Unlike most companies, such bison of the market as Apple and Samsung do not create smartphones only with the hope that someone will like them and someone will buy them. Releasing a new product in these companies clearly understand that he has a buyer. And recently announced smartphones Samsung Galaxy A8 and A8 Plus is no exception. And there is an explanation for this.
Design
While creating Samsung’s A8 they were guided by the Galaxy S8, but it turned out more like the LG G6. And this is also good. Pleasant design, 2: 1 screen and glass and metal housing. No wireless charging, but in this class of devices, it is generally uncommon. On the other hand, the smartphone is very high quality and it feels literally fingers. In black, it’s not possible to distinguish the A8 from the S8 right away, although the difference between them is great and it is rather a compliment for the Galaxy A8. The smartphone is perfectly in the hand, and this applies more to the small A8 than to the real giant A8 +. The difference between these smartphones in the size of the screen and the volume of the battery. In the rest they are identical. The cover of the smartphone is made of glass Gorilla Glass 5, and the frame and ends are made of aluminum. On the controls all pretty standard: the power button on the right, the volume rocker on the left, the back of the camera, and under it a fingerprint scanner. Both smartphones have two trays, which will accommodate immediately and two SIM-cards and a memory card. Sacrifice does not have to. Of the unusual speaker here, located on the right side just above the power button. The solution is unusual. By the way, the case of the smartphone is protected from ingress of water and dust according to the IP68 standard
Screen
The A8 has a 5.6-inch display with an aspect ratio of 18.5: 9. The screen is the strength of this smartphone. It is bright, juicy, with the function Always On and a bunch of settings. The resolution of the display is 1080 by 2220 pixels. The screen is slightly longer than other Android smartphones, but the ratio is the same as in the Galaxy S8 or Note 8. Inferior to Samsung’s flagships only by its resolution and brightness, otherwise the SuperAMOLED display in the Galaxy A8 is very good. In the settings, you can adjust the color, temperature, adjust the Always On mode and change the location of the on-screen buttons. In a large Galaxy A8 + display a little more – 6 inches, but technically it is exactly the same.
Camera
Samsung did not hurry with the dual camera modules, so the A8 main camera is one. This is a 16-megapixel module with a fast aperture f / 1.7 lens. The quality of the pictures of course to S8 do not hold out, but the camera is still good. In the camera application there are a lot of settings and different filters, but more importantly, it’s not much inferior in quality to flagship smartphones. Photos on the Samsung Galaxy A8 can be characterized as having good detail and color reproduction, as well as the inherent Samsung sharp. Seriously surprised the recording of video in Full HD. 4K video today are able to record even medium-sized devices, but in A8 this is not. Strange restriction.
Much more attention in Galaxy A was given to the front camera. Here it is doubled. The first 16 Mp with the aperture f / 1.9, the second auxiliary with the same diaphragm. In total, this makes it possible to do a selfie with a blurring of the background, which allows you to create a three-dimensional frame. The quality cannot be called amazing. During the day, selfies with bokeh are not bad, and in conditions of poor lighting, everything is not so rosy. But lovers of self-portraits should like the camera.
Bixby and Unlock on the face
You can unblock the smartphone and face. Yes, it is on the face. Unlocking the iris of the eye is not here. This method works well, but the ideal is far away. In terms of speed, it is far from OnePlus 5T and is inferior in accuracy to the flagships of Samsung and the iPhone X. In general, unlocking on the face is quite working, but only under normal lighting conditions. In the dark, expect miracles from her not worth it.
In addition, the cameras in smartphones are used for the smart assistant Bixby. You can find out the cost of the item being photographed, or find out more about the wine on the label, but for now, it all works pretty badly. It is gratifying that Samsung did not tightly tie the work of the smartphone to its assistant. You want to use, you want not. In addition, the smartphone does not have a separate button for calling Bixby, and it pleases.
Productivity and autonomy
Galaxy A8 operates on the basis of its own processor Exynos 7885. This is an eight-core chip, which uses two productive cores Cortex-A53 with a frequency of 2.2 GHz and six energy-efficient cores operating at 1.6 GHz. Neither the Galaxy A8 nor the Galaxy A8 + can be called gaming smartphones. Heavy games are on average settings, but otherwise, the speed of work does not cause any complaints. For all tasks, the smartphone suffices. This is not the most powerful device, but the speed does not cause any irritation. But the economical processor allowed to achieve good autonomy. At least a day of loaded work A8 will give out easily. The result is about the same as for the Galaxy A8 with a 3000 mAh battery, which is for a large A8 +, which already has a battery of 3,500 mAh.
Samsung A8+ Specs
Versions: A730F (Global Single-SIM); A730F/DS (Global Dual-SIM). Also known as Samsung Galaxy A8+ (2018) Duos with dual-SIM card slots
| NETWORK | Technology | GSM / HSPA / LTE |
|---|---|---|
| 2G bands | GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 – SIM 1 & SIM 2 (dual-SIM model only) | |
| 3G bands | HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1700(AWS) / 1900 / 2100 | |
| 4G bands | LTE band 1(2100), 2(1900), 3(1800), 4(1700/2100), 5(850), 7(2600), 8(900), 12(700), 13(700), 17(700), 18(800), 19(800), 20(800), 26(850), 28(700), 38(2600), 40(2300), 41(2500), 66(1700/2100) | |
| Speed | HSPA 42.2/5.76 Mbps, LTE-A (3CA) Cat11 600/75 Mbps | |
| GPRS | Yes | |
| EDGE | Yes |
| 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 (up to 1.5m for 30 mins) |
| 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 (2×2.2 GHz Cortex-A73 & 6×1.6 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”, 1.12µm), 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”, 1.0µm) + 8 MP (f/1.9, 1/4.0”, 1.12µm), 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 Email, 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) |
Samsung Experience 8.5
As a basis in the smartphone uses Android 7.1.1 and its own add-on Experience 8.5. The interface is fully consistent with the Galaxy S8. Exceptions are only functions that are bound to a particular gland. For example, unlocking the iris of the eye and the settings associated with it in the A8 are, of course, absent. At the bottom of the display are located on the screen buttons. They are customizable and from any application, you can go out tapping at the bottom of the screen, even if you do not see the buttons. The Experience 8.5 shell is pleasant and pretty nimble. It feels like Samsung have found their style. Later this year, the A8 should be updated to Android Oreo and Experience 9, where the interface and design will change completely. But it will be only after the announcement of the Galaxy S9.
Samsung A8 Specifications
Versions: A530F (Europe, Global Single-SIM); A530F/DS (Global Dual-SIM)
Also known as Samsung Galaxy A8 (2018) Duos with dual-SIM card slots
| NETWORK | Technology | GSM / HSPA / LTE |
|---|---|---|
| 2G bands | GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 – SIM 1 & SIM 2 (dual-SIM model only) | |
| 3G bands | HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1700(AWS) / 1900 / 2100 | |
| 4G bands | LTE band 1(2100), 2(1900), 3(1800), 4(1700/2100), 5(850), 7(2600), 8(900), 12(700), 13(700), 17(700), 18(800), 19(800), 20(800), 26(850), 28(700), 38(2600), 40(2300), 41(2500), 66(1700/2100) | |
| Speed | HSPA 42.2/5.76 Mbps, LTE-A (3CA) Cat11 600/75 Mbps | |
| GPRS | Yes | |
| EDGE | Yes |
| LAUNCH | Announced | 2017, December |
|---|---|---|
| Status | Available. Released 2018, January |
| BODY | Dimensions | 149.2 x 70.6 x 8.4 mm (5.87 x 2.78 x 0.33 in) |
|---|---|---|
| Weight | 172 g (6.07 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 (up to 1.5m for 30 mins) |
| DISPLAY | Type | Super AMOLED capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors |
|---|---|---|
| Size | 5.6 inches, 79.6 cm2 (~75.6% screen-to-body ratio) | |
| Resolution | 1080 x 2220 pixels, 18.5:9 ratio (~441 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 (2×2.2 GHz Cortex-A73 & 6×1.6 GHz Cortex-A53) | |
| GPU | Mali-G71 |
| MEMORY | Card slot | microSD, up to 256 GB (dedicated slot) |
|---|---|---|
| Internal | 32/64 GB, 4 GB RAM |
| CAMERA | Primary | 16 MP (f/1.7, 1/2.8”, 1.12µm), 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”, 1.0µm) + 8 MP (f/1.9, 1/4.0”, 1.12µm), 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 Email, 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 3000 mAh battery | |
|---|---|---|
| Talk time | Up to 24 h (3G) | |
| Music play | Up to 66 h |
| MISC | Colors | Black, orchid grey, gold, blue |
|---|---|---|
| SAR EU | 0.24 W/kg (head) 1.25 W/kg (body) | |
| Price | About 430 EUR |
| TESTS | Performance | Basemark OS II: 2067 / Basemark OS II 2.0: 2007 Basemark X: 15299 |
|---|---|---|
| Display | Contrast ratio: Infinity (nominal), 3.842 (sunlight) | |
| Camera | Photo / Video | |
| Loudspeaker | Voice 69dB / Noise 70dB / Ring 81dB | |
| Audio quality | Noise -92.1dB / Crosstalk -90.0dB | |
| Battery life |
Endurance rating 92h
|
conclusions
Galaxy A8 especially not for that to scold. A good camera, excellent finishing materials, decent autonomy, in a call mode, everything is fine, but there is also no wow effect. Just a good device with an actual design, which in this case will clearly be popular. Samsung could have made this smartphone even better, but then the question would arise with internal competition and pressure on older and more expensive Galaxy S8 / S9. The most important disadvantage of this smartphone is the price. Given the significant rise in the price of flagships from A-brands, the price of the Galaxy A8 does not seem so sky-high, however, for the same money you can buy a flagship from China. Today in the official retail Galaxy A8 is sold at a price of 620 dollars, this is 35,000 rubles in Russia or 200,000 tenges in Kazakhstan. The big Galaxy A8 Plus costs a little more expensive – $ 680. But, as we noted at the beginning of the review, Samsung knows who and what sells. Most people will not see the difference in the looks of the S8 and A8. Both smartphones will seem to them flagship, and therefore choosing from two preferred smartphones, they will give preference to cheaper ones. Well, do not forget that Samsung quite often reduces the cost of its products after a while. It is worth looking at this smartphone in a couple of months, perhaps the price tag will be more pleasant.
