Samsung Galaxy A8+ To Be Launched In India Soon

Samsung will soon launch its new Galaxy A8+ in India. Amazon India has listed the two devices which means that the device will be sold in India as an Amazon exclusive. However, the website doesn’t reveal anything related to the price or date of launch of the smartphone. But, with Amazon listing the device on its website, the launch of the phone might not be too far away. Although the listing only mentions the Galaxy A8+, the Galaxy A8 could also be launched in India.

In Vietnam, the Galaxy A8+ is priced at VND 13,490,000 (Rs. 38040 approx.) and will go on sale on the 6th of January. The Galaxy A8, on the other hand, is priced at VND 10,990,000 (Rs. 30980 approx.) in Vietnam. It is fair to assume that the two devices will be priced under Rs. 40000 in India and compete with the likes of the OnePlus 5T and Honor View10.

The Galaxy A8 and A8+ are the first budget-oriented Samsung phones to feature the infinity display. The Galaxy A8 has a 5.6-inch display while the bigger sibling, the Galaxy A8+ has a 6-inch display. Both the phones have a Super AMOLED display panel with a 2220 x 1080 px resolution which translates to an 18.5:9 aspect ratio.

Under the hood, both the devices have an octa-core (2.2GHz Dual + 1.6GHz Hexa) processor while the chipset is still unspecified, it could be the Exynos 7885 SoC as found in the leaked video. The Galaxy A8 has 4GB of RAM with two storage options of either 32GB or 64GB while the Galaxy A8+ has two variants, one with 4GB RAM and 32GB storage and the other with 6GB RAM and 64GB storage. Just like every other smartphone from Samsung, the onboard storage can be expanded up to 256GB via microSD card. Both the smartphones are IP68 rated for water and dust resistance and support Samsung Pay for contactless mobile payment.

Powering the Galaxy A8 is a 3000 mAh battery while the Galaxy A8+ has a 3500 mAh battery. Both the devices are charged via USB Type-C port.

One thing that might come as a surprise, especially for phones launching in 2018 is the OS. Both the phones will run Android 7.1.1 Nougat out of the box with Samsung’s own custom skin on top.

The Galaxy A8 and Galaxy A8+ are also the first of Samsung phones to have a dual-camera setup on the front. Both the phones have a 16MP + 8MP camera setup with an f/1.9 aperture. The Live Focus feature lets users chose whether the background should be in focus or blurred to a soft bokeh. The phone will switch between the two front cameras to get the effect the user needs. To the back of the phone is a 16MP camera with an f/1.7 aperture and digital stabilisation.

At a price of under Rs. 40000, the two phones will face stiff competition from the budget flagship phones like the OnePlus 5T and Honor View10. The Galaxy A8 and A8+ do have an IP68 rating and front-facing dual cameras which the other two phones, and it’ll be interesting to see if these features will be enough to persuade consumers into opting for Samsung’s offerings over the others.

Check out the Galaxy A8+ on Amazon here.