Samsung is apparently gearing up to expand its Galaxy A lineup of metal-clad smartphones, as a new Galaxy A8 is reportedly en route.
The company has received lots of criticism over the years for its love of plastic, as it launched even its highest-end flagship smartphones with plastic bodies. Last year, Samsung took a first step in the right direction with the Galaxy Alpha, which sported a metal frame that made it look and feel more premium. The company later unveiled its Galaxy A series of smartphones, all of which came with sleek metal bodies for a more premium feeling.
The Galaxy A3 and Galaxy A5 (pictured above) were the first handsets to launch under the Galaxy A series, while a higher-end Galaxy A7 followed afterwards. Samsung now seems ready to expand this series with another offering, as details regarding a new Galaxy A8 have just surfaced online.
More specifically, SamMobile has some intriguing information about an unannounced handset with the codename SM-A800F, a.k.a. the upcoming Samsung Galaxy A8. The handset will not come with top-notch specifications on board, but it will nonetheless be at the top of the Galaxy A series.
"Last month, we discovered that Samsung had applied for trademarks on the Galaxy A6, A8 and A9, hinting that the company was looking at expanding its all-metal Galaxy A smartphone lineup with multiple new devices. Thanks to our insiders, we have been able to confirm that at least the Galaxy A8 is indeed under development, and we have also managed to get a list of specs of the upcoming device," SamMobile reports.
The publication's source reportedly revealed that the upcoming Samsung Galaxy A8 will be exclusive to China, albeit this could change in the future. When it comes to specifications, the handset will apparently feature a 5.7-inch full HD Super AMOLED display with a resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels, pack a 640bit octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 processor under the hood, and 2GB of RAM. Other specs reportedly include a 16-megapixel rear camera, a 5-megapixel front shooter, 16GB of internal storage capacity, and a 3,050 mAh battery. It remains unclear at this point whether the storage is expandable and the battery removable.
In terms of weight and dimensions, the Galaxy A8 will be quite sleek, measuring 157.7 x 76.7 x 5.9 mm and weighing in at 140 grams. The smartphone will also be LTE-enabled, and run Android 5.0.1 Lollipop with Samsung's TouchWiz UI on top.
Samsung made no official announcement so far, however, and it is advisable to take this leak with a grain of salt until formal confirmation.
