Is Samsung really evolving the A-series?
That is a good question. The Samsung Galaxy A8 is the new budget phablet with some touch of elegance and attractiveness from Samsung. Its predecessor (Samsung Galaxy A7) combined successfully nice attractiveness, due to its thickness and style, and low price reducing the actual performance of the phone. In the same idea the Samsung Galaxy A8 is here and is even thinner inheriting the metal-trim and matt plastic in the back. We could say that is a bit more handy and practical than the A7, but is it more attractive? Does it feel more elegant? Is it capable to be a considered rival for the big category? Does the A8 really evolved from the predecessor? We are not so convinced.
1. Weak in terms of performance
It was impossible not to mention it. The new Samsung Galaxy A8 come with Quad-core 1.8 GHz Cortex-A53 & quad-core 1.3 GHz Cortex-A53 CPU and has internally 2GB of RAM. That makes the performance a very weak point for the device for any comparison with other phones of its category. It may be a nice phone to have for lots of reasons, but if someone want to use a phone for heavy or even light multimedia and performance use, should definitely not look at the Samsung Galaxy A8. It is not really a considered rival yet in the big category, in terms of performance at least.
2. Built-in and not user replaceable battery
We notice here that the not so reliable battery of the A7 is replaced with a more reliable and a more tested battery, the same that the Note 5 uses. However, in order to keep the phone slim, light, attractive and with the delicate touch of metal in the side, they made it a metal uni-body phone. As a result the battery is not user replaceable which is another disadvantage.
3. If you need it as a Dual-Sim you can’t use a micro-SD card
That new Samsung, with its stylish and attractive design and materials made is naturally targeting a slightly more business oriented audience. As a result Samsung included an option of using it as a Dual-Sim. There is an extra slot ,you can open with an ejector tool, that can be used either as an extra Sim slot or as a microSD card slot. In an age that pictures, videos, music and in general all media are getting bigger in size, if you want to use the phone with Dual Sim it limits you on the amounts of data you can have at 32GB and it needs you to be careful with the memory space.
4. Lack of stereo speakers
That is a big disappointment. Really? Okay we all understand that in order to decrease the price it doesn’t reach some performance that other more expensive phones do. But Samsung theoretically is trying for something attractive, stylish and elegant. To be fair, the phone it is attractive and stylish, but it will never be elegant and really good if some basic details are not considered. One of those details are the stereo speakers that nowadays are coming as basic equipment in the most phones.
5. The camera can easily get scratched
Another inherited characteristic from the A7 that is not totally fixed yet is the camera’s position. The very slim and light design of the phone makes it so slim that the camera was impossible to fit. On a side look is noticed that the camera is still protruding a bit as resulting it could be easily get scratched. That makes a purchase of a case necessary with the phone. And of course this costs later in the design and style because you kind of force it to wear a case and hide its stylish and attractive touch.