Samsung has finally given its new Galaxy A7 the formal announcement it deserves, officially touting the handset as one of its slimmest to date.

The Samsung Galaxy A7 has been expected for quite a while now, but failed to make its debut alongside the Galaxy A3 and A5 back in late October. The company introduced the higher-end Galaxy A7 last week at an event in Malaysia, but only now it officially announced the handset and offered more information regarding what it has to offer.

"Samsung Electronics unveiled the new Galaxy A7, one of the slimmest Galaxy smartphones equipped with premium hardware for a superior social experience. Combining powerful multitasking performance with sophisticated design, the Galaxy A7 expands on the popular services provided by the Galaxy A5 and A3, enabling users to capture and share every moment seamlessly on their social media platform," the company touts in an official announcement on Monday, Jan. 12, on its Samsung Tomorrow blog.

"We strive to develop devices that appeal to a broad range of consumers and are ahead of the next big social trend," adds JK Shin, CEO and Head of IT & Mobile Communication at Samsung Electronics. "Combining both a stunning metallic design and a powerful performance, the Galaxy A7 is stylish while delivering the superior user experience."

In terms of specifications, some rumors suggested that the Samsung Galaxy A7 would sport a full HD resolution, but the official announcement reveals that it will in fact feature a 5.5-inch Super AMOLED display with HD resolution (1280 x 720 pixels).

The smartphone comes in two variants with different processors and connectivity options, but both models will pack octa-core chipsets with big.LITTLE architecture under the hood. More specifically, the Galaxy A7 will come in a single-SIM LTE only model or a dual-SIM LTE/3G model. The LTE variant will pack a 1.8GHz quad + 1.3GHz quad SoC, while the dual-SIM model will come with 1.5GHz quad + 1.0GHz quad SoC. Processor options will also vary depending on region.

Other specs of the Samsung Galaxy A7 include 2GB of RAM for both models, as well as 16GB of internal storage capacity, expandable up to 64GB via microSD. The handset will further feature a 13-megapixel rear camera with auto focus and LED flash, a 5-megapixel front shooter with advanced selfie modes, and a 2,600 mAh battery, which is more powerful than the units found on the Galaxy A3 and A5. On the software side, the Galaxy A7 will run Android 4.4 KitKat out of the box, but should receive an update to the new Android 5.0 Lollipop at a later date.

Samsung has yet to offer pricing details for the new Galaxy A7, but should provide more information closer to launch. We'll keep you up to date as soon as we learn more, so stay tuned.