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In an event held in Lahore on 3rd February, Samsung has launched the refreshed lineup of its A series smartphones for the year 2017. The devices come with new and improved features like IP68 water and dust protection and improved camera performance.
Little bit about the event
The event, held at Avari Hotel Lahore, was attended by top management of Samsung Pakistan including Mr. J.H. Lee, President of Samsung Pakistan, and Mr. Umar Ghuman, Head of Mobiles for Pakistan and Afghanistan. The event included a presentation about prominent features of devices and it was followed by a hands-on demo of the new A series smartphones.
What’s new with the devices?
2017 lineup of A series smartphones introduces a number of new features which will excite potential customers. Most notable of which is the IP68 water and dust protection. According to Samsung, you can submerge all three devices, A3, A5, and A7, in water for nearly 30 minutes without fear of inflicting any sort of damage to them.
All three devices also come with reversible USB Type-C connectors to ensure future compatibility. These devices also borrow the always on screen from Galaxy S and Note series. Here’s a look at the individual specifications and features of these devices.
Samsung Galaxy A3 (2017)
Galaxy A3 is the cheapest (relatively) of the bunch and thus obviously cuts the biggest corners when it comes to features and specifications. Launching at a price of PKR 37,500, it offers following specifications:
- 4.7 inch HD (720 x 1280p) Screen with Gorilla Glass protection
- 2 GB RAM with 16 GB internal storage, expandable to 256 GB with microSD card
- Exynos 7870 Chipset with 1.6 GHz A-53 Octa-core processor and Mali-T830 GPU
- 13 MP primary camera with f/1.9 aperture, capable of shooting 1080p videos at 30 frames per second
- 8 MP secondary camera with f/1.9 aperture
- Front-mounted fingerprint sensor (in the physical home button)
- Non-removable 2350 mAh battery
- IP68 Water and Dust protection (1.5-meter depth for 30 minutes)
- Dual SIM (Nano-SIM, dual standby) with dedicated microSD card slot
Samsung Galaxy A5 (2017)
Adding nearly 10K to A3’s price, you get Galaxy A5 with a larger screen with 1080p resolution, more RAM and 16 MP cameras on either side of the device. Along with a price of PKR 47, 000, a complete list of specifications offered by A5 are:
- 5.2-inch FullHD (1080 x 1920p) Screen with Gorilla Glass protection
- 3 GB RAM with 32 GB internal storage, expandable to 256 GB with microSD card
- Exynos 7880 Chipset with 1.9 GHz A-53 Octa-core processor and Mali-T830MP3 GPU
- 16 MP primary camera with f/1.9 aperture, capable of shooting 1080p videos at 30 frames per second
- 16 MP secondary camera with f/1.9 aperture
- Front-mounted fingerprint sensor (in the physical home button)
- Non-removable 3000 mAh battery
- IP68 Water and Dust protection (1.5-meter depth for 30 minutes)
- Dual SIM (Nano-SIM, dual standby) with dedicated microSD card slot
With the brief hands-on experience that we managed to get on the event, the front 16 MP camera seems exceptionally good as compared to previous models. We will, of course, be testing this out when we get our hands on the device for a longer period of time.
Samsung Galaxy A7 (2017)
A7 is both the priciest and the most premium one of the three devices. It offers nearly identical specifications to that of A5, but it does bump the screen and battery life to 5.7 inches and 3600 mAh respectively. It also bumps the price up to PKR 55,000. A complete list of its specifications is:
- 5.7-inch FullHD (1080 x 1920p) Screen with Gorilla Glass protection
- 3 GB RAM with 32 GB internal storage, expandable to 256 GB with microSD card
- Exynos 7880 Chipset with 1.9 GHz A-53 Octa-core processor and Mali-T830MP3 GPU
- 16 MP primary camera with f/1.9 aperture, capable of shooting 1080p videos at 30 frames per second
- 16 MP secondary camera with f/1.9 aperture
- Front-mounted fingerprint sensor (in the physical home button)
- Non-removable 3600 mAh battery
- IP68 Water and Dust protection (1.5-meter depth for 30 minutes)
- Dual SIM (Nano-SIM, dual standby) with dedicated microSD card slot
All these three devices are now available to purchase from online and retail stores for PKR 37,500, PKR 47,000 and PKR 55,000 respectively.
