OUR VERDICT
Samsung has created its most desirable and balanced phone yet, though there is a price to pay.
FOR
- Classy design
- Lightweight body
- Blistering performance
- 4.7-inch display well-sized and bright
- Good camera
AGAINST
- No microSD
- Fiddly finger sensor
- 720p display not quite as sharp as it could be
- TouchWiz UI still inferior to stock Android
- Battery life underwhelming
While Apple is being praised and mocked in unequal measure for launching the "bigger than bigger" iPhone 6 with a 4.7-inch display and the even bigger iPhone 6 Plus - is that a reversing beep I can hear? - Samsung has performed an about-turn of its own with the launch of the Galaxy Alpha.
This is the first Samsung smartphone I can remember using that values attractive design ahead of spec list box-ticking. Whilst it's not the finished article, it marks a welcome departure in an exciting new direction for the company.
It's also arguably the most balanced and comfortable-to-use premium phone Samsung has made since the Samsung Galaxy S2.
Make no mistake though - this is unknown, risky territory for Samsung. TheSamsung Galaxy Alpha is priced like a flagship phone, but it's technically out-specced by the Samsung Galaxy S5.
Since its launch there have been a number of price drops, and you can now get the Samsung Galaxy Alpha for under £350 if you shop around. That's quite a big drop from the £549.99 asking price it launched with.
Really, though, this simply reframes the age-old iOS vs Android argument with none of the platform bias - what makes a premium phone premium?
Design
Let's get the obvious comment out of the way early doors. The Samsung Galaxy Alpha looks a lot like an iPhone.
While it's clearly been released to pre-empt the launch of the iPhone 6, though, the Alpha's design is pure iPhone 4. It's got a very familiar flat-edged aluminium rim with that same nick-inviting chamfered edge. Even the machined speaker grid on the bottom edge is reminiscent of Apple's seminal phone.
Of course, the fact that Samsung has borrowed some ideas from Apple is far less noteworthy than the fact that it has finally adopted metal into its design process. Given how well the company has done with its first attempt, I have to ask: what took you so long, Samsung?
This is a lovely phone to hold. It sits in one hand delightfully. As someone with larger-than-average hands, I can just about stretch my thumb to each corner of the 4.7-inch display without needing to shuffle the handset around in my hands.
That's facilitated by a nice thin bezel and the Galaxy Alpha's super-thin body. At 6.7mm, it's not the thinnest phone in the world, but it's up there. It's also 0.2mm thinner than the similarly proportioned iPhone 6.
The result is that you'll probably find the Galaxy Alpha either slightly smaller or slightly bigger than you're used to. My view? Like Goldilocks and the middle-sized bed, this one feels just right. It offers a clear view of HD video, games and most web pages without sacrificing portability or one-handed usability.
Perhaps even more contentious is the Samsung Galaxy Alpha's display resolution. It's only ("only") 720p.
Complaints about this lower resolution are valid - particularly given the Galaxy Alpha's premium price - but only up to a point. Yes, other Android phones have hit the considerably sharper 1080p resolution standard in recent times, but the vast majority of these have been larger 5-inch displays.
In fact, if we're talking mainstream phones, only 2013's HTC One M7 really springs to mind as offering a 4.7-inch 1080p display.
In a sub-5-inch screen like this one, 720p feels perfectly adequate. That's not to say that you definitely won't notice the difference in sharpness between the Galaxy Alpha and (for example) the Galaxy S5. But as it is, using the phone in isolation, the Alpha's display is plenty sharp enough.
Indeed, with Samsung's expert - and still relatively unique - use of Super AMOLED technology, the Galaxy Alpha's picture positively pops from the screen. Colours are rich and contrast levels are exemplary, while you won't be experiencing inky blacks of this kind on any LCD panel.
It still lends some icons and images a slightly false, gaudy appearance, but once you're attuned to it (or once you've tuned it to your liking) other displays can look a little drab by comparison.
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