Galaxy A7 (SM-A700FD) has passed through the FCC

In the second half of 2014, Samsung has seemingly turned over a new leaf: for years it has adorned its precious products with paltry plastic, but things changed after the much leaked Galaxy Alpha was officially announced. The first mobile to feature a metal frame, it was immediately followed by the Note 4 and Note Edge. On a separate parallel, the Galaxy A series was introduced: the A3 and A5 are mid-range devices but have all metal unibody frames. The oft-leaked A7 was nowhere to be seen, but a recent filing with the FCC would hint that its debut isn’t far off.

As the filing indicates, the device, referred to by its product name the SM-A700FD, sports Quad-Band connectivity and Band 5 LTE, as well as Dual-Band Wifi, A-GPS and NFC. Leaks (mainly provided by Sammobile) have revealed that the device is supposed to sport a 5.2 inch Full HD screen, 64-bit Octa-core Snapdragon 615, Adreno 405 graphics, 2GB of RAM, and 16GB of storage. It will purportedly have a 12MP rear camera and 5MP front camera.

As for when Samsung will formally make an announcement, that remains up in the air. Given that this device isn’t particularly going to set the world on fire, it might be reserved for CES in January, or perhaps launched in-tandem with another product, such as the rumored Galaxy Note 10.1 2015 Edition.  Still, if the reports of manufacturing problems with the A3 and A5 are any indication, it might be some time before the A7 finally hits stores.

It is also important to note that the Galaxy A-series is separate from the standard product lines, and Samsung is continuing to develop and release products with standard plastic parts as well.