Samsung Galaxy A8+ Hands-on Review: Is being Selfie Focused enough?

Samsung's A series smartphones always have been their mid-segment smartphones with a comparable performance and normal features. With 2018 just set in Samsung wants to change that. The Samsung Galaxy A8+ which was just unveiled today in India is more than just a mid-segment smartphone with okay features and okay build and looks. The Samsung Glaxay A8+ (2018) sports the design of their flagship, the Galaxy S8 with features such that the dual front cameras which even their flagship S8 and Note 8 doesn't have.

The smartphones come with a 6-inch 108p Super AMOLED screen for increased productivity but keep the size down by using an 18.5:9 resolution display. The design language was which was also featured in the S8. It is powered by a 2.2GHz octa-core Exynos 7885 processor along with Mali-G71 GPU coupled with a 6GB of RAM for that extra performance edge. It also has Bluetooth 5.0 and a massive 3,500mAh battery to back it all up. Also, it supports Samsung pay and the fingerprint sensor is below the camera and not at the side of it which is a bit better.

Display

The Samsung Galaxy A8+ boosts the display resolution of their flagship, the S8 and the same glass and metal design as the S8 and Note 8. The phone not only looks premium and also feels premium. There is a 3.5mm headphone jack at the bottom which is becoming a rarity these days. There is also a USB Type-C charging port at the bottom for fast charging. There are dual-front cameras for bokeh effect at the top of the display. The primary loudspeaker is not at the bottom or back but is at the right side of the device.

The device feels durable in hand even with front and back glass panels. Although Samsung didn't mention which variant of Gorilla Glass it was using, it is safe to assume that it will definitely hold up the test of time. Also, the device is IP68 water resistant which we will need to test once we get our hands on it.

Camera

On the optics front, the Samsung Galaxy A8+ sports dual front-facing cameras with a combo of 16-megapixel and 8-megapixel f/1.9 aperture cameras. It is the first Samsung phone to sport dual front cameras. The front cameras as said by Samsung is so that the user can switch between the two to take the type of selfie you want. The use of dual cameras also offers the ability to take selfies with bokeh effect.

The front camera works as explained with exceptionally good bokeh effect shots. The rear camera is a 16-megapixel sensor with f/1.7 aperture, phase detection autofocus, LED flash and 1080p video recording.

The photos taken by the rear camera were also great. With great focal distances and great colour capture, the back camera is also as advertised, brilliant.

Price

The device is available for purchase at the price of Rs 32,990 with the sale starting on January 20th with pre-orders already started. The device is available in Black and Gold colours. The phone is great but with the OnePlus 5T also available at the same price tag, there are many things left to be wished with this smartphone.