Samsung Galaxy Alpha / Samsung Galaxy SM-G850F

performance, portability, screen, design, price

reliability

90% of the reviews on Amazon.co.uk give this product a positive rating.

portability, performance, size, usability, price

GPS navigation

91% of the reviews on Amazon.com give this product a positive rating.

performance

100% of the reviews on Amazon.ca give this product a positive rating.

Beautiful and elegant ; Wonderful performance ; Compact size makes it comfortable, easy to use

Priced too high ; Lacks several features found in the Galaxy S5 ; Battery life is nothing special

As beautiful as the Galaxy Alpha may be, its price leads to its ultimate downfall. The only reason you'd want to pick this over the Galaxy S5, which is available for a similar price, is that you prefer a smaller size or more solid build. But even then,...

Metal frame, 6.7mm slim, 115g of weight ; LTE connectivity (Cat. 6, 300Mbps downlink) ; 4.7" 1280 x 720 Super AMOLED display with 312 ppi pixel density ; Android OS v4.4 KitKat with TouchWiz UI ; Octa-core processor (1.3 GHz Cortex-A7 + 1.8GHz...

Low battery capacity ; Still plenty of plastic in the design ; Non-expandable storage ; No TV-Out option (no MHL or SlimPort) ; Not water resistant (like the S5 mini or Z1 Compact)

The Samsung Galaxy Alpha is a brilliant addition to the Galaxy line. Not quite an alpha dog but a starry-eyed pup, dreaming of leaving its own legacy. What if they dropped the "Galaxy" moniker and just called it "Samsung Alpha"?

Metal frame marks a huge design improvement ; Feels smaller and lighter than it is ; Does most things well

Disappointing display ; Battery life is merely adequate ; Android without Samsung software is better than Android with it

High-quality materials. Bright, colorful screen. One-handed form. Excellent voice quality.

Everything's been kicked down a notch from flagship devices. Mediocre low-light camera.

Conclusions Samsung seems to be at its best when it embraces excess, with high-res screens, high-megapixel cameras and super-fast processors. The Galaxy Alpha is the company's attempt to play the taste game, and it's not altogether successful. I get...

Attractive metal design; Strong performance; Light and compact ; Expensive for feature set; Below-average battery life; No microSD Card slot ; Samsung shines with the Galaxy Alpha's premium metal design, but its features don't match the price tag.

Expensive for feature set; Below-average battery life; No microSD Card slot ; Samsung shines with the Galaxy Alpha's premium metal design, but its features don't match the price tag.

Samsung shines with the Galaxy Alpha's premium metal design, but its features don't match the price tag.

Elegant design, Very good build and stiffness, Very compact and light, Removable battery, High-contrast Super AMOLED screen with stable viewing angles and good color reproduction, Appealing performance, All-encompassing configuration including...

720p resolution only, Screen a bit dark, No micro-SD slot for expanding storage, Micro-USB 2.0 only, Camera's low light performance disappointing

Samsung launches a strong piece of hardware in the competitive high-end market with its Galaxy Alpha. Though it adheres to Samsung's own Galaxy S5, clear concessions have to be made in comparison. The refined manufacturing process of the new casing and...