Samsung Galaxy A9 (2018) announced as the world's first quad-camera phone

The long rumored quad-camera smartphone from Samsung is finally official - Meet the Samsung Galaxy A9 (2018), an upper-midrange class device which carries the signature Galaxy S features with a few unique traits to call its own.

Design

Samsung has clearly designed the Galaxy A9 as a high end device, with its aluminum frame sandwiched by two glass panels. The back panel is curved in towards its edges to give a more ergonomic feel.

The four cameras are stacked one below the other on the left rear with an LED flash below them. You also have a fingerprint scanner located on the rear above the Samsung logo.



Samsung has retained the headphone connector on this device, located next to the USB Type-C port. However you only get a single speaker instead of a stereo setup.

The handset will be offered in three colors - Caviar Black, Lemonade Blue and Bubblegum Pink. The latter two have a gradient color scheme on the rear panels.

Display

On the front you get a 6.3 inch display with a 1080 x 2220 pixel resolution, which results in a 18.5:9 aspect ratio. Samsung has opted for a flat display unlike its curved one found on Galaxy S9 flagships

Camera

Samsung has outfitted the Galaxy A9 with four cameras

• Ultra Wide Camera - This is an 8MP sensor which features a 120 degree wide-angle lense. You get an "action cam" look on your photos, with users being able to capture more in their pictures without any trouble.

• Telephoto Camera - This is a 10MP sensor with an F2.4 aperture. As a telephoto lens it offers 2x optical zoom and a much more "honest" look to portrait photos.

• Main Camera - This is a 24MP sensor with an F1.7 aperture and will likely be used most of the time for your "regular" auto mode photos. It its wide aperture, it should allow more light in for great depth of field, and nice natural photos in low light.

• Depth Camera - This is a 5MP sensor with an F2.2 aperture. The purpose of this camera is to assist in calculating depth while the other cameras work on taking a photo. This camera will allow you to select focus and depth of field in post-processing the pictures. In the past we have seen Samsung achieve this on their dual camera setups, so it will be interesting to see how much better photos can appear with a dedicated sensor.

The main camera also offers a specific low light mode, which will group pixels in a cluster of four. This will result in a 6MP photo, which will collect more light and get you more exposure when you are in a pitch black situation.

Additionally, the Galaxy A9 features the active AI photo analyzer we saw on the Galaxy S9. This will warn you if you took a blurry photo or if someone in the shot blinked, so you can be forewarned to take another snap before the moment is gone.

Hardware

The Galaxy A9 is powered by an octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 chipset, with a processor clocking in at 2.2GHz. You get 128GB of internal storage with optional microSD up to 512GB. Samsung will be offering the handset in either 6GB or 8GB variants based on the user's need.

The handset packs a generous 3800mAh battery, which should easily provide a full day of use, even with the generous camera setup.


Software

The Galaxy S9 will ship with Android 8.0 Oreo, and will hopefully be updated to Android 9 Pie quickly. You get the familiar Samsung Experience UI on top of Android with Samsung Themes, Secure Folder, Samsung Device Maintenance, Always On Display, Samsung Pay and more.

Release and Availability

The Samsung Galaxy A9 will launch in November, but will only be available in select markets. The handset has been priced at €599 in Europe and £549 in the UK. While a US launch is not confirmed, that will equate to around $700.