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Samsung's updated Galaxy A3 and A5 coming to UK

The two phones will go on sale on Thursday for around £200.

Richard Trenholm Former Movie and TV Senior Editor
Richard Trenholm was CNET's film and TV editor, covering the big screen, small screen and streaming. A member of the Film Critic's Circle, he's covered technology and culture from London's tech scene to Europe's refugee camps to the Sundance film festival.
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The midrange Samsung Galaxy A5 joins the A3 on UK shelves this week.

Aloysius Low/CNET

Samsung is beefing up the middle of its UK smartphone range with an update that brings faster charging and a fingerprint scanner for around 200 quid.

The new 2016 versions of the Galaxy A3 and Galaxy A5 are powered by Google's Android 5.1 Lollipop operating system. Both boast a 13-megapixel rear camera, as well as a 5-megapixel camera on the front for selfies and video chat, with 16GB of storage and space for a microSD card.

The Galaxy A5, which includes a fingerprint scanner, measures 5.2 inches to the A3's 4.7 inches. The A5 has a high-definition 1080p display, while the A3 offers 720p.

Inside the A5 is a 1.6GHz octa-core processor with 2GB of RAM and a 2,900mAh battery. The A3 runs on a 1.5GHz octa-core chip with 1.5GB of RAM and a 2,300mAh battery.

The new phones are set to be available across the networks and retailers starting on Thursday. They'll doubtless be subsidised heavily with your phone contract, but Samsung offers prices of £229 for the A5, while the A3 is around £179.