Samsung took the wraps off the much-rumored Galaxy A8 (2018) and Galaxy A8+ (2018) on Tuesday, December 19 – and aside from being the first units to carry unified monikers, they bring a number of neat new features to the mid-range table, including an edge-to-edge Infinity Display and a dual-sensor front-facing camera.
Here are some of the best features of the A8 (2018) and A8+ (2018).
Dual-Front Camera
Every smartphone needs a defining feature to set it aside from the competition, and that's the front-facing camera setup on the Galaxy A8 (2018) and Galaxy A8+ (2018). It comprises of two sensors, designed to provide users with enhanced imaging capabilities, like access to the Live Focus tool that debuted on the Galaxy Note 8.
The 16-megapixel f/1.9 front camera is paired with an 8-megapixel f/1.9 secondary camera. There's a 16-megapixel f/1.7 rear camera with video digital image stabilization and a Hyperlapse mode (previously exclusive to Samsung's flagship phones). There still doesn't seem to be optical image stabilization on the rear camera, though, so we're hoping blurry photos aren't an issue as they were on last year's Galaxy A devices.
Related: Check out a few Galaxy Note 8 Live Focus camera samples
Infinity Display
The Galaxy A8 (2018) and Galaxy A8+ (2018) are Samsung's first mid-range smartphones to tout an Infinity Display, following a not-so-brief period of exclusivity on its high-end flagships, with the former packing a high-resolution 5.6-inch panel and the latter a 6-inch – providing an unrivaled, immersive viewing experience. The Infinity Display also means both phones will be compact and easy to use despite the increased screen sizes, which is probably the reason why there's no Galaxy A3 this time around.
More power, more memory
The A8 and A8+ come with the new Exynos 7885 processor, which has two high-performance cores and six low-power cores. The high-performance cores should ensure these phones work smoother and faster than their predecessors, which were rather limited on the performance front as previous mid-range Exynos chips only had power-efficient cores. The A8+ also gets a 6GB RAM variant, and both the A8 and A8+ come with 64GB of internal storage on the higher-end variant.
Bluetooth 5.0 support
Support for the latest version of Bluetooth 5.0 may not sound like a significant feature, but it does mean Samsung's new A series phones are quite up-to-date as far as the technicalities are concerned. Bluetooth 5.0 makes it possible to stream music to two different Bluetooth speakers at the same time, and believe us, that can actually come in handy at times.
Gear VR Support
The Galaxy A8 and Galaxy A8+ (2018) are the first handsets in Samsung's Galaxy A series to support the Gear VR headset. The mid-range handsets can finally be used to watch immersive content using the headset, ending the long bout of exclusivity that the company's flagships have enjoyed when it comes to Samsung's virtual reality headset.
Samsung Pay
As expected, the Galaxy A8 (2018) and Galaxy A8+ (2018) ship with support for Samsung Pay (MST and NFC), the firm's mobile payment platform. The units come pre-loaded with the software; though you'll likely need to install a few updates before entering your credit card details – or transferring data linked to your Samsung Account.
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Adnan F. contributed to this post.
