Samsung Galaxy Alpha vs Apple iPhone 5s – specs comparison and future expectations

Enter Samsung Galaxy Alpha. Although its 4.7-inch display makes for a bigger phone, the Galaxy Alpha is more compact than any of today's Android flagships, and is one of the few 4.7-inch smartphones that are built to impress. Does the Galaxy Alpha finally have what it takes to challenge the iPhone? Read on, and you will see.

Design

The iPhone 5s is the more compact and metallic of the two, but Samsung has made the slimmest Galaxy phone ever.

Both the Apple iPhone 5s and the Samsung Galaxy Alpha feature rigid and elegant rectangular shapes. A key difference is that the Galaxy Alpha has a meticulously sculpted frame made of polished aluminum, but the rest of it is built out of familiar Samsung plastic and adorned with a dimpled back like that of the Galaxy S5. Meanwhile, the iPhone 5s is carved out of one solid block of aluminum, which gives Apple the bragging rights to a sturdier build quality, at the expense of a removable battery.

Of course, the iPhone 5s is the more compact phone, measuring at 4.87 x 2.31 x 0.30 inches (123.8 x 58.6 x 7.6 mm) at a weight of 3.95 oz (112 g). In comparison, the Galaxy Alpha measures 5.21 x 2.58 x 0.26 inches (132.4 x 65.5 x 6.7 mm) at a weight of 4.06 oz (115 g). Note that the Galaxy Alpha is taller by 0.34 inches (8.6mm) and wider by 0.27 inches (6.9mm) than the iPhone 5s, but that didn't stop Samsung from making it thinner by 0.035 inches (0.9mm), and only 0.11 oz (3 grams) heavier.

What about colors? While the iPhone 5s is sold in Black, Silver, and Gold, the Galaxy Alpha will be available in Black, White, Gold, Silver, and Blue at launch. No pink? How disappointing!

Display

The Galaxy Alpha's larger display is a clear advantage over the iPhone 5s.

The Galaxy Alpha's larger display gives it a clear advantage over the iPhone 5s. Samsung's offering towards design-conscious customers goes for a large 4.7-inch 720p Super AMOLED panel that makes the iPhone 5s' excellent 4-inch 640p IPS LCD display look and feel minuscule. However, the Alpha's higher resolution isn't equal to a bigger pixel density. The resolution of 640x1136 on the iPhone 5s' 4-inch display calculates to 326 pixels per inch, while the resolution of 720x1280 on the Galaxy Alpha's 4.7-inch display equals 312 pixels per inch. Still, since you practically won't be able to spot the additional 14 pixels per inch on the iPhone 5s' screen, it's safe to call this a tie with the Galaxy Alpha.

But which screen looks better? We haven't tested the Alpha yet, but we can tell, based on our experience and preliminary screen measurements, that it will probably be on par with the excellent color reproduction of the iPhone 5s. A pleasing viewing experience is guaranteed on both.

While we don't want to delve deep into comparing two very different operating systems, we are keen to point out that iOS 7 has the advantage of being much easier to learn and operate. It's a harmless walk in the park compared to navigating the many buttons and menus with different layouts of Samsung's maze-like Android interface. 

The depth of TouchWiz isn't to be under-appreciated, though, as it's all raw functionality in there, with nary a hint of empty space in sight.

Processor

Both phones are powerful enough for comfortable usage, multi-tasking, and playing the latest Android or iOS games.

Outfitted with an Exynos 5 octa-core processor pushed to 1.8GHz and 2GB of RAM, the Galaxy Alpha sounds like a race-car compared to the iPhone 5s, which has a dual-core 1.3GHz processor and only a single gigabyte of RAM. In terms of raw hardware muscle, the Galaxy Alpha is the undisputed winner, but how much does this matter outside the gym? 

As the iPhone 5s takes advantage of a tailor-made operating system, specifically built to perform effortlessly on its hardware, Apple's current flagship is one of the fastest, smoothest-operating smartphones on the market. As delightful as it is to use today, Android feels somewhat sluggish in comparison, even when it runs on cutting-edge hardware.

In a nutshell, both phones are powerful enough for comfortable usage, multi-tasking, and playing the latest Android or iOS games. Neither the iPhone 5s, nor the Galaxy Alpha will cheat you out of your dollar.

Camera

The Galaxy Alpha's increased resolution is a significant advantage for those that demand more detailed photos and videos.

One year later, the iPhone 5s' still gets praised for its photographic abilities. This is the world's most ubiquitous camera, after all, and for a good reason - not only is the iPhone 5s very popular, but it takes great photos as well. Its 8-megapixel main camera features sapphire lens, a dual-tone LED flash, digital image stabilization, and 1080p video recording. Meanwhile, the 1.2MP front camera is still the world's biggest selfie generator, and is capable of 720p video recording.

How does the Galaxy Alpha stand up to such a capable opponent? Well, Samsung armed the phone with a 12 megapixel main camera that makes do with a single LED flash, but ramps up the video recording to ultra-high resolution (4K) resolution at 30 frames per second. On the front side, the Alpha's 2.1-megapixel front cam is a welcome jump forward from the iPhone 5s, as one is able to record 1080p video with it if they are so inclined.

Conclusion

The Galaxy Alpha is the first big-brand challenger that packs a very good looking (although not exactly breath-taking) design and capable hardware in a moderately sized package. Unlike most of the “mini” flagships out there, the latest member of the Galaxy club exudes class. It's not a “lesser” variant of a bigger phone, which is why we believe the Galaxy Alpha is the greatest challenger faced by the iPhone so far. The iPhone 5S, that is. It's a public secret that the iPhone 6 is coming in September, and whatever Apple has in store for its next flagship could render the Galaxy Alpha obsolete in the time it takes Tim Cook to finish his keynote. The battle isn't finished. It's merely announced.