Samsung has made official the 2016 additions in its Galaxy J series. There are two new iterations, the Galaxy J7 and the Galaxy J5, but are available only in China. However, speculations suggest that Samsung will also market the 2016 editions for a global release, starting with a Snapdragon-powered Galaxy J7 2016 variant.

According to SamMobile, a benchmark result for the 2016 Galaxy J7 lists the device with a Snapdragon processor. While the chipset itself has not been listed, the Galaxy J7 – model number SM-J7109 – appeared on the benchmark site with an MSM8592 SoC with 1.52 GHz processor speed.

The industry follower surmised that this is a step ahead of the Snapdragon 615 processor, leading to the idea that the Galaxy J7 listed features a Snapdragon 617 processor. The device in question is also listed as having 3GB RAM.

When the new Galaxy J7 launched in China recently, it carried Samsung's homegrown Exynos 7870.

The Snapdragon variant leads to rumors that the new Galaxy J7 will be released outside of China soon. While there is no confirmation yet, Samsung has followed this pattern in the past. Lineups with Exynos processors are for China and some Asian markets, while a Snapdragon variant is released for global markets, in the U.S. and Europe.

Meanwhile, the new Galaxy J7's Snapdragon variant will retain other specs and features of the original. This means that it will have a 5.5-inch display with full HD resolution, 16GB of expandable storage and a 3,300 mAh battery capacity. The Snapdragon 617 version of the new Galaxy J7 will also carry the same 13MP camera on the back, and a 5MP selfie shooter on the front.

Since the Galaxy J series additions for this year also include a refreshed J5, Samsung may also be planning for a global release of the new handset. However, it is unclear if there will also be a Snapdragon variant for the new Galaxy J5, or if Samsung plans to release the new addition outside of China at all.