Samsung Galaxy A8+ To Be Launched In India On 10th January
Samsung’s latest mid-range offering, the Galaxy A8+ will be launched in India on the 10th of January at an event in New Delhi. The device will be an Amazon exclusive since the e-commerce website already has a dedicated page live. The price of the smartphone has not been revealed yet but, considering the price of the phone in Vietnam, it is expected to be launched under the Rs. 35000 price bracket for it to be competitive in the Indian market.
In India, the “under Rs. 40000” category is getting increasingly competitive. Ever since the OnePlus 5 and then the OnePlus 5T was launched in the price bracket, devices like the Nokia 8 and Mi Mix 2 have also been launched in this price category. Recently, the Honor View10 was launched at a price of Rs. 29,999 which is much more affordable than any other budget flagship.
The Samsung Galaxy A8+ has a 6-inch Super AMOLED display with a 2220 x 1080 px resolution which translates to an 18.5:9 aspect ratio.
Under the hood, it has 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 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. The smartphone is IP68 rated for water and dust resistance and supports Samsung Pay for contactless mobile payment.
Powering the Galaxy A8+ is a 3500 mAh battery which is charged via USB Type-C port.
One thing that might come as a surprise, especially for phones launching in 2018 is the OS. The Galaxy A8+ will run Android 7.1.1 Nougat out of the box with Samsung’s own custom skin on top.
The Galaxy A8+ is also the first of Samsung phones to have a dual-camera setup on the front. The Galaxy A8+ has a 16MP + 8MP camera setup with an f/1.9 aperture on the front. 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.
Even at a price of under Rs. 35000, the Galaxy A8+ will have competitors like the OnePlus 5T and Honor View 10. One of the few things going for the Galaxy A8+ is its IP68 rating and a front-facing dual-camera setup whose importance again, will depend on a consumer’s priorities.
