Review: Samsung’s Galaxy Alpha is a Sleeker, Slimmer Galaxy S5
Samsung’s Galaxy S5 is one of the most advanced smartphones in the world. But its plastic body and relatively bland design fall far short of the elegant stylings of Apple’s iPhone and HTC’s One M8.
That’s where the new Galaxy Alpha comes in. The first genuinely attractive smartphone to come from Samsung, the Alpha seeks to put to rest all of those criticisms about the Korean tech giant’s inability to create a handset that’s aesthetically appealing as well as technically advanced.
Available exclusively through AT&T for $199 with a two-year contract, the 4.7-inch Galaxy Alpha packs many of the same features as the 5-inch Galaxy S5 in a smaller, more fashionable body. So should you make it your own? Let’s check it out.
Good looks at a cost
Daniel Howley/ Yahoo Tech)
The Galaxy Alpha is hands-down the best-looking phone Samsung has ever made. That’s thanks in large part to its slim design and metal frame. Sure, the front and back of the Alpha are still plastic, but the metal framing goes a long way toward making the phone more attractive.
It certainly looks better and feels sturdier than the all-plastic Galaxy S5. What’s more, the Alpha, like the iPhone and One M8, has polished, chamfered edges. Hold it right, and it glimmers in the midday sun.
Now, to say that the Alpha shares a passing resemblance to the iPhone 5s is an understatement. More than a few people who checked out my Galaxy Alpha review unit quipped that it looked exactly like an iPhone 5.
Standing at 5.2 inches tall and 0.26 inches thick, the Galaxy Alpha is both shorter and thinner than its stablemate, the Galaxy S5. Like the new iPhone 6, the Alpha features a 4.7-inch display, but the Apple phone is noticeably taller than the Samsung. It’s also a hair thicker than the Alpha and slightly heavier.
Daniel Howley/ Yahoo Tech)
To get the Alpha so thin and light, Samsung had to sacrifice a few of the features that made the Galaxy S5 so successful. Chief among them: the S5’s water resistance. So where the Galaxy S5 would happily take a dip in the pool and be no worse for wear, the Alpha would be begging for a life jacket.
Still, the smaller size (compared with the S5), means it’s easier to use the Alpha with one hand without worrying about dropping it, like I do with the Galaxy S5.
Screen and sound
Unlike the Galaxy S5, which rocks a 5-inch, 1920 × 1080 pixel resolution display, Samsung’s Galaxy Alpha comes with a smaller 4.7-inch 1280 × 720 screen. Yet despite that, the Alpha’s display is just as gorgeous as its big brother’s.
(Daniel Howley/ Yahoo Tech)
That’s because both phones use Samsung’s super active-matrix organic light-emitting diode, or Super AMOLED, display technology. Super AMOLED is known for offering deeper blacks than competing screen technologies, not to mention better battery life.
As with the Galaxy S5, the Galaxy Alpha’s display produces vibrant colors and deep blacks. Colors looked a bit truer on the iPhone 6, though. For example, a scene from The Hunger Games: Mockingjay trailer that took place in a dark corridor was difficult to make out on the Galaxy Alpha but was easily visible on the iPhone 6.
Despite that, I’m still a huge fan of Samsung’s colorful displays, and the Galaxy Alpha’s is no different.
(Daniel Howley/ Yahoo Tech)
If you’re looking for a smartphone with powerful external speakers, then you’re going to want to pass on the Galaxy Alpha. Sure, it can pump out volume, but it’s not as accurate as what you’d hear on something like the HTC One M8, which offers the best sound of any smartphone.
The more things change …
The Galaxy Alpha might look nothing like the Galaxy S5 on the outside, but power on the phone and the similarities are obvious. That’s because both handsets come loaded with Google’s Android KitKat operating system, topped off with Samsung’s TouchWiz interface.
(Daniel Howley/ Yahoo Tech)
That means the phones can run all the same apps and offer the same functionality. For example, like the S5, the Alpha features Samsung’s Multi Window mode, which lets you view two apps onscreen at the same time.
There’s also Samsung’s Toolbox, a floating shortcut menu with five of your favorite apps that you can access from anywhere on your phone. Even the Alpha’s Settings menu is the same as the Galaxy S5’s.
Adding to the list of features the Alpha gets from its larger sibling are its fingerprint reader and heart-rate monitor. Like the Touch ID found on Apple’s iPhone, the Alpha’s fingerprint reader is built into its home button. But the Alpha’s reader isn’t nearly as reliable as Apple’s.
Often, I found myself having to swipe and re-swipe my finger across the Alpha’s reader several times before it recognized my print.
(Daniel Howley/ Yahoo Tech)
Like the Galaxy S5, the Alpha’s heart-rate monitor is located on the phone’s back panel next to its camera. But unlike the Galaxy S5’s heart-rate monitor, which was inconsistent in its ability to read your pulse, the Alpha was easily able to provide me with my heart rate time and time again.
Camera
Photos taken with Galaxy Alpha’s 12-megapixel rear camera look nearly identical to those taken with the 16-megapixel camera on the Galaxy S5. Sure, the Galaxy S5’s photos are larger than the Alpha’s, but when it comes to overall image quality, the cameras are even.
(Daniel Howley/ Yahoo Tech)
A photo taken with the Alpha of a large field revealed that the handset’s camera, like the Galaxy S5’s, puts a greater emphasis on blues and greens. As a result, the field, which was soaked from rain, looked bright green. A picture of the same scene taken with the iPhone 6’s 8-megapixel iSight camera produced far subtler, more accurate colors.
(Daniel Howley/ Yahoo Tech)
Conversely, a shot taken of a flower with the Galaxy Alpha looked a bit washed out in certain areas. The iPhone’s photo, which was taken at the same time and angle, offered cooler colors.
(Daniel Howley/ Yahoo Tech)
Overall, the Galaxy Alpha’s camera produced quality images, though they couldn’t quite compare to the iPhone 6’s photos. And before you get in a tizzy about the iPhone 6’s camera having a lower megapixel count than the Alpha or S5, remember this: A greater number of megapixels does not a good camera make.
Performance and battery
The Galaxy Alpha packs a quad-core processor and 2 GB of RAM, which means it’ll easily handle almost anything you can throw at it. High-end games, however, will suffer a bit. Basic things like Candy Crush and its lot will run without a problem.
The one issue that Samsung fans might have with the Alpha is the fact that it doesn’t come with a microSD card slot. That means you can’t add any additional storage space beyond what the phone already comes with.
(Daniel Howley/ Yahoo Tech)
To make up for that, Samsung included 32 GB of storage with the Alpha. For most folks, that should be more than enough space. Still, the ability to add your own microSD card is something a lot of Samsung fans appreciate.
A smaller smartphone means a smaller battery, and that’s certainly the case with the Galaxy Alpha. Samsung has equipped this slim handset with a 1,860 mAh battery. That’s much smaller than the 2,800 mAh power plant found in the Galaxy S5.
Overall, the Alpha managed to get through the day with battery life to spare, as long as I wasn’t using it much. If you spend the day browsing the Web with the display brightness set too high, though, and you’ll sap the phone of juice relatively quickly.
Should you get one?
The Galaxy Alpha is Samsung’s best-looking smartphone to date. It’s incredibly thin and light, despite offering the same size screen as the iPhone 6, and its display is gorgeous. On the other hand, it lacks the Galaxy S5’s water resistance and expandable memory. The Alpha’s battery also won’t last nearly as long as the S5’s.
(Daniel Howley/ Yahoo Tech)
And then there’s the price. At $199, you’re paying for a phone that costs the same as the flagship Galaxy S5 or iPhone 6, without getting the same top-of-the-line specs like a 1080p screen and all-day battery life. That’s a letdown.
If you’re a Samsung fan who wants a small, stylish smartphone, you’ll definitely want to check out the Galaxy Alpha. But if you want something with a long-lasting battery and expandable memory, I’d recommend the Galaxy S5.
Email Daniel at dhowley@yahoo-inc.com; follow him on Twitter at @DanielHowley or on Google+ here.
