Samsung Galaxy A6, Galaxy A6+ unveiled with infinity screen: Details here

Designed to compete in the budget segment, the two phones feature ultra-wide 18.5:9 aspect ratio infinity screen, a large-capacity battery and bright camera modules on the front and back

South Korean electronics major Samsung on May 1 announced the Galaxy A6 and A6 Plus budget smartphones. The two smartphones boast ultra-wide 18.5:9 aspect ratio infinity screen, a large-capacity battery, and bright camera modules on the front and back. Designed to compete in the budget segment, the phones offer midrange specifications and features.

Samsung Galaxy A6 specifications

The Galaxy A6 sports a 5.6-inch super AMOLED HD Plus screen in 18.5:9 aspect ratio. The phone features a 16-megapixel camera unit on the front and back with of f/1.9 and f/1.7 aperture, respectively and LED flash light. It is powered by an octa-core processor clocked to operate at a maximum frequency of 1.6 GHz, paired with 3GB of RAM and 32GB of storage or 4GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage options. The phone also supports storage expansion using microSD card slot, which can take up to 256GB cards.

The A6 boasts a 3,000 mAh battery and boots Android 8.0 Oreo out of the box.

Samsung Galaxy A6 Plus specifications

The Galaxy A6 Plus, on the other hand, sports a 6-inch super AMOLED fullHD Plus screen in 18.5:9 aspect ratio. Unlike the A6, the A6 Plus sports a dual rear camera setup on the rear featuring a 16MP primary sensor of f/1.7 aperture mated with a 5 MP sensor of f/1.9 aperture size. On the front, there is a 24 MP sensor of f/1.9 aperture for the selfies. Like Galaxy A6, there is a dedicated LED flashlight on the front and back. The is powered by an octa-core processor clocked to operate at a maximum frequency f 1.8 GHz, paired with 3GB of RAM and 32GB of storage or 4GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage options. The phone also supports storage expansion using microSD card slot, which can take up to 256GB cards.

The phone is powered by a 3,500 mAh battery and boots Android 8.0 Oreo out of the box.

Both phones support LTE Cat.6 with 2CA, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.2, NFC (select markets), GPS, Glonass, and BeiDou.

The phones will be available in black, gold, blue, and Lavender from early May onwards in select European, Asian and Latin American markets, before rolling out globally to additional markets throughout South Korea, Africa and China.

Samsung Galaxy J7: Another budget smartphone launched in April

Samsung on April 11 unveiled the camera-centric Galaxy J7 Duo with dual rear cameras -- a first for Samsung's J-series smartphones -- in India. In terms of features and specifications, the Galaxy J7 Duo sports a 13-megapixel and 5MP dual camera set-up on the rear, and an 8 MP on the front. Both cameras come with f/1.9 aperture and LED flash. The front camera features several modes such as selfie focus mode (blurs the background), and beauty mode (enhances selfie by removing blemishes, softening the skin tone, etc.). 

The Galaxy J7 Duo also comes with the face unlock feature, which allows users to unlock the phone with the help of front camera. The phone also features live focus and background blur shape features, similar to Galaxy A6 Plus, which allows users to change blur shape of background elements.

The Galaxy J7 Duo is powered by Exynos 7-series processor, coupled with 4GB RAM and 32GB internal memory, expandable up to 256GB using a microSD card. The phone sports a 5.5-inch fullHD super AMOLED display and comes with 3,000 mAh battery. The phone boots Android Oreo out of the box.

What Indians think of Samsung

Samsung had become the most trusted brand in India followed by Sony and LG, according to the TRAs Brand Trust Report 2018. The company lead the list second year in a row to become India's most trusted brand.

How Samsung fares in the budget segment

In a price conscious Indian smartphone market, Chinese smartphone manufacturers such as Xiaomi, Oppo, Vivo and Huawei’s Honor have an advantage over Samsung. According to Counterpoint research report, Xiaomi shipped more smartphones than Samsung in the January-March quarter of 2018, pushing the South Korean electronics major to the second position in a second consecutive quarter.

According to the report, the performance of Chinese brands has been strong as they accounted for 57 per cent of the total smartphone market during the January-March quarter of 2018, up from 53 per cent during the same quarter a year earlier. It is highest-ever contribution by Chinese players’ in the Indian smartphone market.

How Samsung fares in the premium segment
 

In premium smartphone segment, however, Samsung dominated the first quarter of 2018, as per Counterpoint Research and CyberMedia report.

The premium segment accounts for 4 per cent of the overall smartphone market in India and three brands -- Samsung, OnePlus and Apple – had contributed to 95 per cent of the overall share in the segment, the report said.