Samsung Galaxy Alpha featuring 4.7-inch HD display, Exynos octa-core processor and metal frame launched in India, priced at Rs 39,990

As expected, Samsung today launched its premium Galaxy Alpha smartphone in India. The smartphone is priced at Rs 39,990 and will be available from next week onwards.

The Galaxy Alpha is not only the thinnest smartphone in Samsung’s portfolio, but is also the first device to boast metallic build materials. The company often criticized for its plastic smartphones, has taken a turn with the Galaxy Alpha by giving it a metallic frame. While the back panel is still plastic, the metallic frame gives the device a premium feel to it.

The Galaxy Alpha is also one of the few Android smartphones that offer high-end specifications in a compact package. Another smartphone that comes to mind is the Xperia Z3 Compact, which Sony launched in India a couple of days back. It flaunts a 4.7-inch Super AMOLED HD 720p display with a pixel density of 312ppi.

The smartphone is powered by an Exynos 5 Octa 5430 processor (1.8GHz quad-core Cortex A51 + 1.3GHz quad-core Cortex A7) paired with 2GB of RAM. Also featured are 12-megapixel rear camera, 2.1-megapixel front-facing camera, 32GB internal storage and a 1,860mAh battery with ultra power-saving mode.

Connectivity options include LTE support, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0 and GPS. The smartphone also features a fingerprint scanner integrated into the home button as well as a heart rate monitor similar to what was introduced on the Galaxy S5 earlier this year. On the software front, the smartphone runs on Android 4.4 KitKat wrapped under TouchWiz UI.