Making “cutting edge innovation standard for everyone,” Samsung has added a new mid-range model to its A series of phones. The Galaxy A80 borrows some tricks from the top-end Galaxy S10 series, as well as adding a few new tricks of its own – including a rotating, pop-up camera.
The Cinematic Infinity Display uses Super AMOLED technology, just like the S10 phones, but there’s no notch and very little in the way of bezels – that’s because there’s only one camera, around the back. With a tap, that camera slides above the screen and rotates, ready to do double-duty as a front-facing camera too.
It’s the headline feature of the new Galaxy A80, and it also means the phone can be Samsung’s first truly full-screen model, with a 6.7-inch, 1,080 x 2,400 pixel display free from any kind of notch or hole punch cut out.
Under the hood, the specs of the Galaxy A80 include 8 GB of RAM and 128 GB of storage (with no memory card slot available to expand that, unfortunately). Samsung hasn’t named the exact processor inside, but it’s a mid-range octa-core model that should be capable of handling just about everything you can throw at it.
As for that rotating camera, it’s a triple-lens model, with a main 48 MP F2.0 camera, an ultra-wide 8 MP F2.2 camera, and a 3D depth sensor working in tandem. That gives you access to wide-screen shots, versatile background focus effects, and – according to Samsung – “vivid images day and night.” There’s a Super Steady video mode too, for reducing shake when capturing video.
Elsewhere the phone brings with it a 3,700 mAh battery, fast charging, and support for Dolby Atmos audio in apps that make use of it. The phone comes with Android 9.0 Pie on board, plus the new Samsung OneUI interface, and there’s a fingerprint sensor built into the display on the front.
You’ve got a choice of black, gold and white for colors, and we’re still waiting for Samsung to tell us how much it’s going to charge for the phone – expect it to be significantly lower than the US$899 starting price of the Galaxy S10.
The Galaxy A80 joins the recently announced Galaxy A70 and a total of five other models in the A series, all unveiled in the last few weeks, and made to match your needs and budget. If your budget can’t quite stretch to a Galaxy S10, Samsung has you very well covered. The video below has more.
Samsung A80 uses a rotating, sliding camera to kill off the display notch [New Atlas]