Updated 3:46 pm ET with reactions to the Galaxy A8s' new design.
This is the new Galaxy A8s. Samsung has officially launched the phone at an event in China — and it’s the first phone ever with Samsung's Infinity-O display.
The screen has a laser-drilled hole in it, and it’s jarringly large. But that's not the biggest news.
The headphone jack is dead
After making so much fun of Apple and making its support for the 3.5-mm headphone jack one of its battle cries against the Cupertino company — the Samsung Galaxy A8s does not have a headphone jack.
This is according to Gizmochina, which has all the details on this big launch. That means you will need Bluetooth headphones or a USB-C to 3.5mm audio port adapter. There's no word as to whether Samsung will include a dongle in the box.
As you might imagine, the reaction on the internet is not very positive. These are just some of the top Reddit comments so far:
- "First you laugh at them, then you join them."
"1. Don't be evil. 2. Nevermind."
Galaxy A8s Specs
The mid-range phone has a Snapdragon 710 processor, a multi-layered paint finish that changes color depending on the angle of the light and, similar to the Galaxy A7, three rear cameras.
There's a 10-megapixel sensor and telephoto lens with 2x optical zoom, one a 24-MP sensor with a f/1.7 lenses and — for depth-of-field effects — another 5-MP sensor with f/2.2. On the front there’s a 24-MP selfie camera looking through a pretty big hole.
These are the other key specs: a 6.4-inch display with a 19.5:9 aspect ratio, 6GB to 8GB of RAM depending on the model you pick, and 128GB of storage to pack all those videos and songs you are not going to be able to listen to through a standard headphone jack.
The icing on the cake: no Android 9.0 Pie out of the box. Just Android 8.1 Oreo.
Price and availability
Unfortunately, Samsung hasn't announced the price for the Galaxy A8s or when you'll be able to get your hands on it. But the company is opening a registration page for those who want to stay in the know about this phone.
