With only a few days left to 2017, Samsung had one more surprise for us to keep us busy until 2018 rolls around. That surprise came in the form of the Samsung Galaxy A8 (2018), its latest addition to the Galaxy A series. While the Galaxy A7 did release earlier this year, it was a much simpler affair with no discernible features to make it stand out. After breaking records with its Galaxy S8 and S8+ alongside the Galaxy Note8, the Galaxy A8 (2018) will be Samsung’s latest flagship for the coming year. It will also come with a slightly larger version in the form of the Galaxy A8+.
Right off the bat, the Galaxy A8 (2018) bears a striking resemblance to Samsung’s other 2017 flagship, the Galaxy S8. It’s also a big upgrade over the Galaxy A7, getting rid of the home button and featuring a much smaller forehead and chin combination. This is to obviously keep in touch with the rest of 2017 as well as to make it a relevant device in 2018. However, the smaller bezels does give the Galaxy A8 (2018) a much more refined look than its predecessor; basically, a much more affordable Galaxy S8, so to speak.
The Galaxy A8 (2018) also carries some serious weight, weighing in at 172 grams. While it isn’t enough to make the device feel awkward in your hands, it does feel a lot more dense so you won’t feel like you’re carrying around a paperweight. Much like many other Samsung devices, the Galaxy A8 (2018) features a 5.6-inch Super AMOLED display screen. The phone also receives a healthy helping of the Infinity Display technology with minimal bezels to work with. It’s 18:5:9 aspect ratio makes the Galaxy A8 (2018) great in one hands or two, whichever you prefer. With a pixel resolution of 2,200 x 1,080, the Galaxy A8 (2018) is a Full HD display screen, making colours more vibrant and sharp while still being extremely clear.
One key feature that is probably not that big of a deal but it will definitely be to most Samsung Galaxy fans is the fingerprint sensor. The Galaxy A8 (2018) now features its fingerprint sensor right below the camera instead of beside it like on the Galaxy Note8! Sure, it isn’t that big a deal unless you’re just nitpicking but this placement adjustment is a great step up for the Galaxy A8 (2018).
As this is strictly a mid-range smartphone, the Galaxy A8 (2018) comes with the Exynos 7885 octa-core processor, 4GB of memory and two storage options: 32GB or 64GB. It also comes with a microSD slot that can accommodate up to 256GB. A big advantage the Galaxy A8 (2018) carries over other Samsung devices is its use of having two SIM trays instead of just one. Usually, you will either have to give up the secondary SIM for a microSD card but with the Galaxy A* (2018), you can now have the best of both worlds. The Galaxy A8 (2018) also comes with a 3,000mAh battery with fast charging capabilities.
Now, the Galaxy A8 (2018) does have a dual camera setup, but not in the place you would think. Instead of conforming to society and placing two camera sensors at the rear, the Galaxy A8 (2018) decides to place its dual camera sensors at the front instead. The rear camera is a 16-megapixel shooter with F/1.7 aperture and comes with phase-detection autofocus (PDAF) and an LED flash as well. However, all the goodies are for the front-facing camera, which features a 16-megapixel + 8-megapixel setup with an F/1.9 aperture. With two cameras for selfies, you can now take greater pictures with Samsung’s Live Focus feature to create that oh-so desired bokeh effect that people have been posting up on social media for years.
Lastly, the Galaxy A8 (2018) does come with Bixby and thankfully, there isn’t a dedicated button for it this time. For the uninitiated, Bixby is Samsung’s very own virtual assistant that will assist you in your day-to-day comings and goings through Bixby Voice. Bixby will also assist you when it comes to taking pictures through Bixby Vision, which will be able to “see” what is in front of the camera. It will identify the object its looking at and run various searches of it online. Bixby Vision can also scan QR codes, translate texts and even identify landmarks.
