We've known that Samsung is working on a host of new smartphone display types for a while, but the South Korean firm has just officially announced the first of its next-generation displays, the 'Infinity-O', giving the world a potential glimpse of the future of mobile display tech.
This new approach – which is seen by many as a means of combating the trend for 'notch' screens – will make its debut on the Samsung A8s, the existence of which was already known previously thanks to (you guessed it) leaks.
The big news here is – of course – the screen. The A8s has a 6.4-inch, 2340 x 1080 pixel display that almost covers the entire front of the phone (there's a small chin at the bottom), with the handset's front-facing 24-megapixel camera located in the left-hand corner, an approach which has given rise to the term 'hole-punch screen'.
Sadly, this is pretty much the most exciting thing about the A8s, which is very much a mid-range offering. It's got a Qualcomm Snapdragon 710 chipset inside and comes with either 6GB or 8GB of RAM, while there's 128GB of onboard storage. A MicroSD card slot ensures you can add to this total if you so wish. Around the back, there are three cameras, just like there are on the Samsung Galaxy A7. Pre-orders are due to open on December 21st, which means we won't see the phone until 2019 at the earliest.
It has been rumoured that Samsung's 2019 flagship, the Galaxy S10, will also make use of the Infinity-O display, although this remains to be seen as the firm has other 'Infinity' options in development at the time of writing.
Samsung isn't alone in adopting this approach, either; the Huawei Nova 4 – which launches on December 17th – also has a hole in the screen, as does the Honor View 20, which launches this month in China and at the start of 2019 everywhere else. Alongside the A8s, that's three different phones with a remarkably similar look, which should make things nice and confusing for consumers in 2019.
Will the 'hole-punch' replace the notch? We're not so sure, as that tiny hole – while visually appealing – won't be big enough to house all the vital imaging components that Apple uses in its X, XS, and XR devices. We've got a feeling that like pop-up cameras and chin-based selfie-cams, the 'hole-in-the-screen' strategy could prove to be short-lived – but hey, at least these companies are trying to set themselves apart from the competition.
by dmcferran via Featured Articles
Posts
No comments: