Wild: Galaxy A5 (2017) images show possible side-firing speaker

Samsung may add a fun new audio twist to its rumored Galaxy A5, a mid-range smartphone expected sometime in 2017. New images that hit the web this week show a possible side-firing speaker. In other words, the audio will come out of the side of the device instead of through speaker ports on the bottom or embedded in the earpiece, as is most common.

It might sound bizarre, but this could make sense. Stereo sound involves audio coming from the left and right, and this could work if users are holding the phone in portrait mode. Also, since the speaker isn’t exactly too far to the right, it could help provide more enveloping sound when the phone is in landscape mode, too. Given that there’s no speaker to be seen on the bottom of the phone, it seems plausible this is really Samsung’s plan. It’s unclear if there are speakers on both sides, however, since the photos only show one side. That would be key to creating the desired surround-sound effect, I imagine.

Galaxy A5 (2017) specs

PhoneArena dropped some knowledge on some of the specs we might expect from the Galaxy A5, including an Exynos 7870 processor, a 5.2-inch 1080p display, 3GB of RAM and 32GB of expandable storage. Again, not flagship-level by any means, but also not too shabby if Samsung wants to keep the costs down.

I’m really curious to hear how the speakers play out. No pun intended. Samsung doesn’t usually host big press conferences for Galaxy A unveils, but it’s possible this will be part of a Mobile World Congress announcement in late February.