Samsung Galaxy Alpha vs Samsung Galaxy S5 vs LG G3: specs comparison

posted by Peter K. / Aug 13, 2014, 4:06 AM

The Samsung Galaxy Alpha is already here, folks! The long-rumored and much-anticipated metal-clad Samsung device has finally seen the light of day today, just as we told you several days ago. it's extremely thin (6.7mm), totes metal frames, and as a whole has a pretty premium-looking design. However, we could hardly find any device (apart from the iPhone 5s) with a display size under 5 inches that could boast similar premium design. At the moment it has the advantage of being the first device from a major manufacturer that has premium feel to it and has a display size of exactly 4.7 inches. Well, at least until the iPhone 6 gets officially unveiled, provided that Apple's upcoming champion flaunts a 4.7" screen as countless rumors and speculations suggest, but we digress.

That said, we decided to put Sammy's first metal-clad knight against a duo of the more popular Android flagship devices at the moment, its substantially bigger peer - the Samsung Galaxy S5, and another well-known trooper from distant Korea - the LG G3. The lightweight alpha can't stand up to them in the display size segment, but what about pure hardware specs? At least on paper, we can compare and put the three devices against one another for as long as we desire. Of course, the Galaxy Alpha is a niche device that doesn't boast top-end hardware specs, but some may argue that this might not necessary be a deal-breaker and the premium design makes it up for the not-so-great specs.

You be the judge. What do you make of this heated battle?

Samsung Galaxy Alpha vs Samsung Galaxy S5 vs LG G3

Display

Display size

4.7 inches

5.1 inches

5.5 inches

Resolution

720 x 1280 pixels

1080 x 1920 pixels

1440 x 2560 pixels

Pixel density

312 ppi

432 ppi

538 ppi

Technology

Super AMOLED

IPS LCD

Screen-to-body

70.22 %

69.76 %

75.22 %

Hardware & Performance

System chip

Samsung Exynos 5 Octa 5433

Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 MSM8974-AC

Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 8974-AC

Processor

Octa-core, 1800 MHz, ARM Cortex-A15 and ARM Cortex-A7

Quad-core, 2500 MHz, Krait 400, 32-bit, 28 nm

Quad-core, 2500 MHz, Krait 400

GPU

Mali-T628 MP6

Adreno 330

RAM

2 GB LPDDR3

3 GB LPDDR3

Internal storage

32 GB

OS

Android (5.1 Lollipop, 4.4.4), Samsung TouchWiz UI

Android (6.0 Marshmallow, 5.1 Lollipop, 5.0 Lollipop, 4.4.4, 4.4.2), Samsung TouchWiz UI

Android (6.0 Marshmallow, 5.1 Lollipop, 5.0 Lollipop, 4.4.2)

Battery

Capacity

1860 mAh

2800 mAh

3000 mAh

Talk time

21.00 hours

19.00 hours

Stand-by time

16.2 days (390 hours)

22.8 days (548 hours)

Talk time (3G)

11.00 hours

21.00 hours

Stand-by time (3G)

23.0 days (553 hours)

Stand-by time (4G)

25.0 days (600 hours)

Music playback

37.00 hours

67.00 hours

Video playback

10.00 hours

13.00 hours

Camera

Rear

Single camera

Main camera

12 megapixels

16 megapixels

13 megapixels

Features

Autofocus, CMOS image sensor

Back-illuminated sensor (BSI), Phase detection autofocus

Optical image stabilization, Laser autofocus, Back-illuminated sensor (BSI)

Specifications

Aperture size: F2.2; Focal length: 31 mm

Aperture size: F2.2; Focal length: 31 mm; Sensor size: 1/2.6"; Pixel size: 1.12 μm

Aperture size: F2.4; Focal length: 29 mm; Sensor size: 1/3.06"; Pixel size: 1.12 μm

Video recording

3840x2160 (4K UHD) (30 fps), 1920x1080 (Full HD) (60 fps), 1280x720 (HD) (120 fps)

3840x2160 (4K UHD) (30 fps), 1920x1080 (Full HD) (60 fps)

3840x2160 (4K UHD) (30 fps), 1920x1080 (Full HD) (30 fps)

Recording format

MPEG4, H.263, H.264, WMV

MPEG4, H.264

MPEG4, H.263, H.264

Features

High Dynamic Range mode (HDR), Digital image stabilization

High Dynamic Range mode (HDR), Continuous autofocus, Digital image stabilization, Video calling, Video sharing

Optical image stabilization

Front

2.1 megapixels

Video capture

1920x1080 (Full HD)

Design

Dimensions

5.21 x 2.58 x 0.26 inches (132.4 x 65.5 x 6.7 mm )

5.59 x 2.85 x 0.32 inches (142 x 72.5 x 8.1 mm)

5.76 x 2.94 x 0.35 inches (146.3 x 74.6 x 8.9 mm)

Weight

4.06 oz (115 g)

5.11 oz (145 g)

5.26 oz (149 g)

Materials

Back: Plastic; Frame: Aluminum

Back: Plastic

Resistance

Water, Dust; IP 67

Biometrics

Fingerprint (swipe)

Features

Touch sensitive control keys

Touch sensitive control keys, Interchangeable covers, Notification light

Samsung Galaxy Alpha

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13 Comments

1. jeff1434325

Posts: 97; Member since: Aug 07, 2012

Looks Okay,..but only with a 1,860mA battery?..You gotta kidding me!!!!

posted on Aug 13, 2014, 4:10 AM 8

3. xperiaDROID

Posts: 5629; Member since: Mar 08, 2013

Huawei Ascend P7 is 6.5mm thin but it has a 2500 mAh battery, I guess Samsung still doesn't know how to put a reasonable battery capacity on a thin device. Can't blame them though, this is their first 6mm thin device. First try is a good try.

posted on Aug 13, 2014, 4:14 AM 4

12. CanYouSeeTheLight

Posts: 1122; Member since: Jul 05, 2012

The P7 has a non removable battery tho which helps with battery dimensions, removables battery need extra space.

posted on Aug 13, 2014, 1:36 PM 1

2. nohatenofanboy

Posts: 515; Member since: Jul 15, 2014

just wait for the beta. this just a alpha phase lol

posted on Aug 13, 2014, 4:12 AM 10

4. Felix_Gatto

Posts: 942; Member since: Jul 03, 2013

I want Galaxy Omega!!!

posted on Aug 13, 2014, 4:19 AM 2

5. xperiaDROID

Nah, I'll wait for the gamma.

posted on Aug 13, 2014, 4:21 AM 4

9. Felix_Gatto

Still not better than the Omega

posted on Aug 13, 2014, 4:33 AM 0

10. nohatenofanboy

there are rumors about galaxy zeta lol

posted on Aug 13, 2014, 5:38 AM 2

11. hipnotika

Posts: 353; Member since: Mar 06, 2013

ahahahhahhahaha :) very good dude. !

posted on Aug 13, 2014, 7:42 AM 0

6. fanboy1974

Posts: 1345; Member since: Nov 12, 2011

The battery size is the only real negative. Maybe the resolution but at 4.7" it's not completely bad. Still "retina" like by Apple's standards.

posted on Aug 13, 2014, 4:21 AM 0

7. Felix_Gatto

This is confusing, the Galaxy Alpha is equipped with Exynos 5430 which means its a better variant than the one in S5(Exynos 5422) while this phone is positioned below the flagship.

posted on Aug 13, 2014, 4:23 AM 0

8. rms.max

Posts: 95; Member since: Sep 26, 2012

oh dear ! they should have put at least 2300 mah battery on this phone for that kind of specs.come on 720p display,8 cores,4k recording ..wtf. on 1860mah,,,

posted on Aug 13, 2014, 4:23 AM 2

13. gigaraga

Posts: 1454; Member since: Mar 29, 2013

Looks sooooo premium. Especially the first picture. Liking this a lot. It's just the lack of microSD card, smaller screen and small battery holding me back from this sexy beast