Late last month, we learned that Samsung is working on a new display tech known as Infinity-O. These new displays would feature a camera cutout instead of a large notch. This would mean that new Samsung smartphones with these displays will have almost no bezels at all. That’s Samsung’s plan for its flagship Galaxy S10 smartphone and it plans to bring the tech to some of its mid-range devices as well. The technology is said to work only on AMOLED displays, but a new report suggests that Samsung will use an LCD display with cutout on the A8.
Galaxy A8s to Feature LCD Infinity-O Display
During the launch of the Galaxy A9s and A6s in China, Samsung showed off an upcoming device called the Galaxy A8s. The phone was depicted to feature an all-screen display with no bezels. We already know that upcoming smartphones from Samsung will use the Infinity-O AMOLED panel. These panels will have a cutout for the camera and use a technology called HIAA (Hole in Active Area).
However, a new report is now suggesting that the Galaxy A8s will not have a Samsung made display. The report states that the phone will come with an LCD panel that will be manufactured by BOE, which is a Chinese manufacturer. Samsung usually makes its own displays and it is very good at it. The panel used on the A8s will be cheaper as well and help in reducing overall device cost. BOE is not a famous manufacturer, but that doesn’t mean it’s not good. The company currently makes the display that’s found on the Huawei Mate 20 Pro.
The LCD panel on the A8s will also use the HIAA technology and feature a cut-out for the front camera. The cutout is said to be on the left side or the centre of the display and have a diameter of 6.7mm. That is a big hole to have on a display, but is still much smaller than a notch. The Galaxy S10 is rumored to have a smaller 3mm cutout.
The Galaxy A8s will be a mid-range smartphone with features such as a triple rear camera setup, Snapdragon 670/710 chipset, 6GB RAM, a 3000mAh battery, and Android 9 Pie out of the box. However, no specifications have been confirmed till now, and we will not know the details for a while. Samsung will most likely release this new phone in January or February next year.
Samsung’s Infinity-O Display
The Infinity-O display from Samsung will redefine display technology on smartphones. One of the biggest problems of having a fully bezel-less display, is where to put the sensors. Apple started the trend of having a notch, which sort of provides a bezel-less display, but with a large ugly cutout at the top. The notch has been adopted by several OEMs, but Samsung has still not used it on any of its devices.
With the Infinity-O display, the camera can be placed inside a smaller cutout. The other sensors will be hidden under the display, which will only leave the camera cutout exposed. This is a much better option when compared to the notch, or other options such as motorized parts or sliders. The Oppo Find X and Vivo Nex S use mechanical design to hide the front cameras. However, mechanical options can fail, including the slider design that is being adopted by the Xiaomi Mi Mix 3, Honor Magic 2, and the Lenovo Z5 Pro.
