Samsung Galaxy A3 preview: First look

GSMArena team, 03 December 2014.

Introduction

Until recently Samsung was known for its all-plastic smartphone shells. Pressured to evolve its product design, it came up with the Galaxy Alpha, super slim smartphone with an angular metal frame. But Samsung surely likes to spread its design concepts across the entire portfolio and there we have the Galaxy A3 and its bigger brother, the Galaxy A5.

The plastic panels didn't stop millions users worldwide to choose Samsung's phones over the competitors. It's debatable whether that's due to Samsung's almost exclusive Super AMOLED screens, their R&D hardware advancements or their aggressive approach towards adding new features to Android OS. It's a fact nonetheless. And as you can imagine, you can't go wrong with adding metal to their already winning recipe mix.

Samsung Galaxy A3 official pictures

Today, we get to enjoy the company of the most junior representative of the new metal-clad lineup - the Samsung Galaxy A3. Just like the Alpha smartphone, the A3 offers an aluminum frame, which highlights a lightweight design, built around a Super AMOLED display. And let us tell you, it does look as nice as it sounds.

Samsung Galaxy A3 at a glance:

• General: GSM/GPRS/EDGE/UMTS/HSPA/LTE connectivity;


• Dimensions: 130.1 x 65.5 x 6.9 mm, 110 g;


• Display: 4.5" qHD Super AMOLED touchscreen, 245ppi pixel density;


• Chipset: Snapdragon 410 chipset, quad-core 1.2 GHz Cortex-A53, Adreno 306 GPU, 1.5GB RAM


• OS: Android 4.4.4 KitKat with TouchWiz;


• Memory: 16GB storage, microSD card slot (up to 64GB);


• Camera: 8MP auto-focus camera, LED flash;


• Video camera: 1080p video recording;


• Front camera: 5MP front-facing camera;


• Connectivity: Wi-Fi b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0 (ANT+), NFC, microUSB 2.0 port, GPS/GLONASS receiver, 3.5mm audio jack, digital compass, ambient light sensor, secondary mic for ambient noise cancellation;


• Battery: 1,900mAh Li-Ion non-removable battery;

It's obvious that with a chipset like that, the Galaxy A3 won't top any performance charts. But it doesn't need to. It's a mid-ranger with a proper quad-core chip, an AMOLED screen and a capable camera. On a positive note, it has a 64-bit processor and a microSD expansion slot, two things the original Galaxy Alpha is short on. Android and its app ecosystem is yet to make proper use of 64-bit processors, but we're sure it's only a matter of time before we see 64-bit optimizations in real life, but the Galaxy A3 will be ready when it's time.

Samsung Galaxy A3 live pictures

So, the Samsung Galaxy A3 is all unpacked and ready for a spin. We are definitely eager to check it out. Follow us after the jump for an in-depth hardware tour.

}