Look out Apple, Sammy's beaten you to the punch with its own 4.7-in premium handset...
Samsung has finally taken the wraps off its long-leaked Galaxy Alpha smartphone, revealing a premium looking high-end device poised for a face off with Apple's fast-approaching iPhone 6.
Sammy's new Galaxy certainly looks more stylish than the firm's previous plasticky blowers, sporting a svelte sub-7mm chassis encased in a metal frame.
It still sports the dimpled soft-back rear we've seen on preceding Galaxy handsets, but it's definitely snagged that ritzy feel courtesy of its metallic trimmings.
“Built with the consumer in mind, the Galaxy Alpha focuses on both beauty and functionality,” says Rob Orr, VP of Samsung UK's mobile division.
“Combining a stunning metal frame and slim, light weight design with the same powerful hardware and features you'd expect from a flagship Galaxy mobile device, the Galaxy Alpha is perfect for those that want style without compromising on performance.”
On to the meaty stuff, then. The Alpha's touting a 4.7-in Super AMOLED display with a 1280 x 720 resolution, and runs off either a quad-core 2.5GHz CPU, or an octa-core processing unit made up of two quad-core chips clocking in at 1.8GHz and 1.3GHz respectively.
It's set to pack 2GB of RAM as standard, as well as 32GB of internal storage, although microSD has been given a miss so you're stuck in terms of upping capacity.
Juice will be provided by an 1,860mAh li-ion battery, and the device is set to weigh in at a feathery 114g.
Samsung shows off premium metal trim
The Galaxy Alpha supports category 6 LTE meaning its capable of 300Mbps 4G download speeds, assuming your network provider is so generous.
Snapping potentials on point too with a 12MP rear-facing camera and a 2.1MP front shooter to boot. There's also some bonus photo features like panorama, real-time HDR, selective focus, and virtual tour.
It can also shoot UHD 4K video, i.e. 3840 x 2160, at 30 frames per second, although you won't be able to make use of such generous pixel counts on the Alpha screen, mind.
The Samsung Galaxy Alpha will run on the latest version of Android, namely 4.4.4 KitKat, giving you access to the full heft of Google's Play store.
The Alpha's also got some extra goodies too, namely Samsung's widely lauded Ultra Power Saving Mode, as well as downlooad booster, quick connect, and private mode.
There's also the usual raft of sensors including an accelerometer, gyro sensor, geomagnetic sensor, light sensor, fingerprint sensor, and heart-rate tracker.
In terms of connectivity, you're looking at WiFi 802.11, Bluetooth 4.0, USB 2.0, and NFC.
Sammy says its new cellular is set to ship at the start of September, and will be available in Charcoal Black, Dazzling White, Frosted Gold, Sleek Silver, and Scuba Blue.
We're not 100% on a price point just yet but we'd guess somewhere around the £500-600 mark to put it in line with the iPhone 6's expected R.R.P.
Check out Samsung's Galaxy Alpha launch video below:
