<s>
The	O
Samsung	B-Application
Galaxy	I-Application
Alpha	I-Application
(	O
SM-G850x	O
)	O
is	O
an	O
Android	B-Application
smartphone	B-Application
produced	O
by	O
Samsung	O
Electronics	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
high-end	O
device	O
,	O
the	O
Galaxy	B-Application
Alpha	I-Application
is	O
Samsung	O
's	O
first	O
Android-powered	O
smartphone	B-Application
to	O
incorporate	O
a	O
metallic	O
frame	O
,	O
although	O
the	O
remainder	O
of	O
its	O
physical	O
appearance	O
still	O
resembles	O
previous	O
models	O
such	O
as	O
the	O
Galaxy	B-Application
S5	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
also	O
incorporates	O
Samsung	O
's	O
new	O
Exynos	O
5430	O
system-on-chip	O
,	O
which	O
is	O
the	O
first	O
mobile	O
system-on-chip	O
to	O
use	O
a	O
20	O
nanometer	O
manufacturing	B-Architecture
process	I-Architecture
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Galaxy	B-Application
Alpha	I-Application
received	O
mixed	O
reviews	O
;	O
although	O
praised	O
for	O
its	O
higher	O
quality	O
build	O
and	O
design	O
in	O
comparison	O
to	O
earlier	O
products	O
,	O
the	O
device	O
was	O
panned	O
for	O
its	O
modest	O
specifications	O
in	O
comparison	O
to	O
its	O
flagship	O
counterpart	O
,	O
the	O
Galaxy	B-Application
S5	I-Application
,	O
and	O
for	O
being	O
priced	O
too	O
high	O
for	O
what	O
they	O
considered	O
to	O
be	O
a	O
"	O
mid-range	O
"	O
smartphone	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
early-June	O
2014	O
,	O
images	O
leaked	O
of	O
an	O
upcoming	O
Samsung	O
phone	O
tentatively	O
known	O
as	O
the	O
"	O
Galaxy	B-Application
F	I-Application
"	O
,	O
shown	O
alongside	O
a	O
Galaxy	B-Application
S5	I-Application
:	O
it	O
incorporated	O
a	O
metallic	O
frame	O
,	O
thinner	O
bezels	O
around	O
the	O
screen	O
than	O
the	O
S5	B-Application
,	O
and	O
was	O
to	O
allegedly	O
include	O
a	O
quad	O
HD	O
display	O
,	O
Snapdragon	B-Architecture
805	O
system-on-chip	O
,	O
along	O
with	O
the	O
heart	O
rate	O
sensor	O
and	O
water/dust	O
-proofing	O
from	O
the	O
S5	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
June	O
18	O
,	O
2014	O
,	O
Samsung	O
would	O
unveil	O
an	O
LTE-Advanced	O
version	O
of	O
the	O
S5	B-Application
with	O
a	O
quad	O
HD	O
display	O
,	O
exclusively	O
for	O
release	O
in	O
South	O
Korea	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
late	O
July	O
2014	O
,	O
further	O
images	O
leaked	O
of	O
the	O
rumored	O
device	O
,	O
now	O
identified	O
as	O
the	O
"	O
Galaxy	B-Application
Alpha	I-Application
"	O
;	O
the	O
device	O
depicted	O
was	O
now	O
a	O
mid-range	O
device	O
positioned	O
below	O
the	O
S5	B-Application
,	O
incorporating	O
a	O
metallic	O
frame	O
,	O
a	O
720p	O
display	O
similar	O
to	O
the	O
Galaxy	B-Application
S	I-Application
III	I-Application
,	O
and	O
no	O
expandable	O
storage	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Critics	O
interpreted	O
his	O
statement	O
as	O
signs	O
that	O
the	O
company	O
was	O
planning	O
to	O
make	O
a	O
metal	O
smartphone	B-Application
,	O
but	O
that	O
it	O
could	O
also	O
be	O
a	O
new	O
entry	O
in	O
the	O
Galaxy	B-Application
Note	I-Application
series	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
August	O
13	O
,	O
2014	O
,	O
Samsung	O
officially	O
unveiled	O
the	O
Galaxy	B-Application
Alpha	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
company	O
stated	O
that	O
the	O
Galaxy	B-Application
Alpha	I-Application
would	O
mark	O
a	O
"	O
new	O
design	O
approach	O
"	O
for	O
Samsung	O
's	O
products	O
,	O
and	O
that	O
elements	O
from	O
the	O
Alpha	O
could	O
appear	O
on	O
future	O
Samsung	O
models	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Later	O
in	O
2014	O
,	O
Samsung	O
would	O
unveil	O
the	O
low-end	O
and	O
mid-range	O
Galaxy	B-Application
A3	I-Application
and	O
A5	B-Application
,	O
which	O
featured	O
slim	O
builds	O
and	O
a	O
similar	O
metal	O
design	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Galaxy	B-Application
S6	I-Application
would	O
fully	O
realize	O
Samsung	O
's	O
new	O
design	O
direction	O
,	O
utilizing	O
a	O
unibody	O
metal	O
frame	O
and	O
glass	O
backing	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Galaxy	B-Application
Alpha	I-Application
's	O
overall	O
design	O
is	O
an	O
evolution	O
upon	O
that	O
of	O
the	O
Galaxy	B-Application
S5	I-Application
,	O
incorporating	O
a	O
chamfered	O
metal	O
frame	O
and	O
a	O
dimpled	O
,	O
plastic	O
rear	O
cover	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
With	O
a	O
thickness	O
of	O
At	O
the	O
time	O
,	O
the	O
Galaxy	B-Application
Alpha	I-Application
was	O
the	O
company	O
's	O
thinnest	O
smartphone	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
International	O
models	O
of	O
the	O
Alpha	O
utilize	O
an	O
octa-core	O
,	O
Exynos	O
5430	O
system-on-chip	O
;	O
consisting	O
of	O
a	O
bank	O
of	O
four	O
1.8GHz	O
Cortex-A15	O
cores	O
,	O
and	O
four	O
1.3GHz	O
Cortex-A7	B-Application
cores	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Exynos	O
5430	O
is	O
the	O
first	O
ever	O
mobile	O
system-on-chip	O
to	O
use	O
a	O
20	O
nanometer	O
HKMG	B-Algorithm
manufacturing	B-Architecture
process	I-Architecture
.	O
</s>
<s>
U.S.	O
models	O
include	O
a	O
2.5GHz	O
Snapdragon	B-Architecture
801	I-Architecture
processor	O
instead	O
;	O
both	O
models	O
will	O
include	O
2GB	O
of	O
RAM	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Galaxy	B-Application
Alpha	I-Application
features	O
a	O
PenTile	O
720p	O
Super	O
AMOLED	B-Algorithm
display	I-Algorithm
,	O
and	O
also	O
incorporates	O
a	O
12	O
megapixel	O
rear-facing	O
camera	O
without	O
optical	O
image	O
stabilization	O
,	O
fingerprint	O
and	O
heart	O
rate	O
sensors	O
,	O
and	O
removable	O
1860mAh	O
battery	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
device	O
includes	O
32GB	O
of	O
non-expandable	O
storage	O
,	O
and	O
runs	O
Android	B-Application
4.4.4	I-Application
"	I-Application
KitKat	I-Application
"	I-Application
but	O
can	O
be	O
upgraded	O
to	O
Android	B-Application
5.0.2	I-Application
"	I-Application
Lollipop	I-Application
"	O
with	O
Samsung	O
's	O
TouchWiz	B-Application
software	O
suite	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Galaxy	B-Application
Alpha	I-Application
is	O
equipped	O
with	O
Samsung	O
's	O
Air	O
View	O
(	O
using	O
floating	O
finger	O
)	O
,	O
air	O
gesture	O
controls	O
(	O
also	O
known	O
as	O
"	O
Motion	O
Gestures	O
"	O
)	O
and	O
Smart	O
Screen	O
functionality	O
introduced	O
on	O
the	O
Galaxy	B-Application
S4	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
rear	O
camera	O
is	O
able	O
to	O
record	O
video	O
footage	O
at	O
2160p	O
(	O
4K	B-Architecture
)	O
at	O
30	O
frames	O
per	O
second	O
(	O
fps	O
)	O
,	O
1080p	O
at	O
60fps	O
,	O
and	O
720p	O
at	O
120fps	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
makes	O
it	O
the	O
first	O
smartphone	B-Application
by	O
Samsung	O
outside	O
of	O
the	O
Galaxy	O
S	O
and	O
Note	O
series	O
to	O
feature	O
2160p	O
(	O
4K	B-Architecture
)	O
video	O
recording	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
second	O
one	O
after	O
the	O
Galaxy	B-Algorithm
K	I-Algorithm
Zoom	I-Algorithm
(	O
if	O
not	O
regarded	O
as	O
"	O
S5	B-Application
Zoom	O
"	O
)	O
to	O
feature	O
1080p	O
video	O
recording	O
at	O
60	O
frames	O
per	O
second	O
and	O
720p	O
at	O
120	O
frames	O
per	O
second	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
While	O
praising	O
Samsung	O
's	O
decision	O
to	O
begin	O
manufacturing	O
a	O
smartphone	B-Application
that	O
incorporates	O
actual	O
metal	O
in	O
its	O
design	O
,	O
critics	O
noted	O
that	O
despite	O
its	O
"	O
premium	O
"	O
appearance	O
,	O
the	O
internal	O
specifications	O
of	O
the	O
Galaxy	B-Application
Alpha	I-Application
were	O
"	O
mid-range	O
"	O
in	O
comparison	O
to	O
the	O
S5	B-Application
,	O
with	O
particular	O
emphasis	O
placed	O
on	O
the	O
device	O
's	O
smaller	O
,	O
lower-resolution	O
screen	O
,	O
the	O
replacement	O
of	O
its	O
USB	B-Protocol
3.0	O
port	O
with	O
a	O
USB	B-Protocol
2.0	I-Protocol
port	I-Protocol
,	O
and	O
its	O
smaller	O
battery	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
Ars	O
Technica	O
noted	O
that	O
the	O
lower	O
screen	O
resolution	O
could	O
offset	O
the	O
lower	O
capacity	O
of	O
the	O
device	O
's	O
battery	O
,	O
and	O
ExtremeTech	O
also	O
noted	O
that	O
the	O
smaller	O
battery	O
would	O
make	O
the	O
device	O
lighter	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
lower	O
resolution	O
of	O
the	O
display	O
could	O
improve	O
the	O
responsiveness	O
of	O
Samsung	O
's	O
Android	B-Application
distribution	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
conclusion	O
,	O
the	O
Alpha	O
was	O
considered	O
by	O
ExtremeTech	O
to	O
be	O
"	O
a	O
hedge	O
against	O
several	O
troubling	O
trends	O
for	O
the	O
world	O
’s	O
largest	O
smartphone	B-Application
maker	O
"	O
,	O
believing	O
that	O
its	O
slimmer	O
build	O
and	O
higher	O
quality	O
design	O
were	O
an	O
attempt	O
to	O
compete	O
against	O
the	O
then-upcoming	O
iPhone	B-Operating_System
6	I-Operating_System
,	O
which	O
features	O
a	O
4.7	O
inch	O
display	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Engadget	B-Application
described	O
the	O
Galaxy	B-Application
Alpha	I-Application
as	O
Samsung	O
's	O
"	O
most	O
beautiful	O
phone	O
yet	O
"	O
,	O
praising	O
its	O
design	O
for	O
being	O
"	O
simple	O
,	O
yet	O
elegant	O
;	O
minimal	O
,	O
yet	O
profuse	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Its	O
overall	O
performance	O
was	O
considered	O
to	O
be	O
up	O
to	O
par	O
with	O
the	O
Galaxy	B-Application
S5	I-Application
,	O
and	O
its	O
display	O
was	O
described	O
as	O
being	O
"	O
acceptable	O
"	O
for	O
its	O
class	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
the	O
Galaxy	B-Application
Alpha	I-Application
was	O
criticized	O
for	O
being	O
too	O
expensive	O
for	O
its	O
class	O
,	O
concluding	O
that	O
"	O
the	O
only	O
reason	O
you	O
'd	O
want	O
to	O
pick	O
this	O
over	O
the	O
Galaxy	B-Application
S5	I-Application
,	O
which	O
is	O
available	O
for	O
a	O
similar	O
price	O
,	O
is	O
that	O
you	O
prefer	O
a	O
smaller	O
size	O
or	O
more	O
solid	O
build	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
But	O
even	O
then	O
,	O
this	O
design	O
is	O
n't	O
a	O
one-and-done	O
;	O
you	O
'll	O
be	O
able	O
to	O
get	O
the	O
same	O
fit	O
and	O
finish	O
on	O
the	O
Note	B-Operating_System
4	I-Operating_System
and	O
Note	B-Application
Edge	I-Application
(	O
albeit	O
with	O
larger	O
screens	O
)	O
.	O
"	O
</s>
