The Samsung Galaxy A series is a line of mid-range

smartphones A smartphone is a portable computer device that combines mobile telephone and computing functions into one unit. They are distinguished from feature phones by their stronger hardware capabilities and extensive mobile operating systems, whic ...

and tablets manufactured by

Samsung Electronics Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. (, sometimes shortened to SEC and stylized as SΛMSUNG) is a South Korean multinational electronics corporation headquartered in Yeongtong-gu, Suwon, South Korea. It is the pinnacle of the Samsung chaebol, acc ...

as part of their

Galaxy A galaxy is a system of stars, stellar remnants, interstellar gas, dust, dark matter, bound together by gravity. The word is derived from the Greek ' (), literally 'milky', a reference to the Milky Way galaxy that contains the Solar System ...

line. The first model in the series was the first-generation Galaxy Alpha, released on 31 October 2014. Following the announcement of the 2017 series, Samsung announced that they hoped to sell up to 20 million Galaxy A series smartphones, targeting consumers in Europe, Africa, Asia, the Middle East and Latin America. As of 2020, most of the Galaxy A series models are available in most countries. Galaxy Tab A is also part of the A series and is available in most countries as well.

Timeline

Predecessor

The "Galaxy A" nameplate first appeared on the Samsung SHW-M100S, which was released in 2010 exclusively for the South Korean market and known as the Samsung Anycall Galaxy A. It was a mid-range device and positioned well below the flagship Galaxy S.

Samsung Galaxy Alpha and A (2015) series

The Samsung Galaxy Alpha was introduced on 13 August 2014 and released in September 2014. A high-end device, the Galaxy Alpha is Samsung's first smartphone to incorporate a metallic frame and more premium materials, although the remainder of its physical appearance still resembles previous models such as the

Galaxy S5 The Samsung Galaxy S5 is an Android-based smartphone unveiled, produced, released and marketed by Samsung Electronics as part of the Samsung Galaxy S series. Unveiled on 24 February 2014 at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, it was rele ...

. It also incorporates the

Qualcomm Snapdragon Snapdragon is a suite of system on a chip (SoC) semiconductor products for mobile devices designed and marketed by Qualcomm Technologies Inc. The Snapdragon's central processing unit (CPU) uses the ARM architecture. A single SoC may include ...

801 or Samsung's new

Exynos Exynos, formerly Hummingbird (), is a series of ARM-based system-on-chips developed by Samsung Electronics' System LSI division and manufactured by Samsung Foundry. It is a continuation of Samsung's earlier S3C, S5L and S5P line of SoCs. E ...

5430 system-on-chip, which is the first mobile system-on-chip to use a 20

nanometer 330px, Different lengths as in respect to the molecular scale. The nanometre (international spelling as used by the International Bureau of Weights and Measures; SI symbol: nm) or nanometer (American and British English spelling differences#-re, ...

manufacturing process Manufacturing is the creation or production of goods with the help of equipment, labor, machines, tools, and chemical or biological processing or formulation. It is the essence of secondary sector of the economy. The term may refer to a ran ...

. However, the Galaxy Alpha received mixed reviews: although praised for its higher quality build and design in comparison to earlier Galaxy models' utilitarian plastic construction, the device was criticized for its modest specifications in comparison to the flagship Galaxy S5, with the Alpha being criticized for lacking water resistance, lower resolution screen (720p versus 1080p) and no MicroSD slot for expandable storage. The Alpha also debuted at a price too high for what some considered to be a "mid-range" smartphone, as although it did share the same Snapdragon 801 as the Galaxy S5, most earlier phones with the Snapdragon 801 had already been on the market for months and saw price drops. Following its launch, Samsung Electronics CEO JK Shin explained that the Alpha was "built and designed based on the specific desires of the consumer market." The company touted that the Galaxy Alpha would mark a "new design approach" for Samsung's products, and that elements from the Alpha could appear on future Samsung models. Its operating system is based on Android 4.4.4 "KitKat" with its own version of

TouchWiz TouchWiz was a user interface developed by Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd with partners, featuring a full touch user interface. It is sometimes incorrectly referred to as an operating system. TouchWiz is used internally by Samsung for smartphones, ...

UI. Several updates were made throughout the world and in April 2015, Android 5.0.2 "Lollipop" was made available through an OTA update.

Samsung Galaxy Tab A

In March 2015, Samsung introduced the Galaxy Tab A series with 8.0 inch and 9.7 inch displays, a

S Pen Samsung Galaxy (, stylised as SΛMSUNG Galaxy since 2015 (except Japan where it omits the Samsung branding), previously stylised as Samsung GALAXY; abbreviated as SG) is a series of computing and mobile computing devices that are designed, ...

stylus, as well as preloaded

Samsung The Samsung Group (or simply Samsung) ( ko, 삼성 ) is a South Korean multinational manufacturing conglomerate headquartered in Samsung Town, Seoul, South Korea. It comprises numerous affiliated businesses, most of them united under the ...

applications. The

feature on the Galaxy Tab A series, makes the first Samsung Galaxy device to be equipped with the Samsung stylus outside of the Note series.

Samsung Galaxy A (2016) series

New features were introduced in the Galaxy A 2016 Series which includes metal and glass body, NFC which supports

Samsung Pay Samsung Pay (stylized as SΛMSUNG Pay) is a mobile payment and digital wallet service by Samsung Electronics that lets users make payments using compatible phones and other Samsung-produced devices. The service supports contactless payments usin ...

, Samsung's Adaptive Fast charging feature and increased battery life. The Galaxy A (2016) series are very similar to the Galaxy S6, and the Galaxy Note 5 flagships, which were released in April 2015, and August 2015, respectively.

Samsung Galaxy A (2017) series

In January 2017,

unveiled the 2017 edition of the Galaxy A series. Newly improved features include 16-megapixel front and back cameras, an Exynos 7 Octa 7880 SoC, a 3D glass display (similar to Samsung Galaxy S6 edge+, Galaxy Note 5 and Galaxy S7),

barometer A barometer is a scientific instrument that is used to measure air pressure in a certain environment. Pressure tendency can forecast short term changes in the weather. Many measurements of air pressure are used within surface weather analysis ...

and

gyroscope A gyroscope (from Ancient Greek γῦρος ''gŷros'', "round" and σκοπέω ''skopéō'', "to look") is a device used for measuring or maintaining orientation and angular velocity. It is a spinning wheel or disc in which the axis of rot ...

sensors and IP68

certification Certification is the provision by an independent body of written assurance (a certificate) that the product, service or system in question meets specific requirements. It is the formal attestation or confirmation of certain characteristics of a ...

for water and dust resistance as well as support for Gear 360 (2017). The new design of the series are very similar to the Galaxy S7 and the S7 Edge, released in March 2016. The series comprises three models: Galaxy A3, Galaxy A5, and Galaxy A7. This was the last Galaxy A series to use the

user interface, before being superseded by Samsung Experience and

One UI One UI is a user interface developed by Samsung Electronics for its Android devices running Android 9 "Pie" and later. Succeeding Samsung Experience and TouchWiz, it is designed to make using larger smartphones easier and be more visually app ...

in later models.

Samsung Galaxy A (2018) series

The 2018 Galaxy A Series introduces many high-end features for the first time in the Galaxy A lineup, including multi-lens camera, Infinity Display, Adaptive Fast Charging, IP68 certification, and revamped design. This series uses Samsung Experience UI derived from the Galaxy S8 and

Galaxy Note 9 The Samsung Galaxy Note 9 (stylized as Samsung Galaxy Note9) is an Android-based phablet designed, developed, produced and marketed by Samsung Electronics as part of the Samsung Galaxy Note series. It was unveiled on 9 August 2018, as the succ ...

. The series comprises seven models: Galaxy A6, Galaxy A6+, Galaxy A7,

Galaxy A8 Samsung Galaxy A8 refers to three Samsung Galaxy smartphones released in the 2010s. These are: * Samsung Galaxy A8 (2015) edition; Android smartphone unveiled in July 2015, released in August 2015. * Samsung Galaxy A8 (2016) edition; Android smar ...

Galaxy A8+ A galaxy is a system of stars, stellar remnants, interstellar medium, interstellar gas, cosmic dust, dust, dark matter, bound together by gravity. The word is derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek ' (), literally 'milky', a reference to the ...

, Galaxy A8 Star, and Galaxy A9.

Samsung Galaxy Ax0 series

Samsung introduced the 2019 Galaxy A Series in February 2019, alongside the online-exclusive Galaxy M Series. Unlike all the previous models, the lineup shifts to the new two-digit nomenclature first introduced in the

Galaxy S10 The Samsung Galaxy S10 is a line of Android-based smartphones manufactured, released and marketed by Samsung Electronics as part of the Samsung Galaxy S series. The Galaxy S10 series is the tenth generation of the Samsung Galaxy S, its flagship ...

. It retains the higher-end features previously introduced in the Galaxy A 2018 series with several improvements, alongside a "waterdrop" notch display (also debuted in the Galaxy M series), higher battery capacity, newer SoCs, and higher memory capacity. The video stabilization feature returned after it was removed from the Galaxy A 2017 series, but IP67 rating was removed on the higher models. This lineup, except the A2 Core, features

user interface, in accordance to the S10 series. The series comprises the most numerous models of the Galaxy A series, with eighteen models – Galaxy A2 Core, Galaxy A10e, Galaxy A10, Galaxy A10s, Galaxy A20, Galaxy A20s, Galaxy A30, Galaxy A30s, Galaxy A40, Galaxy A40s, Galaxy A50, Galaxy A50s, Galaxy A60, Galaxy A70, Galaxy A70s, Galaxy A80 and Galaxy A90.

Samsung Galaxy Ax1 series

Samsung introduced the 2020 Galaxy A series a few months after the release of mid-generation refresh of the 2019 series (those with the "s" suffix). The series brought new features such as geometric design, newer and faster SoCs (compared to their predecessor), hole-punch display (on some devices) & increased RAM and storage options. The series comprises eleven models – Galaxy A01 Core, Galaxy A01, Galaxy A11, Galaxy A21, Galaxy A21s, Galaxy A31, Galaxy A41, Galaxy A51, Galaxy A71, Galaxy A51 5G, and Galaxy A71 5G. The Galaxy A01 Core was the second ultra-budget model within the Galaxy A series, the first being 2019's Galaxy A2 Core.

Samsung Galaxy Ax2 series

Samsung introduced the 2021 Galaxy A series in September 2020. The series has increased RAM and storage options, various camera upgrades,

optical image stabilization Image stabilization (IS) is a family of techniques that reduce motion blur, blurring associated with the motion of a camera or other imaging device during exposure (photography), exposure. Generally, it compensates for panning (camera), pan an ...

on higher-end models, and 5G on a wider range of models, with some featuring larger screens than the LTE counterparts. It also shifts away from Exynos SoCs in favor of

Qualcomm Qualcomm () is an American multinational corporation headquartered in San Diego, California, and incorporated in Delaware. It creates semiconductors, software, and services related to wireless technology. It owns patents critical to the 5G, ...

and

MediaTek MediaTek Inc. () is a Taiwanese fabless semiconductor company that provides chips for wireless communications, high-definition television, handheld mobile devices like smartphones and tablet computers, navigation systems, consumer multimedia ...

, as Exynos SoCs are now focused only on flagship models. IP67 rating returned for the higher-end models after being absent in two previous generations. The series currently comprises twelve models – Galaxy A02, Galaxy A02s, Galaxy A12, Galaxy A22, Galaxy A22 5G, Galaxy A32, Galaxy A32 5G, Galaxy A42 5G, Galaxy A52, Galaxy A52 5G, Galaxy A52s 5G, and Galaxy A72.

Samsung Galaxy Ax3 series

Samsung introduced the 2022 Galaxy A series in August 2021. The series introduced larger screens (on both LTE and 5G versions compared to the previous generation which was only reserved for 5G versions), various camera upgrades, and the return of the peach device color option after it was absent in two previous generations. The series currently consists of nine models or possibly more depending of the country or region. – Galaxy A03 Core, Galaxy A03, Galaxy A03s, Galaxy A13, Galaxy A13 (5G), Galaxy A23, Galaxy A33 (5G), Galaxy A53 (5G), Galaxy A73 (5G)

Phones

Samsung Galaxy Alpha and A (2015) series

Samsung Galaxy A (2016) series

Samsung Galaxy A (2017) series

Samsung Galaxy A (2018) series

Samsung Galaxy Ax0 series

Samsung Galaxy Ax1 series

Samsung Galaxy Ax2 series

Samsung Galaxy Ax3 series

Samsung Galaxy Ax4 series

Tablets

2015 lineup

Galaxy Tab A 8.0 (2015)

Galaxy Tab A 9.7 (2015)

2016 lineup

Galaxy Tab A 10.1 (2016)

Galaxy Tab 7.0 (2016)

2017 lineup

Galaxy Tab A 8.0 (2017)

2018 lineup

Galaxy Tab A 10.5 (2018)

Galaxy Tab A 8.0 (2018)

2019 lineup

2020 lineup

2021 lineup

2022 lineup

References

{{Authority control Samsung mobile phones Samsung Galaxy Android (operating system) devices Samsung mobile series