Samsung made its now annual update to its Galaxy A series smartphone line, again sticking with the same model numbers (A3, A5 and A7).

For the first time, the line offers IP68 water and dust resistance. Also new is a USB-C port.

Otherwise, the updates are incremental, with the company touting enhanced front and rear 16MP cameras (not on A3), and larger storage provision of 32GB (again, not for A3). A3 has 13MP rear and 8MP front cameras (compared with 13MP/5MP last year), and 16GB storage (unchanged).

A7 (pictured) and A5 feature 1.9GHz octacore processors with 3GB of RAM (up from 1.6GHz octacore with 3GB and 2GB of RAM respectively). A3 sees a speed bump to 1.6GHz from 1.5GHz, and RAM increase to 2GB from 1.5GB.

The largest device – A7 – also sees a screen size bump, to 5.7-inches from 5.5 inches. A5 remains unchanged with its 5.2-inch screen, with A3 sticking at 4.7-inch HD (720 pixel, as opposed to 1080 pixel for its larger siblings).

Samsung Pay is also supported across-the-board – last year, it was omitted on A3. The devices also have microSD expansion slot.

The line features metal frame and “3D glass back”, and will be available in four colour variants: black, gold, blue and peach.

Availability begins in Russia imminently, to be expanded to global markets.