Updated at January 10, 2018:
Samsung has officially launched the Galaxy A8+ (2018) in India with a price tag of Rs 32,990. The smartphone will be available exclusively via Amazon India [Amazon.in/GalaxyA8+] starting 20th January 2018.
Our original story from Wednesday, January 10, 2018, follows:
Moving with the Infinity Display trend it created and mastered, the Korean mobile vendor Samsung has launched two new android smartphones – the Samsung Galaxy A8(2018) and Galaxy A8+ (2018).
The smartphones pack everything you usually look out in a mid-range price segment. They feature Samsung’s flagship design language, a large Infinity Display, better selfies with a dual front camera, water and dust resistance, a powerful octa-core processor, Samsung Pay support and 4G with VoLTE support.
Design and Performance
Samsung Galaxy A8(2018) and Galaxy A8+(2018) sports a sleek glass and metal frame with smooth curves. It heavily relies on Samsung’s flagship design heritage and experience. What makes it stand out is the IP68 water and dust resistance rating. The devices can withstand the elements, including sweat, rain, sand and dust. For colour choices, you get to choose from black, orchid grey, gold and blue.
The front part of the mobiles is inspired by the likes of Galaxy S8 and Galaxy Note8 smartphones. You get an uninterrupted, immersive viewing experience with its Infinity Display having an 18.5:9 display ratio. The Galaxy A8(2018) flaunts in a 5.6-inch full HD+ Super AMOLED (2220 x 1080 pixels) Infinity display, whereas the Galaxy A8+(2018) sports a bigger 6-inch FHD+ Super AMOLED Infinity display.
Under the hood, both Samsung Galaxy A8(2018) and Galaxy A8+(2018) is powered by an Exynos 7885 Octa-Core processor (2.2GHz Dual + 1.6GHz Hexa) paired with 4GB of RAM. For storing media files, you can choose from either 32GB or 64GB of internal storage option. The Galaxy A8+(2018) however, gets a higher memory model with 6GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage. You can further expand the storage up to 256GB using microSD card.
Both Samsung Galaxy A8(2018) and Galaxy A8+(2018) runs Android 7.1.1 OS out of the box with Samsung’s UI skin over the top. It’s bit disappointing considering we already have Android Oreo OS out for a couple of months now.
Dual Front selfie Camera
Coming to photography, the Samsung Galaxy A8(2018) and Galaxy A8+(2018) are perfect mobiles for selfie lovers. They both use a dual front camera with a pair of 16-megapixel and 8-megapixel lens and F1.9 aperture. Actually, they are two separate cameras which you can switch between to take either a close-up selfie with the blurred background or portrait shots with a clear and crisp background. It also comes with advanced Live Focus feature, that allows you to adjust the bokeh effect before or after you take the picture.
On the back of the two devices, you have a 16-megapixel shooter with F1.7 aperture. The camera app in this devices carries advanced customization options with a dozen of camera modes like adding stickers to your selfie.
In addition to the still photographs, both these devices come with video digital image stabilisation (VDis) technology which essentially eliminated shaky videos. You can also easily create time-lapse videos with the hyper-lapse feature.
Connectivity and Extras
For connectivity, the Galaxy A8(2018) and A8+(2018) has dual SIM capability with 4G LTE network support. You will also get 4G VoLTE for making HD voice and video calls. Other connectivity options include Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth 5.0, NFC, and USB Type-C. For extra security, both these devices carry a fingerprint scanner at the back of the device.
Both Galaxy A8(2018) and A8+(2018) has Magnetic Secure Transmission (MST) and Near Field Communication (NFC) support making it fully compatible with Samsung Pay. These devices are also the first in the A series to support Samsung’s Gear VR. Finally, fuelling the Galaxy A8(2018) is a 3,000mAh battery while the A8+(2018) gets a larger 3,500mAh battery at the back.
The Galaxy A8(2018) and A8+(2018) will be available in early January 2018. The company has not specified the exact date of Indian launch, but we can expect it to reach here by February or March 2018.