Samsung recently announced the Note 4 which sports a new premium design with a metal frame, but before that came the metal-framed Galaxy Alpha. This device flew under the radar for many because it was announced at a very random press event in Russia last month. Unfortunately, the only way I can describe this device is being, “Samsung’s iPhone.” That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but it seriously looks like an iPhone…
In case you were wondering, the Galaxy Alpha features a 4.7-inch Super AMOLED display with a 1,280 x 720 resolution, an Exynos Octa Core (Quad 1.8GHz + Quad 1.3GHz) or 2.5GHz Snapdragon 801 processor depending on the market, 2GB of RAM, an 1,860mAh battery, and 32GB internal storage (with no expansion slot). The back side has a 12-megapixel camera that’s capable of shooting up to UHD quality video and a 2.1-megapixel front-facing camera.
The Galaxy Alpha is surprisingly thin. Coming in at only 6.7mm, it’s actually thinner than Apple’s iPhone 5/5s. It’ll ship with Android 4.4.4 KitKat and is loaded with features we’ve seen on the Galaxy S5 such as Ultra-Power Saving Mode, S Health, and a fingerprint scanner.
Check out our Samsung Galaxy Alpha hands-on video below:
[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ISsvr19exVI]
This device seems to be a direct shot at the iPhone. It’s hard to imagine that the design choice was complete coincidence. Again, I don’t mean that in a bad way. In fact, I’m happy Samsung is stepping up to the plate and designing better hardware. Not that any previous hardware was bad, but metal frames are definitely better.
Overall, this feels like a great device. I’m a fan of the new design choices being made and it seems that Samsung has finally heard our complaints. The Galaxy Alpha is expected to launch on Sept. 12, 2014 in the United Kingdom, but unfortunately, no other dates have been announced. Pricing is still unknown, but I’d expect it to be competitive and possible launch in the United States (if it ever does) at around $199 on contract.
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