Samsung has just released its 2018 Galaxy A6 and A6+ premium mid-range phones, sporting powerful cameras, sleek premium design and near bezel-less Infinity Display. The duo is set to debut in select markets in early May.
In terms of design and build, the pair looks familiar with the exception of the pronounced antenna lines at the top and bottom. The all-metal body houses a 18.5:9 screen ratio Infinity Display which maximises screen real estate. You’ll notice that, like its flagship sibling, the Galaxy S9/S9+, there is no home button below the display.
The fingerprint scanner has been moved to the back, located below the camera module.
Galaxy A6+
The bigger of the two, the Galaxy A6+ features a 6-inch FHD+ (1080×2220) Super AMOLED Infinity Display.
Samsung has listed an unspecified 1.8GHz octa-core processor under the hood but it is rumoured to be a Qualcomm Snapdragon 450 mated to an Adreno 506 GPU.
Memory is an ample 3GB or 4GB of RAM, with storage options of 32GB and 64GB. Interestingly, the A6+ (and A6) feature a dedicated microSD slot that gives you up to 400GB of storage expansion.
In terms of camera, the A6+ has the more powerful of the two models, featuring a 16MP (f/1.7) + 5MP (f/1.9) dual-camera setup with PDAF and LED flash.
Samsung has taken the no holds barred approach on the front, integrating a massive 24MP f/1.9 selfie shooter with LED flash. This takes on the likes of the 24MP VIVO V9 and 25MP OPPO F7 head on in the selfie department. Like the Galaxy J7+, it will support Live Focus for bokehlicious shots.
The dual-SIM device supports 4G LTE Cat.6 and comes with a 3,500mAh battery.
What’s also cool is that it gets Dolby Atmos audio for a more immersive audio experience, although this is available only via headphones.
There’s 802.11a/b/g/n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.2 LE, GPS and NFC (country-dependent) that supports Samsung Pay.
The Galaxy A6+ runs Android 8.0 Oreo out-of-the-box.
Galaxy A6
The Galaxy A6 features a similar build and design to the Galaxy A6+, only smaller with a 5.6-inch HD+ (720×1480) Super AMOLED Infinity Display.
It’s powered by an unspecified octa-core 1.6GHz processor that’s rumoured to be the Exynos 7870, mated to a Mali-T830 MP1 GPU. Similar to its bigger sibling, it offers two configurations: 3GB RAM + 32GB of storage, or 4GB RAM + 64GB of storage.
In terms of optics, the Galaxy A6 gets a more basic single 16MP f/1.7 main shooter, while on the front it comes with a commendable 16MP fixed focus f/1.9 shooter.
The dual-SIM device comes with a 3,000mAh battery and also runs Android 8.0 Oreo out-of-the-box.
Both the Galaxy A6 and A6+ support Bixby Vision, Bixby Home and Reminder, but does not comes with Bixby Voice that’s featured on flagship models.
Pricing and availability
The 2018 Galaxy A6 series is set to hit select European, Asian and Latin America markets in early May. It will roll out to other markets like South Korea, Africa and China later. No word on Malaysia availability as yet.
