Troubled smartphone maker Samsung announced a pair of mid-tier devices “offering a refined, trendy design and the most advanced functions to support social networking”.

Called Galaxy A3 (pictured) and Galaxy A5, the devices are said to be Samsung’s slimmest smartphones to date, and include “full metal unibody designs”, reflecting the vendor’s shift toward offering devices with more of a “premium” look and feel.

“These devices make our Galaxy experience even more accessible to young and trend conscious consumers,” said Jong-Kyun Shin, CEO of the mobile unit at Samsung.

A3 has a 4.5-inch screen, 8MP main and 5MP rear cameras, 16GB of onboard storage and microSD expansion slot. It is powered by a 1.2GHz quadcore processor, has 1GB of RAM, and runs Android 4.4 (KitKat).

A5 has a 5-inch screen, 13MP main and 5MP rear cameras, 16GB of onboard storage and microSD expansion slot. It is powered by a 1.2GHz quadcore processor, has 2GB of RAM, and runs Android 4.4.

In both cases, LTE is on the spec sheet, although Samsung also makes reference to an “LTE version”, which seems to indicate a 3G-only variant will be available.

A3 and A5 will come in a range of colours including white, black, silver, pink, blue and gold.

Availability in “select markets including China” starts in November 2014.

Some recent reports indicate that a third device, Galaxy A7, may also be in the works, but this has not been confirmed as yet.