First impressions: Samsung Galaxy Alpha
NEW DELHI: Samsung Galaxy Alpha is the South Korean giant’s first smartphone to sport a metal design, marking a giant leap from its previous offerings. The company’s flagship phones have received criticism for their ‘plastic’ build at a time when the likes of HTC, Sony and other big names started incorporating metal. While Samsung has always maintained that the plastic form factor is as durable as other materials, it finally decided to join its rivals with the new Galaxy Alpha.
Positioned as a high-end smartphone offering, the phone combines a premium form factor with high-end hardware specifications, rivaling the likes of the Apple iPhone 6 and Sony Xperia Z3 Compact.
The Galaxy Alpha is as unabashedly a Samsung phone as the other offerings from the company, when it comes to the design cues that it follows. From the front, it looks like other Samsung phones complete with the standard oval-shaped, hardware Home key, and capacitive keys for Back and multitasking, just below the display. There’s a chrome grill for the earpiece at the top and the panel has a glossy, textured finish that looks premium.
There’s a metallic-looking band that surrounds the edges of the panel but it is only when you pick up the phone that you realize it is not just a chrome-finish embellishment but a solid, real metal frame. It even has chamfered edges that we’ve first seen on the iPhone 5 and HTC One but unlike the two, the edges are not even. It is slightly beveled towards all four corners.
The corners of the phone are rounded and look really good. The volume rocker key is located at the left edge while the power key is at the right. The keys are also made of metal, blending in nicely with the edges, and offer excellent tactile feedback.
The micro-USB port is at the bottom while the 3.5mm headset jack sits at the top edge.
We’ll have to say the metal frame makes the Galaxy Alpha the most attractive Samsung smartphone we’ve ever seen. The phone is lightweight at just 115gram and super thin at 6.7mm. However, it is solidly built and exudes a feeling of durability.
