While the Galaxy S9 is expected to be an entirely new phone according to leaks and rumours so far, the Galaxy A8 and the Galaxy A8+ will be like poor man’s Galaxy S8.
Looks like Samsung will be starting year 2018 with a bang. The company is expected to launch not only its flagship Galaxy S9 phone, which could come as early as January, it will also possibly launch the new and updated Galaxy A8 and the Galaxy A8+ (or should we call it Galaxy S8 Plus) to take on the likes of the Nokia 8 and the OnePlus 5T. While the Galaxy S9 is expected to be an entirely new phone according to leaks and rumours so far, the Galaxy A8 and the Galaxy A8+ will be like poor man’s Galaxy S8.
A number of rumours and leaks have surfaced about these three phones. The most substantial of these is the leak of Galaxy A8 and the Galaxy A8+ manual, which tells a lot about these two phones. This user manual was uploaded on the official Samsung website but once its details surfaced in news, it was taken down. So let’s summarise each of them.
— The design shown in the leaked manual hints that the new Galaxy A8 and the Galaxy A8+ are going to come with the infinity display, similar to what Samsung put in the Galaxy S8 and the Galaxy S8+ in 2017. It makes sense. This year the infinity display was cutting edge technology. But in 2018, it is only logical that Samsung will try to bring it down to more affordable phones, which the Galaxy A8 and the Galaxy A8+ are going to be relatively. However, for now the screen-size and the resolution of the screen is not known, but it is almost certain that the two phones will use AMOLED panel.
— The processor, amount of RAM and total storage is something not known so far.
— The leaked manual hints that the Galaxy A8 and the A8 Plus variant will come with dual front cameras, which will also offer portrait mode during selfies.
— On the back, there will be single camera. The make and resolution of the camera is not yet known. The rear cover also has a fingerprint sensor, similar to what we have seen in the Galaxy S8.
Also Read: Phone with fingerprint sensor under display to launch in January, could be Samsung Galaxy S9
— The two phones will come with USB-C port and with the regular 3.5mm headphone jack.
— Support for SD card will be offered. Also, the dual-SIM card feature is almost certain to be there in the Galaxy A8 and the Galaxy A8+ (2018).
— The Galaxy A8 and the Galaxy A8+ will be launched with Android Nougat.
— The phones are likely to be launched at Samsung Global or Asia Forum, that the company holds usually after January. These two phones are expected to cost under Rs 40,000 given the fact that they are part of A series processor and will compete with the likes of the OnePlus 5T.
— This is going to be the flagship Android phone for Samsung in the year 2018.
— The Galaxy S9, just like the S8, will come packed with the latest technologies of the day. This means it is going to be powered by the recently-announced Snapdragon 845 in some markets whereas in other markets, most notably in India, the phone will use a comparable Exynos processor.
— The latest rumours suggest that the Galaxy S9 will come with single rear camera, and may offer features like portrait mode through AI-driven software.
— It is certain that the Galaxy S9 will have at least 4GB RAM and 64GB internal storage. Recently Samsung noted that it has started manufacturing 512GB storage modules, and chances are that the company may put them in the Galaxy S9 before it sells them to other phone makers.
— The Galaxy S9 is likely to launch with Android Oreo, customised by Samsung with its touchwiz user interface.
— Just a day ago Synaptics said that it has made a fingerprint sensor that can go under the screen and said that a top phone maker will launch a phone using this technology in January. It is possible that this phone maker is Samsung and the phone in question is Galaxy S9.
— The Galaxy S9 is going to be a top-end phone with price to match. It is likely to be shown in January, although the formal launch may happen in February.
