As smartphone bezels continue to shrink, we’re starting to see some…interesting takes on how to accommodate the front-facing camera. Most phones go with the notch, but Samsung is taking things further by punching a hole in the display.
The Samsung A8s (yes, the “S” is lower-case in the product name) is otherwise a typical mid-range phone: it uses the Qualcomm Snapdragon 710 processor, either 6GB or 8GB of RAM, and 128GB of internal storage—expandable with a microSD card. There are three rear cameras nestled together: a primary 24-megapixel lens with autofocus, a 5-megapixel depth sensor for bokeh shots, and an 8-megapixel, 120-degree lens for wide-angle photos.
The front camera is the main talking piece for this phone, though. Instead of using a notch that so many other phones have, the front-facing camera is just a hole in the larger display. There’s a sliver of display above the camera, and a tiny bezel above that. The slim top bezel is a bit mismatched with the larger bezel on the bottom since Samsung still needs to put display connectors and other components there.
This won’t be the only phone out with a punch-hole for the front camera. Huawei and its sub-brand Honor are releasing two similar phones that have a hole in the same place as the Samsung A8s. The Huawei Nova 4 and the Honor View 20 were recently announced in China, and Honor is supposed to hold a separate event in Paris in January for the View 20.
We don’t know when the Samsung A8s will be released, or when/if it will make its way to Western markets. For now, we just have some lovely images to look at.
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