Samsung announced a new duo of phones on Tuesday, and they’re offering high-end qualities on a budget. The Galaxy A8 (2018) and Galaxy A8+ (2018) resemble the company’s flagships but don’t carry the premium price tag. Both have an Infinity Display, which has never left the Galaxy S and Galaxy Note series until now, and two front-facing cameras.
Design-wise, these do look similar to the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy Note 8 from earlier in the year. Samsung gave them curved glass on the front and back while the frame is made of metal. Usually, it’s plastic relegated to its mid-range products.
There’s also Samsung Pay, the mobile payments platform working with MST- and NFC-ready terminals. And, like the flagships, the Galaxy A8 and Galaxy A8+ have IP68 water and dust resistance.
Even virtual reality support through the Gear VR was worked in, making these the first phones from the Galaxy A series to be compatible with the headset. Samsung didn’t spare much. The Galaxy A8 and Galaxy A8+, at least from the outside and in terms of software, are really attractive.
Specifications are mostly the same between the two phones, but of course, the Galaxy A8+ is slightly better. The base model features a 5.6-inch Full HD+ (2220×1080) Super AMOLED display, an octa-core processor, 4GB of RAM, up to 64GB of internal storage, a microSD card slot, a 16MP rear camera, 16MP and 8MP cameras on the front, a 3000mAh battery, a USB-C port, and Android 7.1.1 Nougat.
With the Galaxy A8+, you get a 6-inch display, up to 6GB of RAM, and a 3500mAh battery. So there aren’t a ton of differences between the two. Their experiences are probably very similar to the point where you’re really just choosing a size and that’s all.
Although Samsung says the phones will be available in early January, nothing has been said about which markets will get the new Galaxy A8 and Galaxy A8+.
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