At the Galaxy A9s and Galaxy A6s launch event in China today, Samsung teased a new phone called the Galaxy A8s, and it looks like this will be the Korean giant’s first smartphone with a truly all-screen design. There’s no notch on the thing, but according to a popular leaker Ice universe, the Galaxy A8s will have a hole drilled into the display to accommodate the front camera. The Tweet is now deleted, but sammobile managed to save it before it went belly up.
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Samsung’s official teaser at the event doesn’t seem to have any obstruction on the panel, so we’re probably looking at a lens that sits underneath the panel. We’re not entirely sure how that is better than a notch as it still gets in the way when you’re watching videos. While it is possible to illuminate the pixels covering the camera while watching YouTube, video calling will present its own set of challenges. It’s going to be a while before we get any answers, though. The Galaxy A8s isn’t coming out before early 2019. Perhaps the Galaxy A8s is proof that Samsung can make a truly all-screen phone.
We’re not ruling out the possibility of it being a complete letdown either. Eking out more screen real-estate without a notch has been an industry-wide problem, and while moving parts might seem like an attractive solution, they bring an entirely new set of issues that need to be addressed. For example, waterproofing is incredibly hard to get right in phones with moving parts. It also introduces an additional point of failure, risking the structural integrity of the device. Is a hole that’s only as big as the camera sensor instead of a notch a better solution? Probably not. But, props to Samsung for at least sticking to their scruples and not giving into the notch.
Source: sammobile
