For whatever reason, it looks like Samsung is ready
to change the branding for its A series smartphones. The successors to the
Galaxy A5 (2017) and A7 (2017) will not be called A5 (2018) and A7 (2018), as
you'd expect. A few days ago we found out that the latter of those two is
actually going to go by the name A8+ (2018), and now it's time to see what its
sibling will be named.
It turns out that the device we've so far been
referring to as the Galaxy A5 (2018) will be sold by Samsung as the Galaxy A8
(2018). It has the model number SM-A530, which means it's definitely supposed
to be next in line from the A5 (2017), which is SM-A520.
The reasons for Samsung's change of strategy in this
regard are not known yet, but perhaps it has something to do with making sure
that the A series handsets are in line in terms of naming with the flagship S
line - so you have the S8 and S8+, and now the A8 and A8+ to complement those
in the mid-range.
Both the A8 (2018) and the A8+ (2018) are expected to
ship with Infinity Displays, employing the very popular 'tall' 18:9 screen
aspect ratio - with 1,080 x 2,160 resolution. A rear placed fingerprint scanner
will be found on both. The A8 should be powered by an Exynos 7885 SoC or
Snapdragon 660 (depending on market) paired with 4GB of RAM, and its display
size will be 5.5".
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