“This was not the usual Samsung smartphone launch. The Galaxy Alpha, one of two high-end smartphones that Samsung has been teasing this summer, made a quiet debut early Wednesday. Samsung announced the phone in a press release posted on its website,” Roger Cheng reports for CNET. “While the Galaxy Alpha had the usual run-up of rumors and speculation befitting any high-profile smartphone, notably missing was any kind of fanfare from Samsung.”
“The metal-banded Galaxy Alpha is clearly designed to address the complaints that customers have expressed about the cheaper plastic feel of Samsung’s smartphones. But it’s a confusing product that doesn’t cleanly fit into the Korean conglomerate’s product portfolio. Its metal construction suggests a flagship smartphone position, but its weaker specifications relative to the Galaxy S5 place it closer to the mid-tier category,” Cheng reports. “So is it a flagship product or not? It is still unclear. A Samsung spokesman wasn’t immediately available to provide further detail on the Galaxy Alpha, including any potential US launch date or price.”
“Either way, Samsung can use the help. The company posted disappointing results for the second quarter on weaker smartphone sales, and warned that the rest of the year would be weak as well,” Cheng reports. “From an aesthetic point of view, the Galaxy Alpha looks like a step up from the Galaxy S5. The Galaxy Alpha’s front and back features a dimpled texture — it’s unclear for now exactly what the material is. But it is clearly ringed by a metal frame. The chamfered edges — meaning beveled and polished — and its bottom speaker holes look virtually identical to the design of the iPhone.”
“Samsung’s quiet debut of the Galaxy Alpha may serve as the company’s attempt to test out the use of metallic materials without the commitment of a full-blown flagship smartphone launch. The company has previously been reluctant to use metal because of interference issues, the high cost of metal, and the inability to quickly mass produce such a device,” Cheng reports. “That the Galaxy Alpha exists suggest it is the first step toward eventually integrating metal into more of its devices. As such, the Galaxy Alpha is a likely an important stepping stone in Samsung’s development plans and is a flagship smartphone in the sense that it is driving the company’s thoughts on future design.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Samsung’s thoughts on future design: Crumpled three-year-old doodles pilfered from Jony Ives’ waste bin.
Apple’s products came first, then Samsung’s:
Here’s what Google’s Android looked like before and after Apple’s iPhone:
Here’s what cellphones looked like before and after Apple’s iPhone:
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Sparkles” for the heads up.]
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