A Samsung Electronics-made device bearing the model number SM-A450F — likely the Galaxy A4 (2017) — has been certified by the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) yesterday, with the Kirkland, Washington-based standards agency publishing a set of testing documentation detailing the product on Thursday. The same model number has already appeared in the database of the Wi-Fi Alliance (WFA) over the weekend, with some industry watchers believing that it denotes the Galaxy A4 (2017), an unannounced mid-range Android phone that Samsung may be looking to release at some point this year.
The handset was previously touted to run Android 7.1.1 Nougat out of the box, likely enhanced with Samsung’s proprietary user interface, and while its Bluetooth SIG listing doesn’t confirm that possibility, it does reveal that the supposed Galaxy A4 (2017) supports Bluetooth 5.0, a new Bluetooth standard that the South Korean consumer electronics manufacturer was first to commercialize earlier this year, with the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 Plus being the first commercially available handsets that supported it. If the Bluetooth SIG listing is accurate — and there’s no reason to believe that it isn’t — it indicates that Samsung is now looking to expand Bluetooth 5.0 support to a number of its other, more accessible models, starting with the upcoming addition to its mid-range Galaxy A series. Another Samsung-made device that’s thought to support Bluetooth 5.0 is the Galaxy Note 8 that the Seoul-based original equipment manufacturer is reportedly looking to launch in late August.
Details on the Galaxy A4 (2017) have been relatively scarce so far and mostly consist of unverified rumors, with some insiders claiming that the phone will boast a 5-inch Super AMOLED display panel that will presumably be protected by 2.5D glass. Being a mid-range device, the Galaxy A4 (2017) is thought to sport a Full HD screen, with other rumors pointing at 3GB of RAM, 32GB of internal flash memory, a micro SD card slot, and a 3,000mAh battery. While Samsung will likely equip the handset with one of its own Exynos chips, it remains to be seen which particular piece of silicon ends up powering the Galaxy A4 (2017). Finally, recent reports indicate that the smartphone will ship with a conventional primary camera setup consisting of a single 13-megapixel sensor and an LED flash unit. With the supposed Galaxy A4 (2017) having already been certified by both the Bluetooth SIG and WFA, the device will likely be launched later this year.