SAMSUNG A8+

SAMSUNG GALAXY A8+ (2018) SMARTPHONE WAS LAUNCHED IN DECEMBER 2017. THE PHONE COMES WITH A 6.00-INCH TOUCHSCREEN DISPLAY WITH A RESOLUTION OF 1080 PIXELS BY 2220 PIXELS.

THE SAMSUNG GALAXY A8+ (2018) IS POWERED BY 1.6GHZ OCTA-CORE PROCESSOR AND IT COMES WITH 4GB OF RAM. THE PHONE PACKS 32GB OF INTERNAL STORAGE THAT CAN BE EXPANDED UP TO 256GB VIA A MICROSD CARD. AS FAR AS THE CAMERAS ARE CONCERNED, THE SAMSUNG GALAXY A8+ (2018) PACKS A 16-MEGAPIXEL PRIMARY CAMERA ON THE REAR AND A 16-MEGAPIXEL FRONT SHOOTER FOR SELFIES.

THE SAMSUNG GALAXY A8+ (2018) RUNS ANDROID 7.1.1 AND IS POWERED BY A 3500MAH. IT MEASURES 159.90 X 75.70 X 8.30 (HEIGHT X WIDTH X THICKNESS) AND WEIGH 191.00 GRAMS.

CONNECTIVITY OPTIONS INCLUDE WI-FI, GPS, BLUETOOTH AND NFC. SENSORS ON THE PHONE INCLUDE COMPASS MAGNETOMETER, PROXIMITY SENSOR, ACCELEROMETER, GYROSCOPE AND BAROMETER.

NETWORK	TECHNOLOGY	GSM / HSPA / LTE

LAUNCH	ANNOUNCED	2017, DECEMBER
	STATUS	AVAILABLE. RELEASED 2018, JANUARY

BODY	DIMENSIONS	159.9 X 75.7 X 8.3 MM (6.30 X 2.98 X 0.33 IN)
	WEIGHT	191 G (6.74 OZ)
	BUILD	FRONT/BACK GLASS, ALUMINUM FRAME
	SIM	SINGLE SIM (NANO-SIM) OR DUAL SIM (NANO-SIM, DUAL STAND-BY)
		- SAMSUNG PAY - IP68 CERTIFIED - DUST/WATER PROOF OVER 1.5 METER AND 30 MINUTES

DISPLAY	TYPE	SUPER AMOLED CAPACITIVE TOUCHSCREEN, 16M COLORS
	SIZE	6.0 INCHES, 91.4 CM2 (~75.5% SCREEN-TO-BODY RATIO)
	RESOLUTION	1080 X 2220 PIXELS, 18.5:9 RATIO (~411 PPI DENSITY)
	MULTITOUCH	YES
	PROTECTION	CORNING GORILLA GLASS (UNSPECIFIED VERSION)
		- ALWAYS-ON DISPLAY

PLATFORM	OS	ANDROID 7.1.1 (NOUGAT)
	CHIPSET	EXYNOS 7885 OCTA
	CPU	OCTA-CORE (2X2.2 GHZ CORTEX-A73 & 6X1.6 GHZ CORTEX-A53)
	GPU	MALI-G71

MEMORY	CARD SLOT	MICROSD, UP TO 256 GB (DEDICATED SLOT)
	INTERNAL	64 GB, 6 GB RAM OR 32 GB, 4 GB RAM

CAMERA	PRIMARY	16 MP (F/1.7, 1/2.8”, 1.12 µM), PHASE DETECTION AUTOFOCUS, LED FLASH
	FEATURES	GEO-TAGGING, TOUCH FOCUS, FACE DETECTION, PANORAMA, HDR
	VIDEO	1080P@30FPS
	SECONDARY	DUAL: 16 MP (F/1.9, 1/3.1”, 1.0 µM) + 8 MP (F/1.9, 1/4.0”, 1.12 µM), 1080P

SOUND	ALERT TYPES	VIBRATION; MP3, WAV RINGTONES
	LOUDSPEAKER	YES
	3.5MM JACK	YES
		- 24-BIT/192KHZ AUDIO - ACTIVE NOISE CANCELLATION WITH DEDICATED MIC

COMMS	WLAN	WI-FI 802.11 A/B/G/N/AC, DUAL-BAND, WIFI DIRECT, HOTSPOT
	BLUETOOTH	5.0, A2DP, EDR, LE
	GPS	YES, WITH A-GPS, GLONASS, BDS
	NFC	YES
	RADIO	FM RADIO
	USB	2.0, TYPE-C 1.0 REVERSIBLE CONNECTOR

FEATURES	SENSORS	FINGERPRINT (REAR-MOUNTED), ACCELEROMETER, GYRO, PROXIMITY, COMPASS, BAROMETER
	MESSAGING	SMS(THREADED VIEW), MMS, EMAIL, PUSH MAIL, IM
	BROWSER	HTML5
		- FAST BATTERY CHARGING - ANT+ SUPPORT - MP4/WMV/H.265 PLAYER - MP3/WAV/WMA/EAAC+/FLAC PLAYER - PHOTO/VIDEO EDITOR - DOCUMENT VIEWER

BATTERY		NON-REMOVABLE LI-ION 3500 MAH BATTERY
	TALK TIME	UP TO 23 H (3G)
	MUSIC PLAY	UP TO 73 H

MISC	COLORS	BLACK, ORCHID GREY, GOLD, BLUE
	SAR EU	0.32 W/KG (HEAD)     1.30 W/KG (BODY)
	PRICE	ABOUT 550 EUR

WHEN ONEPLUS SAYS ITS PHONES ARE FLAGSHIP KILLERS, WE OBVIOUSLY COMPARE THEM TO THE LIKES OF GALAXY S8. BUT FOR SAMSUNG, THAT MIGHT BE A DOUBLE-EDGED SWORD. MANY WOULD AGREE THAT THE GALAXY S8 IS A BETTER “FLAGSHIP”, BUT IT'S TOUGH TO DENY THE VALUE PROPOSITION A ONEPLUS 5T HAS TO OFFER. HENCE, THE GALAXY A8+.

FOR ALL INTENTS AND PURPOSES, THE GALAXY A8+, LIKE ITS PREDECESSORS, IS A TONED DOWN FLAGSHIP. IT COMES WITH COMPROMISES, BUT IT'S AN EXCELLENT PHONE IN MANY REGARDS.

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THE GALAXY A8+ HAS A GLASS BACK, CURVED AT THE EDGES

SAMSUNG GALAXY A8+ PRICE AND RELEASE DATE

THE SAMSUNG A8+ RELEASED IN INDIA ON JANUARY 10 AND IT GOES ON SALE FROM JANUARY 20 ONWARDS. 

IT IS PRICED AT RS 32,990, AND THE DEVICE WILL BE EXCLUSIVELY AVAILABLE ON AMAZON.IN FOR ONLINE SALES.

DESIGN

FACE UP, THE GALAXY A8+ LOOKS VERY SIMILAR TO THE GOOGLE PIXEL 2 XL. THE 18:9 DISPLAY AND THE FRAME AROUND IT, LOOK NEARLY IDENTICAL. THAT SAID, THE PHONE FOLLOWS SAMSUNG'S GLASS AND METAL DESIGN LANGUAGE. IT ALSO HAS A RECTANGULAR FINGERPRINT SENSOR, PLACED BELOW THE CAMERA ON THE BACK. IF YOU'RE IMAGINING THE GALAXY S8'S CAMERA/FINGERPRINT SCANNER SETUP VERTICALLY, YOU'RE ON THE RIGHT TRACK.

WHILE THIS IS DISTINCTLY EASIER TO GET USED TO, IT WAS MORE DIFFICULT TO GET USED TO THAN CIRCULAR SCANNERS ON PHONES LIKE THE ONEPLUS 5T. THE PHONE DID END UP MISSING FINGERPRINTS A FEW TIMES. IT'S NOT A GLARING FAULT THOUGH AND WE DID GET USED TO IT EVENTUALLY.

SAMSUNG'S GOING FOR PREMIUM LOOKS HERE, AND AT THAT, IT SUCCEEDS. THE GLASS BODY SHIMMERS IN THE NIGHT, WHICH IS STRIKINGLY DIFFERENT WHEN COMPARED TO THE PIXEL 2 XL. THE GLASS BACK FELT SOMEWHAT STICKY, WHICH KEEPS IT FROM SLIPPING OUT, BUT MAKES IT FINGERPRINT AND SWEAT-INTENSIVE.

THE DESIGN IS NOT ONLY PREMIUM BUT ALSO QUITE SOLID. A GLASS BODY IS, OF COURSE, PRONE TO CRACKING, BUT THE A8+ FEELS LIKE A WELL-BUILT SMARTPHONE IN YOUR HANDS. IF YOU SEE THIS PHONE AT AN OFFLINE STORE, YOU'LL PROBABLY FALL IN LOVE WITH IT ON FIRST LOOK. IT'S GOT A FLAGSHIP-FEEL TO IT, WHICH THE ONEPLUS 5T LACKS. IF THE DESIGN WAS THE ONLY CONCERN, THIS IS A BETTER COMPETITOR TO THE MI MIX 2 THAN THE ONEPLUS 5T.

DISPLAY

THE GALAXY A8+ HAS A 6-INCH 1080P 18:9 DISPLAY, WITH 2.5D CURVED GLASS ON TOP. AS A RESULT, THE DISPLAY SEEMS TO MERGE INTO THE FRAME, GIVING IT AN IMMERSIVE AND A PREMIUM FEEL. IT'S ALSO BRIGHT AND COLOURFUL, SOMETHING SAMSUNG'S AMOLED PANELS HAVE BEEN KNOWN FOR, ALBEIT NOTICEABLE (BUT PLEASANTLY) OVERSATURATED.

LIKE MANY SAMSUNG SMARTPHONES, THIS PHONE IS MEANT TO IMPRESS ON AESTHETICS. SAMSUNG EVIDENTLY WANTS YOUR BUYING DECISION TO BE BASED ON THE DISPLAY AND DESIGN, WHICH COMPLEMENT EACH OTHER QUITE WELL. THE IDEA, IT SEEMS, IS TO HAVE THE USER SO IMPRESSED WITH THE EXTERIOR ELEMENTS, THAT YOU OVERLOOK THE PHONE'S VISIBLY SLOW PERFORMANCE. BUT MORE ON THAT, LATER.

AS A STANDALONE DISPLAY, THE GALAXY A8+ HAS A GREAT ONE. IT MATCHES THE 5T IN TERMS OF COLOURS, BUT THE 5T'S DISPLAY SEEMS MORE EVENLY LIT THAN THE GALAXY A8+. THE LATTER IS SLIGHTLY DARK NEAR THE EDGES AND JUST SLIGHTLY DIMMER OVERALL. YOU WILL, HOWEVER, SEE THIS ONLY WHEN YOU COMPARE THE TWO DEVICES SIDE-BY-SIDE.