It was anticipated that the new Galaxy Alpha would be unveiled at Samsung's Unpacked event at IFA 2014, but the South Korean tech giant has launched it early.
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Many see the Galaxy Alpha as Samsung's answer to the upcoming iPhone 6 because of its use of a metal frame, ditching the plastic build of previous Galaxy smartphones including the Galaxy S5. It does, however, still feature a soft-touch rear panel.
The new smartphone features a 1280 x 720 Super AMOLED display, either a 1.8GHz octa-core or 2.5GHz quad-core processor as well as 2GB of RAM. It also supports Cat 6 LTE connectivity, which means it can deliver up to 300mbps internet speeds. It also sports 32GB of onboard storage but unfortunately no microSD card expansion port.
A 12-megapixel camera can be found on the back. This features real-time HDR, meaning users can see light balancing on the screen before a photo is taken. A standard 2.1-megapixel camera is on the front. A 1850mAh battery rounds off the tech specs.
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The same fingerprint and heart-rate sensors found on the Galaxy S5 can also be found on the Galaxy Alpha along with an Ultra Power Saving Mode, which claims to last a full day on just 10 per cent of battery.
The Samsung Galaxy Alpha will be available from September running Android 4.4 Kit Kat. It will arrive in Charcoal Black, Dazzling White, Frosted Gold, Sleek Silver and Scuba Blue finishes. Pricing details have yet to be announced.
Max is a staff writer for What Hi-Fi?'s sister site, TechRadar, in Australia. But being the wonderful English guy he is, he helps out with content across a number of Future sites, including What Hi-Fi?. It wouldn't be his first exposure to the world of all things hi-fi and home cinema, as his first role in technology journalism was with What Hi-Fi? in the UK. Clearly he pined to return after making the move to Australia and the team have welcomed him back with arms wide open.
