Samsung's Galaxy A8 is the budget S9 you've been looking for

Do you want a Galaxy S9 without paying for a Galaxy S9? Samsung has just launched the Galaxy A8, a $649 phone with flagship feel.

From a distance, you might not even be able to tell them apart. In terms of design, the big difference between the A8 and its pricier S-series brethren is the screen. You still get an extra-tall 18:9 panel, but the A8 display is flat rather than curved on the edges.

The front and back are still both glass, there's an aluminium frame, and you get a couple of bells and whistles: Samsung Pay, IP68 water-resistance, and facial recognition.

In terms of trade-offs, the A8 camera won't be quite as good as the S9's, there's no wireless charging, and the processor is a step down in performance (although the A8 still seemed pretty fast when we tried it out at Mobile World Congress).

The Galaxy A8 does however have one feature you won't find in the Galaxy S9: dual front-facing cameras. You can use these to simulate shallow depth of field, and blur the background in your selfies.

Key specifications include a 5.6-inch 1080p+ display, a Samsung-made Exynos 7885 processor, 32GB of expandable storage, 4GB of RAM, IP68 water-resistance, a 3,000mAh battery, a 16MP rear-facing camera, and dual front-facing cameras with 16MP and 8MP sensors.

You can get the Galaxy A8 direct from Samsung or through JB Hi-Fi in a choice of black or "orchid gray". The Good Guys is ranging the Galaxy A8 too, but only in black.

The Galaxy A8 is only available outright at the moment. However, given that most telcos ranged last year's Galaxy A5, we wouldn't be surprised to see they offer the Galaxy A8 as a more affordable option in the near future. We've reached out to Samsung to see if the slightly larger Galaxy A8+ will be available in Australia. However, other than screen size and battery capacity, the A8 and the A8+ are identical.

It is however worth noting that you can get yourself a Galaxy S9 for just $50 more than an A8 through JB Hi-Fi - if you're happy to switch to a Telstra SIM-only plan.

Alex Choros

Managing Editor + Group Telco Editor | X | Instagram | Threads | LinkedIn

Alex Choros is the Managing Editor of WhistleOut Australia and an award-winning journalist. He's been writing about consumer technology for over a decade and is an expert on the Australian telco sector, to the point where he knows far too many phone and internet plans by heart. In addition to leading the WhistleOut editorial team, Alex is responsible for ruining the office Sonos with his troubled taste in music.

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