Samsung announces two new premium mid-range A series smartphones namely Galaxy A8 (2018) and A8+ (2018). Both devices feature an 18:9 Infinity display and Dual front cameras. The major differences between both devices are the Display size and Battery. The Galaxy A8 sports a 5.6-inch FHD+ Super AMOLED display and a 3000mAh battery wherein A8+ has a 6-inch FHD+ Super AMOLED display and a 3500mAh battery. The dual front camera setup includes a 16MP + 8MP sensors that support Advanced Live Focus feature lets you adjust the bokeh effect before or after taking the picture. The rear camera has a 16MP F/1.7 sensor and supports Video Digital Image Stabilization (VDis) to stabilize the video footage. Under the hood is Samsung’s in-house Exynos 7885 octa-core CPU mated with 4GB of RAM and Mali-G71 GPU.
Both A8 and A8+ are IP68 certified and can withstand sweat, rain, sand & dust. Also, these are the first devices in the A series to support Samsung’s Gear VR. In terms of design, it has sleek glass and metal frame with 2.5D glass on the front and 3D curved glass on the back. The fingerprint sensor is mounted on the rear side below the camera module. Other key specifications are VoLTE, Bluetooth 5.0, USB Type-C port, 5GHz WiFi ac, NFC, MST, and GPS with GLONASS.
Samsung Galaxy A8/A8+ (2018) Key Highlights
- Palm Gesture and Voice Control – Show your palm, activate the floating camera button, or say Smile to take the snap automatically
- Customizable Images – Facial recognition stickers to a selfie, editing images via Beauty Mode etc
- Video Beauty mode, Time-lapse
- Adaptive Wi-Fi, Always-on-display, Dual Messenger, Samsung Pay
- Bixby Voice Assistant – Home, Vision, Reminder
Both Galaxy A8 and A8+ will be offered in four hues – Black, Orchid Grey, Gold & Blue and available to buy starting January 2018. There are available in 4GB RAM configuration with two storage options to choose from – 32GB and 64GB. The A8+ is also available in 6GB RAM configuration in few regions. In Europe, the A8 is priced at €499 (Approx ₹37,800) while the A8+ cost €599 (Approx. ₹45,400). Pricing for the other regions will be announced in the coming days.
Samsung Galaxy A8/A8+ (2018) Full Specifications
- A8: 5.6″ FHD+ Super AMOLED Display, 1080×2220 Pixels
- A8+: 6″ FHD+ Super AMOLED Display, 1080×2220 Pixels
- Fingerprint Scanner, IP68 Water and Dust Resistance
- 2GHz Exynos 7885 Octa-core Processor, Mali-G71 GPU
- A8: 4GB RAM, 32GB/64GB Storage
- A8+: 4GB/6GB RAM, 32GB/64GB Storage
- microSD Support up to 128GB
- Android 7.1.1 Nougat
- 16MP Rear Camera, LED Flash, ƒ/1.7, PDAF
- Dual Front Camera, 16MP ƒ/1.9 + 8MP ƒ/1.9
- Battery – 3000mAh (A8), 3500mAh (A8+), Fast Charging
- Bluetooth 5.0, WiFi a/b/g/n/ac (2.4/5GHz)
- ANT+, NFC, MST, LTE Cat. 11
- GPS, GLONASS, BieDou
- USB Type-C Port
- Sensors – Accelerometer, Barometer, Gyro, Geomagnetic, Hall, Proximity, RGB Light
- Dimensions (A8) – 149.x x 70.6 x 8.4 mm, 172g
- Dimensions (A8+) – 159.9 x 75.7 x 8.3 mm, 191g