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While the Galaxy S-series represents the very best that Samsung has to offer in terms of its smartphone business, the Galaxy A line is aimed mostly at the pre-paid market and comprises of more humble offerings for price-conscious buyers. The company introduced its first-generation Galaxy A-series devices towards the end of 2014, while the second-gen Galaxy A smartphones hit the market late last year. With the 2017 iterations of the Galaxy A-series handsets expected to be launched in early 2017, a new entry-level device from the lineup has now apparently been cleared by the FCC. The device in question is the Galaxy A3 (2017), which comes with model number SM-A320F and is expected to be the most affordable device in Samsung’s 2017 Galaxy A lineup.
The FCC listing didn’t really reveal a whole lot of info about the upcoming handset apart from a few technical details about the phone’s Wi-Fi and Bluetooth credentials. Earlier rumors, however, point towards a 4.7-inch display panel that will come with a resolution of 1280 x 720 pixels. While Samsung has been using AMOLED displays in many of its entry-level devices since last year, there is no word just yet on whether this upcoming smartphone will also be blessed with one, or if it will only sport a regulation LCD panel found on most devices at this price-range. As for the rest of the tech specs, rumors suggest 3GB of RAM and a 1.5GHz octa-core CPU, although there’s no word on whether it will be an Exynos chip or something else.
On the imaging front, rumors suggest that the upcoming handset will come with a 12-megapixel camera on the rear and an 8-megapixel shooter on the front. It’s also believed to come with Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow out-of-the-box. A 3,000mAh battery is expected to keep the lights on, while the physical home button on the front will apparently come with an integrated fingerprint scanner. The device is also expected to come with an IP68 rating, meaning it will be waterproof in up to 5 feet of water for up to 30-minutes. Coming to the pricing and availability, a recent tweet from tech journalist, Mr. Roland Quandt (@rquandt), suggested that the Galaxy A3 (2017) will be launched mid-January and will be priced at around $365.
