Samsung Galaxy Alpha: Top Reasons To Buy This Phone
Samsung recently launched the Galaxy Alpha which breaks the Samsung tradition of dull plasticky designs and brings something fresh in the game. It has got a powerful hardware and an impressive design. While the device seems to be pretty good, it lags behind in some areas. The price tag is high and even at that price, you don’t get a very high resolution display or the waterproofing of the Galaxy S5. We take a closer look at this device and try to figure out why this device is worth buying.
Metal frame
Samsung has received a lot of criticism in the past for making dull designs out of plastic. Other flagship devices like HTC One or Xperia Z3 offer really attractive design and excellent built quality while Samsung devices like Galaxy S5 look cheap as compared to them. Samsung tried to give the haters something with the Galaxy Alpha. It has got a nice design with a slim profile. It feels solidly built as compared to otherSamsung devices.
While everyone is talking big about the ‘Samsung device made out of metal’, the metal exists just along the sides. The back is still made out of plastic but to keep the device slim, the gap between panel and chassis is minimised which reduces the creaking that is observed on many Samsung devices. While the quality has improved, the design isn’t a huge shift from Samsung devices. You still get the physical home key up front and capacitive keys below the display. The device is well built but isn’t waterproof like the Galaxy S5. Coming from a Samsung device, it would really feel like an upgrade in terms of look and feel but if you have been using something like iPhone or HTC One, we would suggest you stick to that.
Processor
Just like the Samsung Galaxy S5, the Galaxy Alpha has got a powerful hardware. There are different versions of this device just like most other Samsung devices. Insome markets they sell the version powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 with the processor clocked at 2.5 GHz. In other markets, they sell the version that runs the Exynos 5 chipset. It has got two different quad core processors. One running at a maximum clock speed of 1.3 GHz and the other one at 1.8 GHz. This chipset, though not as powerful as the Qualcomm one on paper, is still an impressive performer. Not only that but it is also very efficient. When the device is handling your everyday jobs, it would put them on the 1.3 GHz processor so that less power is used and when more power is required, the other processor takes charge.
Do note that it has been termed as an octa core processor at times but actually it isn’t. Both the processors can’t operate at the same time so even at its very best; it is a 1.8 GHz quad core processor. The benchmark scores are pretty impressive and the quadrant scores are slightly better than the Galaxy S5. With this processor, you get 2 GB of RAM which is plenty.
Storage and connectivity
In the process of making a sleek and stylish device, Samsung has dropped the micro SD card slot on this device. But to make up for that, they have provided this device with 32 GB of internal storage. We think this is more than enough for most users. While the practicality of a micro SD card slot can’t be denied, it is actually very nice to get out of the trouble of managing storage. If you are using a device with micro SD card slot then you might take a while in getting spoilt but if you are using devices that don’t have micro SD slots, you will know how good life is when you don’t have to worry about moving files to micro SD or vice versa. Everything that goes into your device goes straight to the phone memory which exists as a single entity. Sure you miss out on features like USB mass storage mode or the safety of data just in case your phone dies but the ease of use makes up for it.
Battery
Okay before you take a look at the battery capacity of this device and get back to us, let us tell you that we aren’t talking about the battery size here. On paper this device has got a very small battery and it shouldn’t work very well on this package. But during actual usage, the 1860 mAh battery on the Galaxy Alpha manages to outperform the 2800 mAh batter of Galaxy S5 when it comes to standby. Obviously the difference of battery capacity would show when the device is handling power intensive jobs. While the small capacity would last longer due to the efficient hardware when minor jobs are being handled, the power consumption goes up like any other device when power is demanded pulling down the battery charge along with it.
Camera
The primary camera on the Samsung Galaxy Alpha has a resolution of 12 megapixels. It is a very impressive camera and you will be able to shoot some stunning pictures using the same. Yes it isn’t as good or technologically advanced as the camera on Galaxy S5 but it still is very good. The HDR feature works really well just like the Galaxy S5. You can capture lot of details in the frame if you decide to turn on the HDR. The camera app has been redesigned and offers a decent number of options. There are some manual controls as well if you are willing to try them. The camera can record 4K videos at 30 fps and the quality is very impressive. If you want to shoot at higher frame rates, you can choose for full HD at 60 fps or semi HD at 120 fps. The display resolution on the Galaxy Alpha might not be very impressive but the colour replication is very good. This will be noticeable in the still pictures viewed on device display.
Author ABS is an expert in mobile technology and loves to write about different handsets launched. He has listed the specifications Samsung galaxy alpha for the readers to make an informed buying decision.
