We get our hands on the Samsung Galaxy Alpha!

Samsung has always had a thing with plastic. Their previous flagship devices almost always had plastic bodies, a design choice that lasted until the Galaxy S5. While there’s nothing wrong with plastic per se, there’s been increasing pressure for the Korean juggernaut to produce a device that could go up against their rivals that used plastic, metal and even glass in their design. Enter the Galaxy Alpha, Samsung’s newest smartphone and product line that promises to deliver premium feel using a metal chassis.

Samsung Galaxy Alpha specs

• Octa-core processor, Quad 1.8GHz + Quad 1.3GHz
• 2GB of RAM
• 4.7-inch HD Super AMOLED display, 1280 x 720
• 32GB of non-expandable storage
• 12-megapixel rear camera
• 2.1-megapixel front camera
• 3G, LTE
• WiFi, Bluetooth 4.0, NFC, GPS
• 132.4 x 65.5 x 6.7 mm
• Android KitKat 4.4
• 1,860 mAh battery

Initial impressions: is this Samsung’s iPhone 6 killer?

We’ve handled Samsung products for a long time, but the Galaxy Alpha just felt different. While previous offerings of the Korean brand didn’t feel too shabby, the Alpha just screams premium from the moment you touch it. The metal sides and chassis of the device sets it apart from Samsung’s other offerings (the Note 4 notwithstanding).

Unlike other devices that simply encase the sides of their devices with metal (in the Alpha’s case, the material of choice is aluminum), Samsung has spent a lot of time making the sides of the device interesting to look at. The sides of the Alpha is polished and chamfered, and possesses a distinct design that’s similar to the Galaxy Note 4.

As is typical with Samsung, the company offers the Galaxy Alpha in two processor variants – a quad-core Snapdragon 801 and octa-core Exynos version. In the Philippines, you’re getting the Eynos variant.

Like Samsung’s other hi-end devices, the Galaxy Alpha sports a Super AMOLED panel with HD resolution. While the resolution choice may not please some, it’s actually not bad considering the size of the device. As is expected with any device fitted with Samsung’s Super AMOLED panel, the Galaxy Alpha’s display looks great, and is able to produce very vivid colors and contrast.

People bummed out about the Galaxy Alpha’s Exynos processor here in the PH shouldn’t worry, as the device is able to plow through benchmarks pretty easily. In AnTuTu, it manages to score a fantastic 49258. Of course, AnTuTu scores aren’t everything, but from what we could see and feel, the Galaxy Alpha felt extremely fast, even with Samsung’s TouchWiz UI layered on top.

Samsung’s new Exynos processor allows the two quad-core processors to work together, not just independently as was the case with the previous iterations of the Exynos line, which allows it to produce amazing results in synthetic benchmarks.

In the Philippines, the Galaxy Alpha will retail for Php 29,990, which is pretty steep considering what you’re getting. We’ve asked Samsung to send us a review device for a full review. We’re also uploading our hands-on video in a bit, so stand by for that.