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The Samsung Galaxy A3, A5, and A7 are fantastic alternatives to the Galaxy S6

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While the Galaxy S6 has always been considered Samsung’s flagship, the Galaxy A series offerings were actually the first batch of phones from Samsung to sport metal frames. These phones not only sport premium designs, but they are actually a lot more affordable than the Galaxy S series.

Samsung has updated the Galaxy A3, A5, and A7 for 2016, giving them better specs and improved designs. All three Galaxy A phones will now sport glass backs along with aluminum frames, putting them on a par with the Galaxy S6. They also have smaller bezels, and they continue the trend of being super thin. The A5 and the A7 now support Samsung Pay.

Galaxy A3

The baby of the trio, the Galaxy A3 sports a 4.7-inch 720p Super AMOLED display, which equates to a resolution of 1,280 x 720. It’s powered by an unnamed 1.5 GHz quad core processor, and has 1.5GB of RAM and 16GB of internal storage. You can also add up to 128GB of additional storage via the MicroSD slot.

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The rear camera comes in at 13 megapixels with an aperture of f/1.9, and the front-facing lens is 5 megapixels. Unfortunately, optical image stabilization isn’t supported, but this isn’t surprising when you consider the A3 is an entry-level phone.

The battery comes in at 2,300mAh, which should be more than adequate since it only needs to power a 720p display.

As far as connectivity goes, you have LTE Cat 4, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.1, and NFC.

The Galaxy A3 is only 7.3mm thick and it comes with Android 5.1 out of the box.

Galaxy A5

You guessed it, the Galaxy A5 is bigger than the A3 and has beefier specs. The A5 features a 5.2-inch 1080p (1,920 x 1,080) Super AMOLED display. It’s powered by an unnamed 1.6GHz octa-core processor, and has 2GB of RAM and 16GB of internal storage. Just like the A3, users can add up to an additional 128GB of storage via the MicroSD slot.

The rear camera is also 13 megapixels with an aperture of f/1.9, but it supports optical image stabilization. The front-facing lens comes in at 5 megapixels.

The A5 sports a 2,900mAh battery that also supports fast charging.

This phone has LTE Cat 6, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.1, and NFC for connectivity. Samsung also added a fingerprint sensor for extra security.

At only 7.3mm thick, the Galaxy A5 seems like a great mid-level phone. Unfortunately it comes with Android 5.1 out of the box.

Galaxy A7

The Galaxy A7 is the most premium handset of the trio. It has a 5.5-inch 1,080p (1,920 x 1,080) Super AMOLED display. It’s powered by an unnamed 1.6GHz octa-core processor and has 3GB of RAM along with 16GB of internal storage. The MicroSD slot allows you to add up to an additional 128GB of storage.

The rear camera is again the same 13 megapixels as the A5, and it includes optical image stabilization. The front-facing camera is also 5 megapixels, but it has an aperture of f/1.9 for better low-light selfies.

The A7 gets a beefier 3,300mAh battery, as well as fast charging support. A fingerprint sensor is also included for added security.

Connectivity includes LTE Cat 6, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.1, and NFC.

Just like the A3 and A5, the Galaxy A7 is only 7.3mm thick. Unfortunately Android 5.1 is onboard.

All three Galaxy A phones will be available in China in mid-December, and will expand to other markets shortly thereafter. Samsung didn’t specify any pricing yet, but we will be sure to let you know as soon as we find out.

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Robert Nazarian
Robert Nazarian
Former Digital Trends Contributor
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