Samsung Galaxy A80: Features | Pricing | Specs

Where to buy

Samsung's Galaxy A-series phones sit just under its prime Galaxy S and Galaxy Note lines, typically providing most but not all of the features of its flagship phones.

The Samsung Galaxy A80 is somewhat different in this respect, because it offers a feature not yet found on any Samsung flagship device, with a truly notch-free primary display. It's not officially sold by Samsung in Australia, although we have seen it offered online by numerous phone importers if you're particularly keen.

Design

• 6.7-inch notch-free display
• In-display fingerprint sensor
• Pop-up rotating camera

• Read more about the Samsung Galaxy A80's design

  Samsung has of late experimented with a variety of notch and camera punch hole designs for its Galaxy phones, but the Galaxy A80 is something different again. At the front of its 6.7-inch 1,080 x 2,400 pixel Super AMOLED display you'll find no trace of notch, hole or any other kind of camera-obscuring trickery.

  That's because Samsung has gone down a route first pioneered by companies such as Oppo with a pop-up camera module, meaning that you get an uninterrupted front screen experience. The camera module rotates, so that the same lens you use for portrait shots of your friends is also the one you'll use for your own selfies. This does mean that when it does pop into place, you've got a noticeably tall smartphone in your hands.

  The Samsung Galaxy A80 uses an in-display fingerprint reader, but unlike the ultrasonic reader you'll find in its 2019 Galaxy S and Galaxy Note series phones, it's a simpler optical type reader.

Camera

• Primary 48MP lens
• Secondary 8MP ultrawide lens

• Read more about the Samsung Galaxy A80's camera

  The Samsung Galaxy A80 has that impressive rotating camera trick up its sleeve, almost literally, but beyond that what you're looking at is very much the recipe for a mid-range 2019 phone camera. That's not a bad thing per se, because camera technology and pricing has dipped down nicely in the mid-range, giving consumers plenty of camera power for their buying dollar.

  The Samsung Galaxy A80 features a 48MP primary lens, alongside an 8MP ultrawide lens. Where you might expect to also see a telephoto lens for your zoom work, there's instead a time of flight sensor for providing more accurate bokeh effects on your portrait shots.

  Of course, because the camera rotates, this is exactly the same around the "front" of the phone, because you're using the same lenses and sensors. As with all pop-up cameras, there's going to be a short delay while it pops up and rotates the camera lens array, and it would be a good idea to keep it as free from grit and dust as possible.

Performance

• Snapdragon 730 with 8GB RAM
• 128GB storage, but no expansion

• Read more about the Samsung Galaxy A80's performance

  Samsung's Galaxy A series phones are still mid-range offerings, so it's little surprise that Samsung packs the decidedly mid-range Qualcomm Snapdragon 730 into the Galaxy A80. The inclusion of 8GB of RAM is a nice little bonus, with many mid-range phones still opting for either 6GB or even 4GB in some cases.

  Where the Galaxy A80 is somewhat limited is in storage capacity. 128GB onboard is fair for a mid-range phone, but there's no microSD storage card expansion to be seen, so that's all you're going to get.

  Samsung's own One UI launcher sits on top of Android 9 on the Galaxy A80. Samsung's track record with Android updates is a little better than many of its competitors, although it's not usually all that quick to upgrade full Android versions.

Battery life

• 3,700mAh battery

• Read more about the Samsung Galaxy A80's battery life

  The included capacity of 3,700mAh on the Samsung Galaxy A80 is fair but not great for a phone at this price point, but it's well in line with the battery capacities Samsung provided for its 2019 phones. We're yet to put the Galaxy A80 through its battery testing paces, but our experience with Samsung's 2019 crop of phones tended towards ordinary battery performance compared to many phones in the same price bracket.

  The Galaxy A80 does support fast wired charging at up to 25W, but there's no onboard wireless charging capability.

Early outlook

• An interesting design from Samsung

• Read our early Samsung Galaxy A80 verdict

  Samsung Australia never officially released the Samsung Galaxy A80 in Australia. While it has never said why, we'd guess it was because the asking price put it far too close to the Samsung Galaxy S10e to make it really viable.

  It has been available for some time through direct importers and as it's gotten a little older we've seen that price drop somewhat. At the same time, Samsung Australia has announced more compelling Galaxy A series options, such as the 5G-capable Samsung Galaxy A90 with full local warranty support.

  The Samsung Galaxy A80 provides an interesting glimpse into how Samsung may handle future full-screen phones, but if you were keen on buying one, it'd definitely be worth looking for a good deal.

Pricing and availability

• Price: Sells through importers for around $700
• Where to buy: Amazon

Specifications

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