Samsung took the wraps off the Galaxy A8s at an event today in China. The phone is the first in the world with a hole in its screen and it is also the first Samsung phone with the new Infinity-O display. The screen isn’t the only impressive feature of the phone as Samsung also includes a powerful processor, triple rear cameras and sufficient storage and RAM. Sadly, this is also the first Galaxy phone without an earphone jack.
Design
The Galaxy A8s is covered in glass on both sides with a metal frame. The phone comes in three color variants – Gradient Black, Elves Blue, and Aurora Green (we are particularly fond of the green variant). The glass on the back is 3D and according to Samsung, the color of the phone should change based on the angle light hits it.
Samsung also did something cool with each variant. There is a colored ring around the middle camera (primary sensor) which adds a nice touch to the phone. On the gray variant, the ring is gold but takes on the color of the phone for the blue and green variants.
The hole for the camera in the Infinity-O display is pretty big and not as tiny as the one we saw in the leaked Lenovo Z5s video. There is still a bit of bezel visible around the device and it is even thicker at the chin.
There are antenna lines at the top and bottom of the phone. The bottom is also home to a USB-C port and a single speaker grille. The Bixby button and SIM tray are on the left while the volume rocker and power button sit on the right.
Galaxy A8s Specs
The Galaxy A8s has a 6.4-inch display with a 19.5:9 aspect ratio. Samsung didn’t reveal the screen resolution but we know it is 2340 x 1080 according to its TENAA listing. The phone is powered by the Snapdragon 710 – an upper mid-range processor – and paired with 6GB or 8GB of RAM. Irrespective of the RAM variant, you get 128GB of storage.
Like the Galaxy A7 (2018), the Galaxy A8s also has three cameras on its back. One is a 10MP telephoto lens with 2x optical zoom and it is paired with a 24MP f/1.7 main sensor and a 5MP f/2.2 sensor for real-time portrait effect. The selfie camera is a 24MP sensor.
The Galaxy A8s also has a rear-mounted fingerprint scanner, a 3,300mAh battery, and runs Android 8.1 Oreo.
Price and availability
Samsung didn’t announce a price for the phone but it has opened a registration page for those interested in purchasing it when it goes on sale. Samsung is also running a sweepstake where one lucky winner gets to win the phone. Twenty other winners will get a JBL SD-18 portable Bluetooth speaker while a lot more will get coupons that can be used towards the purchase of accessories and other items. You can check here for more details about the competition and registration for the phone.
