Skip to main content

Samsung looks to Huawei for inspiration, and the new Galaxy A7 is born

Image used with permission by copyright holder

Samsung has announced the 2018 Galaxy A7, its first smartphone with a triple-lens rear camera, following in the footsteps of Huawei’s excellent P20 Pro. However, this is a Galaxy A series phone, not a Galaxy S, so it’s not going to challenge the Huawei phone in terms of outright speed and ability. Instead, it will be a slightly more-affordable route into the world of three-lens mobile photography.

We’re used to dual lenses on phones today. What’s the big deal about three? The primary lens has 24 megapixels and an F/1.7 aperture, and it’s matched to an 8-megapixel ultrawide lens, and a 5-megapixel depth lens. The camera takes separate photos with the main lens, where four pixels can also combine into one for improved low-light photos, and with the wide-angle 120-degree field of vision lens. Switching between the two lenses this way mimics LG’s approach to a regular and wide-angle lens setup. The depth lens enables Live Focus portrait shots, just like the Galaxy S9 Plus and the Galaxy Note 9.

Image used with permission by copyright holder

The front camera has 24 megapixels and uses clever software to create a bokeh-style blurred background, plus some studio lighting effects too. All this is viewed on a 6-inch Super AMOLED screen with a 2220 x 1080 pixel resolution, and driven by a 2.2GHz octa-core processor which, although it’s not mentioned, we expect to be a Samsung-made Exynos chip in most places the phone is sold.

Recommended Videos

The design is simple by Samsung’s standards. The lenses are set inside a rectangle on the left-hand side of the rear panel, which is made of glass. There are bezels above and below the screen on the front. The one aspect that does make the phone stand out is the fingerprint sensor, which appears to be mounted inside the sleep/wake key on the side of the phone.

Image used with permission by copyright holder

Android 8.0 is the operating system — not Android 9.0 Pie, sadly — and there is a choice of 64GB or 128GB of internal storage space with 4GB of RAM, or a special 6GB/128GB model too. The Galaxy A has a MicroSD card slot, Dolby Atmos sound, a 3,300mAh battery, and a choice of blue, black, gold, or pink color schemes. If you’re hoping to use Android Pay, Samsung says NFC will only be included on some versions. Samsung Pay will work normally though.

Please enable Javascript to view this content

The 2018 Galaxy A7 will be sold in Europe and Asia, but the price and release date have not been confirmed. It’s also not the only new Galaxy A series phone we’re expecting from Samsung either, as the company will hold a dedicated online event for a new A series on October 11. The teaser says it’ll be “4x the fun.” Does this mean it’ll have four lenses on the back, as arguably the A7 also has four lenses in total. We’ll see in the near future.

Andy Boxall
Andy is a Senior Writer at Digital Trends, where he concentrates on mobile technology, a subject he has written about for…
Don’t buy the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra. 4 reasons to wait for the Galaxy S26 Ultra
Samsung Galaxy S25 series closeup

Samsung’s latest Unpacked event has wrapped up, and with it, we’ve been introduced to the Galaxy S25 series. As expected, the lineup includes the standard Galaxy S25, the middle-tier S25 Plus, and the flagship Galaxy S25 Ultra. Packed with impressive hardware like the Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset, AI-driven features, and camera enhancements, the Galaxy S25 Ultra is undoubtedly a powerful device.
But is it worth upgrading to right now? Depending on your current phone, you might find these updates more incremental than groundbreaking. There are compelling reasons to consider holding off until next year’s Galaxy S26 Ultra. Let’s break down why waiting might be the smarter move.

A massive 200MP periscope telephoto camera

Read more
The Galaxy S25 just got a tough new competitor a week before its release
Honor Magic 7 Pro, both available colors.

Samsung is expected to unveil its Galaxy S25 series next week. Honor beat it to the punch, however, by announcing the worldwide launch of its Magic 7 Pro phone, which will succeed the 2024 Magic 6 Pro.

Originally launched last year in China, this phone has several features that could make it an appealing option for anyone looking for a new Android phone. It was announced at an event in Bled, Slovenia.

Read more
New Samsung Galaxy S25 images reveal two interesting details
Leaked image of Samsung Galaxy S25 in dark blue showing camera rings.

Samsung’s next Galaxy Unpacked is a week away, and that's when we expect the Samsung Galaxy S25 series to get announced. But that hasn’t stopped all the leaks from coming out, and here’s another interesting tidbit about the refined camera design, as well as a quick peek at what One UI 7 holds.

Evan Blass, a leaker with a reputable track record, showed off some new images of the Galaxy S25 and S25 Plus in a newsletter. These images give us the closest and sharpest look of the upcoming phones so far. The images showcase a dark-blue color, which we were expecting, but it also reveals that the color of the body also extends to the camera rings themselves. We haven't seen this before in any previous leaks, and it's a really nice touch.

Read more