Samsung has officially launched the latest member to its Galaxy A series, introducing the higher-end Galaxy A7 for "a superior social experience."
The company recently took the wraps off its Galaxy A7 at an event in Malaysia, but now it's ready for a proper global introduction of the handset. The Galaxy A7 has been expected for quite some time now, as its Galaxy A3 and Galaxy A5 siblings made their debut at the end of October.
"Samsung Electronics unveiled the new Galaxy A7, one of the slimmest Galaxy smartphones equipped with premium hardware for a superior social experience. Combining powerful multitasking performance with sophisticated design, the Galaxy A7 expands on the popular services provided by the Galaxy A5 and A3, enabling users to capture and share every moment seamlessly on their social media platform," the company touts in an official blog post on Monday, Jan. 12.
"We strive to develop devices that appeal to a broad range of consumers and are ahead of the next big social trend," adds JK Shin, Samsung Electronics CEO and Head of IT & Mobile Communication. "Combining both a stunning metallic design and a powerful performance, the Galaxy A7 is stylish while delivering the superior user experience."
The new Samsung Galaxy A7 comes as a 5.5-inch device with a Super AMOLED HD display, measuring just 6.5mm in thickness. According to Samsung, the Galaxy A7 is "one of the slimmest Galaxy smartphones equipped with premium hardware."
Under the hood, the new Galaxy A7 packs either a 64-bit Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 SoC or a 32-bit Exynos 5430 SoC, depending on region. The Snapdragon 615 chipset consists of four Cortex-A53 cores clocked at 1.5GHz and four Cortex-A53 cores clocked at 1.0GHz, while the Exynos 5430 uses four 32-bit Cortex-A15 cores clocked at 1.8GHz and four Cortex-A7 cores clocked at 1.3GHz.
The Galaxy A7 also comes in both single- and dual-SIM flavors, offering 4G LTE and LTE/3G connectivity, respectively. The dual-SIM 3G Galaxy A7 will pack the Exynos 5430 processor, while the chipset for the single-SIM 4G model will vary depending on region.
Other specifications of the new Samsung Galaxy A7 include 2GB of RAM, 16GB of internal storage capacity, a 13-megapixel rear camera, and a 5-megapixel front shooter with advanced selfie capabilities such as "Ultra Wide Shot" and "Auto Selfie" modes.
The handset further features a 2,600 mAh battery and Android 4.4 KitKat on the software side, while connectivity options include the usual Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and GPS, as well as NFC for the LTE model.
When it comes to pricing and availability, the Galaxy A7 will launch globally within the next couple of months, but Samsung has yet to offer exact pricing details. Considering that the A3 costs $330 and the A5 goes up to $410 in the U.S., however, the Galaxy A7 is expected to cost roughly $500.
