Samsung Announces Galaxy A8s with New Display and No Headphone Jack

We reported few days ago that competition was brewing between Samsung and Huawei. It was a race to introduce the first punch-hole display in the smartphone space. While both smartphone makers had their respective devices ready for reveal this month, the Korean giant has beaten the competition.

Samsung’s Galaxy A8s is official. The smartphone is the first to sport a new display approach, beating Huawei’s upcoming Nova 4 in the process. Punch-hole display refers to a new approach which more smartphone manufacturers are likely to embrace.

Instead of using a notch, a hole is punched right in the display to accommodate the front camera. This allows for an almost-fullscreen experience – certainly better than having a black bar cover some portion of the screen. The 6.4” Full HD (1080 x 2340) display in Galaxy A8s is LCD, however, future smartphones may use OLED. Considering Galaxy A8s is intended to sit as a mid-range phone, the use of LCD panel, especially with a brand-new display approach, makes sense.

And with mid-range status comes mid-range specs. Though not a powerhouse, Galaxy A8s packs decent hardware. We’re looking at Snapdragon 710paired with either 6GB or 8GB RAM, 128GB internal storage, and 3300mAh battery. The smartphone features a triple-camera setup on the back with a 24MP main sensor, and 8MP and 5MP other sensors. The front camera is also 24MP.

Headphone evangelists, there is bad news. Samsung is joining the ever-increasing list of smartphone manufacturers that have ditched the beloved jack. Considering Samsung’s strategy of introducing new technology and design with mid-range devices first, we can expect Galaxy S10 to ditch the jack as well, depending on the Galaxy A8s’ reception.

Galaxy A8s was announced in China, it will go on sale on December 21.

This kicks off a trend that you can expect to see more of. Samsung’s upcoming Galaxy S10 is expect to feature this punch-hole display, or either one of the display ideas that it briefed during a last month’s keynote.

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Jawwad Iqbal

Having written on tech for years now, Jawwad Iqbal took his passion for sharing news and opinions with the inception of Hardware Blitz. He holds a firm view that quality content drives long-term success.

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