At an event in Malaysia, Samsung has unveiled the world's first smartphone with four cameras on the rear side. Dubbed as the Samsung Galaxy A9 (2018), it comes with a total of five cameras- four on the rear side and one on the front side. Samsung also confirmed to reporters at the event that it will bring the A9 (2018) to the Indian market next month. The Galaxy A9 (2018) also packs decent mid-range hardware- Snapdragon 660 SoC, up to 8GB of RAM, Super AMOLED display and a massive 3800mAh battery. It's an excellent smartphone for all those who're looking for a decently specced mid-ranger from Samsung.
Samsung Galaxy A9 (2018): Specifications and Features
The Samsung Galaxy A9 (2018) flaunts a 6.3-inch Full HD+ display on the front which carries a resolution of 1080x2220 pixels and 18.5:9 aspect ratio. Samsung did not opt for a notched display on the A9 (2018) which means the South Korean company is yet to launch a smartphone with a notch. Underneath, Samsung has added the powerful Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 chipset to the smartphone, which works in tandem with either 6GB or 8GB of RAM.
As for the internal storage, both the variants ship with 128GB that can be expanded up to 512GB with a microSD card. This dual-SIM smartphone comes laden with Android 8.1 Oreo out of the box. The fingerprint scanner is placed on the rear side and the four cameras are stacked vertically on the top left.
Moving onto the interesting aspect of the Samsung Galaxy A9 (2018), it's the first smartphone in the world to launch with four cameras on the rear side, and only the second smartphone to launch with five cameras on board. Cameras on the rear side include a 24MP primary sensor with f/2.7 aperture, 8MP wide-angle sensor with 120-degree field-of-view, a 10MP telephoto lens which offers 2X optical zoom and finally a 5MP depth sensor to capture the depth information. Samsung also confirmed the cameras on the A9 (2018) uses pixel binning technology in low-light conditions which will result in better performance. On the front side, the phone has a 25MP shooter with f/2.0 aperture.
Users can unlock the Samsung Galaxy A9 (2018) using the software-based Face Unlock functionality. Connectivity options on the handset include Dual 4G, VoLTE, Wi-Fi 802.11ac, Bluetooth 5.0, GPS and a USB Type-C port. Yes, the phone also ships with a 3.5mm headphone jack. Lastly, it's backed by a 3800mAh battery and Samsung promises a two-day battery life with the handset.
Samsung Galaxy A9 (2018): Pricing and Availability
Samsung has revealed the European pricing of the Galaxy A9 (2018). The base variant of the phone can be picked up for EUR 599 (approx. Rs 51,500). But in India, we might see the device launching for less than Rs 40,000. The phone can be purchased in three colour options- Bubblegum Pink, Caviar Black, and Lemonade Blue. While Samsung confirmed that it would be bringing the A9 (2018) to India, it did not reveal any specific launch date.
Samsung Galaxy A9 (2018): Competitors in India
If you want more cameras on a smartphone, the Galaxy A9 (2018) should be your first choice. But when you consider the pricing, the upcoming OnePlus 6T is expected to retail at the same price. The OnePlus 6T will have the superior Snapdragon 845 chipset, 8GB of RAM, dual rear cameras, in-display fingerprint scanner and a 3700mAh battery.
