Samsung’s Galaxy A3 and Galaxy A5 now available off-contract in the U.S.

The Galaxy A3 combines premium design with affordable specs. Photo: Samsung

The Galaxy A3 combines premium design with affordable specs. Photo: Samsung

Smartphone shoppers awaiting Samsung’s mid-range Galaxy A series can now purchase both the Galaxy A3 and the Galaxy A5 off-contract in the U.S. Prices start at $349.99 for the Galaxy A3, while the Galaxy A5 — which is bigger and has better specifications — costs $409.99. Both devices come completely unlocked.

The handsets are currently available from Expansys, though we expect other third-party retailers to begin offering them soon. The Galaxy A series — which is to replace the Galaxy Alpha, according to recent reports — combines Samsung’s new metallic design efforts with mid-range specifications for affordability.

The Galaxy A3 has a 4.5-inch qHD Super AMOLED display, and is powered by a 1.2GHz quad-core processor with 1GB of RAM and 8GB of onboard storage. There’s also a microSD card slot for expansion, an 8-megapixel rear-facing camera, a 5-megapixel front-facing camera, and a 1,900mAh battery.

The Galaxy A5 isn’t just bigger, but it’s also better in almost every way. Its 5-inch display boasts a 720p HD resolution, it has 16GB of internal storage, 2GB of RAM, a 2,300mAh battery, and a 13-megapixel camera. The Galaxy A5 does share the A3’s 1.2GHz processor and 5-megapixel front-facing camera, however.

Both the A3 and the A5 offer LTE connectivity and ship with Android 4.4.4 KitKat with Samsung’s TouchWiz user interface. They will get a Lollipop upgrade at some point, but given that flagship handsets are Samsung’s priority, they’ll likely have to wait a little while for it.

You can order your A3 or A5 from Expansys now. If you want to get them subsidized on contract, you’ll have to wait for carriers to pick them up.