Samsung W2018: top-of-the-range smartphone with f/1.5 camera
Samsung W2018 is the new model of the company’s luxury shell-like smartphone. It combines the new with the old, focusing on high-level technical characteristics.
Samsung returns to the Chinese market with a rather unusual solution: a luxury shell smartphone with top-of-the-range features and obsolete form factors. Samsung W2018 aims to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the series of clamshell devices and the 25th anniversary of the company’s stay in the Chinese market, and wants to do so with technical specifications in line with those of Galaxy S8 and Galaxy Note 8.
The feature that immediately strikes the eye is the presence of a camera with aperture f/1.5, the widest on the market. The new Samsung W2018 overcomes in this race the camera of LG V30, which uses an f/1.6 lens for its rear camera. The lens of Samsung W2018 also has a variable aperture up to f/2.4, a feature that can offer the user the ability to modify light gathering and depth of field.
Turning to numbers, the rear camera uses a 12MP sensor and can record at 4K Ultra HD resolution at 30 frames per second; while the front camera uses a 5 MP sensor with f/1.9 aperture.
The smartphone is recognized above all for its design that combines the old with the new, but the features are absolutely top of the range, without half terms. The two displays that make up part of the body use SuperAMOLED technology and have a 4.2-inch diagonal with Full HD resolution and high pixel density. Under the body, we find the powerful Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 processor, supported by 6 GB of RAM.
The storage is entrusted to a 64 GB flash memory expandable via micro SD up to a maximum of 256 GB, and there is no lack of native support for the Bixby voice assistant. When first started users will find Android 7.1.1, but will not find the pre-installed Google applications as is the case on many devices sold in China. The other part of the ” shell ” contains a physical numeric keypad for the traditional tactile writing experience.
To power everything there is a 2,300 mAh battery that can be recharged through the USB Type-C connector. The smartphone is positioned as a luxury device, so its price is not far behind: the company asks 15,999 Yuan.
