"Samsung Galaxy Alfa": reviews and features

The elegant combination of last year's flagship S5 and metal series A - is Samsung Galaxy Alfa. Reviews, the capabilities of the device, its technical specifications, the opinions of owners and specialists - this is what will be discussed in detail in this small survey material.

And what's in the kit?

This mobile phone belongs to the segment of the most productive and stylish devices. As a result, he has a rich enough bundle. It, in addition to the gadget itself, includes a rechargeable battery, a wired speaker system, a charger and a cord for connecting to a personal computer. Also, an impressive list of the documentation is included with the Samsung Galaxy Alpha gadget: the instruction manual User, warranty card and promotional booklet with a set of supported accessories and devices. In the latter case, we are talking about an impressive set of wearable devices, including the smart watch of this South Korean manufacturer. Chest in the original configuration is not, and the back cover of the device is made of plastic, so without it it will be difficult to do. But there is no need to buy an additional external drive for this device: there is no expansion slot in this smartphone.

Design and ergonomics

As noted earlier, there are common features with the S5 and A-series at the Samsung Galaxy Alfa phone. Reviews highlight this feature. With last year's flagship combines the back cover. It is made of plastic, and its appearance is almost no different from the cover of S5. But with the A-series combines the presence of ribs of metal. Such a constructive solution makes the gadget body more durable. The front panel of the device is protected by Gorilla Glass of the last, 3rd generation with oleophobic coating. The power button, like most Samsung devices of this series, is displayed on the right edge. In turn, the swings of loudness are located on the left side of the smartphone. From the bottom there is a loud speaker, a microphone for conversations and a port of the format MicroUSB. On the upper edge of the gadget is a 3.5-mm audio jack and a microphone for suppressing external noises during a call. The main camera is located on the back of the phone. Next to it is a familiar LED lighting and a pulse meter. The second camera (located above the display) and three standard buttons are displayed on the front panel of the device. 2 of them are sensory, 1 is mechanical. The last one has a built -in fingerprint scanner.

Finally, note the dimensions of the phone. If the length of 132.4 mm and the width of 65.5 mm do not distinguish anything special from the competitors, then the thickness of 6.7 mm leaves all the analogs far behind. Weight - only 115 grams. This is a thin and light smartphone.

Processor and its capabilities

The phone "Samsung Galaxy Alfa" is equipped with a very efficient 8-core processor. It functions on the basis of a proprietary development of the South Korean manufacturer - big.Little technology. The essence of it is that the CPU is divided into 2 modules. One of them works at low frequencies and turns on when there is no need for excessive performance. As soon as the resource-intensive application is launched, it switches to another module, which operates at higher frequencies. This is how the Exynos 5430 functions. Its 4 A7 cores operate at 1.3 GHz (energy saving mode), and the other 4 - on the more progressive A15 architecture - 1.8 GHz (run in peak performance mode). This chip is manufactured using a 20-nm process.

As a result, it can be noted that the computing resources of this smartphone will be enough for the next 2 years without problems. He will be able to cope with any task during this time, including with the most demanding toys.

Graphic subsystem and display

The phone "Samsung Halaxy Alfa" is equipped with a very efficient graphics accelerator "Mali-628T MP6". This is a six-core solution that will cope without any problems with any task at the moment. And in the next 2 years with the launch of the application software on it should not be a problem. The display of this device has an impressive diagonal of 4.7 inches. Its resolution is 720 x 1280. The matrix, which is the basis of the screen, is made according to the standard technology for this manufacturer "Super AMOILED". The viewing angles are close to 180 degrees, the quality of the image and the brightness of the display do not cause complaints from the owners.

Cameras

An excellent main camera, according to users, boasts the phone "Samsung Galaxy Alpha" (gold). Photos and videos are flawless. And their quality is almost independent of the degree of illumination. This is not surprising - at the heart of the camera is a quality 12-megapixel matrix. Also there is a LED backlight, an optical image stabilization system, many photo modes. This allows you to get really high-quality images.

Concerning the video, it can be noted that the videos are recorded as 4K and at a rate of 30 frames per second. There is also a front camera, the matrix of which is based on a sensitive element of 2.1 MP. Its capabilities are enough to make video calls. Well, for all other cases there is a main camera, which is one of the best in its class today.

Memory

The new Samsung Galaxy Alfa has an impressive amount of RAM and a solid capacity of the built-in storage. In the first case we are talking about 2 GB of DDR 3. They are just enough to run any application. But the built-in storage has a capacity of 32 GB, which again is quite enough for comfortable work. But an additional slot for installing an external drive, as noted earlier, this device is not. But still the claimed capacity of 32 GB is more than enough for normal operation. This is confirmed by users.

Battery and autonomy

The most problematic technical characteristic is the capacity of the complete battery in the gadget "Samsung Galaxy Alfa". Compare it with similar devices on this indicator is not difficult. The battery capacity is 1860 Ah. At the same time, the display diagonal of the device is 4.7 inches. Also, do not forget that the CPU includes 8 cores, of which there can be a maximum of 4 in operation. So it turns out that with an average level of use, the smartphone will have to be charged every evening.

System software

The new "Samsung Galaxy Alfa" is running one of the most recent versions of the OS "Android" with the serial number 4.4.2. It should be noted right away that it will not work to install a 64-bit application on this device. The operating system is 32-bit, and the CPU has a similar bit capacity. But in the next couple of years this problem will not be relevant, since a smooth transition from 32-bit software to 64-bit is performed. The very same operating system is supplemented with a proprietary interface from Samsung - TouchWiz.

Applied software

Among the pre-installed set of applications, besides the usual utilities, you can select S Health - a program that allows you to correctly calculate the menu, exercise and measure your pulse. In general, this is a useful application for those who care about their health. In other respects, the set of applied software on this gadget is identical to last year's flagship S5. This is the usual social international services, and standard mini-applications (calculator, calendar, etc.), and a set of utilities from "Google". All that is missing in the initial state, you can easily install from the Play-Market.

Communications

An impressive communication kit for this phone model. Let's start with the wire interfaces. There are only two: MicroUSB and a 3.5-mm audio port. The first is universal. With it, you can connect this gadget to any personal computer or charge the battery. The second is used purely for outputting an audio signal to a wired stereo system.

There is much more in this phone wireless interfaces. The usual Wi-Fi transmitter can work in two modes. In the first case, it connects to another device and works in receiver mode. In the second mode, called Wi-Fi Direct, this smartphone turns into a full-fledged mobile Wi-Fi Router. There is also the "Bluetooth" 3rd generation, which is ideal for those cases when you need to transfer to a similar device or receive files of small size.

Concerning navigation, it can be noted that in this phone there is support for all existing systems to date. This list includes satellite GPS, BAIDU, GLONASS and a system for determining the location of the A-GPS mobile towers. Not every navigator for today can boast of a set, which is in any device of this line, including the Samsung Galaxy Alpha gadget (gold). Photos show two features. The first is the presence of a fingerprint sensor on the mechanical key. And the second - the presence of a pulse meter on the back of the phone.

Price. Where it is better to buy ...

The average cost of this device at the moment is $ 420. But the "Samsung Galaxy Alfa" in "Svyaznom" is estimated at 24,900 rubles. Yes, it's slightly higher than in some other stores. But at the same time, extended support is provided, which includes special warranty service and the possibility of buying on credit. This compensates for a little overpriced. Therefore, you can recommend buying a device in the store "Messenger". "Samsung Galaxy Alfa" - one of the best smartphones with a small display diagonal and excellent hardware stuffing.

Reviews of real owners

Now about the practical experience of using the Samsung Galaxy Alfa gadget. Reviews They identify the presence of only one significant problem at the hardware level. This is a small battery capacity and low degree of autonomy. The complete battery will have to be charged every night, even with an average level of use of the smartphone. Also, the high cost of this device is more than 400 dollars. But quality phones can not be cheap by default. There is, of course, the Chinese "Samsung Galaxy Alpha." In appearance, it almost does not differ from the original. Only the side faces of it are not metal, but plastic, painted aluminum. Well, the filling is much worse. The processor is MT6572 (only 2 cores of A7 with a frequency of 1.2 GHz). There is also a slot for an external flash card, the capacity of the built-in drive is only 4 GB. The price of this phone is $ 120. That is, it is an economical option for those who can not afford to purchase an original device.

Results

If there were no criticism in the aspect of autonomy, then the almost perfect would be the Samsung Galaxy Alpha. Reviews once again indicate this. Its only drawback is the small battery capacity and, as a result, a low degree of autonomy. In the rest it is an excellent device, which has a productive processor, and the display diagonal is solid, and the amount of memory does not cause any complaints. In general, the ideal smartphone for those who want to get a gadget with a small diagonal and good hardware.