Samsung Galaxy A08

At the Rs. 35,000-45,000 estimated price, the Samsung Galaxy A08 makes sense for buyers who put battery life and long software support ahead of screen quality or speed.

• Strengths: a 6000 mAh battery, an IP64 rating, Android 17 out of the box and six years of updates.
• Weaknesses: an HD+ LCD with a notch, a single speaker, a basic camera setup and only 4GB of RAM.

It is essentially the Galaxy A07 with a bigger battery and newer software, so A07 owners should not upgrade. For a first smartphone, a parent's phone or anyone who keeps a handset for years, it is a sound buy at this price. If you game or multitask heavily, the extra battery does not make up for the modest chip and memory.

The A08 uses a 6.7-inch PLS LCD at 720 x 1600 (HD+) with a 90Hz refresh rate, the same panel type as the A07.

The higher refresh rate makes scrolling through social apps and menus feel smoother than basic budget screens. The HD+ resolution is stretched across a large screen, so text and fine detail look softer than on Full HD phones, and the LCD cannot show the deep blacks of an AMOLED panel. There is a notch at the top for the selfie camera.

Samsung has not published a brightness figure. Independent testing of the A07's similar display found it dim and washed out in direct sunlight, so outdoor visibility is likely the weak point here too until the A08 itself is tested. Indoors, it is fine for YouTube and casual games.

The Galaxy A08 keeps the MediaTek Helio G99 (6 nm) from the A07, with 4GB of RAM.

• Everyday use: calls, WhatsApp, browsing, social media and video are comfortable on this chip.
• Multitasking: with 4GB of RAM, apps reload more often when you switch between many of them.
• Gaming: independent testing of the G99 in the A07 found it handles popular games best at lower settings, with occasional lag and slower app loading.

No heating or long gaming tests of the A08 have been published yet, so sustained performance is still unverified. Do not expect a speed upgrade over the A07: the gain this year is battery, not power.

On the back is a 50-megapixel main camera with an f/1.8 lens, a 2-megapixel auxiliary depth sensor and an LED flash. The front has an 8-megapixel selfie camera. Video goes up to 1080p at 60fps.

This is the same setup as the A07, so there is no ultrawide or zoom camera. The depth sensor only helps with background blur in portrait shots.

No detailed photo or video tests of the A08 are available yet, so daylight, low-light and selfie quality cannot be judged reliably. Treat it as a basic camera for social media and everyday moments rather than a reason to buy the phone.

The battery is the A08's headline change: 6000 mAh, up from 5000 mAh on the Galaxy A07, with the same 25W wired charging. The bigger cell makes the phone slightly thicker than before.

The G99 and the HD+ screen are not power-hungry parts, which should suit the larger battery, but no independent battery test of the A08 has been published yet, so we cannot give a reliable screen-on time.

With 25W charging, filling such a large battery is not quick. Whether a charger is included in the box in Pakistan is not confirmed; check before buying.

The Galaxy A08 runs Android 17 with One UI 9 out of the box, so it starts on Samsung's latest software.

Samsung's official commitment is six major Android upgrades and six years of security updates, which is unusual for a phone at this price and is the strongest reason to choose it over rivals that get far less support.

One UI is clean and familiar, but Samsung budget phones can come with extra preinstalled apps; we could not verify the exact app list for this model. Do not expect advanced AI features on this chip and memory.