Antenna nfc samsung alpha where is located. Comparison of Samsung Galaxy A5 and Samsung Galaxy Alpha. Bluetooth is a standard for secure wireless data transfer between different types of devices over short distances.

samsung galaxy Alpha- the first top-end smartphone from Samsung, which managed to embody compact dimensions, stylish design using metal in the construction and powerful specifications. The model became a kind of experiment and the Koreans really managed to make a bright and sophisticated device.

Appearance

When creating a smartphone, the Koreans were guided by the criticism that their flagship Galaxy S5 received in this regard, and tried to create something really bright and expressive, but at the same time stylish and strict. Despite the use of soft-touch plastic (according to the manufacturer, this makes the device more practical and convenient to use), the frame of the phone is made of premium aluminum, which makes positive adjustments to the overall appearance, giving the Galaxy Alpha more chic and image.

The model was the first in the line where metal was used in the case, but at the same time the model is very elegant, thin and light - 132.4 x 65.5 x 6.7 mm, and the weight is 114 g. The back cover received a finer texture than the flagship. By the way, on the front panel, under the glass, there is also a texture. The case has not received moisture protection, which may be a little disappointing for those who were waiting to see the IP67 certification.

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Comparison of Samsung Galaxy Alpha with Galaxy S5

Comparison of Samsung Galaxy Alpha with iPhone 5S

Hardware

The Samsung Galaxy Alpha boasts not only a stylish appearance, but its technical stuffing is the latest. The latest chipset Exynos 5 Octa 5430 is used as a "heart" at 8 I with a maximum clock frequency of 1.8 GHz, and a 6-core Mali T-628 GPU chip is responsible for the video. This, combined with 2 GB of RAM and an HD display resolution, will allow the smartphone to simply fly.

As for the main memory, here Korean engineers took care of its sufficient volume - 32 GB of internal storage, but they refused to use microSD cards and it is impossible to expand the available volume. As for the battery, its capacity cannot be called large - 1860 mAh. Such hot is undertaken in order to ensure thinness and lightness. It is worth remembering that the battery is removable and this is a definite plus.

However, the battery life is excellent - more than 11 hours of video playback at maximum brightness and Wi-Fi! This is a very high figure, so the numbers in the capacity designation should not scare you. In terms of communications, everything is on top: 802.11 a / b / g / n / ac, NFC, Bluetooth 4.0, USB 2.0, but there is no FM radio. The number of additional sensors is also amazing. Here you have an accelerometer, a gyroscope, a digital compass, a magnetic field sensor (Hall Sensor), classic light and proximity sensors, a hand motion sensor, and the last chips - a heart rate sensor and a fingerprint scanner.

Display and Camera

Galaxy Alpha measures 4.7 inches. This is re-edited Super AMOLED matrix with HD resolution (1280 by 720 pixels) and a density of 312 ppi. Completely redesigned, the display will provide the widest viewing angles, rich and accurate color reproduction and excellent maximum and minimum brightness. The screen also has an anti-reflective coating.

As for the camera, everything here is in the spirit of Samsung - high quality pictures and videos, even despite the presence of not the most progressive module on the market. Koreans know how to correctly connect the hardware and software parts and Galaxy Alpha is proof of this. The main module of 12 megapixels (4608 by 2592 pixels) can shoot 4K video at 30fps. Front camera with a resolution of 2.1 megapixels. All the necessary settings are available to create really high-quality and varied pictures.

Software

The default operating system is Android 4.4.4 KitKat, supplemented by a brand new generation TouchWiz shell. Colorful and bright, it has a standard mass of additional software, which not everyone will find proper use for. To save battery power, you can use a unique mode that limits the number of available applications and turns a colorful interface into black and white.

With the advent of the new Samsung Galaxy A5, the rumors around the Galaxy Alpha have died down, which was a rather talked about smartphone due to the new design and new body materials. Now the Galaxy A5 is supposed to replace the Alpha, and by the end of winter, Samsung will completely stop producing the latter. However, is it worth it? We need to compare both smartphones to understand the meaning of Samsung's action and find out what we can get.

• Samsung Galaxy Alpha is better:
  • top features and excellent performance
  • more camera features and a fingerprint scanner
  • more compact body
• Samsung Galaxy A5 is better:
  • much cheaper
  • the case is stronger and the design is modified
  • great for quality selfies
  • battery will last longer

Facts in numbers

Housing and materials

Design

Characteristics

The Galaxy A5 has a larger battery, which, combined with a less powerful processor, will allow the smartphone to work much longer and you will have to charge it less often than the Galaxy Alpha. However, the Alpha will allow you to install another battery at any time, but the A5 received a non-removable battery.

Be that as it may, but the Galaxy A5 is more new model and therefore the smartphone works with the new version of the Samsung TouchWiz interface. Galaxy Alpha will receive this only after updating to Android 5.0 Lollipop. Alpha also does not have the ability to change interface themes according to your desires. The new feature allows you to easily change the background, icons, sounds.

Both devices have an ultra-saving mode of operation. In this mode, the device at the last percentage of the battery will be able to work for a few more hours, if necessary. However, the Galaxy Alpha has both a fingerprint scanner and a heart rate monitor. Although for many it is not such a big loss.

Peculiarities

Samsung Galaxy Alpha

2014 became famous for the fact that it was during this period that it produced quite a lot of different devices that were interesting for their attractive characteristics and incredible design at that time. Both flagship and regular smartphones have been released with flagship prices but completely different specifications. Now we will talk about a smartphone called Samsung Galaxy Alpha, which turned out to be one of the company's thinnest devices.

The exact release date of the smartphone: August 13, 2014. But now many people want to get nostalgic and buy old products from well-known manufacturers, although they do not know whether to buy them now and whether it would be a mistake. This is exactly what today's review of an almost flagship called Samsung Galaxy Alpha will show.

Specifications

Completion and packaging

Samsung Galaxy Alpha Bundle

The box is made not in the style of wood, but in the color of the Samsung Galaxy Alpha case. The name of the Galaxy Alpha smartphone can be found on the top, and the characteristics of the device are printed on the bottom of the package. Inside, all accessories are located in separate places and pasted over with protective films. You can compare the equipment in smartphones in 2017-2018. and the delivery set of previous years - the difference is significant. The elements are neat, equipped with branded films and emblems.
Actually, the package consists of the following components:

• documentation, which includes instructions for use and a warranty card for the country that supplies the device;
• microUSB cable;
• headphones with a microphone and a button;
• charger with an output current of 1.55 A;
• a special cloth for cleaning the screen of the gadget;
• additional nozzles for a headset for different diameters of the ear passages;
• battery.

Interestingly, even the battery is sealed in a special sealed bag, like all other Samsung Galaxy Alpha accessories. By the way, the device itself is also completely sealed with films out of the box, on which there is a description of the most important features device is a beautiful and practical solution, because the screen of the device may be scratched during transportation. Tapes don't let you do that.

Video

Appearance and design

Will be useful

Samsung Galaxy Alpha was named the most beautiful and well-assembled smartphone of the company in 2014 by many editions of IT portals. This is not surprising, because it is not completely plastic - its frame is made of anodized aluminum. Naturally, opinions about appearance devices can differ significantly from person to person - our editors believe that the device is not very stylish, and the reader of the review may not think so. However, the design of the smartphone is similar to that of the Samsung Galaxy S4 and other flagships of the company in 2013-2014.

The back of the smartphone

As already mentioned, the device came to the mobile market in five colors: black, blue or blue, gray, white and gold. Below you can see different versions of the cover of the device. The front panel in all of them is painted to match the main body color, which is very remarkable and stylish.

The body of the device is made of polycarbonate and only the frame is made of metal. Overall, the build of the Samsung Galaxy Alpha is top notch. The device does not creak, the buttons do not play and are not pressed too tight, but not very easy either. The back cover is removable and it is removed very reluctantly. It has to be literally pulled out of the case to get to the battery. At first glance, this is good, but then you realize that with a little more physical force, you can tear off the latches, which will significantly affect the assembly of an expensive device.

The lid is soft and non-slip and has an interesting textured style - it contains many small recessed dots. It is because of this that the back panel is not slippery. Do not be afraid that the gadget will fall and it will end. The front panel is covered with third generation Corning Gorilla Glass.

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The dimensions of the Samsung Galaxy Alpha are 132.4x65x6.7 mm - as you can see, the gadget has a very small thickness and is one of the thinnest smartphones on the market in 2014. The weight of the gadget is only 115 grams - acceptable.

The volume rocker is located on the left side of the smartphone.

On the back side there is a Samsung logo, a main camera, an LED flash and a heart rate sensor. Front mounted sensors, front camera, 4.7-inch screen, two touch buttons below it and the main key, which returns the user to main screen and plays the role. By the way, the front side is also made in the form of a huge number of dots (this, of course, does not apply to the screen).

Below you can find a perforation zone for the main multimedia speaker, a microUSB connector and a hole for the main conversational microphone. On top, the company placed a headphone jack and a hole for an additional noise-canceling microphone that picks up all the noise. environment and enhances the sound quality during conversations. On the right side there is a power button, and on the left side you can find the volume buttons.

It is important to know

There are also very unpleasant moments for which it is worth scolding the design in full - the lack of any symmetry and the incorrect arrangement of the body elements. For example, on the bottom edge, the microUSB connector is for some reason extended so far to the rear panel that Samsung had to make a ledge above the case. Naturally, 6.7 mm of case thickness disappears and turns into 7 millimeters or more. The same situation is with the headphone jack. Was there really no place to install these parts exactly in the center?

The phone has a detachable back cover

The rest of the design is normal, it can be given 5 points out of ten, but it can be attributed to the minuses of the device - after all, the Samsung Galaxy Alpha is a premium smartphone, and the lack of symmetry in appearance does not look serious.

Display

On the front panel of the Samsung Galaxy Alpha is not very large, but quite interesting display with a diagonal of 4.7 inches. Its resolution is 1280x720 pixels, and the matrix is ​​traditionally made using Super AMOLED technology, which Samsung uses to this day. The bezels around the display are not very thick and are only 3.5 mm. The display is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 3. The sensor is responsive and supports up to ten simultaneous finger touches.

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In 2014, Super AMOLED was something special, but it wasn't without its pitfalls. Samsung has applied PenTile RGB pixel production technology to the display module, which is not visible at 2K or Full HD resolution, but at 720p resolution they are very visible. Because of this, the pixel grid is visible to the naked eye, and this is frustrating, since the price of the device is high. Yes, the screen is of high quality, made of good materials, but Samsung's policy remains unclear: why make an HD-resolution matrix and use PenTile? To only increase eye fatigue?

The Samsung Galaxy Alpha has a 4.7-inch display on the front.

The screen strongly goes into warm, then green colors. The eyes get tired quickly, but this is a subjective opinion, as different people may have different attitudes towards Super AMOLED panels.
But the picture is of good quality. If we talk about assessing the quality of the matrix, then there are no dead pixels. Then the Samsung Galaxy smartphones were the best in terms of displays, as they could not even step over the Korean manufacturer. One downside of Samsung's displays is the strong acidic colors and the lack of any kind of adequate balance.

But in defense of the screen, it is worth noting the software setting, thanks to which you can set the optimal contrast, brightness and color temperature depending on the current environmental conditions.

Software

The Samsung Galaxy Alpha runs on Android 4.4.4 KitKat operating system. By tradition, the Korean company has preinstalled its proprietary Samsung TouchWiz shell, which is absolutely no different from the same shell, but in Samsung Galaxy S4 smartphones, and. If it didn’t look very good then, then the shell from Samsung gave the OS more bright colors, various chips and settings. This is what makes TouchWiz one of the most beautiful software shells at the time of 2014-2015.

Android 4.4 KitKat

All icons are redrawn, the curtain is also changed. Everything looks colorful, stylish, the Samsung Galaxy Alpha smartphone really wants to be used only because of the shell. Out of the box, there are pre-installed Google services right away. You can add various interesting widgets, and all applications are located in a separate item called "Menu". Of the most important chips, it is worth noting free applications or services immediately with the purchase of a phone from Samsung. If you have to pay money for cloud storage in DropBox, then in Samsung Alpha, Samsung "paid" for you - you get as much as 50 GB of cloud storage for free.

Will be useful

There are also a huge number of free magazine subscriptions, apps including MapMyFitness, Easy Do Pro, 3 months of LinkedIn premium account and 1 terabyte of Bitcasa cloud storage. This is not the whole list of pre-installed applications and free subscriptions - only the main and popular ones are listed.

The fingerprint scanner is located in the home button

There is support for a fingerprint scanner. Unfortunately, it has not been improved by Samsung - if your fingers are wet or you hit the Home button incorrectly, then the fingerprint scanner will not recognize you, but in another case it helps to confirm payments in PayPal, and in other applications related to banking. transactions or electronic payments on the network.
If you are interested in learning more about the software shell, you can refer to our early reviews of gadgets from Samsung.

Sound

On the bottom edge of the Samsung Galaxy Alpha, there is one main multimedia speaker, which sounds average. Yes, it's a plus that the sound is not distorted, because in a smartphone, in any position on the table, the perforation zone is not blocked by the horizontal surface of the table or your palm. Low frequencies are not audible at all, but the sound is loud and clear, there are no wheezing. For the price, it's quite normal, Samsung even installed a separate sound chip - that's good.

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It is worth scolding the conversational speaker, which does not produce the most pleasant sound. It is muffled here, it's like someone stuffed cotton wool into the perforation area above the display. But on the other hand, it is clean, you can hear the intonation and clear speech of the person on the other end of the wire. There are two microphones here, they are at the highest level and show themselves acceptable for a premium device. One picks up all extraneous sounds and noises, and the second captures qualitatively the conversation of the Samsung Galaxy Alpha user.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

On the bottom edge of the Samsung Galaxy Alpha, there is one main multimedia speaker that sounds average.

In the shell, it is worth noting the presence of a separate branded music player from Samsung with support for the SoundAlive equalizer, the functions of which cannot always be activated without headphones or a headset. The player is ordinary and there is nothing supernatural in it. Of the shortcomings of the sound, it is worth noting the lack of FM radio, but now it is a thing of the past, so this moment not critical.

Performance

The “brain” of the Samsung Galaxy Alpha is a single-chip system of a proprietary production of a Korean manufacturer called Samsung Exynos 5430 Octa. It contains an eight-core processor type Cortex-A15 and Cortex-A7, 8 cores of which operate at frequencies of 1.8 and 1.3 GHz, respectively. The chipset from Mali – T628MP6, whose clock frequency is only 600 MHz, is responsible for the graphics capabilities of the premium gadget.

You can store data only on the built-in storage of 32 GB. 2 GB allows you to store a large number of applications in the background, and Android 4.4.4 KitKat allows you to do this. But why Samsung so limited the choice of modifications to 16 and 64 GB of ROM and 3 GB of RAM is not clear.

It is important to know

The main drawback that will upset many is that there is no slot for microSD memory cards, so with a 100% probability you will not have enough built-in memory even for several games, music, other media files, and you should not talk about applications at all - only Microsoft Word weighs more than 200 megabytes.

It is possible, but it is inconvenient to use it all the time in the truest sense of the word. Now about the tests. In the Antutu Benchmark 5.1 program, the smartphone scores as much as 48330 points and surpasses its competitors from HTC in the face of One M8T, Xiaomi - Mi 3W, as well as internal products of the company: Samsung Galaxy S5 and Galaxy Note 3. In the Geekbench tests, the Samsung Galaxy Alpha scored 940 and 3165 points, respectively, in single-core and multi-core runs of processor cores.

Such results are very worthy even now, but, unfortunately, at the moment there are Galaxy Alpha alternatives even for 100-150 bucks:, Redmi 5 and 5 Plus. In games, the situation is more than excellent. At the highest settings at a resolution of 1280x720 pixels, the FPS rate according to the Epic Citadel program was 35.4 fps. At high settings, the figure was 50.5 FPS.

Samsung Galaxy Alpha is positioned as a "designer flagship" - along with smartphones and Samsung Galaxy Note, it looks like the next flagship of the company. It is interesting that the Koreans released it to the market almost simultaneously with the iPhone 6. How did the competitor turn out to be an “apple” smartphone? It really can be called stylish and subtle. After many criticisms that Samsung uses only plastic, the company went to the experiment and used metal in the body of the Alpha-smartphone. True, there is only a metal frame here, but this can also be considered a landmark event.

Note that with the same screen diagonal, the new product from Samsung turned out to be more compact than the iPhone 6 and even lighter. At the same time, the Samsung Galaxy Alpha has a collapsible body and a removable battery, only the cover is too thin and bends easily. Unlike smartphones Galaxy S5 and Galaxy S5 mini, Alpha did not receive a waterproof case. With such dimensions, the smartphone fits comfortably in one hand, it can be easily used without resorting to the "help" of the second hand. Manufacturers have equipped the phone with a high-quality 12 MP camera, comparable to the flagship cameras of competitors. Relatively not a high resolution display raises questions - why only HD? But, given the diagonal of the display, the image is quite clear, in addition, Super AMOLED technology is used here, and the display itself is protected by the latest Gorilla Glass 4.

The new Exynos 5 Octa 5430 is used as a processor, which, according to the manufacturer, consumes up to 25% less electricity. Indeed, the smartphone is equipped with a battery with a nominally small capacity, but in our tests it showed results similar to the iPhone 6. In terms of performance, the Samsung Galaxy Alpha is one of the fastest Android smartphones today, but it is still inferior to the “apple » phones in the speed of work. Yes, and the fingerprint scanner on the iPhone 6 works more accurately. In our opinion, the lack of a memory card slot in the Galaxy Alpha looks like a strange decision, the consumer is limited to 32 GB and he will not be able to choose a model with a large amount of memory or increase it on his own.

Analysts agree that Samsung has introduced a smartphone aimed at competing with the iPhone 6 and. The novelty uses the tricks of "Yabloko": metal in the body, stylish design and even a golden color! At the same time, the smartphone turned out to be compact and productive. In our opinion, to successfully compete with the iPhone 6, the model lacks water protection and a more capacious battery. In general, if you are not embarrassed by a small battery in a thin case, you are not in the race for the highest display resolution and have long wanted a “flagship” Android smartphone that would fit comfortably in your hand, but do not want mini versions of large heavyweights, then Samsung Galaxy Alpha will suit you.

Where can I buy

Dimensions and weight - 5.0

Finally, after many years of criticism, Samsung decided to use metal materials in the body of its device. There were rumors that the Samsung Galaxy Alpha smartphone would be entirely metal, but such radical changes did not happen. Only the side frame is made of metal, which surrounds the edges of the device. By the way, the frame has an original shape - closer to the corners it thickens along the side faces, and from the top and bottom it is marked with white stripes along the edges. Along the entire length of the edging, there are cuts right near the front and back panels.

However, when we picked up the Samsung Galaxy Alpha, the first thing we noticed was the weight of the smartphone. The "designer" novelty from Samsung is more compact than the iPhone 6 itself! With the same diagonal, it is narrower, shorter, thinner and lighter. And judging by the release dates, diagonal and materials of the device, it seems that the Samsung Galaxy Alpha smartphone was released as a competitor to the iPhone 6. Only Huawei Ascend P7 and Sony Xperia Z Ultra were thinner than Samsung Galaxy Alpha in our tests. The dimensions make it easy to hold the smartphone in one hand, but, for example, reaching with the thumb of the same hand to any point on the display can be problematic.

Despite the fact that the smartphone is positioned as a designer, it is easily recognized as a device from Samsung, although at the same time, taking the Galaxy Alpha out of your pocket, you can mistakenly take it for an iPhone. A small disappointment was the lack of protection against moisture and dust (as on the iPhone 6), but it is on Galaxy smartphones S5 and Galaxy S5 mini. But there was a fingerprint scanner, again, like on the iPhone 6.

The back cover made of matte plastic is perforated, the pattern is smaller than on S5 smartphones. In our opinion, the material is pleasant to the touch, although some may not like the surface, which sticks a little to the hand. But the smartphone sits well in the hand and will not slip out.

Due to the thin body, the camera lens “bulges out” (as on the iPhone 6), which is not very convenient. The plastic of the front panel is glossy, but at the same time perforated, like the back of the smartphone. The body of the smartphone is collapsible, the battery of the device is removable. Note that the lid is very thin and bends easily in the hands. Overall, the build quality is good, especially given the thin body. Although the test sample we bought did creak slightly under pressure. In addition, we did not like the removable cover either: it is very thin and it is inconvenient to put it back on the phone, you will have to press separately on each small latch, otherwise the cover will not fit snugly on the case.

The Samsung Galaxy Alpha is available in white, black and gold.

Screen - 4.5

Samsung Galaxy Alpha screen size is 4.7 inches (like the iPhone 6) HD resolution, 1280 × 720 pixels, which gives a fairly clear image and a pixel density of 312 per inch. If again compared with the iPhone 6, then the latter with its Retina HD (1334 × 750) slightly outperforms the Galaxy Alpha in resolution, although you can hardly see the difference. As in the smartphones of the Galaxy Note and Galaxy S series, Super AMOLED technology is used here, which means that the colors on the display are bright, rich, even too contrasty, and the viewing angles are almost maximum. The way the display displays black color can generally be admired for a long time. In terms of color reproduction, the colors are a little oversaturated, but as usual, Samsung gives you the option to choose the right color profile for the situation. The company kept the information “secret” for a long time, but not so long ago it became known that the latest generation Gorilla Glass 4 from Corning is used as a protective glass on the Samsung Galaxy Alpha. The display does not go blind in the sun, almost does not get smudged from the fingers. In addition, there is auto-brightness and support for working with gloves, we checked - both functions work without problems. In general, the display evoked conflicting emotions in us - it seems to be good for everyone and the picture is quite clear, but for the money we expected a higher resolution.

Camera

The smartphone has a 12 MP camera with LED flash, autofocus and a standard set of features: shooting panoramas, face recognition, HDR mode, as well as shooting virtual tours, a dual-sided camera, etc. The maximum photo resolution is 4608 × 2592 pixels, there is the possibility of continuous shooting with post-processing, photo stabilization, etc. In our opinion, in terms of image quality, the camera is between the Samsung Galaxy S5 and S5 mini, while inferior to the camera Sony Xperia Z3 compact. The Samsung Galaxy Alpha smartphone is also equipped with a 2.1 megapixel front camera with the ability to shoot Full HD video.

Video capabilities on the main camera are above average: shooting 4K video (3840 × 2160 pixels) and slow motion up to 120 frames per second. In this case, the sound is recorded in stereo, and the tracking autofocus is brought in and refocused as necessary.

Photos from the camera Samsung Galaxy Alpha - 4.7

Working with text - 3.0

The standard keyboard in the Samsung Galaxy Alpha is comfortable, it has a function for entering text using strokes (Swype), as well as the ability to enter numbers without switching to additional characters mode (there is a separate row of keys for numbers). Among the shortcomings, we note not the most convenient language switching system: you need to hold your finger on the space bar at least for a while and swipe it to the side. In order to enter a comma, you will have to call an additional menu, which is perhaps the most inconvenient in the keyboard. At the same time, there are quite atypical settings, for example, you can set the delay time for pressing and holding, as you wish.

Internet - 3.0

The standard browser of the Samsung Galaxy Alpha can scale the page to fit the text to a pre-selected size, is armed with a magnifying glass mode and an anonymous mode. In addition, Chrome is preinstalled with the standard function of tab synchronization and traffic control and traffic control mode. To reduce it, apparently, instead of setting it to turn off graphics and drawings on pages, the saved traffic is shown to you as a percentage.

Interfaces

The Samsung Galaxy Alpha smartphone supports most common wireless interfaces: dual-band Wi-Fi with high-speed 802.11ac standards, Bluetooth, GPS and even NFC. The phone works with Nano-SIM cards and can work in LTE networks, including Russian frequencies. The Micro-USB 2.0 connector does not support MHL, but using an OTG adapter, you can connect a mouse, keyboard or hard drive.

Multimedia - 4.6

Samsung Galaxy Alpha plays almost any video without prior conversion - Samsung has provided the device with support for rare audio formats and video containers. In the player, you can select audio tracks and subtitles. The audio player plays most common as well as rare formats, including uncompressed FLAC audio.

Battery - 3.4

The Samsung Galaxy Alpha is equipped with a removable lithium-ion battery with a capacity of only 1860 mAh - at first these numbers seemed frighteningly small (like the iPhone 6), but everything turned out to be not so scary. The Super AMOLED display and the new energy-efficient processor made it possible to achieve good results for a seemingly small capacity. For example, in our video test, the smartphone lasted just over 10 hours, the result is exactly the same as on the Samsung Galaxy S5 with its 2800 mAh battery. However, in audio player mode, the device failed to show good results A: It ran out of power in just 38 hours and 15 minutes. If we compare the results with the same iPhone 6, it turns out that the Galaxy Alpha played video longer, but it ran out faster in the audio test. At the same time, we note that the smartphone is quickly charged - in less than two hours.

Performance - 3.8

The device uses an updated, fast new generation Exynos 5 Octa 5430 processor, with a 20nm process technology. Samsung notes that new processor consumes 25% less power than the previous 28nm Exynos 5. The processor has 4 Cortex-A15 cores running at up to 1.8 GHz and 4 Cortex-A7 cores at 1.3 GHz, as well as a graphics subsystem Mali-T628 MP6. Volume random access memory- 2 GB. The power of the device is enough for smooth playback of Full HD video and for most games.

Separately, it is worth noting that the smartphone works quickly not only in games and tests, but also in Everyday life. Perhaps Samsung has finally begun to pay attention to optimization. Samsung Alpha really works fast, although, in our opinion, it is still inferior to Apple smartphones in terms of speed. If we talk about benchmarks, then in AnTuTu the smartphone received 49731 points and a comparison with a monster. In the Ice Storm Unlimited test from 3DMark, the Samsung Galaxy Alpha received 17532 points. For a short test, the smartphone noticeably warmed up, and if you don’t give it a “break” and run the test again, then the smartphone “gets tired” already gets a little more than ten thousand points, and even less on the third run - about six thousand points. Nevertheless, this effect almost did not manifest itself in games, except that the case heated up to about 38 degrees, but such heating is typical for all devices, including the same iPhones.

Memory - 2.5

The Samsung Galaxy Alpha does not have a memory card slot, which is very surprising since almost every Samsung smartphone has a slot. Trying to copy an iPhone flaw? Be that as it may, the Samsung Galaxy Alpha only has 32 GB of internal memory, of which about 26 GB is available to the user. This will be enough for many, but against the background of smartphones from Apple, it does not look advantageous at all, since you can buy the same iPhone 6 with more memory, up to 128 GB.

Peculiarities

The device runs on Android 4.4.4 and runs on Samsung's proprietary shell - TouchWiz with its own set of applications, settings, etc. First, among the features, we note that the phone is compact and lightweight, it is even lighter and more portable than the iPhone 6 and most smartphones with a 4.7-inch diagonal. Secondly, this is the use of metal - the frame of the smartphone is made of it. Thirdly, the lack of a memory card slot is already a feature for a Samsung smartphone. Also, the case was not protected from water, but it has a fingerprint scanner, which does not work flawlessly: we had to run our finger over the sensor two or three times until the phone recognized the owner. Separately, we can note the multi-window mode - in this case we are talking about two windows, in principle, more than two would already look too small on such a diagonal.

Samsung Galaxy Alpha competitors include Apple iPhone 6, Samsung Galaxy S5 mini SM-G800H / DS and Sony Xperia Z3 Compact smartphones. For the spring of 2015, the price of the Samsung Galaxy Alpha is 24,500 rubles.

The display on the Apple iPhone 6 is sharper, and the camera, in our opinion, captures better, in particular, the colors are more natural. In addition, there is video recording at a recording speed of 240 fps. The iPhone 6 can have up to 128 GB of internal storage, while the Galaxy Alpha only has 32 GB, and the Apple smartphone is still faster in daily use. In terms of battery life, devices have parity. Samsung Galaxy Alpha boasts that it is lighter, thinner and even narrower, it is equipped with an NFC chip and costs a third less than a Samsung smartphone - the price of Samsung Galaxy Alpha for the fall of 2014 is 25,000 rubles.

Sony Xperia Z3 Compact instead of a combination of metal plus plastic offers polymer frames and glass. At the same time, it is larger than the Samsung Galaxy Alpha, but it has protection against water and dust. The camera of the Sony smartphone is more advanced, the USB connector supports MHL, the battery life is noticeably longer, and there is also support for memory cards. In terms of performance, both devices are about the same, but in daily use, the Samsung Galaxy Alpha is slightly faster. Prices for smartphones are about the same, Sony Xperia Z3 Compact for autumn 2014 is a thousand rubles cheaper, there is something to think about.

The Samsung Galaxy S5 mini SM-G800H/DS is simpler in terms of features and costs much less. It does not work with LTE and is missing an NFC chip. The case of the device is thicker, but protected from water and dust. Both smartphones have a fingerprint scanner and similar displays. The processor on the Samsung Galaxy S5 mini is weaker, but the battery turned out to be more tenacious, in addition, it has a slot for a memory card and support for two SIM cards at once.

Problem solved

Advantages: 1. Display. Although there is super amoled, but oddly enough, it feels like an IPS matrix is ​​​​installed here. The colors are not poisonous. They are much quieter than on the same Samsung GALAXY S4. To be honest, they were very surprised by this. Viewing angles are excellent. Readability at different angles and in the sun is excellent. Glass gorilla glass 4. Generally chic! Although the resolution is HD, but at least kill your friends, having 100% vision, you still couldn’t see these same pixels. On the contrary, I repeat, the screen is simply beautiful! 2. Very, very compact. After the iPhone 6 in the hand lies perfectly. It is even more compact than the Iphone 6. It didn't take long to get used to. He is light. Lighter than all top flagships. This is very pleasing. 3. Design and body materials. Incredibly beautiful, especially in gold color. I don't even want to let go. The metal frame adds solidity to the phone. Assembly for 5 plus. In general, there is no hint of squeaks and backlashes. In terms of design, the alpha is really not inferior to the iPhone 6. 4. Performance. I have an American, on Snapdragon 801. It works unrealistically fast. Never lied. Games don't slow down. The phone does not heat up. Samsung on Snapdragon was a pleasant surprise.) 5. Multimedia features. The player is very loud, in other words, like the external speaker itself. The sound quality is top notch. Really not inferior to the iPhone 6. 6. Price. We bought this miracle device for a price almost half that of the iPhone 6, but in terms of aggregate characteristics, it is almost in no way inferior to it, if not even superior. I don’t even regret that I had to sell Iphone 6 and buy Galaxy Alpha. I think the iPhone 6 is not worth 2 alphas for sure. 7. The quality of communication is 5 plus. The speaker is one of the best, with a good volume margin. LTE plows with a bang! Never failed. Wifi is stable. GPS works great. Today we specially traveled along the given route of the GPS navigator. Works 100% correctly. 8. Fingerprint scanner. In Iphone 6, it is implemented much more thoughtfully. I put my finger on the scanner and it activated the phone. And here at first I had to swipe my finger 5-7 times to unlock the phone. Sometimes it was annoying.) After a couple of days, everything became like clockwork. Disadvantages: 1. Autonomy. This was perhaps the most important deterrent in buying an alpha. The fact is that I read a lot of reviews from different users who complained about autonomy. For many, the battery did not even live up to the evening, despite the fact that they used the phone in a sparing mode - a minimum of calls, a minimum of the Internet. But this fact eluded me. Batteries really last for a day with active use. On the nose, the time is 16:30, and the charge is still 65%, and this despite the fact that I often surf the Internet and social networks. networks, I listen to music a lot, I constantly check my mail. The iPhone 6 was exactly the same picture. It took a day. I'm no longer used to charging my phone every day. 2. You need to install Russian firmware, because the phone is American AT&T. 3. In the unpacked box, they found charging with an American plug and no headphones. I had to use third-party headphones and buy an adapter. 4. Not expandable memory. On board only 32 GB, but in fact only 25-27 GB. Basically, that was enough for me. Commentary: The phone deserves the highest praise, despite the fact that Samsung constantly disappointed, mainly due to the fact that the company did not listen to the numerous wishes of consumers and continued to stamp tasteless plastic remnants with the tachwiz that I hate. After the sale of the iPhone 6, which I got pretty fed up with, there were big doubts whether it was worth taking the alpha, or whether it would be better to take a powerful multimedia combine in the form of Note4 or Sony Z3. To do this, I had to go to the salon of equipment in order to visually compare all the devices with each other. All the same, it outweighed the fact that the alpha is very compact in the hand. In size, it is almost like the iPhone 6, so it would not take long to get used to it. Picking up Alpha, which fits perfectly in the hand and did not feel like a shovel, the thought involuntarily came up - this is the coolest smartphone from Samsung. Design is the main feature of the alpha, which immediately bribed me. Probably the most beautiful smartphone from Samsung until the release of the Galaxy S6.) In terms of performance, there is not much difference between it and the rest of the flagships. In antutu knocks out 48 thousand parrots. In terms of price, the alpha was also cheaper than the Note4 and Sony z3. After some deliberation, the final decision was made in favor of the design flagship, which captivates not only with its design and premium body materials, but also with modern technical stuffing, which is more than enough for the vast majority of tasks. If you ask me whether to buy this smartphone or not, I will say: feel free to buy and you will not regret your choice!