Samsung Galaxy A8+ Review

       Samsung Galaxy A8+ Review

Nearly a year after the first smartphones with 18:9 screensdebuted at MWC 2017, nearly every manufacturer has jumped on board. This kind of design started out as a novelty, quickly became trend, and is now pretty much a mainstay of smartphone design. It isn't any surprise, since this is the first time in a very long time that phones have looked any different, and people do feel like they're getting something better and more modern. Phones with 16:9 screens, (and heaven forbid, actual buttons on the front) do now seem old-fashioned.

Samsung gained an early lead with its Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ (Review) at the beginning of last year (though it went with 18.5:9 which it calls "Infinity Display") and then released the Galaxy Note 8 (Review) six months later, but didn't seem think the rest of its range deserved the update. Meanwhile, its competitors were clambering over themselves to make sure they didn't fall behind the curve. Over this past year, we've seen dozens of new 18:9 phones launching across the price spectrum. The most notable example of that is OnePlus rushing to replace its barely five-month-old OnePlus 5 (Review) with the OnePlus 5T (Review), just to make sure it didn't cede even the slightest ground to its competitors.

That makes today's review subject all the more interesting - the new Galaxy A8+ (2018) is Samsung's first non-flagship phone to be graced with an Infinity Display, and it's priced to go right up against the OnePlus 5T. Is Samsung too late to the party, or has it been worth the wait? We're about to find out.

Samsung Galaxy A8+ (2018) design

As its name suggests, this is one large phone. Samsung hasn't launched the smaller Galaxy A8 (2018) in India, which is a pity, because the A8+ (2018) can be a bit of a handful. It's relatively thick and heavy at 8.3mm and 191g. That weight also feels unbalanced, especially when typing, which requires you to hold the phone from close to the bottom. It will stick out of many pockets and generally make itself felt wherever you try to stash it.

Samsung has listed two colour options for this phone, black and gold. We had a black unit for review and with the removal of buttons from the front face, it looks really plain and monolithic. The front and back are both shiny glass, though only the back curves around the matte black metal frame. While some might like this look, others will prefer the gold version which has a black front face and camera module providing a bit of visual relief.

The front face is broken only by the earpiece and dual front cameras right near the upper edge. When the phone is on, Samsung's Always-On Display readout is splashed across the screen, taking advantage of the sAMOLED panel's ability to selectively light up pixels without consuming a lot of power. By default, there's a large clock, the date, the battery level, and four icons representing your most recent notifications. You can choose different clock styles and hide other information, or only enable the Always-On Display between hours of your choosing.

The power button is on the right, and the phone's single mono speaker is positioned right above it - an unusual position, but one that Samsung has been using on multiple models of late. On the left, there's a volume rocker and a tray for the primary Nano-SIM. The second Nano-SIM as well as a microSD card fit in another tray that slides into the top. There's also a USB Type-C port and a 3.5mm audio socket on the bottom. An advantage of the all-black look is that the antenna lines are barely visible.

The primary camera is in the upper middle of the rear, with a single-LED flash to the side and small, rectangular fingerprint sensor right below it. Unusually for phones these days, the camera doesn't protrude at all. There's a surprisingly subtle Samsung logo lower down, and some barely visible regulatory text at the bottom.

One feature that we're always happy to have is weatherproofing, and the Galaxy A8+ (2018) is certified IP68 for water and dust resistance. The SIM trays are flanged with rubber to prevent ingress. However, there’s no mention of whether the display glass is reinforced, which is concerning.

Samsung's Galaxy A-series phones are meant to be more affordable versions of the current reigning S-series flagships, in this case the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+. The Galaxy A8+ (2018) inherits many of their design cues, but it doesn't look quite as slick or refined. It's a bit too bulky and awkward to handle, and in fact it more closely resembles last year's Galaxy C9 Pro (Review). In fact, with its pricing and specifications, it serves the same market. In terms of look and feel alone, it doesn't really stand out compared to the competing OnePlus 5T or Honor View 10 (Review) either.