Skip to main content

Looking for a new phone for 2017? Check out the Samsung Galaxy A series

Samsung will ring in 2017 with a new phone and, hopefully, none of the old problems. Looking to shake off the explosive difficulties it faced in 2016, Samsung Electronics has announced its latest Galaxy A series, which includes the 5.7-inch A7, 5.2-inch A5, and 4.7-inch A3 smartphones. Promising sleek design, powerful performance, and convenience, the new A series hopes to start the year on the right foot.

“At Samsung, we are always trying to ensure our customers have the most advanced products on the market,” said said DJ Koh, President of Mobile Communications Business, Samsung Electronics. “The latest Galaxy A series is a testament to this. We integrated our unique approach to design as well as the features Galaxy customers have come to love to provide added performance without compromising on style.”

Recommended Videos

All three phones feature a metal frame and 3D glass back, and come in creatively named colors like Black Sky, Gold Sand, Blue Mist, and Peach Cloud. When it comes to taking photos, the Galaxy A comes with enhanced front and rear 16-megapixel cameras, both of which claim to be stable and accurate with improved autofocus capabilities. And if you’re a selfie fiend, the A series might be for you — you can touch anywhere on these phones’ screens to easily take a high-resolution selfie with the floating camera button, and use the display as a front flash in low-light conditions.

The latest iteration of the Galaxy A also carries an IP68 rating for water and dust resistance, which means it can stand up well to rain, sweat, sand, and dust. The phone series also has more memory than ever before, as well as microSD support of up to 256GB. And thanks to its reversible USB Type-C port, charging is as easy as it is quick.

The Galaxy A series will be made available in Russia early this month, and will soon make its way to other markets across the globe.

Lulu Chang
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Fascinated by the effects of technology on human interaction, Lulu believes that if her parents can use your new app…
Samsung finally brings Good Lock customization app to Galaxy users worldwide
Home Up settings on the Galaxy S25 Ultra.

Back in January, Samsung promised that its Good Lock customization app would be made available to all users, and now that day is here. The Good Lock app is rolling out globally today — just check your Play Store for it. If it's not currently available to download, it should be sometime soon. Reports are coming in from around the globe that the app is now available.

The app's Play Store listing has been updated, too. Since 2024, Good Lock has had an "early access" banner that is now gone, and the app listing has a new design. There's a caveat: it's typically only available for people running the latest version of Samsung's software, which means One UI 7 or One UI 6.1. It's a welcome breath of good news in the wake of today's paused One UI 7 rollout.

Read more
Samsung’s latest phone and tablet hide a swappable battery surprise
A press image of the Samsung Galaxy Tab Active5 Pro tablet and Galaxy XCover7 Pro phone.

We know there are people out there who want to swap a flat or dead battery in their smartphone out for a new, fully charged one. Samsung knows it too, and it’s one of the top features on its new Galaxy XCover7 Pro rugged smartphone. But have you ever thought about doing the same thing on your tablet? Amazingly, Samsung’s offering the same feature on its new rugged Galaxy Tab Active5 Pro tablet too. 

The Galaxy Tab Active5 Pro has a massive 10,100mAh battery inside, and Samsung will sell you a replacement so you can change it on the go, plus it has an unusual Dual Hot-Swap feature, where you can change the batteries without the tablet powering down in the process. It can even operate without a battery at all, and just run on a mains power supply. If you’re wondering why you’d need such functionality, you may not. The Galaxy Tab Active5 Pro and Galaxy XCover7 Pro are primarily designed for use by businesses and out in the field, where constant up-time may be essential. 

Read more
Samsung’s One UI 7 update makes the Galaxy S24 Ultra feel like new
A person holding the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra.

I’d been refreshing the Software Update menu on my Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra for a few days, expectantly waiting for One UI 7 to arrive. Then, on the morning of April 10, it was suddenly available and I eagerly installed it. Samsung’s One UI 7 software over Android 15 on the Galaxy S25 Ultra is a big success, but what would it be like on 2024’s flagship Galaxy phone?
Not a massive update?

To my surprise, the One UI 7 update on the Galaxy S24 Ultra is modestly sized, and took less than three minutes to download and install on my phone. It did so without any issue too, and aside from a few setup screens to navigate through — one for accessing Google Gemini, and another showing the new Galaxy AI features — my phone was operational again in moments.

Read more