The Galaxy Alpha was announced earlier this year, and is a 6.7mm thin device with a metal chassis, making it Samsung’s first premium design Galaxy smartphone. It’s a great looking phone with an average specification, and a price tag which puts it up against far more powerful flagship phones.
Samsung’s new Galaxy A5 shares a similar design and has a spec sheet that matches, and in some areas, exceeds the Alpha’s feature list; yet Samsung is expected to sell the phone for around half the Alpha’s $600 cost. If the anticipated Korean price turns out to be correct, an unconnected A5 will be the equivalent of $360. Sources speaking to ETNews say Samsung will launch the A5 in Korea in January or February next year, pitching it as a premium alternative to cheaper hardware from Chinese manufacturers.
Should the Galaxy Alpha be discontinued, it won’t be a massive surprise. If the many rumors leading up to its release were accurate, it was the final version of a series of concept phones produced using premium materials. An expensive show piece which eventually led to the A3 and A5, and potentially the A7, all ready to appeal to the mass market.
There’s no official word from Samsung about the Alpha’s demise, or whether the Galaxy A5 will be launched outside of China or Taiwan. The Galaxy Alpha is available around the world, and has even been given the limited edition treatment by French fashion designers.
