Samsung’s Galaxy A line of smartphones are upper mid-range phones that offer premium design elements, but which generally have features that aren’t quite competitive with the company’s more expensive Galaxy S phones.

But some premium features are starting to trickle down to Samsung’s mid-range phones. Samsung has unveiled three new Galaxy A phones which will launch in 2016, and two of them have fingerprint sensors and cameras with optical image stabilization.

samsung galaxy a 2016

All three new Galaxy A (2016) phones have metal bodies, support for 4G LTE networks, and microSD card slots (which sets them apart from the latest Galaxy S phones).

Samsung says the new phones will be available in China in mid-December before rolling out to other markets around the world in the coming months.

Here’s a brief run-down of the specs for each new model:

Samsung Galaxy A7

  • 5.5 inch, 1920 x 1080 pixel Super AMOLED display
  • 1.6 GHz octa-core processor
  • 3GB of RAM
  • 16GB of storage
  • 802.11n WiFi, Bluetooth 4.1, NFC, LTE Cat 6
  • Android 5.1
  • 13MP rear camera with OIS and 5MP front camera
  • 3,300 mAh battery with support for fast charging
  • Fingerprint sensor and support for Samsung Pay

Samsung Galaxy A5

  • 5.2 inch, 1920 x 1080 pixel Super AMOLED display
  • 1.6 GHz octa-core processor
  • 2GB of RAM
  • 16GB of storage
  • 802.11n WiFi, Bluetooth 4.1, NFC, LTE Cat 6
  • Android 5.1
  • 13MP rear camera with OIS and 5MP front camera
  • 2,900 mAh battery with fast charging
  • Fingerprint sensor and Samsung Pay support

Samsung Galaxy A3

  • 4.7 inch, 1280 x 720 pixel Super AMOLED display
  • 1.5 GHz quad-core processor
  • 1.5GB of RAM
  • 16GB of storage
  • 802.11n WiFi, Bluetooth 4.1, NFC, LTE Cat 4
  • 13MP rear camera and 5MP front camera
  • 2,300 mAh battery

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3 replies on “Samsung Galaxy A smartphones gain fingerprint sensors, optical image stabilization”

  1. The fingerprint scanner is probably there just because of Samsung Pay.

    Too bad smartphones launch with a prior version of Android (5.1). You’d think by now manufacturers could launch with current versions.

    1. Nope. Takes too long to add all their crapware. That is why they are always behind.

      1. I probably hate Samsung more than most, but that is just nonsense. This is a mid-level phone and it has a fingerprint scanner. Hardly being behind. Also, most their software features can be turned off–except the most annoying one–reversing the buttons on either side of the home button from what is “normal” in the Android world. Also, they were rather fast getting the Stage Fright patches out.

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