Samsung has officially updated it's A series roster with the recent unveiling of the next-gen A3, A5 and A7 smartphones.

The trio is housed in a slim metal and glass chassis with slightly sharper edges than the Galaxy S6. All have narrower bezels but considerably thicker bodies than the originals. The added bulk is due to the handsets' higher capacity batteries. Both the A5 and A7 have been fitted with fingerprint sensors on the home key, allowing them to do Samsung Pay transactions, per the South Korean tech giant's online press release.

The Galaxy A3 received the biggest upgrade of the bunch. Specs include a 4.7-inch Super AMOLED screen with 720 x 1280 resolution display, 1.5GB of RAM, 16GB of native storage with support for micro-SD expansion and a 2,300 mAh dry cell. An unspecified four-core CPU is under the hood complete with its own in-house GPU. Camera combo is at 13 and five megapixels, Phone Arena reported.

The A3 (2016) is the only member of the new trio to not feature fingerprint scanning technology.

Meanwhile, the Galaxy A5 has a 5.2-inch Super AMOLED screen with 1080 x 1920 full HD display, an octa-core processor, 2GB of RAM, 16GB of expandable storage and a 2,900 mAh battery.

Its 13-megapixel rear camera features OIS and a wider f/1.9 aperture. The five-megapixel front-facing unit also has an f/1.9 aperture, akin to the S6.

The A5 (2016) is equipped with a fingerprint sensor and Magnetic Secure Transmission, a capability that mimics the magnetic strip on payment cards. There's also a dual-SIM variant of the handset.

As for the A7, it flaunts a 5.5-inch Super AMOLED 1080 x 1920 display and an octa-core CPU that runs Android 5.1 right off the bat. It weighs 172 grams and measures 7.3 millimeters thick.

The large-screen handset comes with 3GB of RAM and 16GB of expandable internal memory. It also houses a beefier 3,300 mAh battery with support for Fast Charging.

GSM Arena noted that the A7 (2016) has the same camera combo, fingerprint sensor and dual-SIM option as the next-gen A5.

The new trio will release in mid-December in China. They will then be available for the European market in January 2016, rolling out globally shortly thereafter. The A3 (2016) will retail for the equivalent of $330, while the A5 (2016) is expected to cost around $400. The price of the next-gen A7 has yet to be revealed, but Sam Mobile reckoned it will likely be below $500, basing from its similarities with the A5.