Samsung Galaxy A3 (2017) release date, specs rumors: Details spotted on GFXBench listing; device to launch January next year?

People are silhouetted as they pose with mobile devices in front of a screen projected with a Samsung logo. August 24, 2016Reuters/Dado Ruvic

Samsung is said to be working on a 2017 model for its Galaxy A3 mid-range phone, based on earlier reports. Now, a benchmark result has surfaced online and revealed several hardware specifications that the handset might bring in by the time it gets released, which is rumored to be around January of next year.

The GFXBench result shows that the alleged smartphone (SM-A320x) will have a 4.7-inch AMOLED display screen with a 1280 x 720-pixel resolution. It will be powered by an octa-core processor with a clock speed of 1.5 GHz, most probably a Samsung Exynos 7870 SoC, incorporating a Mali-T830 GPU, and paired with 2 GB of RAM. An 8 GB storage space is also included.

Additionally, the result page also shows a 12-MP rear camera that features face detection, LED flash, and autofocus. The front contains a 7-MP camera which is great for selfies and video calls. Both cameras are capable of taking full HD videos. The operating system during the test showed that it has an Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow loaded. It is still unknown if the device will be able to accommodate the Android 7.0 Nougat. Android Headlines added that Samsung Galaxy A3 (2017) will support a single SIM card and could also have a fingerprint sensor.

The 2016 model features a Snapdragon 410 processor with a clock speed of 1.5 Ghz, 1.5 GB of RAM and 16 GB of internal storage. It also contains Gorilla Glass 4, a MicroUSB port and up to 256 GB additional storage space via a MicroSD card. The non-removable 2,300 mAh battery gives the device up to 58 hours of music play time and up to 14 hours of talk time. It is speculated that many of these features will carry over to its successor.

The Samsung Galaxy A3 (2017) is expected to be priced below the $300 mark. As of the moment, there is still no official announcement coming from Samsung about the exact release date of the model.