Samsung has made the Galaxy A7 official, just days after CES 2015 closed its doors in Las Vegas. The device has been leaked extensively in the past, but now we have confirmation of all the specs, plus some official images showing the super-slim smartphone. Like Samsung’s other Galaxy A series hardware, it’s wrapped in a premium metal chassis, and this time it’s even slimmer at just 6.3mm thick.
The screen is a massive 5.5-inch Super AMOLED panel, which is considerably larger than Galaxy A3 and A5, while the resolution is described as HD at the moment. It’s believed to be 1080p. Samsung will make a single-SIM and a dual-SIM version of the A7, and each will come with slightly different processors. Both are Samsung-produced Exynos octa-core chips, with the single-SIM version clocked at 1.8GHz/1.3GHz, and the dual-SIM model at 1.5GHz/1.0GHz.
Related: Samsung may discontinue the Galaxy Alpha
Smartphone photo fans will like the 13-megapixel camera on the A7’s rear, and the ultra-wide angle 5-megapixel cam above the screen. Samsung has added a selection of cool software features to each, such as gesture and voice controls for snapping selfies.
Android 4.4 KitKat is installed from the factory, rather than the latest 5.0 Lollipop version of Google’s OS, but the phone will hopefully receive an update in the future. There’s 16GB of internal memory, a MicroSD card slot ready to add another 64GB space, plus 2GB of RAM inside the A7. A 2600mAh battery powers the phone, which sounds a little small for such a powerful device. It’s also ready to connect to 4G LTE networks.
The question is, which networks will take the Galaxy A7? Samsung hasn’t confirmed the final release details yet, but if it’s similar to the A3 and A5, expect it to debut in China before a global launch in the future. We’ll update here when we learn more about the Galaxy A7.
CONTINUE TO PAGE TWO FOR A ROUNDUP OF GALAXY A7 RUMORS, PUBLISHED BEFORE ITS ANNOUNCEMENT
A new, super-slim Samsung smartphone has been leaked. It’s likely to be called the Galaxy A7, and it’s a continuation of the desirable Galaxy Alpha line. The phone has shown up on China’s mobile hardware certification website, along with an almost complete list of specifications, and some less than flattering pictures.
According to the specs, the Galaxy A7 will measure a mere 6.3mm thick, which is slimmer than the 6.7mm Galaxy Alpha and Galaxy A5 – making it Samsung’s thinnest Galaxy phone to date. The list continues, and shows the A7 to be technically superior to the recently announced Galaxy Alpha, A3 and A5.
The 5.5-inch, 1080p screen is a surprise, particularly stuffed inside such a sleek body, and is larger and higher resolution than the Galaxy Alpha. A new octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 processor with 2GB of RAM is listed, making the A7 fit and ready for Android 5.0 Lollipop, but initially it’s expected to come with Android 4.4.4 KitKat installed. A 13-megapixel rear camera should be joined by a 5-megapixel front camera, which matches the Galaxy A5’s photographic capabilities. Other specs include 4G LTE and 16GB of internal memory.
Samsung looks to have extended the shape, styling, and premium feel of the Alpha range to the A7. The design appears to be almost identical to the A3 and the A5, just on a larger scale, and it’s almost certain the phone will have another metal chassis. The rear panel will probably still be made from polycarbonate.
The Galaxy A7 seen here is being produced for China, much like the first examples of the Galaxy A3 and Galaxy A5; but Samsung has promised those two phones will get a wider release in the future, so there’s no reason not to expect the same for the Galaxy A7. An official announcement hasn’t been made yet, but now certification is complete, we won’t have to wait long.
