Although the Samsung Note and Samsung Galaxy S smartphones usually receive the most fuss among users, what matters most to the company is the Samsung Galaxy A series. This series is the most affordable smartphones from Samsung and is more widely available in some parts of the world. It also helps keep the company going.

Now, Samsung is launching 2016 upgrades to the entire Galaxy A series. Inspired by the Samsung Galaxy A6, the 4.7-inch Galaxy A3; 5.2-inch Galaxy A5 and 5.5-inch sport narrow bezels and are sleeker than their ancestors. The real selling point for these phones might be ease of shopping, however. The Samsung Galaxy A5 and Galaxy A7 will support Samsung Pay and will be the company’s first non-flagships to do so.

It’s worth noting the Samsung Galaxy A line has sharper displays (720p on the A3, 1080p on the A5 and A7), and have faster processors like 1.6 GHz octa-core and 1.5 GHz quad-core. Nevertheless, the series also has higher-capacity batteries; optical image stabilization on the 13 MP cameras for the two higher-end models but no changes for the 5 MP front shooters. The A series also feature microSD card slots that increase their inbuilt 16 GB storage capability.

China will get the first crack at the new Samsung Galaxy A series by mid-December and other countries will follow after that.

Samsung, however, has been marginalized by low-end phones from Chinese rivals like Huawei and Xiaomi, and is suffering lackluster high-end sales. These Chinese smartphone makers offer feature-packed phones for very little cash. So it’s the need of the hour for Samsung to boost its budget smartphones to bounce back in China.

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