Samsung Galaxy Alpha vs Sony Xperia Z1 Compact vs Galaxy S5 mini: specs and size comparison

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Samsung Galaxy Alpha vs Sony Xperia Z1 Compact vs Galaxy S5 mini: specs and size comparison
We first started hearing about a metal-clad Samsung Galaxy phone in the making ages ago, or so it feels. After a hefty rumor phase, however, Samsung finally made the Galaxy Alpha official today at an impressive event in Russia, and it turns out that most of what we thought we knew about the device was right all along.

Perhaps most importantly, and to start off, the Galaxy Alpha sports a 4.7-inch AMOLED display, putting it right in-between the 4.5-inch Galaxy S5 mini and the 5.1-inch Galaxy S5. Naturally, in this day and age, this puts the Alpha on the rather short list of relatively compact devices available to consumers who aren't necessarily crazy about the continued growth of smartphone displays. Where the new Samsung device differs from most 'mini' devices, however, is the specs sheet that comes attached to it -- it sports Sony Xperia Z1 Compact-worthy hardware, though it doesn't tout water- and dust-resistance.

So how does the Galaxy Alpha compare against the two 'mini' devices mentioned above? Here's a bird's eye overview of the specs, and a look at the Alpha's relative size against them and other competitors.

Samsung Galaxy Alpha
Dimensions

5.21 x 2.58 x 0.26 inches

132.4 x 65.5 x 6.7 mm

Weight

4.06 oz (115 g)

Sony Xperia Z1 Compact
Dimensions

5 x 2.56 x 0.37 inches

127 x 64.9 x 9.5 mm

Weight

4.83 oz (137 g)

Samsung Galaxy S5 mini
Dimensions

5.16 x 2.55 x 0.36 inches

131.1 x 64.8 x 9.1 mm

Weight

4.23 oz (120 g)

LG G3 s
Dimensions

5.42 x 2.74 x 0.41 inches

137.7 x 69.6 x 10.3 mm

Weight

4.83 oz (137 g)

HTC One mini 2
Dimensions

5.41 x 2.56 x 0.42 inches

137.43 x 65.04 x 10.6 mm

Weight

4.83 oz (137 g)

Samsung Galaxy Alpha
Dimensions

5.21 x 2.58 x 0.26 inches

132.4 x 65.5 x 6.7 mm

Weight

4.06 oz (115 g)

Sony Xperia Z1 Compact
Dimensions

5 x 2.56 x 0.37 inches

127 x 64.9 x 9.5 mm

Weight

4.83 oz (137 g)

Samsung Galaxy S5 mini
Dimensions

5.16 x 2.55 x 0.36 inches

131.1 x 64.8 x 9.1 mm

Weight

4.23 oz (120 g)

LG G3 s
Dimensions

5.42 x 2.74 x 0.41 inches

137.7 x 69.6 x 10.3 mm

Weight

4.83 oz (137 g)

HTC One mini 2
Dimensions

5.41 x 2.56 x 0.42 inches

137.43 x 65.04 x 10.6 mm

Weight

4.83 oz (137 g)

Compare these and other phones using our Size Comparison tool.

Samsung Galaxy Alpha Sony Xperia Z1 Compact Samsung Galaxy S5 mini

Design

Dimensions
5.21 x 2.58 x 0.26 inches
132.4 x 65.5 x 6.7 mm
5.00 x 2.56 x 0.37 inches
127 x 64.9 x 9.5 mm
5.16 x 2.55 x 0.36 inches
131.1 x 64.8 x 9.1 mm
Weight
4.06 oz (115.0 g) 4.83 oz (137.0 g) 4.23 oz (120.0 g)
Materials
Back: Plastic
Frame: Aluminum
Back: Plastic
Frame: Metal
Resistance
Water, Dust; IP58 Water, Dust; IP67
Biometrics
Fingerprint (swipe) Fingerprint (swipe)
Features
Touch sensitive control keys Touch sensitive control keys
Keys
Right: Volume control, Camera shutter, Lock/Unlock key Left: Volume control; Right: Lock/Unlock key
Colors
Black, Gold, Gray, Blue, White Black, Pink, Green, White Black, Gold, Blue, White

Display

Size
4.7-inch 4.3-inch 4.5-inch
Resolution
1280x720px, 312 PPI 1280x720px, 342 PPI 1280x720px, 326 PPI
Technology
Super AMOLED IPS LCD Super AMOLED
Screen-to-body
70.22 % 61.72 % 65.76 %
Colors
16 777 216 16 777 216 16 777 216
Features
Scratch-resistant glass (Corning Gorilla Glass 4), Ambient light sensor, Proximity sensor Ambient light sensor, Proximity sensor Scratch-resistant glass, Ambient light sensor, Proximity sensor

Hardware

System chip
Samsung Exynos 5 Octa 5433 Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 MSM8974 Samsung Exynos 3 Quad 3470
Processor
Octa-core
1800 MHz
ARM Cortex-A15 and ARM Cortex-A7
Quad-core
2200 MHz
Krait 400
Quad-core
1400 MHz
ARM Cortex-A7
GPU
Mali-T628 MP6 Adreno 330 Mali-400 MP4
RAM
2GB (LPDDR3) 2GB (LPDDR3) 1.5GB
Internal storage
32GB, available to use: 25 GB 16GB 16GB
Storage expansion
microSDXC up to 64 GB microSDXC up to 64 GB
OS
Android (5.1 Lollipop, 4.4.4), Samsung TouchWiz UI Android (5.1 Lollipop, 5.0 Lollipop, 4.4.4, 4.4.2, 4.3) Android (6.0 Marshmallow, 5.1 Lollipop, 4.4), Samsung TouchWiz UI

Battery

Capacity
1860 mAh 2300 mAh 2100 mAh
Type
Li - Ion

Camera

Rear
Single camera Single camera Single camera
Main camera
12 MP (Autofocus, CMOS image sensor)
Aperture size: F2.2
Focal length: 31 mm
20.7 MP (Autofocus, BSI sensor)
Aperture size: F2.0
Focal length: 27 mm
Sensor size: 1/2.3"
8 MP (Autofocus, CMOS image sensor, BSI sensor)
Flash
LED LED LED
Video recording
3840x2160 (4K UHD) (30 fps), 1920x1080 (Full HD) (60 fps), 1280x720 (HD) (120 fps)
HDR, EIS
1920x1080 (Full HD)
HDR, Continuous autofocus, Video light, EIS
1920x1080 (Full HD) (30 fps)
Front
2.1 MP, Video capture: 1920x1080 (Full HD) 2 MP, Video capture: 1920x1080 (Full HD) 2.1 MP

Connectivity & Features

Bluetooth
4.0 4.0 4.0
WLAN
802.11 a,b,g,n,ac,dual-band
Multiple antennas, MIMO, Hotspot, Wi-Fi Direct
802.11 a,b,g,n,ac,dual-band
Hotspot, Wi-Fi Direct
802.11 a,b,g,n,dual-band
Hotspot, Wi-Fi Direct
USB
microUSB, USB 2.0 microUSB, USB 2.0 microUSB, USB 2.0
Location
GPS, A-GPS, Glonass GPS, A-GPS, Glonass GPS, A-GPS, Glonass
Sensors
Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Compass, Hall (for flip covers), Gesture Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Compass Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Compass, Hall (for flip covers)
Other
NFC, ANT+, Tethering, Computer sync, OTA sync NFC, ANT+, Tethering, Computer sync, OTA sync NFC, Infrared, Tethering, Computer sync, OTA sync

Multimedia

Headphones
3.5mm jack 3.5mm jack 3.5mm jack
Speakers
Earpiece, Loudspeaker Earpiece, Loudspeaker Earpiece, Loudspeaker
Features
Album art cover, Background playback Album art cover, Background playback, Music recognition, Custom equalizer Album art cover, Background playback
Screen mirroring
DLNA DLNA,MHL,MirrorLink,TV-out
Radio
FM, Stereo, RDS

Cellular

4G (FDD)
Bands 1(2100), 2(1900), 3(1800), 5(850), 7(2600), 8(900), 20(800 DD) Bands 1(2100), 2(1900), 3(1800), 4(AWS-1), 5(850), 7(2600), 8(900), 20(800 DD) Bands 1(2100), 3(1800), 5(850), 7(2600), 8(900), 20(800 DD)
3G
Bands 5(850), 8(900), 2(1900), 1(2100) Bands 5(850), 8(900), 4(1700/2100), 2(1900), 1(2100) Bands 5(850), 8(900), 2(1900), 1(2100)
Data Speed
LTE-A Cat 6 (300/50 Mbit/s), HSDPA+ (4G) 21.1 Mbit/s LTE Cat 4 (150/50 Mbit/s), HSDPA+ (4G) 42.2 Mbit/s, HSUPA 5.76 Mbit/s, UMTS LTE Cat 4 (150/50 Mbit/s), HSDPA+ (4G) 42.2 Mbit/s, HSUPA 5.76 Mbit/s, UMTS
SIM type
Nano SIM Micro SIM Micro SIM

Phone Features

Notifications
Haptic feedback, Music ringtones (MP3), Polyphonic ringtones, Vibration, Flight mode, Silent mode, Speakerphone Haptic feedback, Music ringtones (MP3), Polyphonic ringtones, Vibration, Flight mode, Silent mode, Speakerphone Haptic feedback, Music ringtones (MP3), Polyphonic ringtones, Vibration, Flight mode, Silent mode, Speakerphone
Other features
Voice dialing, Voice commands, Voice recording Voice dialing, Voice commands, Voice recording Voice dialing, Voice commands, Voice recording

Regulatory Approval

FCC approval
Date approved: Aug 06, 2014
FCC ID value: A3LSMG850F
Date approved: Jan 25, 2014
FCC ID value: PY7PM-0640
Date approved: Jun 19, 2014
FCC ID value: A3LSMG800F
Measured SAR
Head: 1.05 W/kg
Body: 0.48 W/kg
Simultaneous Transmission: 1.18 W/kg
Wireless Router: 0.71 W/kg
Head: 1.43 W/kg
Body: 1.00 W/kg
Simultaneous Transmission: 1.58 W/kg
Wireless Router: 0.96 W/kg
Head: 0.58 W/kg
Body: 0.57 W/kg
Simultaneous Transmission: 0.82 W/kg
Wireless Router: 0.80 W/kg

Availability

Officially announced
Jan 06, 2014 Jul 01, 2014

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