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The Galaxy S6 Mini has just been officially killed off

Samsung Galaxy A3 2016 a
© nextpit

If you've been holding out on buying the Galaxy S6 because you're waiting for the inevitable Galaxy S6 Mini version, you will now officially be waiting forever. With the announcement of the Galaxy A3 (2016), Galaxy A5 (2016) and Galaxy A7 (2016), Samsung has effectively shifted the mantle of “mini flagship” to its mid-range Galaxy A series.

For years, Samsung spewed out countless variants of its flagship Galaxy phone: the Mini, the Active, the Neo and so on. But these spin-offs never sold anywhere near as well as the flagship device and – in all honesty – kind of watered down the flagship brand name by not being as good. Not any more. According to Samsung's press release, "A is the new Mini".

Samsung Galaxy A3 2016 g
You'll be pleased to know there's a microSD card slot in the SIM card tray. / © ANDROIDPIT

Officially killing off the Galaxy S6 Mini makes a lot of sense, because the specs of an S6 Mini would have been more mid-range than the flagship's specs anyway, and are thus better suited to the Galaxy A series. The good news for expectant Mini fans is that the new Galaxy A series has the same styling and build quality as the Galaxy S6.

Samsung Galaxy A3 2016 e
There's little distinguish the new A series from the Galaxy S6 in terms of looks. / © ANDROIDPIT

That means you'll get the same aluminum and glass construction, and all but the A3 model will have a fingerprint scanner, OIS in the camera and Samsung Pay. That's not bad for a mid-range phone and arguably a better deal than any previous Mini device ever was.

With Samsung stepping up its mid-range game in this fashion, we wouldn't be surprised if other odd variants, like the Neo, also went the way of the Mini.

Samsung Galaxy A3 2016 c
You'll even get 2.5D Gorilla Glass on the back of the new A series. / © ANDROIDPIT

This would also be in line with Samsung's professed ambitions to streamline its product lineup in 2016. Rather than offering more watered-down variants of the Galaxy flagship, the new plan is to offer a greater number of high-end variants instead, like with the Edge and Edge+.

Here are the specs of the Galaxy A3 (the phone pictured in this article) for anyone interested. Expect a US launch sometime around CES 2016 in January.

Samsung Galaxy A3 (2016) technical specifications

Are you sad to see the end of Samsung's Mini series? Or do you think the Galaxy A series does it better? Tell us what you think in the comments. 

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Kris Carlon

Kris Carlon
Senior Editor

Kris is a former AndroidPIT Editor who came to the team via a lengthy period spent traveling and relying on technology to keep him in touch with the outside world. He can usually be found juggling three phones at once and poring over G+ posts, Reddit and RSS feeds.

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  • 1
    Diane Davis Jan 31, 2016 Link to comment

    Very upset. Been holding out for the mini. Fits conveniently in my pocket.


  • 21
    Peter Harwood Dec 2, 2015 Link to comment

    sonys compact phones are far better anyway

    Beta Esquiçato


  • Xakarier Bashyr 6
    Xakarier Bashyr Dec 2, 2015 Link to comment

    we shall wait

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