Samsung launches the Galaxy Alpha
by Andrei Frumusanu on August 13, 2014 4:51 AM EST- Posted in
- Smartphones
- Samsung
- Mobile
- Galaxy Alpha
Samsung today announces the new Galaxy Alpha, a mid-range "premium" built device that creates a new range in Samsung's lineup. The Alpha totes a 4.7" 1280x720 AMOLED screen, coming with either a yet unnanounced Exynos 5430 SoC with 4 A15 cores running at 1.8GHz and 4 A7 cores running at 1.3GHz and a Mali T628MP6 GPU for the international market, or with a Snapdragon 801 SoC for select markets such as the US. Both versions come with 2GB of memory on board.
A new 12MP rear sensor and a 2.1MP front camera can be found.
The device comes in a new aluminium frame, marking this as a change in build material from Samsung's usual plastic. The phone is extremely thin at only 6.7mm and weighing a lightweight 115g. The footprint of 132.4 x 65.5mm matches the 4.7" screen format of the phone. The back cover is removable and sports a 1860mAh replaceable battery. Strangely, Samsung omitted a microSD card slot in this device which comes at a standard 32GB of internal storage space. We find the same fingerprint and heatbeat sensor as on the S5, however it lacks the waterproofing of the former. It's shipping with Android 4.4.4 KitKat version with the same TouchWiz iteration as the S5.
More interestingly the international version of the device should sport LTE-A category 6 with help of an Intel XMM7260 modem. This would be the first device announced with Intel's new LTE modem and mark a break from Qualcomm's dominance in the sector.
The Alpha is an intriguing device that apparently to wants to fill in a gap in Samsung's lineup which has seen device size go up with each iteration of the S-series. The 720p screen, its slimness and design seems to target directly the iPhone instead of other high-end Android handsets, pricing should also end up in the higher end.
Source: SamsungTomorrow
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krazyfrog - Wednesday, August 13, 2014 - link
Apple is about to make bigger iPhones. On the other hand, Samsung is making smaller, metal Galaxy phones. :Oddriver - Wednesday, August 13, 2014 - link
The circle of life.craighamilton - Saturday, December 6, 2014 - link
Too much of the big phones maybe. But Galaxy Alpha is nothing in compare with S5 which is one of the top rated phones in terms of consumer satisfaction.Malih - Wednesday, August 13, 2014 - link
maybe Samsung is testing the water, they could be planning an S6 with metal body, if this sells reasonably well, they need a new design.Mr Perfect - Thursday, August 14, 2014 - link
I hope this isn't what they go with for the S6, the design just screams iPhone at me. The home button isn't round, but beyond that it looks like one of those Chinese knock-off iPhones.craighamilton - Saturday, December 6, 2014 - link
Tired of the big ones, I guess. But back to the topic...Samsung Alpha is nowhere in comparable to S5 which is one of the top rated phones in terms of consumer satisfaction (seen at http://www.topreport.org/phones/)uhuznaa - Wednesday, August 13, 2014 - link
A 1860mAh battery isn't really much (this is about the same as the 1800mAh battery of the Galaxy S2 with its 4.3" 480×800 display).Looks nice though. If this will be enough to justify high-end prices without high-end features (sensors, fingerprint sensor, higher resolution)? Certainly a nice alternative to phones like the Moto G...
smorebuds - Wednesday, August 13, 2014 - link
Except that it'll likely be twice the price as the LTE Moto G.maroon1 - Thursday, August 14, 2014 - link
Except that Moto G comes out with very weak CPU/GPU snadragon 400, only 1GB ram, only 8GB to 16GB storage, worse camera, and it lacks many other features that Alpha haveThe two should not be compared
Alexvrb - Saturday, August 16, 2014 - link
Yeah Moto G definitely doesn't compete with this directly. I'd also be willing to bet that the Alpha has a better looking display in practice, especially in bright light. PPI isn't everything. That doesn't make the Moto G a bad phone, but this is definitely a more upscale mid-sized phone. Which is good because a lot of the "mini" variants of phones really get watered down hardware. I know a few people that will not buy anything 5"+ but they still want a fast device.I'm not so thrilled about the lack of an SD card slot but at least 32GB is standard.