Samsung Company announced its new A3 and A5 phones for the Asia market, with features seemingly designed to counteract the siren song of Apple's fashionable phones.
The A5 and A3 match the all-metal build of the Galaxy Alpha, adding momentum to Samsung's move away from plasticky phones. Their specs sit firmly mid-range otherwise: Both phones sport a 1.2GHz quad-core processor, Super AMOLED display, a 5MP front-facing camera, and 16GB of storage. You can expand that up to 64GB by tossing in an SD card. In another break from Samsung's past, neither phone's battery is removable.
Both models are super-slim. The A3 matches the iPhone 6 at 6.9mm. The A5 inhales even more deeply, measuring just 6.7mm thin. The A5 wins out in other specs, with a 5-inch, 1280x720 screen, 2GB of RAM, and a 2,300mAh battery. The A3 has a 4.5-inch screen with a 960x540 resolution, 1GB of RAM, and a 1,900mAh battery. Both phones ship with Android 4.4 Kit Kat. Samsung did not specify plans to upgrade to Android Lollipop, but we do know the company's been tinkering with the new mobile OS.
Samsung has taken a lot of heat for using too much plastic on its smartphones, while other companies use more premium metal materials. With its recent Galaxy Alpha and Note 4, Samsung has tried to change course, using aluminum frames but sticking with plastic back panels.
Given that Samsung's smartphone sales were apparently hurt by iPhone anticipation, Samsung seems wise to focus on glamour this time around.
