Samsung held a launch event in China today focused on its Galaxy A9s and A6s, during which the company teased an entirely new handset model with a design that forgoes a notch and will apparently join the Galaxy S10 next year in sporting an all-screen display.
That phone is the A8s, part of Samsung’s midrange A series which will reportedly be the handset maker’s first notch-free phone that sports an edge-to-edge display. Sort of. We add that as a kind of caveat, because according to Samsung leaker extraordinaire Ice Universe, there will still be a hole drilled into the display to allow for a front-facing camera.
The folks over at SamMobile point out there are still a ton of questions about the device and its display, such as whether the camera will be positioned under the device or if that part of the display will just turn off when you’re watching something like a YouTube video. Regardless, the site notes, Samsung’s official teaser of the phone today didn’t seem to show any kind of obstruction on the display. Pretty interesting, and one reason some of the commentary around the phone today is regarding it as a stepping stone to the coming Galaxy S10’s notch-free display.
The latter, reminds Digital Trends in a piece today, could likewise feature an edge-to-edge display that hides cameras, fingerprint sensors and more all under the display. It’s not yet clear, though, if Samsung will bring some or all of those technologies to the S10 or wait for a later model. Some could even materialize in the A8s. Along these lines, the site also notes, Samsung is trying to incorporate a front-facing speaker that works by vibrating the display.
One thing is definitely clear — Samsung is working hard to bring a truly all-screen phone to fruition that avoids the ugly notch entirely. Samsung Display is plugging away at that design challenge, which, once it’s successful, would also allow other companies to pursue the same vision, since companies it supplies include none other than, of course, Apple.
