The perfect combination of a small body and a high level of smartphone performance is the Samsung Alpha. The characteristics of this device at the software and hardware level allow us to solve problems of any level of complexity today. And this situation will continue over the next 2-3 years. This particular phone will be examined in great detail within the framework of the material.
Background to the appearance of the smartphone
Until recently, Apple produced high-performance smartphones with small display sizes. But the South Korean giant produced flagships only with a large diagonal. But with the release of the iPhone 6, the situation changed dramatically. Two devices were presented on the same hardware and software platform. The difference between them is the screen diagonal, which in the first case is 4.7 inches (more modest device) and 5.5 inches (iPhone 6 Plus). As a result, the South Korean company had to rebuild, and in addition to the S5, such a gadget as Samsung Alpha appeared on sale. Their characteristics (reviews confirm this) are almost identical. The difference between these devices is the display diagonal and the cost of the device. So it turns out that this smart phone owes its appearance to the bold experiments of Apple.
Equipment
The Samsung Galaxy Alpha has very good equipment. The technical characteristics given below allow us to classify this smartphone as a high-performance solution. Accordingly, its equipment is above average. It includes, in addition to the device itself, the following components and accessories:
- External battery.
- Charger.
- Stereo headset with improved sound quality.
- Additional pneumatic suction cups for stereo headsets.
- Interface cord.
- User's Guide at the end.
- with a recommended list of accessories.
Design solution
The Samsung company has long worked on the design of its smart phones, and now its devices are not difficult to recognize by their appearance. So you shouldn’t expect anything unusual from Samsung Alpha. Technical characteristics allow us to classify this gadget as premium, but you can’t tell right away by its appearance. As expected, most of the front panel is occupied by a display with a diagonal of 4.7 inches. Above it are the earpiece, the front camera eye and light and proximity sensors. At the bottom there is a typical smartphone control panel, which consists of a proprietary mechanical button (it also has two touch buttons built into it. All the side edges of the device are made of metal and you certainly can’t argue with such a design solution: the strength of the case increases several times. On the right The power button is located on the left side, and on the left side there is a swing for adjusting the volume level of the gadget. On the bottom edge of the smart phone, in addition to the microUSB port, there is also a loud microphone and a hole for a conversational microphone. At the top there is an audio port and a microphone to suppress external noise and interference. On the back The cover of the gadget has only two holes: for the camera and for the LED backlight.
Processor and its capabilities
A very powerful processor solution is used in Samsung Alpha. The characteristics of the Exynos 5 Octa 5430 are as follows: 8 cores based on the “A7” architecture, divided into 2 computing clusters. The first of them operates at a frequency of 1.3 GHz and is used in cases where there is no need to use the maximum computing resources of the smartphone. Also in this case, the maximum level of battery saving is ensured. The second cluster turns on when launching demanding applications (Asphalt 8 is an example) and it operates at a frequency of 1.8 GHz. The computing capabilities of this chip are quite sufficient to solve a wide range of tasks.
Display and video accelerator
As expected, the type of screen matrix is “Super AMOLED” in Samsung Alpha. The characteristics of the display are very, very good. Its resolution is 720x1280, that is, the image is displayed in HD format. Of course, some smartphone owners are outraged that it is not in FullHD format. But, on the other hand, this allows you to increase the battery life of the gadget with a small air gap, as expected for a premium smartphone, between the sensor and the display, and the image quality at any viewing angle is not satisfactory. The device also has a Mali-T628 MP6 graphics adapter, which will run any current application without any problems.
Device cameras
High-quality cameras are used in Samsung Alpha. Their characteristics (photos and videos obtained with their help only confirm this) are impressive. The main one is based on a 12 megapixel sensor. The autofocus function is implemented in software, and there is also an LED backlight. Its key feature is the ability to record video in 2160p format, with an update rate of 30 frames per second. There are also more “modest” modes for videos: 1080 p at 60 frames per second or 720 p at 120 frames per second. Although the sensor in the front camera is more modest - 2.1 megapixels, in terms of parameters it is not so much inferior to the main one. With its help, you can record video in 1080p format and a refresh rate of 30 frames per second. This allows you to make video calls with a very high-quality picture. And the “selfies” obtained with its help also do not cause any complaints.
Memory
The memory subsystem in the Samsung Galaxy Alpha is perfectly implemented. Its characteristics are as follows:
- The amount of RAM is 2 GB. Somewhere around 1 GB of them is occupied by system processes (operating system) and the TouchViz software shell. The rest is allocated for solving user tasks, and this is quite enough even to run such resource-intensive applications as Asphalt 8.
- The capacity of the built-in storage is 32 GB. And this is more than enough to install new applications and store personal data.
But there is no slot for installing an external flash card. Therefore, if there is a lack of integrated 32 GB, you will have to use cloud services. But this approach is justified - if the device breaks down, the most important information will be preserved and restoring it will not be difficult.
Battery
One of the most controversial issues is the battery capacity of the Samsung Galaxy Alpha. Her characteristics are really modest. A capacity of 1860 mAh, at best, will allow the owner of this device to last 1-2 days on one charge under average load. Theoretically, this value can be increased to 3 days, but in this case the smartphone will simply turn into an ordinary “dialer”. Well, if you play the same “Asphalt 8” or a similar toy on this device, then the battery will last for 8-12 hours.
But, on the other hand, the developers wanted to get a device with a small thickness and low weight. In the end, they succeeded, and autonomy remained at an acceptable level.
Interfaces
An impressive set of communication interfaces is implemented in the Samsung Galaxy Alpha. Technical specifications indicate the following list:
- The device can operate in all types of mobile networks, including LTE.
- A built-in Wi-Fi transmitter is also capable of exchanging information with any current wireless router.
- There is also Bluetooth version 4.0.
- To carry out navigation, the device is equipped with one ZhPS transmitter, which, in addition to the standard ZhPS network, can also determine location using GLONASS satellites.
- The main wireless interface is microUSB, version of which in this device is 3.0.
- Another wired port is a 3.5 mm audio port, designed for output and input of audio information.
Software
Android with the current version 4.4 is used as system software, but this is not the limit that owners of such a device as the Samsung Alpha smartphone can count on. The characteristics of its hardware components make it possible to install later versions of this operating system on it. So we are waiting for software updates from the manufacturer. Otherwise, the set of pre-installed programs is typical: mini-applications for social networks, utilities from Google and built-in software.
Users' opinions
It feels like the work of Korean developers at Samsung Galaxy Alpha is good. The characteristics and reviews only confirm this; it is truly impressive. The only two points that can be complained about are the display resolution and low capacity. In the first case, instead of HD, the developers could equip the gadget with a Full HD matrix. As a result, the image quality would improve significantly. But even so, the picture quality is not satisfactory. But the small capacity of the battery means that the autonomy of the device allows you to last a maximum of 2 days on one charge. It’s quite difficult to count on more. But, on the other hand, this made it possible to reduce the weight and thickness of the device. As a result, the developers chose the golden mean: the autonomy is acceptable, and the thickness and weight do not frighten potential buyers.
Results
$450 is the current average cost of a Samsung Alpha smartphone. Its characteristics are above average and such a high cost is fully justified. Moreover, in terms of hardware and software resources, this smartphone will be able to solve any problems within 2-3 years. This is an ideal solution for those who need a phone with a small diagonal and excellent hardware.
- Telephone
- Battery Li-Ion 1860 mAh
- Charger
- Wired stereo headset
- Instructions
Positioning
If this phone were metal, then I would buy it - I heard this phrase not a million times, but so often that I even stopped answering it. The halo that surrounds metal as the material from which devices are made takes them to a completely different level in the mind of the consumer. Unfortunately, words and deeds in life often diverge, and companies are accustomed to judging by deeds rather than declarative statements. Samsung has always tried to listen to what customers want and provide it to them whenever possible, and that's always been the case. The speed of the company's response to changes in demand for certain functions and case materials has always been almost instantaneous, and for a company of this size, even rapid. But repeated attempts to see how metal devices would sell turned out to be failures - the forecasts did not come true, the models turned out to be noticeably unsuccessful compared to their plastic counterparts. We can come up with many explanations for this phenomenon, but using Occam's razor, we will understand that metal as such is not a necessary component of the success or failure of a device. All flagships from Samsung are sold in millions of copies, they are in demand around the world, and except for the iPhone, no one can compete with them. Together, Samsung and Apple receive all the profits from the smartphone market; they have no competitors of the same level. But at the same time, it is often said that Samsung flagships are “plastic rattles,” although anyone who has tried such devices knows that they do not rattle like baby rattles, and the derogatory epithet does not reflect reality. Plastic is not bad at all and is quite functional, this has been proven by several billion phones that are successfully used all over the world. Metal is not a feature only of expensive devices; it is often used in cheap devices; a recent example is the MegaFon Login 3 tablet in a metal case.
But in the premium segment, plastic is not perceived as commonplace, but rather as a minus; the consumer wants to see what he is paying for. In the buyer's mind, metal is a more expensive material, although this is not the case in most cases. Some manufacturers were forced to come up with “special” plastic - so Nokia began to promote polycarbonate as, in fact, a trademark. Due to this, in people’s minds, she differentiated her devices from “ordinary” plastic. She contrasted polycarbonate with metal and other materials. In fact, this is, by and large, a marketing and PR move; there is no real difference in the quality of the material.
But for Samsung, the lack of metal is an irritating factor for another reason: it is present in all Apple products and has long been standard. Any internal or external research or comparison of the flagships of the two companies shows that people say that the iPhone wins because it has a metal body. That is, this plays a role in the premium product segment, and it was important for Samsung to create something similar. One could have expected that the company would focus on its flagship and not release a separate model, but it turned out differently. And herein lies the first mystery of Alpha. This product is positioned as a designer product, but serves to test several ideas at once, each of which is interesting.
Firstly, for the first time, Samsung decided to expand competition with current versions of the iPhone by introducing a device that is as similar in form factor as possible. It so happens that in the Android smartphone market, flagships from all companies, without exception, are superior to the current versions of the iPhone in terms of their characteristics - screen, resolution and diagonal, processor power, battery, and the like. If something can be leveled by software, for example, the speed of the interface, which is excellent on the iPhone, then many things cannot be changed, since they become a physical limitation - for example, screen size. Therefore, the actual competitors for the iPhone, on formal grounds, are the mini versions of the flagships, for Samsung it is the Galaxy S5 Mini, for HTC it is the One Mini, and so on. But the problem is that these devices are perceived to be inferior to their older brothers; they are positioned a third cheaper, a sort of cheap flagship substitute. From the point of view of the premium segment, such mini-devices are not very interesting; it is rather a mass market (although the Apple iPhone is a mass market, although it plays in the top segment, if we talk about new models). A device like Alpha falls into the gap between the Galaxy S5 and S5 Mini; it has a premium component, it is closer to the flagships, it is positioned as a fashionable solution and is not considered a mass product. At Samsung, this lack of desire to sell it to the widest possible audience, as in other companies, is called an pretentious design product. Therefore, when I come across arguments that Alpha will never sell millions of copies and this means the failure of the product, I smile. Initially, no one ever planned to sell Alpha in millions of units, this is impossible, and Samsung understands this very well based on its own positioning of the device.
Secondly, an Alpha class product is an interesting opportunity to test new technologies in mass production. Let's take a metal frame as an example - this is the first Samsung product with such a body design, the company does not have much experience in operating such devices, there are no reviews from real users, only laboratory tests. As a result, launching such cases into series for more mass-produced products means taking on additional risks. It’s easier to test the product on a phone that initially should not become widespread, and then move on to other devices. At the moment, there are at least several design options for a number of top models from Samsung, which use a similar frame. I am sure that in the near future we will see at least one more device with such a design, which is quite successful.
Another example of technology testing is the use of the new Exynos chipset, which is made using 20 nm technology and, as a result, provides energy efficiency 25 percent higher than that of a chipset using 28 nm technology. This allows the use of a smaller battery. Now imagine that you can launch a top-end flagship with the same chipset without changing the battery capacity compared to the previous version - 3200 mAh will last a quarter longer, that is, there will be a real increase in operating time. This is also a test of the technology before more mass-produced products. This approach can be called safe, and I am sure that Samsung will begin to use it in the future.
From a consumer point of view, Alpha is a compact model that is well suited for calls, SMS, social networks - that is, the device is relatively small compared to flagships, comparable to the iPhone. The funny thing about the situation is that for these functions, as a rule, the iPhone is chosen, it becomes the preferred choice. Samsung decided to provide its own version of the device for such consumers. As a rule, these are women, to a lesser extent men. However, we can safely consider the Alpha a niche device that will not make significant sales against the background of the Galaxy S5; this is one of the options for choosing an expensive smartphone that definitely loses to the iPhone in consumer priorities. But Alpha has a right to exist and offers a number of interesting features, let's try to figure out what its strengths are.
Design, dimensions, control elements
When we talk about a designer smartphone, we expect to see something unusual - the Alpha has a typical appearance for the latest generation of devices from Samsung, there is no difference! That is, you look at the front panel and see that it is a familiar Samsung, only the size is different. It will be extremely difficult to distinguish this device from other models of the company from a few meters away. Therefore, in terms of appearance, it is impossible to say that this is something extraordinary - it is ordinary and quite boring on other devices.
Phone size – 132x65x6.7 mm, weight – 114 grams. For comparison, the size of the Galaxy S5 is 142x72.5x8.1 mm, weight - 145 grams. Let me remind you that for S4 these parameters were 136.6x69.8x7.9 mm, 130 grams.
Compared to Samsung Galaxy S5
Compared to Apple iPhone S5
I like the way the Alpha fits in the hand, it's suitable for children, men and women - the size is obviously comfortable, just right in the palm of your hand. There are no compromises here, and this device is reminiscent of the iPhone.
Another similarity worth noting is the processing of the side edges, the bevel is exactly the same as on the iPhone or on the external bumpers for different phones. The Alpha feels very similar in the hand to the iPhone 5/5s, the difference is unnoticeable, the edge feels exactly like that. At one time I screwed up the Draco bumper on the Galaxy S3, in “Spillies” I shared the trick of my consciousness - when I took the phone out of my pocket, I automatically looked for the buttons where they were on the iPhone. That is, my consciousness automatically recorded that the metal case was an iPhone. Of course, this only works for those who have used both devices for quite a long time.
Alpha has a variety of body colors - in Russia it will be white, gold and black. The metal frame is white in only two colors; in gold it is also made to look like gold.
By the way, it seems to me that after the Olympics in Sochi, many companies began to use slogans divided into three words, for example, for Alpha it was “Stylish. Thin. Steel".
Among the subjective and unpleasant aspects, I would like to note the material of the back cover, it is plastic with a velvety coating, the dots are small and not very noticeable against the background of the overall design, they look different than on the Galaxy S5. But the problem is that the surface is not smooth; when you take out the phone, your hand literally sticks to the cover and does not slide. There is an unpleasant feeling - I think Samsung will change the quality of the cover, just as it was done for the Galaxy S5 a couple of months after the start of production, it’s not that difficult. You get used to it quite quickly, but the annoying moment remains, it is formed from the very beginning.
On the left side there is a metal key, it is paired to adjust the volume. The on/off button is on the right side, but the microUSB connector is located at the bottom, there is also a microphone and speaker. At the top end there is a 3.5 mm jack, which is made visually very thin, which makes many people think that it is a 2.5 mm jack, but it is not.
On the front surface above the screen there is a 2-megapixel front camera, a light and proximity sensor, and a light indicator. Below the screen there is a mechanical key, as well as two touch buttons. I didn’t like the fact that, unlike other devices, the key designations are hidden under the decorative pattern, that is, they are visible through it. The feeling of sloppiness remains from this, I think this will also be corrected by the first batches of the device.
On the back surface you can see a 12-megapixel camera from Samsung, there is also an LED flash, as well as a heart rate sensor. Open the lid and see what's inside. It will not be possible to find a slot for memory cards, which until now were present in all Samsung models without exception. Giving up the memory card is also an attempt to get as close as possible to the iPhone, including its weak points. This is an opportunity to build this device into its own line from the Galaxy S5, S5 Mini. The decision is questionable, but from the manufacturer’s point of view it is completely justified.
Another questionable move is the use of a nano-sized SIM card. That is, this is the same card as in the iPhone; until recently, Samsung did not use such a card. There is no point in saving on size here; this is a conscious decision and clearly aimed at competing with the iPhone. As well as facilitating a potential transition from it.
In general, from a design point of view, the Alpha turned out to be calm, it is a typical Samsung Galaxy, with a metal frame that pleasantly cools the hand. The quality of workmanship is traditionally at a high level; there can be no complaints here. This device is very, very good overall, although the design is boring, this can be the main complaint about it.
Display
When I say that the screen on the iPhone is much inferior to the current flagships on Android, I am not at all mistaken - even a head-to-head comparison of the characteristics shows the entire gulf between these devices. The iPhone has a screen diagonal of 4 inches and a resolution of 640x1136 pixels, formally it is a 3.5 inch screen, since it was increased in length compared to previous iPhones to show that it is 4 inches. This year, the only “revolution” from the iPhone that is needed is an increase in the screen diagonal of the iPhone; rumors talk about two models with diagonals of 4.7 and 5.5 inches. This will make the iPhone a competitor to the current Android flagships, but for now the screen lags far behind and is the weakest point in the Apple device.
At the same time, Samsung is a technological leader in the production of screens, developing the SuperAMOLED direction, the company has achieved very good results, in particular, the screen in the Galaxy S5 is recognized as one of the best on the market, both in color reproduction and in its settings. But Alpha is somewhat simpler, so the screen here is different - in particular, it does not have automatic adjustment of individual areas of the screen depending on external lighting. Here the adjustment occurs, as in most devices on the market, by measuring external lighting with a sensor. But the Exynos chipset used has two coprocessors responsible for image processing, as a result, Samsung engineers managed to achieve the same result - you will not see the difference in image quality.
The only difference that may be noticeable will be when shooting in camera - the colors are not as bright, noticeably duller on the screen. The use of another module affects, but not the quality of the screen.
Screen diagonal – 4.7 inches, resolution – 720x1280 pixels (HD SuperAMOLED Plus). In the sun, the picture remains visible, but the diagonal and lower resolution than in the S5 make this device less convenient. On the other hand, it clearly outperforms the iPhone, as well as most similar devices. A high-quality, good display that has many settings to suit every taste - you can set the screen to both bright and calm colors. The choice is always yours, since no manufacturer on the market offers such a number of settings.
Memory, memory cards, performance, chipset
This is the first device to use Samsung's own chipset, made using 20 nm technology; previous chipsets were made using 28 nm technology. The Exynos 5430 chipset is an eight-core solution made using BIG.little technology from ARM, that is, 4 cores operate at a clock frequency of up to 1.8 GHz (Cortex A15), 4 cores at a frequency of up to 1.3 GHz (Cortex A7). Considering that a similar chipset, but at 28 nm (Octa 5 Exynos 5422) is used in the Galaxy S5, it was possible to compare both their performance and operating time. Let me remind you that for fast cores the maximum clock frequency in S5 is 1.9 GHz.
Formally, in all synthetic tests the performance turned out to be the same, slightly higher Alpha performance is associated with Android version 4.4.4 (the latest at the time of writing the review), as well as with the fact that the MALI T628MP6 graphics coprocessor operates at 600 MHz rather than 533 MHz .
From the point of view of optimizing the chipset architecture, we see quite a lot of work - for example, the Cortex A15 cores have been updated from version r2p3 to r3p3, which reduces power consumption and heat generation, they heat up less. The RAM remained dual-channel, but the bandwidth increased to 17 Gbit/s (1066 MHz).
The device has 2 GB of RAM, which is enough for any task. The built-in memory is 32 GB, of which the system takes up about 6 GB, the rest goes to you. As already mentioned, there are no memory cards in this device.
It is curious that at the time of the Galaxy S4, the versions of the phone on Qualcomm Snapdragon and Samsung Exynos differed both in camera quality and stability; these devices were noticeably different. Exynos' problems then formed a negative perception of this chipset. Today there are no such differences, we see this in the example of the Galaxy S5, although the Snapdragon version still becomes the predominant version.
Many may think that the set of changes made to the Exynos 5430 allows us to call this solution a flagship, but this is far from the truth. This is a good restyling of Samsung's existing eight-core processors, but not a fundamentally new solution. Note 4 will use an older version of a similar solution, with a higher clock speed, memory bandwidth, as well as a new graphics accelerator, which should provide a fundamentally new level of both graphics and performance.
From the point of view of normal work with the phone, there are no slowdowns; everything works quite quickly and well. I note that, as in other cases, there are a number of people who consider TouchWiz to be a very slow interface; they are always sure that it is by definition slow and there is no way to fix it. You can create entire sects - those who don’t like AMOLED, those who are witnesses to pentiles, slow TouchWiz and plastic cases. In practice, the vast majority of ordinary people are quite satisfied with the speed of the top Samsung models, as well as TouchWiz, such a problem simply does not exist.
Battery
The magic of numbers always works flawlessly - ask any person which battery is better, 3000 mAh or 2000 mAh, and you will get the obvious answer, the first is much better, it lasts longer. Unfortunately, a direct analogy between battery capacity and operating time has not worked for a long time. For example, most Chinese flagships have large batteries installed; take the Philips i928, it has a 3000 mAh battery. But video playback time is about 4 hours, while the Galaxy Alpha with almost half the battery is about 10.5 hours at maximum brightness. What is the reason? This is not only software optimization, the use of a more economical AMOLED screen, but also the contribution of the chipset. It is very easy to evaluate the change in the technological process and the transition from 28 to 20 nm; just compare the Galaxy S5 on Exynos with the Galaxy Alpha.
The result turned out to be very interesting - for example, the S5 has a 2800 mAh battery, while the Alpha has only 1860 mAh. The difference in capacity is a third, that is, Alpha obviously should lose in operating time, even despite the smaller screen size. Samsung claims that the new chipset is capable of saving up to 25 percent of energy due to 20 nm technology. I tested this statement in practice.
The same video was launched on the Galaxy S5 and Alpha. The playback time at maximum brightness in the first case is 10.7 hours, in the second – 10.6 hours. These can be considered the same indicators, that is, there is no difference. Music playback time in S5 is 45 hours, in Alpha – approximately 41 hours. I think that the difference is due to the fact that the screen does not work, and the actual battery capacity and the operation of the sound processor come to the fore. That is, we cannot determine the difference here.
In “heavy” 3D games, the Alpha lasted about 3 hours versus 3.45 minutes for the S5 – that is, when fast cores are running, the difference in battery capacity is still noticeable, but not dramatic.
In general, I can say that the operating time of the Alpha is approximately the same as the S5 in everyday life, that is, the device survives until the evening with moderate use. But if you use it only for calls and SMS, turn off all unnecessary functions, then it will last 1.5-2 days, this is quite achievable. The time to fully charge the battery is just under 2 hours.
Therefore, the argument that battery capacity affects operating time should not be taken head-on; a lot depends on what kind of hardware is inside your device, as well as what software is installed. The iPhone itself has rather weak batteries, but system optimization allows you to get the most out of it - Alpha in this regard is very similar to the iPhone 5s (1560 mAh). But I think that you simply don’t remember, and didn’t even know, the battery capacity of the iPhone, since the manufacturer does not emphasize this characteristic, without considering it decisive, and in this he is right.
Just like the S5, this device has a power saving mode that allows the device to operate for up to 24 hours at 10 percent charge. Including switching to a gray screen gamma, which may not be so aggressive, but will prolong full-fledged work for a long time - other companies have no direct analogues of this technology, since it is associated with the use of AMOLED screens, and also changes in the controllers of these screens made Samsung.
Communication capabilities
Everything is quite typical, USB version 2, which is not so nice, but from the point of view of this device it is quite typical. There is support for NFC, Ant+, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac (VHT80) works in two bands, Bluetooth 4.0 LE.
The built-in LTE modem supports LTE Advanced Cat.6, that is, in theory, this is the first device in Russia to support the fastest mobile Internet. Unfortunately, within the Garden Ring, where such Internet is available from MegaFon, it was not possible to obtain the appropriate speeds, and it is unclear what is to blame. I think that the problem is still in the phone software, since the router worked at these points and provided up to 300 Mbit. This may be corrected by the time the model hits the market.
Camera
This device has a 12-megapixel camera with autofocus that can shoot 4K video, which is probably not necessary for most (the Note 3 in the Exynos version can also do this, as well as all versions of the S5). In terms of image quality, this device is slightly above average, but it is clearly inferior in terms of performance to the S5, with worse pictures and noticeably worse in low light conditions. However, you can compare these pictures yourself and see which ones you like better. For a device that is quite small in thickness, this camera module has become a compromise; all the options typical for Samsung phones are supported, and the interface is typical.
The device is sold in a small rectangular box made of hard embossed cardboard. Thanks to the minimal number of images and notes printed on the surface, the packaging looks expensive and stylish.
The package includes a charger, a USB connecting cable, a stereo headset, and a small stack of accompanying documentation, neatly tied with a ribbon.
Design and usability
The most important change in the appearance of the new Samsung Galaxy Alpha smartphone is the presence of a metal, sharp-angled bezel. Previously, this frame was made of plastic and had a rounded and streamlined shape, giving airiness and lightness to even such large smartphones as the Galaxy Note. Now the bezel is made of metal and has more strict shapes, which in turn gives the appearance of the device more visual volume, a certain brutality and high cost.
Otherwise, the appearance of the Samsung Galaxy Alpha smartphone is practically no different from previous versions. The reverse side of the mobile device, just like the Galaxy S5 smartphone, is made of embossed plastic in the form of small dots.
Fingerprints are not visible on the back cover and side surfaces, so the device turns out to be non-marking. Thanks to the textured surface, the Galaxy Alpha smartphone fits comfortably in your hand without slipping or jumping out of it.
The weight and dimensions of the device are such that it easily fits even in a small pocket. Thus, Samsung Galaxy Alpha is not only a stylish and neat, but also a very compact smartphone.
The back cover of the Samsung Galaxy Alpha, as before, is removable, so the method of installing a SIM card remains standard for all smartphones of the Korean company - it is inserted into a slot located under the cover and supported by a removable battery. This time Samsung deprived the new smartphone of a slot for flash cards, explaining this by the sufficient amount of internal memory - 32 GB.
The new smartphone from Samsung uses a Nano-SIM card. However, this change was quite expected, since most well-known manufacturers such as HTC, Sony, Acer, Huawei released their latest versions of mobile devices with support for SIM cards of the new format.
On the back of the Samsung Galaxy Alpha smartphone, in addition to the usual main camera window and LED flash, there is also a heart rate sensor. If you place your finger on this window, you can determine not only your heart rate, but also assess the level of stress you are currently experiencing. The sensor works in conjunction with the pre-installed S Health application.
The Galaxy Alpha speaker grille is no longer located on the back side, but on the surface of the bottom end, which is very convenient, since the sound of the phone is not blocked by the surface on which it lies. Next to the grille there is a standard USB connector that supports connecting external devices to your smartphone. At the top end there is a stereo headphone jack and a hole for an auxiliary microphone.
The front panel of the Samsung Galaxy Alpha smartphone is covered with a special protective layer that prevents scratches. In the upper part there is a metal grille for the speaker, next to which you can see small eyes for the front camera and sensors.
Typical of all flagship smartphones from Samsung, the oblong mechanical button at the bottom of the screen not only remained in its place, but also acquired an additional option - a fingerprint scanner.
The side buttons of the device are also made of metal. Despite their miniature size, the buttons respond quickly when pressed and can be easily felt in the dark.
The Samsung Galaxy Alpha smartphone is available in several color options - black, white, gold and silver.
Screen
The Samsung Galaxy Alpha smartphone is equipped with a 4.7-inch touch screen with a resolution of 1280x720. The display brightness can be adjusted either manually or automatically. Using modern multi-touch technology, a smartphone can process up to 10 touches simultaneously. The phone can be easily operated with gloves, and the built-in motion sensor blocks the sensor when the device approaches the ear.
The display of the Galaxy Alpha is quite bright with excellent anti-glare properties, so the smartphone can be used even in sunny weather.
Sound
The sound quality of the Samsung Galaxy Alpha smartphone is at an average level - it is quite clear, but lacks noticeable low-frequency sound. During a conversation, the auditory speaker very clearly conveys the timbre of the voice and intonation of the interlocutor, but the sound of the speaker is somewhat muffled.
Camera
The camera in the Samsung Galaxy Alpha is less advanced compared to the flagships Galaxy S5 and Note 4. The device is equipped with a main and front camera of 12 and 2.1 megapixels. The camera has autofocus and an LED flash, but unlike previous flagships, it lacks the Smart IOS function (intelligent optical stabilization system).
Software
The Samsung Galaxy Alpha smartphone is equipped with the new Android 4.4.4 KitKat operating system. The software interface is completely identical to the Galaxy S5 device. The settings menu can be either in the form of icons or in the form of a list. You can place a special button on your smartphone’s desktop, pressing which provides quick access to the most popular applications. The touch screen is locked using a fingerprint.
The smartphone is also equipped with a special S Health application, which helps monitor your physical health (pedometer, fitness trainer, nutrition monitoring, heart rate sensor, etc.).
Battery life
Under the back cover of the Galaxy Alpha smartphone there is a lithium-ion battery with a relatively small capacity of 1860 mAh. This choice of the Korean manufacturer is primarily due to the thin body of the device. Despite this drawback, the Samsung Galaxy Alpha smartphone demonstrates quite acceptable battery life. Thus, in continuous reading mode in the FBReader program at a minimum brightness level, the smartphone can work for about 18 hours, when watching videos - about 10 hours. In a more active mode (3D games), the battery charge lasts for 4 hours of uninterrupted operation.
Price
On the Russian market, the price of the new Samsung Galaxy Alpha smartphone is 25,000 rubles, which is quite acceptable for a device with such powerful technical characteristics and stylish design.
Video on the topic
Another flagship in the Samsung smartphone family, now a “designer”
This summer, Samsung launched a rather unusual smartphone called the Samsung Galaxy Alpha. This device is unusual not only for its technical and hardware characteristics, although there is something to pay attention to here too. Galaxy Alpha, for example, became the first mobile device in the Samsung smartphone family, which is based on a new SoC made using a 20 nm process technology, and after it the Galaxy Note 4 was released with a similar, but slightly modified platform, also made using new technology.
However, even more curious is the positioning of the smartphone itself. The Koreans clearly rushed to introduce their compact new product using metal in a body before the Apple iPhone 6, and this device was conceived precisely as a response move, timed to coincide with the release of the next smartphone by the American company. The 4.7-inch screen, the use of metal in the body, thinness and lightness, support for Nano-SIM, the absence of a slot for a memory card - all this and much more implies competition with previous Apple models. At the same time, Samsung has long made its flagship smartphones, to please the tastes of the public, quite large, so the Galaxy Alpha stands apart among the company’s top mobile products. It's funny that Apple's new generation smartphones, on the contrary, have grown in size, so the companies seem to have changed places in the market. However, the release of the Galaxy Alpha, of course, does not negate the existence in Samsung’s assortment of a “regular” flagship, which is currently the Galaxy S5, as well as the more “sophisticated” Note line, which just received an update – the Galaxy Note 4. The Galaxy Alpha smartphone, which, despite its compact size, is the most technically advanced device, not only took an intermediate place between the company’s two current flagships, but also received the title of flagship itself. And now the Korean company offers not two, but three current current flagships at the same time, and the creators themselves have dubbed their new product a “designer flagship.”
Video review
First, we suggest watching our video review of the Samsung Galaxy Alpha smartphone:
Now let's take a look at the characteristics of the new product.
Key Features of Samsung Galaxy Alpha (Model SM-G850F)
| Samsung Galaxy Alpha | Huawei Honor 6 | Sony Xperia Z3 Compact | ZTE nubia Z7 mini | Apple iPhone 6 | |
| Screen | 4.7″, Super AMOLED | 5″, IPS | 4.6″, IPS | 5″, IPS | 4.7″, IPS |
| Permission | 1280×720, 312 ppi | 1920×1080, 440 ppi | 1280×720, 319 ppi | 1920×1080, 443 ppi | 1334×750, 326 ppi |
| SoC | Samsung Exynos 5430 (4x Cortex-A15 @1.8 GHz and 4x Cortex-A7 @1.3 GHz) | HiSilicon Kirin 920 (4x ARM Cortex-A15 @1.7 GHz + 4x ARM Cortex-A7) | Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 (4 cores Krait 400 @2.5 GHz) | Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 (4 cores Krait 400 @2.0 GHz) | Apple A8 (2 cores @1.4 GHz, 64-bit ARMv8-A architecture) |
| GPU | Mali-T628MP6 | Mali-T628 MP4 | Adreno 330 | Adreno 330 | PowerVR GX6650 |
| RAM | 2 GB | 3 GB | 2 GB | 2 GB | 1 GB |
| Flash memory | 16/32 GB | 16 GB / 32 GB | 16 GB | 16 GB | 16/64/128 GB |
| Memory card support | No | microSD | microSD | microSD | No |
| operating system | Google Android 4.4 | Google Android 4.4 | Google Android 4.4 | Google Android 4.4 | Apple iOS 8 |
| Battery | removable, 1860 mAh | non-removable, 3100 mAh | non-removable, 2600 mAh | non-removable, 2300 mAh | non-removable, 1810 mAh |
| Cameras | rear (12 MP; video - 2160p), front 2.1 MP) | rear (13 MP), front (5 MP) | rear (20.7 MP; 4K video), front (2.2 MP) | rear (13 MP; 4K video), front (5 MP) | rear (8 MP; video 1080p), front (1.2 MP) |
| Dimensions and weight | 132×65×6.7 mm, 114 g | 140×70×7.5 mm, 130 g | 127×65×8.6 mm, 129 g | 141×69×8.2 mm, 143 g | 138×67×6.9 mm, 129 g |
| average price | T-10995269 | T-10891267 | T-11028554 | N/A | T-11031621 |
| Samsung Galaxy Alpha offers | L-10995269-10 | ||||
- SoC Exynos 5 Octa 5430, 8 cores ARM big.LITTLE (4 cores Cortex-A15 @1.8 GHz + 4 cores Cortex-A7 @1.3 GHz)
- GPU Mali-T628MP6 (600 MHz)
- Operating system Android 4.4.4 KitKat
- Touch display, 4.7″, 1280×720, Super AMOLED, 312 ppi
- Random access memory (RAM) 2 GB, internal memory 16/32 GB
- Communication GSM GPRS/EDGE 850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz
- Communication 3G UMTS HSPA+ 850, 900, 1900, 2100 MHz
- Data transmission LTE Cat.6 (300/50 Mbit/s)
- Bluetooth 4.0 BLE / ANT+, NFC
- USB 2.0, OTG
- Wi-Fi 802.11a/b/g/n/ac (dual band), HT80, MIMO(2×2)
- GPS/Glonass
- 12 MP camera, autofocus, LED flash, UHD video
- Front camera 2.1 MP
- Accelerometer, proximity and light sensors, gyroscope, fingerprint sensor, electronic compass, heart rate sensor
- Removable battery 1860 mAh
- Dimensions 132×65×6.7 mm
- Weight 114 g
Contents of delivery
The device goes on sale in a small, almost the size of a smartphone itself, rectangular box made of hard gray textured cardboard. The packaging looks stylish and expensive due to the minimal number of pictures and information printed on its surface.
Appearance and ease of use
Perhaps we should start with the fact that it was the Samsung Galaxy Alpha model that became the progenitor of a new design, unusual for Samsung, with a metal acute-angled frame, which a little later migrated to the most noticeable of the company’s mobile products, the Galaxy Note 4 tablet. However, the “new design “- this is too strong a word: the only new thing here is the above-mentioned frame, which, however, due to just one change in the material, has quite seriously changed the entire overall appearance of Samsung mobile products.
Previously, such a bezel was made of plastic, it was streamlined and rounded, giving a kind of lightness and airiness to even such large products as the huge representatives of the Galaxy Note line. However, it also gave them the characteristic look of bathroom tiles. Now the rim has become metal, with sharp edges and evenly cut chamfers; it gave the appearance of the devices more visual volume and even a kind of brutality, and in some ways, high cost.
Surprisingly, the exact same frame on the large Galaxy Note 4 spoils the appearance of the smartphone, making the already large device even wider, thicker, rougher and visually larger. Here everything is completely different: Samsung Galaxy Alpha came out as an extremely nice and neat mobile product, which only benefited from the shine of real metal and those sharp edges and right angles.
Perhaps the shine of the metal adds beauty, high cost and nobility to the Galaxy Alpha smartphone, because in the Galaxy Note 4, for some reason, the exact same metal was completely painted over, so much so that many still doubt that this is real metal, and not the same colored plastic as in previous products in the series.
Otherwise, there is nothing unfamiliar in the appearance of the new product: the front side with an elongated mechanical key under the screen looks exactly the same as other modern mobile products from the Korean company. The back part is also familiar: the plastic, perforated with many small dots, is very similar to the back of the Galaxy S5 smartphone, only there are larger dots and the distance between them is wider, but in general the general style is visible here too. All this confirms the fact that just by changing the frame, the overall attitude towards the familiar design cannot be changed, and the model still does not live up to the title of “designer”. At the same time, the smartphone really turned out to be compact, neat and attractive; this cannot be taken away from the Galaxy Alpha.
Fingerprints cannot be seen either on the back cover or on the matte sides of the bezel; the device turns out to be non-staining, and the Galaxy Alpha does not slip at all in your hands. The grip of the back surface, which feels like oilcloth, with the palm is very reliable. The overall dimensions and weight are such that the smartphone can easily fit not only in any hand, but also in a pocket of any size. As a result, the Samsung Galaxy Alpha has a comfortable size and light weight; in all these respects it is superior to the new iPhone 6.
The back cover of the smartphone, as before, is a removable element, so the method of installing cards is familiar for such cases: the SIM card is inserted into a slot hidden under the cover and supported from below by the battery. The battery itself is removable and has the same highly elongated rectangular shape as in the Galaxy Note 4, only significantly smaller in size. The SIM card cannot be removed without removing the battery; to make it easier to pull out the card, there is a slot on top through which you can push it to the exit. There is no memory card slot in the Samsung Galaxy Alpha.
The Samsung Galaxy Alpha uses a Nano-SIM card, and this fact is encouraging since many well-known manufacturers such as Sony, HTC, Motorola, Huawei and Acer have presented their top devices in the new season also with support for Nano-SIM cards. We are not at all going to advocate for any of the standards, but if there is a movement among manufacturers towards the transition to Nano-SIM, then I would like the entire market to come to a single standard quickly and harmoniously.
From the outside, on the back surface you can find elements familiar from the latest flagship Samsung products: here, in addition to the square window of the main camera and the LED flash, you can also notice a heart rate sensor. By placing your finger on this small window on the back of your smartphone, you can not only measure your heart rate, but also assess the level of stress your body is currently experiencing. All this is made possible with the pre-installed S Health app.
The main speaker grille here is not located on the back side, but at the bottom end, which is convenient: the sound of the device lying on the table is not blocked by the surface, as happens with the Samsung Galaxy Note 4, which has a speaker located on the rear side. Next to the sound grille you can find a standard Micro-USB connector that supports connecting external devices via an OTG adapter. Here, as in the Galaxy Note 4, USB 2.0 is used - Samsung decided to abandon USB 3.0 for some reason.
At the top end you can traditionally see a universal audio output (3.5 mm) for headphones, and next to it there is a hole for a second, auxiliary microphone. Unlike other flagship Samsung smartphones, there is no infrared transmitter for controlling household appliances.
The front panel is completely covered with scratch-resistant protective glass. In the upper part of the glass there is a slot cut out for the shiny metal grille of the speaker, and nearby you can see the eyes of the sensors and the front camera. To the left is an LED status indicator, shining with a large but dim dot when the screen is off and signaling the charging status and incoming messages. There is a special item in the settings menu to regulate the indicator’s operation.
The most recognizable element of all top Samsung smartphones, the oblong hardware mechanical key under the screen, remained in its place, it received additional functionality in the form of a fingerprint scanner. You need to move your finger across the scanner; simply touching it is not enough. The touch buttons next to the mechanical ones have a bright white backlight with an adjustable glow time; there is also a special item for this in the settings in the “Display” section.
The side lock and volume keys are also made of metal; they are not large, but have a clear response and can be easily felt blindly, so there are no complaints about the ease of control using them.
The smartphone is supplied to the Russian market in four different color modifications: a choice of cases is available in white, black, silver and gold. The connectors of the device are not covered with plugs, and there is no fastening for the strap. The device does not have protection from water and dust, nor does it support wireless charging.
Screen
The Samsung Galaxy Alpha smartphone is equipped with a Super AMOLED touch matrix. The screen dimensions are 58x104 mm, diagonal - 4.7 inches, resolution - 1280x720 pixels. The pixel density is 312 ppi.
The outside of the screen is covered with protective glass. The thickness of the side frames from the edge of the screen to the edge of the body is approximately 3.5 mm, the frames are not record narrow, but this parameter has never been listed among the iconic ones in Samsung products.
The display brightness can be adjusted manually, or you can use automatic adjustment. Multi-touch technology here allows you to process up to 10 simultaneous touches. The screen can be operated with gloved hands, and it becomes more sensitive to any touch, so the settings prudently leave the option to disable this function. The smartphone also has a proximity sensor that blocks the screen when you bring the smartphone to your ear.
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A detailed examination using measuring instruments was carried out by the editor of the “Monitors” and “Projectors and TV” sections, Alexey Kudryavtsev. Here is his expert opinion on the screen of the sample under study.
The front surface of the screen is made in the form of a glass plate with a mirror-smooth surface that is scratch-resistant. Judging by the reflection of objects, the anti-glare properties of the screen may be slightly worse than those of the Google Nexus 7 (2013) screen (hereinafter simply Nexus 7). For clarity, here is a photograph in which a white surface is reflected when the screens are turned off (on the left is Nexus 7, on the right is Samsung Galaxy Alpha, then they can be distinguished by size):
The screen of the Samsung Galaxy Alpha is slightly lighter (brightness according to photographs is 118 versus 113 for the Nexus 7) and does not have a pronounced tint. Note that the reflection from bright objects in the Samsung Galaxy Alpha screen has a pale bluish halo that is slightly more elongated across the screen. The ghosting of reflected objects on the Samsung Galaxy Alpha screen is very weak, indicating that there is no air gap between the layers of the screen. Due to the smaller number of boundaries (glass-air type) with very different refractive indices, screens without an air gap look better in conditions of strong external illumination, but their repair in the case of cracked external glass is much more expensive, since the entire screen has to be replaced. On the outer surface of the Samsung Galaxy Alpha screen there is a special oleophobic (grease-repellent) coating (very effective, noticeably better than that of the Nexus 7), so fingerprints are removed much easier and appear at a lower speed than in the case of regular glass.
When the white field was displayed in full screen and with manual brightness control, its maximum value was 350 cd/m², the minimum was 2 cd/m². You also need to take into account the fact that in this case, the smaller the white area on the screen, the brighter it is, that is, the actual maximum brightness of the white areas will almost always be higher than the specified value. For example, when outputting white on half the screen, the maximum brightness with manual adjustment increases to 385 cd/m². As a result, readability during the day in the sun should be at a fairly good level. The reduced brightness level allows you to use the device even in complete darkness without any problems. There is automatic brightness adjustment based on the light sensor (it is located to the right of the front speaker slot). You can make adjustments to the operation of this function by moving the adjustment slider from −5 to +5 units. Below, for three conditions, we present the screen brightness values for three values of this setting - for −5, 0 and +5. In complete darkness in automatic mode, the brightness is reduced to 4, 10 and 17 cd/m², respectively (the first is a bit dark, the rest are normal), in an office illuminated by artificial light (approximately 400 lux) the brightness is set to 90, 140 and 230 cd/m² (normal), in a brightly lit environment (corresponding to lighting on a clear day outdoors, but without direct sunlight - 20,000 lux or slightly more) - increases to 340 cd/m² regardless of the slider position. This value is slightly less than the maximum for manual adjustment. In general, the result of the automatic brightness adjustment function is as expected. When brightness decreases, modulation appears at a frequency of 240 Hz. The figure below shows brightness (vertical axis) versus time (horizontal axis) for several brightness settings:
It can be seen that at maximum and close to it brightness there is practically no modulation, but as the brightness decreases, modulation appears, its relative amplitude increases and the fill factor decreases. Therefore, for example, up to a brightness of 75% (according to the setting slider), inclusive, there is no flickering of the image, but at least 50% and below it can already be seen in a test for the presence of a stroboscopic effect or simply with rapid eye movement. Depending on individual sensitivity, this flickering may cause increased fatigue.
This screen uses a Super AMOLED matrix - an active matrix on organic light-emitting diodes. A full-color image is created using subpixels of three colors - red (R), green (G) and blue (B), but there are twice as many green subpixels, which can be referred to as RGBG. This is confirmed by a fragment of a microphotograph:
For comparison, you can see the gallery of microphotographs of screens used in mobile technology.
In the fragment above you can count 4 green subpixels, 2 red (4 halves) and 2 blue (1 whole and 4 quarters), and by repeating these fragments, you can lay out the entire screen without breaks or overlap. For such matrices, Samsung introduced the name PenTile RGBG. The manufacturer calculates the screen resolution based on the green subpixels; based on the other two, it will be two times lower. The location and shape of the subpixels in this variant is similar to that in the case of the screen of the Samsung Galaxy S4 and some other newer devices from Samsung with AMOLED screens. This version of PenTile RGBG is better than the old one with red squares, blue rectangles and stripes of green subpixels. However, some unevenness of contrast borders and other artifacts are still present.
The screen is characterized by excellent viewing angles, although white color, when deviated even at small angles, acquires a slight blue-green tint, but black color is just black at any angle. So black that the contrast setting is not applicable in this case. When viewed perpendicularly, the uniformity of the white field is excellent. For comparison, here are photographs showing Samsung Galaxy Alpha screens (profile Basic) and the second comparison participant, identical images were displayed, while the brightness of the screens was initially set to approximately 200 cd/m², and the color balance on the camera was forced to switch to 6500 K. White field:
We note the excellent uniformity of brightness and color tone of the white field (light moire is an artifact of shooting, not the screen). And a test picture (profile Basic):
Color rendition is good, however, the color balance of the screens differs noticeably and the colors of the Samsung Galaxy Alpha are slightly more saturated. This is for the profile Basic, there are four in total:
At the same time in the profile Adaptive display, apparently, some kind of color rendering adjustment is performed depending on the ambient lighting and, perhaps, the nature of the image:
But we have not tested this functionality.
Let's compare all four profiles (to change the picture, click on it):
Adaptive display:
Adaptive display— color saturation is high, but skin tones are slightly affected. Movie AMOLED— saturation and color contrast are high, the skin is excessively reddish. Photo AMOLED— saturation is high, but color contrast is normal, the skin is excessively reddish.
Now at an angle of approximately 45 degrees to the plane and to the side of the screen (again profile Basic). White field:
The brightness at an angle for both screens has noticeably decreased (to avoid strong darkening, the shutter speed was increased by 2.5 times compared to the previous two photographs), but in the case of Samsung the drop in brightness is much less pronounced. As a result, with formally the same brightness, the Samsung Galaxy Alpha screen visually looks much brighter (compared to LCD screens), since you often have to look at the screen of a mobile device from at least a slight angle. And a test picture:
It can be seen that the colors have not changed much on both screens and the brightness of the Samsung at an angle is noticeably higher. Switching the state of the matrix elements is performed almost instantly, but at the switching edge there may be a step with a width of 16.7 ms (which corresponds to a screen refresh rate of 60 Hz). For example, this is what the dependence of brightness on time looks like when moving from black to white and back:
In some conditions, the presence of such a step can lead to plumes trailing moving objects, but in normal use these artifacts are difficult to see. Quite the contrary - dynamic scenes in films on OLED screens are distinguished by high clarity and even some “jerky” movements.
In case one of three profiles is selected, except the profile Movie AMOLED, constructed using 32 points with equal intervals according to the numerical value of the shade of gray, the gamma curve did not reveal any blockage in either highlights or shadows, and the index of the approximating power function is equal to 2.20-2.21, which is almost equal to the standard value of 2.2 , while the real gamma curve deviates very little from the power-law dependence (the captions in parentheses show the indicator of the approximating power function and the coefficient of determination):
For the Film AMOLED profile, the gamma curve has a slightly pronounced S-shaped character, which increases the visible contrast of the image, but in the shadows the distinguishability of shades remains.
Let us recall that in the case of OLED screens, the brightness of image fragments dynamically changes in accordance with the nature of the displayed image - it decreases for generally light images. As a result, the resulting dependence of brightness on hue (gamma curve) most likely slightly does not correspond to the gamma curve of a static image, since the measurements were carried out with sequential display of shades of gray on almost the entire screen. This image dynamism increases when you select the option Auto tuning screen brightness. In this case, on the graph of brightness (vertical axis) versus time (horizontal axis), when moving from black to white and back, a falling section appears, that is, the brightness of the white field after 333 ms (20 screen refresh cycles) begins to decrease, as can be seen in the above above chart.
Color gamut for profiles Adaptive display And Movie AMOLED very wide and almost covers the Adobe RGB gamut:
When selecting a profile Photo AMOLED coverage is adjusted to Adobe RGB boundaries:
When selecting a profile Basic The coverage is further compressed, almost to the limits of sRGB:
Without correction, the spectra of the components are very well separated:
In case of profile Basic with maximum correction, the color components are already noticeably mixed with each other:
Note that on screens with a wide color gamut, without appropriate correction, the colors of regular images optimized for sRGB devices appear unnaturally saturated. Hence the recommendation - in most cases, watching movies, photographs and everything natural is better when choosing a profile Basic, and only if the photo was taken on an Adobe RGB setting, does it make sense to switch the profile to Photo AMOLED. Profile Movie AMOLED, despite the name, is the least suitable for watching movies or anything else.
The balance of shades on the gray scale is not ideal, but, in general, acceptable. Color temperature in profiles Adaptive display And Movie AMOLED above 6500 K, in the remaining two - close to 6500 K, while in a significant portion of the gray scale this parameter does not change very much. The deviation from the blackbody spectrum (ΔE) over most of the gray scale remains below 10 units, which is considered a good indicator for a consumer device, and also does not change much:
(The darkest areas of the gray scale can in most cases be ignored, since color balance there is not very important, and the error in measuring color characteristics at low brightness is large.)
Let's summarize. The screen has a fairly high maximum brightness and has good anti-glare properties, so the device can be used outdoors without any problems, even on a sunny summer day. In complete darkness, the brightness can be reduced to a comfortable value. It is permissible to use a mode with automatic brightness adjustment, which works quite adequately. The advantages of the screen include a very good oleophobic coating, as well as a color balance close to standard (if you select the appropriate profiles). At the same time, let us remind you about the general advantages of OLED screens: true black color (if nothing is reflected in the screen), excellent uniformity of the white field, noticeably less than that of LCDs, and a drop in image brightness when viewed at an angle. Disadvantages include modulation of screen brightness. For users who are particularly sensitive to flicker, this may cause increased fatigue. However, overall the screen quality is very high.
Sound
In terms of sound, the smartphone is average. The device also has a separate sound chip, and the speaker is cleverly placed not at the back, but at the bottom end, so that the sound is not blocked by the table surface when the smartphone is lying face up. The Galaxy Alpha produces medium-volume sound that is fairly clear, but without a noticeable presence of low frequencies. The interlocutor's speech is recognized confidently, the auditory speaker clearly conveys all the intonations and timbre of the voice, but the speaker sounds dull, as if through a layer of cotton wool.
To play melodies, a proprietary player with the maximum number of settings is used as standard. All sound effects are combined with a technology called SoundAlive - although some of them are only available with connected headphones. The same applies to the sound optimization function. There are a lot of different virtual effects, they are combined into a matrix of squares, you can experiment for a very long time.
Traditionally, an FM radio is not included in the standard configuration of a smartphone, but there is a voice recorder, and the developers have improved its functionality. The smartphone does not have three microphones, like the Galaxy Note 4, but only two, so they are used only in a new mode called “Conversation”, in which recording occurs simultaneously from two sound sources to two microphones, but in the “Meeting” mode with the ability distinguish up to 8 sound sources, not here.
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Camera
In terms of cameras, the Samsung Galaxy Alpha is equipped less richly than the flagship Galaxy S5 and Note 4. The smartphone has two digital camera modules with a resolution of 12 and 2.1 megapixels. The front camera takes pictures with a maximum resolution of 1920×1080, and also shoots video with the same resolution.
The main rear camera has a 12 megapixel matrix. The camera is equipped with autofocus and an LED flash, but there is no intelligent optical stabilization (Smart OIS) function, like the flagships. Among other camera features, there is a selective focus mode that allows you to highlight a specific part of the image, leaving the background blurred.
When shooting at maximum resolution, photos are 4608x2592 pixels in size. The settings menu is clear and intuitive, divided into equal cells, each of which is always visible and interactive. The icons are clearly drawn, everything is perfectly visible even in the brightest sunlight, and in general the implementation of the camera control menu in the latest Samsung devices is one of the best on the market.
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The camera can shoot video in UHD resolution (4K), with a choice of several resolutions up to a maximum of 3840x2160. The most interesting of the modes in terms of image quality, Full HD at 60 frames/s, is also available here, but you won’t immediately find it - it is hidden behind a recording mode called “Smooth Motion”. In addition, the settings also include slow and fast shooting modes. Examples of test videos are presented below.
- Video No. 1 (153 MB, 3840×2160, 4K)
- Video No. 2 (43 MB, 1920×1080, 1080p, 30 fps)
- Video No. 3 (48 MB, 1920×1080, 1080p, 60 fps)
- Video No. 4 (78 MB, 1280×720, slow motion)
- Video No. 5 (3 MB, 1920×1080, accelerated)
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The foliage is well done. In the photo you can see a slight soapiness. |
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The color of the sky is quite even. |
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The camera copes well with noise in the shadows. The foliage in the background blends together in places. |
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The camera's dynamic range is not very wide. |
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A barely noticeable sharpening is visible on the wires. It would be possible to do without it. |
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In the light the foliage worked well. In places it is emphasized by sharpening. |
| Auto mode | HDR mode |
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| In HDR mode, the camera “reveals” the shadows without touching the sky - a very reasonable algorithm. | |
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| This increases sharpness. The image looks nice. | |
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| Amusing metamorphoses occur with the car number on the left: in normal mode it reads “264”, and in HDR mode it reads “254”. Still, when mixing, some small details may disappear. | |
Unlike the flagship Note 4, the Alpha has a 12-megapixel camera module, which we haven't seen before. However, there were some “borrowings” here - the pictures have a slight soapiness, like the Note 4, although here it is not so pronounced. However, the rest of the camera is very good. Of course, not all the details are perfect (perhaps a problem with the optics), but overall everything is very good. The noise reduction does its job well, although sometimes it is too harsh. The sharpening is almost invisible; it slightly emphasizes the foliage in the background, which still merges. The only thing that spoils the overall picture is the slight blurriness of the entire image (we will assume that it is due to the optics). Overall, the camera is good and is perfect for various use cases.
We also tested the camera on a laboratory bench using our method.
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Lighting ≈3200 lux. The camera does a good job, but the image feels blurry. |
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Lighting ≈1400 lux. The situation is not changing. |
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Lighting ≈130 lux. The resolution drops noticeably, but the noise is almost invisible. |
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Lighting ≈130 lux, flash. The flash improves the situation significantly. |
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Lighting<1 люкс, вспышка. В темноте вспышка справляется не хуже. |
The graphs show that in terms of resolution, Alpha is almost at the level of its, perhaps, main competitors - Xperia Z3 Compact and iPhone 6, noticeably inferior to them only in low light. But the camera compensates for this shortcoming with a powerful, albeit rather narrow flash. However, you shouldn’t overuse shooting in poor lighting, and in good lighting the camera is quite capable of producing excellent results.
Telephone and communications
The smartphone works as standard in modern 2G GSM and 3G WCDMA networks, and also has support for fourth generation networks (LTE) used in Russia. In practice, with a SIM card from the domestic operator MTS, the smartphone confidently recognizes and works with 4G networks. Moreover, among the device’s specifications is support for LTE Cat6, which in theory means the maximum possible download speed of up to 300 Mbit/s. In reality, of course, we were unable to achieve such figures.
In general, the network capabilities of the smartphone are extensive and correspond to a truly top level: there is support for NFC technology, Bluetooth 4.0 (ANT+), Wi-Fi 802.11a/b/g/n/ac has support for two bands (2.4 and 5 GHz), as well as 2x2 MIMO mode - in it, data can be received and transmitted in two streams, that is, up to two times faster than in the first generations of 802.11ac-compatible devices.
As a standard, you can organize a wireless access point via Wi-Fi or Bluetooth channels, USB OTG is supported, but there is no MHL support, unlike other Samsung flagships. The navigation module works with both GPS and the domestic Glonass system, and also sees satellites of the Chinese Beidou.
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There were no spontaneous reboots/shutdowns observed during testing, as well as system slowdowns or freezes. When you bring the smartphone to your ear, the screen is blocked by the proximity sensor. The LED indicator at the top of the front panel provides notification of charging status and incoming events.
The screen of the smartphone is not one of the largest; in the Russian layout, the drawing of letters is quite small, but there were no erroneous clicks. It’s very convenient that there is a dedicated top row with numbers - you don’t have to switch the layout every time. By the way, it is inconvenient to switch the layout by scrolling sideways using the spacebar key - there is no dedicated button for this purpose. The phone application supports Smart Dial, that is, while dialing a phone number, a search is immediately carried out in contacts. There is support for continuous sliding input, but there is no option to move the keyboard closer to one of the edges, as on the Galaxy Note series tablet phones, but this is not required - everything can be reached with the fingers of one hand.
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OS and software
The operating system uses the latest version of the Google Android 4.4.4 KitKat software platform, on top of which is traditionally installed its own proprietary graphical user interface TouchWiz. The internal structure of the shell, all menus, settings items and pop-up contextual submenus are all exactly the same as the Galaxy S5.
The settings menu can look like a long scroll or separate blocks with icons grouped by topic. The notifications menu received two additional dedicated oval buttons for quick access to searching throughout the smartphone and enabling the function of quickly connecting to familiar networks. You can display a special button on the home screen, which, when clicked, opens a context menu with quick access to the most popular applications. If you slide the home screen to the left, you'll see the Flipboard interactive news feed, which is very similar in functionality to HTC BlinkFeed. You can lock the screen using a fingerprint, the scanner of which is built into the central key under the screen.
Multitasking mode supports working with two windows. There is support for working with gestures, both contact and non-contact. Naturally, there is also an extreme energy saving mode, previously demonstrated on the example of the Galaxy S5, when all colors become shades of gray, and the number of applications allowed to work is limited to the most basic ones. The private mode ensures the safety of personal information; with one movement of a finger, you can hide personal content from prying eyes, after which it will become accessible only with a password.
The pre-installed application for tracking your own health, called S Health, has a wide range of health-promoting functions: pedometer, exercise recording, nutrition monitoring, fitness trainer. Now, in addition to reading heart rate using a sensor located on the back, the program also measures stress resistance.
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Performance
The Samsung Galaxy Alpha hardware platform is based on the latest single-chip system (SoC) of Samsung's own production - Exynos 5 Octa 5430, made using a 20 nm process technology. The eight-core processor here has 4 Cortex-A15 cores operating at a frequency of up to 1.8 GHz, as well as 4 Cortex-A7 cores, the maximum operating frequency of which is 1.3 GHz. The graphics core of the SoC is the Mali-T628MP6 GPU, operating at 600 MHz.
The smartphone has 2 GB of RAM and 32 GB of built-in flash memory, of which about 25 GB is allocated for user needs. Memory expansion using microSD cards is not provided here. It supports connecting external flash drives to the Micro-USB port using a special OTG adapter.
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To get an idea of the performance of the platform of the smartphone under test, we will conduct a standard set of tests.
For convenience, we have compiled all the results we obtained when testing the smartphone in the latest versions of popular benchmarks into tables. The table usually adds several other devices from different segments, also tested on similar latest versions of benchmarks (this is done only for a visual assessment of the obtained dry figures). Unfortunately, within the framework of one comparison it is impossible to present the results from different versions of benchmarks, so many worthy and relevant models remain “behind the scenes” - due to the fact that they once passed the “obstacle course” on previous versions of test programs.
Testing in MobileXPRT, as well as in the latest versions of AnTuTu and GeekBench 3:
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In the AnTuTu test, the smartphone demonstrates very high performance, but it’s worth considering that the new, fifth version of the popular benchmark is now used, in which the resulting numbers have increased significantly, so it’s no longer possible to directly compare the results of the new product with the results of most last year’s models. (We will mark in the tables which versions of the benchmark this or that model was tested with, until there are again enough models tested in the fifth version of the test for comparison.) However, in this case, the competitors selected for comparison have also already been tested in the fifth version of AnTuTu , and among them the hero of today’s review still found himself in the lead. In any case, the Samsung Galaxy Alpha smartphone is the most powerful and productive mobile device available at the moment, the power of which will be enough for a long time to complete any assigned tasks. Looking ahead, you can see that in terms of autonomy, the Samsung Galaxy Alpha demonstrates unexpectedly good results, despite the rather small volume of the battery installed in it.
When testing in 3DMark, the most powerful smartphones now have the ability to run the application in Unlimited mode, where the rendering resolution is fixed at 720p and VSync is disabled (which can cause the speed to rise above 60 fps).
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Results of testing the graphics subsystem in the Epic Citadel gaming test, as well as Basemark X and Bonsai Benchmark:
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Browser cross-platform tests:
As for benchmarks for assessing the speed of the javascript engine, you should always make allowance for the fact that their results significantly depend on the browser in which they are launched, so the comparison can only be truly correct on the same OS and browsers, and this is possible during testing not always. For Android OS, we always try to use Google Chrome.
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Playing video
To test the omnivorous nature of video playback (including support for various codecs, containers and special features, such as subtitles), we used the most common formats, which make up the bulk of the content available on the Internet. Note that for mobile devices it is important to have support for hardware video decoding at the chip level, since it is most often impossible to process modern options using processor cores alone. Also, you shouldn’t expect a mobile device to decode everything, since the leadership in flexibility belongs to the PC, and no one is going to challenge it.
According to the testing results, the subject was not equipped with all the decoders necessary for full playback of most of the most common files on the network, in this case audio files. To successfully play them, you will have to resort to the help of a third-party player - for example, MX Player. True, even in it you will first have to change the settings, switching from hardware decoding to software or to a new mode called Hardware+(not supported by all smartphones), only then will sound appear. All results are summarized in a table.
| Format | Container, video, sound | MX Video Player | Standard video player |
| DVDRip | AVI, XviD 720×400 2200 Kbps, MP3+AC3 | plays normally | plays normally |
| Web-DL SD | AVI, XviD 720×400 1400 Kbps, MP3+AC3 | plays normally | plays normally |
| Web-DL HD | MKV, H.264 1280×720 3000 Kbps, AC3 | Hardware+ | |
| BDRip 720p | MKV, H.264 1280×720 4000 Kbps, AC3 | plays fine with decoder Hardware+ | The video plays fine, but there is no sound¹ |
| BDRip 1080p | MKV, H.264 1920×1080 8000 Kbps, AC3 | plays fine with decoder Hardware+ | The video plays fine, but there is no sound¹ |
¹ MX Video Player only played sound after switching to software decoding or a new mode Hardware+; The standard player does not have this setting
We did not find the MHL interface, like Mobility DisplayPort, in this smartphone, so we had to limit ourselves to testing the output of video files on the screen of the device itself. To do this, we used a set of test files with an arrow and a rectangle moving one division per frame (see “Methodology for testing video playback and display devices. Version 1 (for mobile devices) 720/24p
Note: If in both columns Uniformity And Passes Green ratings are given, this means that, most likely, when watching films, artifacts caused by uneven alternation and frame skipping will either not be visible at all, or their number and visibility will not affect the viewing comfort. Red marks indicate possible problems with playback of the corresponding files.
According to the criterion of frame output, the quality of playback of video files on the screen of the device itself is good, since frames (or groups of frames) can be output with more or less uniform alternation of intervals and without skipping frames. When playing video files with a resolution of 1920 by 1080 (1080p) on a smartphone screen, the image of the video file itself is displayed exactly along the border of the screen. The brightness range displayed on the screen actually corresponds to the standard range of 16-235 - in the shadows only a couple of shades merge with black, but in the highlights all gradations of shades are displayed.
Battery life
The lithium-ion battery installed in the Samsung Galaxy Alpha has a very small capacity of 1860 mAh for a modern smartphone. This is due, first of all, to the thin and light body of the smartphone, in which practicality was sacrificed for elegance. However, all the worries about the too small battery, to everyone's surprise, turned out to be in vain. The new 20 nm process technology used in the production of the completely redesigned SoC used here, coupled with the low resolution and physical display area, made it possible not only to achieve an increase in performance, but also to make the operation of the hardware system more economical. As a result, the smartphone demonstrated excellent battery life results for its level.
| Battery capacity | Reading mode | Video mode | 3D Game Mode | |
| Samsung Galaxy Alpha | 1860 mAh | 17:40 | 9:30 a.m. | 4:00 am |
| Sony Xperia Z3 Compact | 2600 mAh | 22:00 | 10:00 am | 5:00 a.m. |
| ZTE nubia Z7 mini | 2300 mAh | 13:20 | 7:20 am | 4 hours 50 minutes |
| HTC One mini 2 | 2100 mAh | 15:20 | 8 a.m. 20 p.m. | 3 hours 50 minutes |
| Alcatel Idol 2 mini S | 2000 mAh | 15:50 | 9:00 a.m. | 4:00 am |
| Asus Padfone E | 1820 mAh | 15:20 | 7 h. 10 m. | 3 hours 50 minutes |
| Samsung S4 mini | 1900 mAh | 16:40 | 10:30 a.m. | 4 hours 40 minutes |
| LG G2 mini | 2440 mAh | 16:00 | 10:00 am | 5:00 a.m. |
Continuous reading in the FBReader program (with a standard, light theme) at a minimum comfortable brightness level (brightness was set to 100 cd/m²) lasted almost 18 hours until the battery was completely discharged, and when continuously watching videos in high quality (720p) with the same brightness level over a home Wi-Fi network, the device lasted almost 10 hours. In 3D gaming mode, the smartphone worked for about 4 hours.
The smartphone battery charges very quickly - here the developers have provided a fast charging function, in which the battery is charged by about half in half an hour, but for this you need to use the included charger. Fully charging the battery takes less than two hours.
Bottom line
As for the cost of the Samsung Galaxy Alpha, its price for our market has already been determined; the smartphone is officially sold in retail chains at a price of 25 thousand rubles. And this, perhaps, is one of the few negative aspects when taking a comprehensive look at the new product. The device as a whole turned out to be very, very interesting, this also applies to the design, which Samsung turned out to be extremely pleasant and even somewhat elegant, and excellent performance, and a very good camera, as well as unexpectedly decent battery life. The lack of memory expandability and the use of the Nano-SIM format are, of course, disadvantages, but it is pointless to discuss them, because the same disadvantages (or, if you prefer, “features”) are also found in the Apple iPhone, with which the new product was designed to compete. But the Koreans could easily play with the price, making the choice in favor of a Samsung device even more justified for buyers. But this did not happen, the Koreans set a very high price for their new product, which is unlikely to have a positive effect on sales, but the company is not betting on high sales of this model, it is more like an experiment. The unusual positioning of the smartphone, its “contrived” position in the line as a “designer”, already the third current flagship, serves as confirmation of this. Of the objective disadvantages of the device, perhaps the only thing we can highlight is the screen, which is not of the highest quality, with a resolution that does not reach the flagship level. Perhaps this was done out of fear of losing in autonomy, and if this is so, then the developers have achieved their goal. Otherwise, the smartphone turned out to be quite good, and if not for its prohibitively high price, it could have become a very competitive solution in its market segment.
Frankly speaking, design has never been the strong point of Samsung smartphones. They can be praised for anything, but not for their appearance. Firstly, most of the modern devices in the current GALAXY line are very similar to each other - only the proportions of the case and its dimensions have changed. Koreans still make smartphones from plastic, although even many B-brands have switched to metal. It turns out that the company’s devices were chosen by those for whom top-end technical characteristics are more important than an interesting exterior. Of course, there are a lot of such buyers - otherwise Samsung simply could not compete with Apple and the rest. However, the company did not have a truly beautiful and fast smartphone in its product range. Still. The “designer” GALAXY Alpha should fill this annoying gap.
So that no one finds it boring, Samsung engineers have prepared a number of interesting gizmos for the Alpha. For example, it runs on a proprietary eight-core chip of the latest generation with the ability to load all eight threads at once, which can be important when performing some complex and resource-intensive task. GALAXY Alpha also has a new modem from Intel, which allows you to receive data on mobile networks at speeds of up to 300 Mbit/s. The picture is completed by a very nice Super AMOLED display with HD resolution. In general, the new creation of the Koreans will be interesting not only to fashionistas, but also to geeks - one glance at the technical specifications plate is enough to understand: everything should be in perfect order with the filling of this gadget.
⇡ Technical specifications
| Samsung GALAXY Alpha (SM-G850F) | |
|---|---|
| Display | 4.7 inches, 720 × 1280 (HD), Super AMOLED |
| Touch screen | Capacitive, up to 10 simultaneous touches |
| Air gap | No |
| Oleophobic coating | Eat |
| Polarizing filter | Eat |
| CPU | Samsung Exynos 5 Octa 5430: four ARM Cortex-A15 cores, 1.8 GHz + four ARM Cortex-A7 cores, 1.3 GHz (ARMv7, 32 bit), ARM big.LITTLE architecture process technology 20 nm |
| Graphics controller | ARM Mali-T628 MP6, 600 MHz |
| RAM | 2 GB DDR3 |
| Flash memory | 32 GB (approx. 25.5 GB available) There is no possibility to install memory cards |
| Connectors | 1 × Micro-USB 2.0 1 × 3.5mm headset jack 1 × Nano-SIM |
| cellular | 2G/3G/4G One Nano-SIM format SIM card Modem Intel XMM7260 |
| Cellular connection 2G | GSM/GPRS/EDGE 850/900/1800/1900 MHz |
| Cellular 3G | HSDPA+850/900/1900/2100 MHz |
| Cellular 4G | LTE-A Cat. 6 (300/50 Mbps) 800/850/900/1800/1900/2100/2600 MHz (Band 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 20) |
| WiFi | 802.11a/b/g/n/ac 2.4/5 GHz + Wi-Fi Direct; MIMO (2x2) |
| Bluetooth | 4.0 + A2DP+ EDR + LE |
| NFC | Eat |
| IR port | No |
| Navigation | GPS, A-GPS, GLONASS, BeiDou |
| Sensors | Light Sensor, Proximity Sensor, Accelerometer/Gyroscope, Magnetometer (Digital Compass), Fingerprint Sensor, Heart Rate Sensor |
| Main camera | 11.9 MP (4608 × 2592), autofocus, dual LED flash |
| Front-camera | 2.1 MP (1920 × 1080) |
| Nutrition | Removable 7 Wh battery (1860 mAh, 3.8 V) |
| Size | 132 × 65.5 mm Case thickness: 6.7 mm |
| Weight | 115 g |
| Water and dust protection | No |
| operating system | Google Android 4.4.4 (KitKat) Own TouchWiz shell |
| Guarantee period | 12 months |
| recommended price | 24,990 rubles |
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Samsung GALAXY Alpha - information about the system and hardware according to the CPU-Z application
⇡ Appearance and ergonomics
In fact, recognizing a Samsung phone in an Alpha is not so difficult: all the proprietary features are in place. If the device is lying on the table with its back down, one glance at it is enough to understand that the gadget comes from South Korea. At the bottom of the front panel there is an elongated hardware Home key equipped with a biometric sensor. Next to it are two backlit touch keys - “Menu” and “Back”. Everything here is familiar and standard. At the top of the panel there is an optocoupler for the light sensor and a lens for the front-facing, two-megapixel webcam. The surface of the panel is smooth - it is covered with tempered glass of the new generation Corning Gorilla Glass 4, and underneath there is a texture in the form of numerous pluses.
Samsung GALAXY Alpha - front panel
“Alpha” differs from other Samsung devices in its small body dimensions. The thickness of the device is the smallest among all devices in the Galaxy - 6.7 millimeters. It also weighs very little - only 115 grams. GALAXY Alpha is a smartphone that is really convenient to use with one hand, primarily due to its small screen diagonal of 4.7 inches. In terms of size and ease of use, the device can be compared to the sixth iPhone. The thought immediately arises: “Alpha” was assembled in order to compete with this particular device, because other Samsung smartphones are either much larger than it or inferior in characteristics.
Samsung GALAXY Alpha with screen on
There is essentially one significant change in design compared to other devices in the GALAXY line: the use of a metal frame with sharp edges instead of a plastic, streamlined one. Of course, the visually unpainted aluminum frame makes the device more austere and, if you like, expensive. The shine of metal is what many have been waiting for from Samsung for so long. By the way, for some reason the metal ends of the GALAXY Note 4 were painted to match the color of the body, which ruined the whole zen experience.
Samsung GALAXY Alpha - top end
There are no complaints about the ergonomics of the device. The power key is located on the right side, right under the thumb. The volume control buttons are on the left side. To reach them, you don’t need to move your smartphone in your hand.
Samsung GALAXY Alpha - case
Judging by the official photographs, the back cover of the Alpha is plastic and also textured. On the back panel there is a main twelve-megapixel camera lens along with a dual LED flash.
Samsung GALAXY Alpha - SIM card slot
Under the back cover there is a removable 7 Wh battery and a slot for a Nano-SIM card. There is no slot for a flash drive in the GALAXY Alpha, which is somewhat strange.
We have no comments regarding the assembly of the device - no suspicious play or creaks were found during the week of testing, nor were there any colored streaks on the display if you squeezed the smartphone from the side. For this, apparently, it is worth saying thanks to the steel frame and the overall well-thought-out design of the device. Unfortunately, the Alpha Corps , unlike the company's flagship devices, not protected from dust and moisture.
