Samsung Bringing the Fight to Xiaomi

The Samsung Galaxy A8 was officially launched in Singapore over the weekend, and to me, it is the strongest punch that Samsung has thrown towards Xiaomi thus far...

Despite being an A Series device which typically consists of mid-range offerings, the Galaxy A8 is packing some impressive hardware.

• 4G Cat. 6 LTE
• Exynos 5430 Octa-core, 2GB RAM
• Full HD 1920 x 1080 5.7" Super AMOLED display
• 16MP rear shooter (the new ISOCELL sensor announced recently i think, f/1.9, no OIS)
• 5MP front camera
• Finger print sensor (touch type sensor like on the S6, with quick camera launch too)
• 3,050mAh battery
• Dual Sim capability (4G + 2G)
• 32GB internal with MicroSD card expandability (one of the sim slot is a hybrid slot which will take either nano sim or microSD Card)

When you compare this to the Xiaomi Mi Note that just went on sale in Singapore not too long ago...

• 4G Cat. 4 LTE
• Snapdragon 801, 3GB of RAM
• Full HD 1920 x 1080 5.7" LCD display
• 13MP rear shooter (with OIS, f/2.0)
• 4MP front camera (sensor with 2μm pixel size)
• 3,000mAh battery
• Dual Sim capability (Dual 4G standby)
• 64GB internal memory (non-expandable)

There isn't really much that the Xiaomi Note has over the Samsung Galaxy A8. It has 3GB of RAM, OIS on its rear camera, and it is cheaper (but not by much). The Xiaomi Mi Note goes for S$569, and the Galaxy A8 goes for S$698 (RRP, actual retail price at some retailers as of this post is at S$615). Build quality wise, both are similarly built with premium materials as well.

So what are you getting for ~S$50 more? The Galaxy A8 has Cat. 6 LTE, the Exynos 5430 is comparable with the SD801, the battery is slightly bigger by 50mAh, the camera resolution is slightly higher, it has microSD card expandability, it has a fingerprint sensor, it runs Android 5.1.1 already, the design is nicer in my opinion (especially with that thin bezels at the front, and that 5.9mm thickness), and... it's a Samsung device.

When it comes down to it, I think just the Cat. 6 LTE support, and the fingerprint sensor already makes it worth the extra. Also when it comes to hardware support, Samsung is the more established player here. Not to mention that software wise, I would still take Samsung's UI over MIUI, which tends to be a little bit too buggy for my liking in my experience.

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This I think, is the first time that I have seen Samsung price their products this aggressively, and I think it's fantastic. I think that this will create good competition in that market segment. The more choices for consumers, the better it is. Xiaomi's main advantage over other better established manufacturers has always been their price, and bang for the buck. With the Galaxy A8, I think that they just lost that advantage. 

Oh, and FYI too, the One Plus 2 has been slated for a Q4 release (requires invites) in Singapore at S$538, which is cheaper than the Mi Note's current pricing. And let's not forget about the Moto X Style too...