Waterproof, dual-selfie camera Samsung Galaxy A8 and A8+ launched at RM1,799 and RM2,499

Ahead of the anticipated unveiling of Samsung’s Galaxy S9 at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, they’ve launched a more midrange phone in Malaysia that culls a ton of features from the prior S8 while clocking in at a lower price tag. Enter the Galaxy A8 (2018) and A8+ (2018).

Both phones were officially announced a month ago in Malaysia and we had the chance to review a production sample ahead of the launch with Samsung Malaysia officially unveiling the price today. The Galaxy A8 will retail for RM1,799 while the larger A8+ will retail for RM2,499. Both phones will come in your choice of Black, Gold and Orchid Gray.

What makes the Galaxy A8 and the larger A8+ so appealing is that both phones have a bevy of features culled from the higher end Samsung S8 sans the higher end price tag. Externally, both feature a slick looking glass-hewn front and back design, the brand’s signature 18.5:9 aspect ratio Super AMOLED ‘Always On’ Infinity displays in luscious FHD+, IP68 waterproofing, Samsung Pay support, fast charging and the notable addition of a dual front-facing camera array for selfies. To wit, the A8 and A8+ are Samsung’s first dual selfie cam waterproof phones.

Where both the Galaxy A8 and A8+ differ is in the size of their displays, their storage, RAM and battery capacity. The smaller Galaxy A8 has a 5.6-inch FHD+ Super AMOLED Infinity display with 4GB RAM and 32GB of expandable storage with a 3,000mAh battery. The larger Galaxy A8+ has a larger 6.0-inch Infinitydisplay with a similar 18.5:9 aspect ratio, 6GB RAM, 64GB of expandable storage as well as a heftier 3,500mAh battery.

Both phones run on a similar Exynos 7885 octacore processor, have a front-facing 16-MP camera with an 8-MP camera both paired with an F/1.9 aperture along with a rear-facing 16-MP camera with a bright F/1.7 aperture.

Much like the Galaxy S7 as well as the S8 series phones, the displays on the A8 and A8+ both have an Always On mode that leaves part of it on to tell the time and important notifications without having to switch the phone on.

For more details on how the Galaxy A8 (2018) fares, check out our firsthand look and review here. Both the Galaxy A8 and A8+ are available nationwide from 19 January for the aforementioned price of RM1,799 for the A8 and RM2,499 for the A8+.

If you purchase the phone from 19 to 21 January 2018, you’ll get an early bird freebie worth RM417 that consist of a 10,000mAh power bank with a Type-C connector worth RM228 and a 64GB microSD card worth RM189. For more details swing by their site here.

The Samsung Galaxy A8 and A8+ (2018) have a similar design externally though the A8+ is larger on account of the bigger display.