The elegant combination of last year’s flagship S5 and metal series A is Samsung Galaxy Alpha. Reviews, device capabilities, its technical specifications, opinions of owners and specialists - these are the things that will be discussed in detail in this short review material.
And what's in the kit?
This mobile phone belongs to the segment of the most productive and stylish devices. As a result, he has a fairly rich configuration. In addition to the gadget itself, it includes a rechargeable battery, a wired speaker system, a charger and a cord for connecting to a personal computer. Also a fairly impressive list of documentation is included with the Samsung Galaxy Alpha gadget: instructions user, warranty card and advertising booklet with a set of supported accessories and devices. In the latter case, we are talking about an impressive set of wearable devices, including smart watches of this South Korean manufacturer. There is no cover in the initial configuration, and the back cover of the device is made of plastic, so it will be difficult to do without it. But there is no need to buy an additional external drive for this device: there is no expansion slot in this smartphone.
Design and ergonomics
As noted earlier, there are similarities with the S5 and A-series on the Samsung Galaxy Alpha phone. Reviews highlight this feature. With last year's flagship, a back cover integrates. It is made of plastic, and its appearance is practically no different from the S5 cover. But with the A-series, the presence of metal ribs combines. Such a design solution makes the gadget body more durable. The front panel of the device is protected by Gorilla Glass last, 3rd generation with an oleophobic coating. The power button, like most Samsung devices of this series, is displayed on the right edge. In turn, the volume swing is located on the left side of the smartphone. Below are a loud speaker, a microphone for conversations and a MicroUSB format port. On the upper edge of the gadget there is a 3.5 mm audio jack and microphone to suppress external noise during a call. The main camera is displayed on the back of the phone. Next to it is the familiar LED backlight and heart rate monitor. A second camera (located above the display) and three standard buttons are displayed on the front panel of the device. 2 of them are sensory, 1 - mechanical. The latter has a built -in fingerprint scanner.
Finally, it is necessary to note the size of the phone. If the length of 132.4 mm and the width of 65.5 mm do not distinguish the device from the competition, then the thickness of 6.7 mm leaves all the analogs far behind. Weight - only 115 grams. It is a thin and light smartphone.
CPU and its features
The Samsung Galaxy Alpha phone is equipped with a very powerful 8-core processor. It operates on the basis of the proprietary development of a South Korean manufacturer - big.Little technology. Its essence is that the CPU is divided into 2 modules. One of them works at low frequencies and turns on when excessive performance is not needed. As soon as a resource-intensive application starts, it switches to another module that works at higher frequencies. This is exactly how Exynos 5430 functions. 4 of its A7 cores operate at 1.3 GHz (power saving mode), and the other 4 - at a more advanced A15 architecture - 1.8 GHz (run in peak performance mode). This chip is manufactured using a 20-nm process.
As a result, it can be noted that the computing resources of this smartphone will be enough for the next 2 years without problems. He will be able to cope with any task during this period, including the most demanding toys.
Graphics subsystem and display
The Samsung Galaxy Alpha phone is equipped with the highly efficient Mali-628T MP6 graphic accelerator. This is a six-core solution that can easily cope with any task at the moment. And in the next 2 years with the launch of application software on it should not be a problem. The display of this unit has an impressive diagonal of 4.7 inches. Its resolution is 720 x 1280. The matrix that underlies the screen is made using the Super AMOLED technology standard for this manufacturer. Viewing angles are close to 180 degrees, image quality and display brightness of the owners do not cause complaints.
Cameras
An excellent main camera, according to users, the Samsung Galaxy Alpha phone (gold) boasts. Photos and videos are perfect. Moreover, their quality is almost independent of the degree of illumination. This is not surprising - the camera is based on a high-quality 12-megapixel matrix. There is also a LED backlight, an optical image stabilization system, and many shooting modes. This allows you to get really high-quality images.
Regarding the video, it can be noted that the videos are recorded in 4K and at a speed of 30 frames per second. There is also a front camera, the matrix of which is based on a 2.1 MP sensor. Its capabilities are quite enough for making video calls. Well, for all other cases, there is a main camera, which is one of the best in its class today.
Memory
The new Samsung Galaxy Alpha has an impressive amount of RAM and a solid capacity of the built-in drive. In the first case, we are talking about 2 GB of the DDR 3 standard. They are enough for launching any application. But the built-in drive has a capacity of 32 GB, which again is quite enough for comfortable work. But an additional slot for installing an external drive, as noted earlier, is not in this device. But still, the declared capacity of 32 GB is more than enough for normal operation. This is confirmed by users.
Battery and autonomy
The most problematic technical feature is the capacity of the complete battery in the Samsung Galaxy Alpha gadget. Compare it with similar devices on this indicator is not difficult. Battery capacity - 1860 Ah. In this case, the display diagonal of the device is 4.7 inches. Also, do not forget that the CPU includes 8 cores, of which a maximum of 4 can be in operation. So it turns out that with an average level of use, the smartphone will have to be charged every night.
System software
The new Samsung Galaxy Alpha is running one of the most recent versions of the Android OS with serial number 4.4.2. It’s worth noting right away that you won’t be able to install any 64-bit application on this device. His operating system is 32-bit, and the central processor has a similar capacity. But in the next couple of years this problem will not be relevant, since a smooth transition is being made from 32-bit software to 64-bit. The operating system itself is supplemented by Samsung's proprietary interface - TouchWiz.
Application software
Among the pre-installed set of applications, in addition to the usual utilities, one can single out S Health - a program that allows you to correctly calculate the menu, physical activity and measure the pulse. In general, this is a useful application for those who care about their health. Otherwise, the set of application software on this gadget is identical to last year's flagship S5. This is the usual social international services, and standard mini-applications (calculator, calendar, etc.), and a set of utilities from Google. Everything that is missing in the initial state can be easily installed from the Play Market.
Communications
An impressive communication kit for this phone model. Let's start with wired interfaces. There are only two of them: MicroUSB and a 3.5 mm audio port. The first is universal. With it, you can connect this gadget to any personal computer or charge the battery. The second is used purely to output an audio signal to a wired stereo system.
Significantly more wireless interfaces are available in this phone. The usual Wi-Fi transmitter can work in two modes. In the first case, it connects to another device and works in receiver mode. In the second mode, called Wi-Fi Direct, this smartphone turns into a full-fledged mobile Wi-Fi Router. There is also a “3rd generation” Bluetooth, which is ideal for those cases where you need to transfer or receive small files to a similar device.
Regarding navigation, it can be noted that this phone has support for all existing systems today. This list includes satellite GPS, BAIDU, GLONASS and the A-GPS mobile positioning system. Not every navigator today boasts a set that is in any device of this line, including the Samsung Galaxy Alpha gadget (gold). Photos show two features. The first is the presence of a fingerprint sensor on a mechanical key. And the second is the presence of a heart rate monitor on the back of the phone.
Price. Where is better to buy ...
The average cost of this device at the moment is 420 dollars. But “Samsung Galaxy Alpha” in the “Messenger” is estimated at 24,900 rubles. Yes, this is slightly higher than in some other stores. But at the same time, extended support is provided, which includes special warranty service and the possibility of buying on credit. This compensates for slightly overpriced. Therefore, we can recommend the purchase of the device in the store "Svyaznoy". Samsung Galaxy Alpha is one of the best smartphones with a small diagonal display and excellent hardware stuffing.
Reviews of real owners
Now about the practical experience of using the Samsung Galaxy Alpha gadget. Reviews they highlight the presence of only one significant problem at the hardware level. This is a small battery capacity and a low degree of autonomy. A complete battery will have to be charged every night, even with an average level of smartphone use. Also, the rather high cost of this device is over 400 dollars. But quality phones may not be cheap by default. There is, of course, the Chinese Samsung Galaxy Alpha. In appearance, it is practically no different from the original. Only the side faces are not metal, but plastic, painted under aluminum. Well, the filling is much worse. Processor - MT6572 (total 2 A7 cores with a frequency of 1.2 GHz). There is also a slot for an external flash card, the capacity of the built-in drive is only 4 GB. The price of such a phone is $ 120. That is, this is an economical option for those who can not afford to purchase an original device.
Summary
If there were no complaints in the aspect of autonomy, then Samsung Galaxy Alpha would be almost ideal. Reviews once again indicate this. Its only drawback is the small battery capacity and, as a result, a small degree of autonomy. Otherwise, this is an excellent device, in which both the processor is productive and the display diagonal is solid, and the amount of memory is not satisfactory. In general, an ideal smartphone for those who want to get a gadget with a small diagonal and good hardware.