News
Samsung Galaxy A8 and A8+ (2018) go official with dual front cameras and Infinity Display
Samsung officially unveiled the latest versions of their upper-midrange line of smartphones. With almost all of the competitors already having near-borderless phones for their lower-tier devices, the Galaxy A8 (2018) series joins the club.
The newest additions to the Galaxy A series are the Galaxy A8 (2018) and the larger Galaxy A8+ (2018). Both have nearly identical specifications aside from battery capacity and screen size. The new naming scheme hides the fact that these are the successors to the Galaxy A5 (2017) and A7 (2017), rather than the old Galaxy A8.

What’s new to the 2018 series are dual front cameras, the Infinity Display (without the curved edge), and an ergonomic design with curved glass (back and front) and a metal frame.
Both have a Super AMOLED display with an 18.5:9 display ratio and Full HD+ resolution. Being the smaller of the two, the Galaxy A8 (2018)’s display measures at 5.6 inches while the Galaxy A8+ (2018) has a 6-inch panel. Since the latter is bigger, it has a larger 3500mAh battery versus the former’s 3000mAh capacity. Both support Adaptive Fast Charging through USB-C.

Camera-wise, both have three cameras onboard. There’s a single 16-megapixel f/1.7 rear shooter with phase-detection autofocus and electronic image stabilization. Its wide aperture also enables better low-light photography along with a built-in hyperlapse feature. For selfies, you get two front-facing cameras: 16- and 8-megapixel f/1.9 cameras. The dual front camera setup brings the Live Focus feature from the Note 8 for selfies with bokeh.
The phones are powered by an unspecified octa-core processor (most likely an Exynos chip), with up to 6GB of memory for the A8+ and up to 64GB of expandable storage. Out of the box, they run Android 7.1.1 Nougat with the Samsung Experience skin on top. They also support NFC and Samsung Pay.
Lastly, the phones are IP68-certified water and dust resistant, and can be used with Samsung Gear VR.
The Galaxy A8 (2018) and A8+ (2018) will be in stores starting early January 2018. They’ll come in four colors: black, orchid gray, gold, and blue. Pricing and regional availability are yet to be announced.
SEE ALSO: Samsung might launch the Galaxy S9 in February
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Nothing goes together more than a Chinese smartphone brand and the relentless pursuit for a bigger battery. For years, Chinese brands have engaged in a war for this particular component. Now, the latest salvo has been fired. Honor is reportedly working on a phone with a gigantic 14000mAh battery.
Today, the biggest battery capacity you can find on an Honor phone is 11000mAh. The Honor X80 Pro Max already offers a battery that can last you more than a single day. At this point, it’s certainly more than enough for our daily needs.
According to Digital Chat Station on Weibo, a smartphone brand is currently working on a 14000mAh battery. Though the leak does not explicitly pinpoint Honor, the emoji used (a wolf) is historically used to imply the Chinese brand in Weibo parlance.
A 14000mAh is just absurdly huge. With a battery larger than some powerbanks, battery anxiety becomes moot. It’s bordering on “can we bring this on a plane” territory.
As with all rumored features, the next question is when this battery will arrive on a consumer-ready device. Given how serious the battery wars are for the Chinese market, it’s only a matter of time.
SEE ALSO: HONOR continues APAC expansion, to launch 600 series in Taiwan
Yesterday, Nothing officially teased the Phone (4b), an all-new line positioned below the Phone (4a) series. At the time, the teaser revealed nothing but the design of the upcoming phone. However, ahead of its July 7 launch, the Phone (4b) suddenly appeared on Geekbench, spoiling a few of its mysterious specs.
According to the listing, the Phone (4b) will run the SM6650, more popularly known as the Snapdragon 6 Gen 4. It’s a modestly powered processor built for the budget to midrange segments of the performance spectrum. Having this processor does confirm that the phone belongs to the step below the Phone (4a), bringing affordability to a name other than CMF.
Besides the processor, the new phone will come with an Adreno 810 GPU and 8GB of RAM. Inside, it will ship with Android 16 out of the box, but this will likely be upgradeable to Android 17 later this year.
It’s already confirmed that the Phone (4b) will be quite the looker. The phone will slightly depart from the design philosophy of the Phone (4a) series. Though it will still have a sizable rear island, the camera setup will just be a small vertical strip on the top-left corner. Additionally, the lighting element typical of all Nothing phones will be a small horizontal strip on the bottom-right corner.
Thankfully, the wait for more specs won’t be long. Nothing has confirmed that the phone’s launch is set for July 7.
News
Polaroid says, enjoy the beach before AI ruins it
“We know what we stand to lose if we don’t protect it.”
Tongue-in-cheek marketing is a soothing balm for a world where false promises are more often advertised. But, what happens when those tongue-in-cheek jokes strike a nerve and make you think, “maybe this isn’t a joke anymore”? Polaroid, a huge proponent of analog technology, has put up such a billboard to enjoy the beach “before the data centers drink it all up.”
Right in front of Coney Island (and right in time for summer), Polaroid has a simple message: “Go jump in the water before the data centers drink it all up.”
Though funny by itself, the message plays on an ongoing fear that today’s data centers, built for AI, have such a high water requirement that each query takes up gallons every time. This is, of course, slightly hyperbolic, but data centers are indeed exerting a lot of pressure on their area’s resources. They take a lot of water for cooling and electricity to keep open.
In a statement, Polaroid says that they’re not anti-digital. Rather, “we know we have to live alongside it, but we’re deeply pro-human and know what humanity gives us. And we know what we stand to lose if we don’t protect it. That’s a fight worth fighting,” says Polaroid’s creative director Patricia Varella, via LBB.
Now, this isn’t a completely altruistic ad. It’s still advertising the new Go Generation 3. Still, if you’re looking for a product to go alongside today’s shifting sentiments against AI, a Polaroid might be it.
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