DHAKA: Samsung has unveiled its thinnest smartphone to date.

The Galaxy A8 is 5.9mm (0.23in) thick, making it less than 85% the thickness of Samsung's flagship Galaxy S6 Edge.

Despite this design constraint, engineers have still managed to fit in a relatively high capacity 3,050mAh battery and a 16-megapixel camera - albeit one that protrudes beyond the rest of the case.

One expert questioned the advantages of going so narrow.

For now, Samsung has announced only that the phone will go on sale in China and Singapore.

‘The Galaxy A8 will not be coming to the UK,’ a spokeswoman told the BBC.

Although it will be the thinnest such device from one of the major manufacturers, other Chinese companies are already selling even more compact Android-powered rivals.

BDST: 2222 HRS, JULY 15, 2015
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