‘Hold your breath’ for water-resistant 2017 Samsung Galaxy A-series releases

Instead of shortening the window between mid-range Galaxy A smartphone releases, as is often the case for high-end models, Samsung appears to once again be taking its time after waiting more than a year to refresh the original A3, A5 and A7.

The second-gen trio saw daylight in December 2015, but it seems 2017 editions of premium-looking, non-flagship Galaxy A3, A5 and A7 handhelds will be “delayed” until, well, 2017. The very early stages of next year, presumably, and we wouldn’t rule out formal announcements happening in a matter of days at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

Bizarrely enough, only Samsung’s Malaysian branch is currently teasing a breathtaking new beginning, leaving out any timing or location clues. All we’re told is to “hold our breath”, as “something Awaits” us, and “it all begins with A.”

Subtlety is obviously not this company division’s strongest suit, and in case you won’t take a hint or two, here’s another: a #A2017liveunplanned hashtag. Also, a few drops of water splashed around. What does it all mean?

Even the world’s worst detective could probably deduce the Samsung Galaxy A3 (2017), A5 (2017) and A7 (2017) are coming soon, with water-protected bodies across the board. Or maybe just one or two of those will withstand liquid interaction. Odds are we’ll find out as early as next week.

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Australian carrier expects to send Android 7.0 Nougat to Samsung Galaxy A5 next month

Anybody care for a head-scratcher of an official news update on Samsung’s short-term Android Nougat upgrade plans? Here it goes: apparently, the newest version of Google’s mobile industry-dominating OS will be rolling out to at least one Australian carrier-specific Galaxy A5 model as early as the “end of Jan 2017.”

That’s unbelievably great news, which is precisely the problem. We find it very hard to believe the world’s number one smartphone manufacturer will pull off such a timely UI makeover for a mid-range device when the Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge are yet to wrap up their protracted open beta N program.

Optus further contributes to our confusion and skepticism by not clarifying if it’s currently testing 7.0 software goodies on the original Galaxy A5 or the 2016 revision. The latter made its global commercial debut around a year ago with Lollipop out the box, while the former saw daylight way back in the fall of 2014, already getting bumped up from KitKat to Lollipop and then Marshmallow.

There’s absolutely no way the ancient 720p 5-incher will score Nougat so soon, and it actually may never leave OS build M behind, hence Australia’s second largest mobile operator must be talking about the second-gen 1080p 5.2-incher. And even that one wasn’t expected to jump on the Android 7.0 bandwagon before the Note 5, S6 Edge+, S6, S6 Edge or A7 (2016). But perhaps when it rains, it pours.

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Entire mid-range Samsung Galaxy A (2016) smartphone family ‘confirmed’ for Nougat updates

In a way, it certainly pays off to flood the smartphone market with dozens of different models each year, covering every specific size, build, processing and pricing need consumers around the world may feel.

That’s actually one of the reasons why Samsung is still the number one mobile hardware vendor, even after the Galaxy Note 7 snafu, with so many low, mid and high-end product rosters to choose from. But software support is often the reverse of the medal.

Seeing as how Android 7.0 isn’t quite ready for primetime yet as far as a single Galaxy flagship is concerned, you’re probably wondering what that means for older, humbler Samsung devices. Long waiting times, most likely, but no shocking snubs, fortunately.

It’s reportedly “confirmed” now that the 2016 editions of the mid-range Galaxy A3, A5, A7, A8, A9 and A9 Pro will all leave Marshmallow behind to embrace sweet Nougat goodies… eventually. Yes, even the 4.7-inch Snapdragon 410/Exynos 7578 Galaxy A3 (2016), released back in December 2015 with Lollipop out the box.

Sadly, we don’t have update ETAs to share at the moment, although it’s safe to assume the Galaxy S7, S7 Edge, Note 5, S6, S6 Edge, Edge+, and Tab S2, at the very least, will jump on the Android Nougat bandwagon first. And then you need to consider the looming 2017 Galaxy A lineup, which may well run Marshmallow off the bat, switching to OS build N soon after their commercial launches.

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First-gen Samsung Galaxy A5 receives tardy but welcome Marshmallow update

In an ideal world, you’d have every right to be furious upon hearing a decent phone (at least back in its day) is getting updated to the previous major OS build mere days ahead of a new Android flavor’s official release.But this is no perfect world, and the fall 2014-launched Samsung Galaxy A5 is no Nexus device. Granted, the super-slim 5-incher hasn’t turned two yet, so we’re not going to act like its manufacturer did ...

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A few more details on the Samsung Galaxy A9 pop up in leaked spec card

Can’t you feel that holiday cheer, Samsung? The Ga-la-la-la-laaa-la-la-laxy A9 is back on the eggnog overflow and we have more details as to what it tows. And there’s also a little quirk that made us shift in our seats just a little bit. See if you can spot it and guess what we think it means while we go through the laundry list.The new leak from Weibo seems ...

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European retailer reveals Samsung Galaxy A3 (2016), A5 (2016) release date

They definitely look great, even by more than mid-range standards, following the Galaxy S6 design language almost to the letter, they cover every little niche of the sub-flagship market segment, and… they’re apparently roughly a month away from their old continent commercial debut.We’re talking of course about the new Galaxy A lineup, or at least two of the three family members. The A3 (2016) and A5 (2016) are already up for pre-orders in the Netherlands, shipping on January 8 as long as ...

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Uncertainty comes to Samsung Galaxy A5 rumors as sources clash over specs

Samsung’s been prepping some new additions to its Galaxy A series of Android smartphones, and at least some of those models look like they could be nearly ready to launch. In addition to all-new hardware, we’re also expecting new editions for a few of last year’s models, like the Galaxy A5. We’ve already seen a lot of evidence for this new model, including a number of hardware ...

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Samsung Galaxy A5 (2016) and Galaxy A7 (2016) flaunt premium bodies in newly leaked pics

Samsung heard the outcries of its fans for more emphasis on smartphone designs and build quality loud and clear, entering a new chapter of the company’s evolution with the aluminum-framed Galaxy Alpha over a year ago.The full-metal Galaxy A roster quickly followed, then the Galaxy S6 and

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Probable Samsung Galaxy A5 follow-up surfaces online with Full HD display

Remember when we gazed in awe of smartphones sporting eye-catching 1,920 x 1,080 resolutions, and spec wars opposers clamored no one needed so many pixels on 5-inch slabs, as the human eye couldn’t distinguish between HD and Full HD?Well, in the meantime (and it hasn’t been that long), Quad HD pixel counts have become the high-end norm, the path to 4K is being set by Sony, and 1,080p can be officially deemed a decidedly mid-range trait.Don’t believe us? Then how do you explain Samsung plans to load the ...

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Samsung Galaxy A9 speculation ramps up with R&D component trips to India

First we talked of a possible fifth addition to Samsung’s non-flagship full-metal Galaxy A lineup, it was all pure conjecture based on the fact an A9 fitted the Snapdragon 620 “requirements.” But now we have hard evidence supporting the existence of an SM-A9000 handheld, which can only go official under the Galaxy A9 moniker, given the A8 is also identified by the model number SM-A800x.No doubt looking to further blur the lines between mid and ...

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Samsung’s Galaxy A3 and A5 are coming to Europe soon

Samsung’s Galaxy A3 and A5 have been fairly well-received among the media, but that hasn’t translated into blockbuster sales for Samsung quite yet given that the phone duo has been limited to select Asian regions since the launch. Today, that expansion looks to be on Samsung’s radar, as firmware for Europe-specific models has gone live on SamMobile, suggesting that a Samsung Galaxy A-series Europe debut isn’t far away.The fact that firmware even exists for all the countries that it does is proof enough for us to make the assumption that this means Samsung will take ...

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Hands-on with the Samsung Galaxy A5 (Video)

We were hoping that Samsung would use the CES stage in Las Vegas to unveil something grand in mobile, be it a tablet or a new smartphone, but we were left waiting out in the cold with no new announcements. That doesn’t mean that Samsung’s booth at CES was empty as far as phones go, however – the company took the opportunity to highlight two of its recent smartphone unveils, one of them being this one. So here’s our Samsung Galaxy A5 hands-on video straight from the show floor in sunny Nevada.Now, this isn’t quite a flagship smartphone – so don’t expect it ...

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Samsung Galaxy A3 and Galaxy A5 reach the US, sort of

Most of us are still trying to understand Samsung’s purpose of the Alpha lineup. While we do recognize that the build quality in devices like the Galaxy Alpha is top notch, it’s clear that the market isn’t really happy with the amount of

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Samsung Galaxy Alpha due for retirement already?

Some mobile devices really do end up with preposterously short lifespans. For manufacturers like Sony, where it makes a point of getting out its new Xperia Z models as quickly as possible, we expect such things, but other times we’re taken by surprise. A few years back, we saw the Motorola Droid 4 land just seven months after the Droid 3, or more recently the iPad 3 was replaced by the iPad 4 after a similar seventh months on the market. Samsung launched its metallic Galaxy Alpha back in August, and it ...

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Samsung’s Galaxy A5 lands in China

Samsung made headlines last month with the announcement of its thinnest smartphones to date, the Galaxy A3 and A5, both featuring svelte aluminum unibody designs and more design appeal than many of Samsung’s other offerings. They were interesting phones to say the least, which is why we’re glad to report news of Samsung Galaxy A5 China availability having just begun.The phone costs 2,599 Yuan (CNY) to purchase, which translates to ...

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