Samsung Galaxy A80 With Slide-Up Rotating Cameras Launched Alongside Galaxy A70

Samsung just launched one of the most exciting phones in a long time and it’s not even a flagship. The Samsung Galaxy A80 features a slide-out mechanism and rotating cameras, marking a sharp wedge away from the usual smartphone form factors. Samsung also announced the Galaxy A70 alongside it, and both devices are aimed at Gen-Z, the generation succeeding millennials.  The launch event centered around users who use the front camera not only to take photos but also stream live videos on TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram and the likes.

Samsung Galaxy A80 features and specifications

Thanks to the slide-out cameras, Samsung was able to offer an edge-to-edge display with minimal bezels that stretches 6.7-inches diagonally, making it the largest display ever on a Samsung device. Naturally,  you won’t be able to use it one-handed. The panel has 1080×2400 pixels resolution with 20:1 aspect ratio.

The phone is housed in an aluminum casing with glass on both sides. The rear glass panel curves along the edges to offer a better grip.

The Galaxy A80 runs on the newly announced Qualcomm Snapdragon 730G, a chipset tuned specifically for gaming with an overclocked GPU and support for HDR gaming. Considering this isn’t an HDR, that might not be possible, but the Snapdragon 730G’s ISP comes with a Computer Vision unit that, in tandem with a 3D ToF sensor, offers portrait mode while recording videos. There’s 8GB RAM onboard along with 128GB storage with no option to expand it. There’s also no 3.5mm headphone jack.

The A80 also has the same ultrasonic in-display fingerprint sensor for authentication that’s there on the Galaxy S10 while the display also doubles up as the earpiece by sending sound vibrations through the screen while on a call.

Now the cameras. The Galaxy A80 houses a triple camera stack which includes a 48MP camera sensor with f/2.0 aperture along with an 8MP wide-angle sensor offering 123-degree field of view. The third sensor is the 3D ToF sensor that’s used for depth measurement. The entire camera stack along with the LED flash and the laser autofocus is housed in a separate unit made of plastic that rises up from the frame. The camera unit then flips over to the other side becoming the front camera. The entire motion takes around 1.2 seconds to complete and looks quite cool.

Samsung Galaxy A70 features and specifications

The Samsung Galaxy A70 is positioned just lower than the A80 and combines features from other A-series phones released so far with a 32MP camera on both the front and the back added as its unique feature.

The Galaxy A70 also features a 6.7-inch Super AMOLED display but with a U-shaped notch on top. This doesn’t get the swivelling cameras, so the screen is not entirely free of distraction. This too has an in-display ultrasonic fingerprint sensor.

The rear panel is made of glass with a similar scattered light color treatment as the galaxy A80 with the triple camera unit on this arranged vertically along the edges.

The camera stack includes a 32MP season with an f/1.7 aperture along with an 8MP ultra wide-angle lens with 123-degree field of view and a 5MP depth sensor. On the front is another 32MP sensor with f/2.0 aperture. That way, Samsung claims the image quality will be the same from both the front and the back.

Under the hood, the Galaxy A70 runs on the Snapdragon 675 paired with either 6GB/8GB RAM and 64/128GB storage. This one does have the option to expand the storage up to 512GB and has a 3.5mm headphone jack to boot.

While the Galaxy A70 is not as radically exciting as the A80, it should be the preferred option for those who still prefer a device with no movable parts.

Pricing and availability

The Galaxy A80 and A70 will be available in select markets from May 29 and April 26 respectively. There’s no announcement about India launch yet, but based on the conversation Digit.in had with Samsung representatives, the Galaxy A70 is expected to launch before the A80 in India. Samsung also did not divulge the prices of the devices yet, but based on the features the A80 packs, it’s expected to be priced higher than the A70. In fact, the Galaxy A80 will be the top-of-the-line device in the Galaxy A series.―Digit