Samsung has just launched the new Galaxy A8 in India, and is the latest flagship in Samsung's mid-range lineup. Although intended to capture casual smartphone users, the Galaxy A8 has been designed with a premium look and build in mind. 

Design and display 

Smartphone users, when hearing about a mid-range spec handset, usually have the brick form factor in mind. However, Samsung chose to deviate from this in designing the Galaxy A8. Starting with the look, the A8 has much more in common with Samsung's premium-end Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge than with other products in the mid-range category.

The Galaxy A8 is also touted to be Samsung's slimmest phone yet, measuring only 5.9-mm thick. It is also the only handset in the middle-range lineup with thinner bezels and a fingerprint scanner. 

In terms of display, the A8 can also compete with other high-end phones, having a 5.7-inch full HD Super AMOLED screen that displays 1080p resolution. 

Under the hood 

The Galaxy A8 come in two variants – the one to be marketed globally is powered by a Snapdragon 615 processor, while the Indian version uses Samsung's proprietary octa-core Exynos 5430 chipset. Both versions are partnered with 2 GB of RAM. Meanwhile, storage options range from an expandable 32 GB to 128 GB via a microSD card slot. 

Features 

Since the Galaxy A8 is a recent addition to Samsung's lineup, it runs on Android Lollipop 5.1.1 right out of the box, and it might even support the upcoming Android M once it rolls out. Meanwhile, the A8 also carries a 16 MP main camera, with a 5 MP front-facing shooter. The unit also carries dual-SIM options, with either one able to connect to a 4G network. The nano-SIM ports also double as the microSD slot, meaning users will be able to configure a dual-sim A8 with fixed internal storage, or use the A8 as a single-SIM device but with expanded memory.