Samsung's Galaxy A8s is the first phone with a hole

[mongeese]

Forward-looking: The Samsung Galaxy A8s debuted in China this morning, even though almost everything about the phone had already been revealed, largely by Samsung’s own doing. The phone features a Snapdragon 710 processor, 6GB or 8GB of RAM, 128GB of storage expandable via microSD, and is expected to land at about $450. Choosing an IPS display over one of Samsung’s own brilliant OLEDs would be disappointing – if not for that intriguing camera cut-out.

Pinhole. Black hole. Polka dot. Pimple. Mole. The wide variety of names for the Infinity-O display – which stretches beyond what would be appropriate to write here – expresses the wide variety of opinions on it. In all likelihood, that’s why Samsung decided to debut the feature on a mid-range device; to test the waters. Rather unfortunately, however, the focus on the hole has detracted from what’s otherwise a pretty solid device.

The phone was officially unveiled today although we had reported on the Galaxy A8's final specs during the weekend based on info Samsung sent into China’s version of the FCC, TENAA. The Galaxy A8s features three rear cameras: 24mp, 10mp (telephoto) and 5mp, the latter of which is used for depth sensing.

The selfie camera quality is unaffected by its situation and will be a solid performer at 24mp (with f/2.0 aperture). A pretty standard 3,400mAh battery is included with fast charging support over USB-C.

It was rumored the Galaxy A8s would be the first Samsung phone to drop the headphone jack and this has been confirmed today.

Galaxy A8s is letting Samsung test the waters with some features ahead of the big Galaxy S10 launch next February

The screen is mostly pretty decent, a 6.4" affair with a reasonable 2340 x 1080 resolution (taller than usual 19.5:9 aspect ratio). Samsung’s decision to use an IPS screen may protect upcoming Galaxy S10 sales and make sense business-wise, but it doesn’t come without compromise. The bezels on the sides and top are still relatively slim with a small chin on the bottom. Also, reports say that the camera hole requires 1-2mm of dead space around it, bringing it to a pretty large 6.7mm.

Days prior to the Galaxy A8s unveil we had a pretty good idea of what the phone would look like.

On the left, an official teaser image posted by Samsung to Chinese social media platform Weibo. In the middle, a leaked image of a third-party screen protector shows how large the dead space around the camera is. On the right, an official image given to the FCC shows how much screen space the hole uses.

The device comes in three colors: a silver to black gradient, blue, and green. The Galaxy A8s has been registered in the US and China, with availability expected in the coming weeks though no official date or pricing has been set yet.

Permalink to story.

https://www.techspot.com/news/77776-every-leaked-detail-samsung-galaxy-a8s-first-phone.html

 

[Reachable]

I think it looks just fine. Much better than the notch.

 

[yRaz]

I think it's interesting. I'm interested in seeing public opinion in the long term. I predict that people will prefer this as it is an oddity co pared to the notch. I'd still prefer bezels over a notch, but I could live with a notch

 

[VitalyT]

My reaction to the phone...

Moooooost excellent phone we've ever seen....

 

[Uncle Al]

Looks pretty good and the price is a lot better than some of the higher rated models .... might be a good one to upgrade to in another year or two .....

 

[Fearghast]

Still a notch.

 

[bob333]

Still a notch.

lol. this comment.

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this is way better than ugly double-chin-like-notch

 

[QuantumPhysics]

I think the "hole" should be in the upper right hand corner, rather than upper left.

Whoever figures out a way to engineer away the hole is going to be rich.

I'm disappointed that apple didn't turn the apple logo on back into a TouchID scanner and home button like they had on iPhone 8Plus.

 

[toooooot]

If the screen doesnt look too colorless, I d consider it.

 

[Fearghast]

Still a notch.

lol. this comment.

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this is way better than ugly double-chin-like-notch

Better does not mean acceptable. It's still a notch, just smaller.
Even Samsung gave up.

 

[netman]

I still like the front camera to be on the very top center and the back camera to be on the top center to avoid fingers covering the lens, specially when you are taking a photo holding the phone with both hands in the landscape format...

 

[Theinsanegamer]

You know what I would prefer? A small black strip along the top of the phone, which could hold both sensors AND the camera. It's rectangular shape wouldnt draw attention away form the screen, and would look aesthetically pleasing.

 

[tsr628]

You know what I would prefer? A small black strip along the top of the phone, which could hold both sensors AND the camera. It's rectangular shape wouldnt draw attention away form the screen, and would look aesthetically pleasing.

Here you go. https://www.samsung.com/us/mobile/galaxy-note9/

 

[ShagnWagn]

Will this bring a whole new meaning to "naval lint"?

I foresee pocket lint filling it very quickly. Does it come with a removal tool to carry around?

 

[johnehoffman]

It would be nice if articles about cell phones would concentrate on the important things.

Notch vs. hole is a silly debate. How good an image the phone's display produces and whether it is readily visible under various light conditions is far more important.

And doesn't anyone use the devices as phones any more? Why never a word on how well a phone connects with less than optimum signal strength and how likely it is to drop calls?

Finally, why the concentration on what the back of the phone looks like when most people put the phones in cases anyway. Making batteries non-user-replaceable is madness. I just replaced the battery on my Note 4 at a cost of less than $20. Samsung would have saved billions on the Note 7 if they could have just supplied replacement batteries to purchasers.

I don't see any reason to change cell phones into VERY expensive toys that need to be replaced every 2 years or so because they are unduly fragile and have consumable parts that are not easily replaced. The current phones do not have any really significant improvements over those of 5 years ago, yet people feel compelled to replace perfectly usable phones because the cost of replacing batteries and other parts quickly becomes significant in comparison to the value of a 2 to 3 year old device. For example, my Note 4 has a tradein value of about $20 even though it is in perfect condition. That's a bit more than I paid for the new battery but far less than it would have cost to replace a non-user-replaceable battery in a newer phone.

 

[Branoli]

It would be nice if articles about cell phones would concentrate on the important things.

Notch vs. hole is a silly debate. How good an image the phone's display produces and whether it is readily visible under various light conditions is far more important.

And doesn't anyone use the devices as phones any more? Why never a word on how well a phone connects with less than optimum signal strength and how likely it is to drop calls?

Finally, why the concentration on what the back of the phone looks like when most people put the phones in cases anyway. Making batteries non-user-replaceable is madness. I just replaced the battery on my Note 4 at a cost of less than $20. Samsung would have saved billions on the Note 7 if they could have just supplied replacement batteries to purchasers.

I don't see any reason to change cell phones into VERY expensive toys that need to be replaced every 2 years or so because they are unduly fragile and have consumable parts that are not easily replaced. The current phones do not have any really significant improvements over those of 5 years ago, yet people feel compelled to replace perfectly usable phones because the cost of replacing batteries and other parts quickly becomes significant in comparison to the value of a 2 to 3 year old device. For example, my Note 4 has a tradein value of about $20 even though it is in perfect condition. That's a bit more than I paid for the new battery but far less than it would have cost to replace a non-user-replaceable battery in a newer phone.

I totally agree with you. I never did understand what the big deal was over a "notch". Until I started reading all the whining about it I never even noticed it on my phone. Also being able to replace the battery was a big thing for me. Unfortunately my Galaxy S3 finally started going through batteries about every 6 months so I had to upgrade. I was able to get a reasonably priced refurbished S7 that works just fine, I just hate the fact that I can no longer replace the battery myself. That said, I plan on having this phone until it dies. I don't feel the need to upgrade just because something new comes out. I use the cell phone for mostly phone calls, texting and taking photos. I don't feel the need to use it like a computer. I have a laptop and an iPad for that.

 

[Digitalzone]

Where is the sound output?

 

[Branoli]

I presume it has to be Bluetooth. Another reason I won't buy a new one as I don't like Bluetooth.

 

[Fearghast]

It would be nice if articles about cell phones would concentrate on the important things.

Notch vs. hole is a silly debate. How good an image the phone's display produces and whether it is readily visible under various light conditions is far more important.

And doesn't anyone use the devices as phones any more? Why never a word on how well a phone connects with less than optimum signal strength and how likely it is to drop calls?

Finally, why the concentration on what the back of the phone looks like when most people put the phones in cases anyway. Making batteries non-user-replaceable is madness. I just replaced the battery on my Note 4 at a cost of less than $20. Samsung would have saved billions on the Note 7 if they could have just supplied replacement batteries to purchasers.

I don't see any reason to change cell phones into VERY expensive toys that need to be replaced every 2 years or so because they are unduly fragile and have consumable parts that are not easily replaced. The current phones do not have any really significant improvements over those of 5 years ago, yet people feel compelled to replace perfectly usable phones because the cost of replacing batteries and other parts quickly becomes significant in comparison to the value of a 2 to 3 year old device. For example, my Note 4 has a tradein value of about $20 even though it is in perfect condition. That's a bit more than I paid for the new battery but far less than it would have cost to replace a non-user-replaceable battery in a newer phone.

I find Notch or damaged screens in general a really interesting topic to discuss.
Mobile phones are today a screens with minimal bezels, notch cuts in a screen and lowers resolution, usable area, on some phones you can't even turn the part with a notch off so it's always destroying image you are looking at, some phones even still use IPS so you can't actualy turn those pixels off, they will always be grey at best.
Destroying screens just to make smaller bezels, because that what crowd demands?

 

[hahahanoobs]

Where is the sound output?

3.5mm jack gone.
Bottom speaker grill.

 

[PurpaFur]

Will this bring a whole new meaning to "naval lint"?

I foresee pocket lint filling it very quickly. Does it come with a removal tool to carry around?

it's not a physical hole in the glass. Nothing can get in there; there is still glass covering it. Just the same way the rear facing cameras have glass over them, except that this glass is the same glass that forms the display glass

 

[ShagnWagn]

it's not a physical hole in the glass. Nothing can get in there; there is still glass covering it. Just the same way the rear facing cameras have glass over them, except that this glass is the same glass that forms the display glass

I guess I'm confused as my S8 also has a camera covered with glass. If it's the same glass that is easily breakable as the front screen, then I don't see how anyone would be interested.

No headphone jack? They aren't getting a penny from me. I use the headphone jack several hours every work day. The 2+ second delay in bluetooth for songs is very annoying in my car and home theater receiver. Forget about watching a video or a game. How many phones have been sold and they can't figure this basic thing out?

 

[swagdaddy]

I presume it has to be Bluetooth. Another reason I won't buy a new one as I don't like Bluetooth.

All modern smartphones have Bluetooth...so I guess you won't be using a smartphone from this decade?

 

[Joseph Dredd]

it's not a physical hole in the glass. Nothing can get in there; there is still glass covering it. Just the same way the rear facing cameras have glass over them, except that this glass is the same glass that forms the display glass

I guess I'm confused as my S8 also has a camera covered with glass. If it's the same glass that is easily breakable as the front screen, then I don't see how anyone would be interested.

No headphone jack? They aren't getting a penny from me. I use the headphone jack several hours every work day. The 2+ second delay in bluetooth for songs is very annoying in my car and home theater receiver. Forget about watching a video or a game. How many phones have been sold and they can't figure this basic thing out?

I stopped using the headphone jack about two years ago after purchasing a decent set of Bluetooth earphones. While I agree that Bluetooth is flaky and it is not really acceptable for the technology to still have reliability issues heading into its 5th generation, I doubt it would have made it past 2nd gen if a 2+ second delay was the norm. Personally I think Bluetooth is unnecessary, as WiFi is superior in almost all respects. The only problem is that WiFi headphones are not as readily available and very expensive.

 

[ShagnWagn]

I stopped using the headphone jack about two years ago after purchasing a decent set of Bluetooth earphones. While I agree that Bluetooth is flaky and it is not really acceptable for the technology to still have reliability issues heading into its 5th generation, I doubt it would have made it past 2nd gen if a 2+ second delay was the norm. Personally I think Bluetooth is unnecessary, as WiFi is superior in almost all respects. The only problem is that WiFi headphones are not as readily available and very expensive.

I have a high-end set of bose headphones I won a while back. To replace them equivalent would be a couple hundred dollars. I will not spend that much. I would rather save even more money by not buying a new phone rather than a new phone plus headphones.

I was wondering about the 2-second delay, but there are numerous links for others with the same problem. It has the issue on my S5 I still use, and also my S8 - both on numerous devices. With the latest OS upgrade on my S8, it no longer saves my equalizer setting when reconnecting bluetooth and goes back to defaults. I have to go into equalizer settings and change it again every. single. time. The equalizer shows it's still set how I want it, but I have to tap and change it, then change it back for it to take affect again... It really bites! >:0 No problem with the jack.