Samsung Galaxy Alpha review: Is it enough to take on the iPhone 6?

Samsung's 'if we build it, they will come' approach continues. The latest handset to be fired out from the rapidly churning design labs of the Korean brand is the Galaxy Alpha.

Basically an iPhone 5, it's the value alternative to everything Apple does so well. It also represents the first genuinely nicely put together handset that Samsung has ever made.

The Galaxy Alpha is actually a hugely important device, it feels like a flagship Android handset in every single way, but doesn't have the spec sheet you usually expect.

For the first time ever in a Samsung product, design is given pride of place.

Design

Which conveniently brings us onto the way the handset is put together. Unlike before, Samsung has finally opted to use metal in the construction of its handsets. The Galaxy Alpha feels vastly more premium because of it.

Read: Galaxy Note 4 hands-on review

Held next to the Galaxy S5 - Samsung's current flagship handset when it comes to specs at least - the Galaxy Alpha actually ends up feeling much more expensive.

It's a breakthrough moment. After a good few years of cheap and plasticky devices, the Galaxy Alpha feels solid, shiny and genuinely very desirable.

The strange dimpled effect plastic on the back is still there, but it's miles nicer on the Alpha than it is on the Galaxy S5. Having played with a Read: Galaxy Note 4 hands-on review, it's clear that Samsung is only getting better at building phones.

The real question is though, how does it compare to the iPhone 6? The Galaxy Alpha is quite clearly Samsung's 'Hipster Phone', but doesn't have the cool factor or the top of the line build of the iPhone 6.

For us then, it's a big step in the right direction when it comes to smartphone design. The HTC One M8 still rules the roost in terms of design and Android smartphones, but Samsung is getting there.

Hardware

Unlike the Galaxy S5, which is a hugely powerful machine, the Galaxy Alpha is all about perceived performance. First up, it has a 4.7-inch 720p Super AMOLED display, rather than the 1080p units we now expect.

This largely doesn't matter, partly because it's sharp and saturated enough that any movies or photos, as well as web pages, look fantastic. Held up against a 1080p screen, text does look sharper, but only if you are the sort of person who likes to read with their face an inch from the screen.

Read: Samsung Galaxy S5 review

Then there is the internal specifications. An octo-core CPU is combined with 2GB of RAM and 32GB of internal storage. It's plenty of power for a phone with a display of this resolution and results in Android feeling liquid fast.

Other features include a fairly small 1860 mAh battery, which resulted in the phone having the usual 'charge every night approach' applied to it. Then you have LTE, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth to keep things ticking over.

The only big thing missing from the Galaxy Alpha's spec sheet is a microSD slot, which breaks from tradition slightly for Samsung and is something we would miss.

Camera

Part of the 'keep it simple' approach of the Galaxy Alpha has also been applied to its camera. At 12 megapixels, coupled with all that processing power, it is very quick.

It's also capable, with features like 120 fps slow motion and HDR built in. The images it captures are perfectly decent, but it's the speed of operation that stands out.

Samsung's Android camera app is still clunky, but has been getting more straightforward with use for just about every generation.

As for the front facing 2.1-megapixel unit, video calling looks good and selfies are of the standard that a selfie needs to be.

User interface and apps

If you have used a Galaxy S5, then you will be familiar with the workings of the Galaxy Alpha. Samsung did a lot to 'simplify' TouchWiz, its Android skin, for its new generation of handsets.

The problem is that didn't really work. You just need to take one look at the complexity of the Galaxy Alpha's menu screens and realise Samsung has got a long way to go.

This is an issue, as the Galaxy Alpha is intended to take on the iPhone, the current king of the simple handset.

Android apps continue to improve and the stability of the operating system is now more than acceptable, it's just that the Galaxy Alpha, so compact and slick, doesn't have the quick fire feel that the Apple family of products has.

Verdict

Ultimately it's this lack of polish that really holds the Alpha back from greatness. It's such an important moment for Samsung that it has finally realised specifications aren't everything, so now it's just a case of building on what it has learned.

As Android phones go, we love the return to the slim and compact feel that the Galaxy Alpha gives. We also think its performance and camera are standout features on a phone this size.

It's pricey and some would argue the bigger screen on the Galaxy S5 is important, but we know which we would rather have. More importantly, given the quality of the Note 4, it's clear that whatever Samsung does next is going to edge it further and further into the realms of Apple.
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