCEMENT
Samsung may soon introduce two more Galaxy Alpha smartphones with real metal frames. Recently, specifications for the Galaxy Alpha A5 and A3 leaked on the FCC’s website and now press renders have also surfaced. It looks as though these Alphas will feature the same hybrid design of plastic and metal, as well as mid-to-low-end hardware.
The A3 is a 4.5-inch smartphone with a low resolution 960 x 540 pixel resolution screen. Meanwhile, the A5 is slightly larger with a 4.8-inch 720p screen. Both Alphas are powered by Qualcomm’s quad-core Snapdragon 410 processor, but the two phones have different amounts of RAM. There’s reportedly 1GB RAM on A3 and 2GB RAM on A5.
Internal storage also varies, with the A3 sporting 8GB and the A5 carrying 16GB. Luckily, reports hint that there will be a MicroSD card slot on both models for memory expansion. The first Galaxy Alpha did not have a MicroSD card slot, though, so it seems odd that these less powerful versions would come with the option.
As far as cameras go, the A3 comes with an 8-megapixel back shooter and a 5-megapixel front-facing camera. The A5 has the same front-facing camera, but the back camera jumps up to 13-megapixels. Both models come with 4G LTE connectivity and the A5 is said to have a 2,300mAh battery.
Press renders of the Galaxy Alpha A5 leaked to PhoneArena, showing a device that looks a lot like the first Galaxy Alpha. Both of the new Alphas are expected to launch soon, but it’s clear that neither phone will be the all metal superphone Samsung fans were hoping to see in the near future.
Article originally published on 10-06-2014
