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

posted by Chris P. / Aug 13, 2014, 4:28 AM

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.

Front view
Side view

To see the phones in real size or compare them with other models, visit our Visual Phone Size Comparison page

Samsung Galaxy Alpha vs Sony Xperia Z1 Compact vs Samsung Galaxy S5 mini

Display

Display size

4.7 inches

4.3 inches

4.5 inches

Resolution

720 x 1280 pixels

Pixel density

312 ppi

342 ppi

326 ppi

Technology

Super AMOLED

IPS LCD

Super AMOLED

Screen-to-body

70.22 %

61.72 %

65.76 %

Hardware & Performance

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

2 GB LPDDR3

1.5 GB

Internal storage

32 GB

16 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

Camera

Rear

Single camera

Main camera

12 megapixels

20.7 megapixels

8 megapixels

Features

Autofocus, CMOS image sensor

Autofocus, Back-illuminated sensor (BSI)

Autofocus, CMOS image sensor, Back-illuminated sensor (BSI)

Specifications

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

Aperture size: F2.0; Focal length: 27 mm; Sensor size: 1/2.3"

Video recording

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

1920x1080 (Full HD)

1920x1080 (Full HD) (30 fps)

Recording format

MPEG4, H.263, H.264, WMV

MPEG4, H.263, H.264

MPEG4, H.263, H.264, WMV

Features

High Dynamic Range mode (HDR), Digital image stabilization

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

Front

2.1 megapixels

2 megapixels

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 )

5.00 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 g)

4.83 oz (137 g)

4.23 oz (120 g)

Materials

Back: Plastic; Frame: Aluminum

Back: Plastic; Frame: Metal

Resistance

Water, Dust; IP 58

Water, Dust; IP 67

Biometrics

Fingerprint (swipe)

Features

Touch sensitive control keys

FEATURED VIDEO

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22 Comments

1. enthasuium

Posts: 150; Member since: Nov 21, 2013

6.7 mm thick, amazing

posted on Aug 13, 2014, 4:35 AM 2

4. xperiaDROID

Posts: 5629; Member since: Mar 08, 2013

Huawei Ascend P7 is 6.5mm thin, definitely amazing.

posted on Aug 13, 2014, 4:44 AM 5

6. Genza

Posts: 576; Member since: Mar 12, 2014

How about 5.6mm Gionee Elife S5.5? http://www.gsmarena.com/gionee_elife_s5_5-6109.php

posted on Aug 13, 2014, 5:03 AM 6

7. xperiaDROID

Posts: 5629; Member since: Mar 08, 2013

That's absolutely amazing.

posted on Aug 13, 2014, 5:04 AM 2

17. na7noo7

Posts: 278; Member since: Mar 29, 2014

Also see the 5mm version.

posted on Aug 13, 2014, 4:04 PM 0

20. techperson211

Posts: 1280; Member since: Feb 27, 2014

Z1c beats out the crap out of these 2 wannabe compact!! and wait for the Z3c it'll totally blow away competition, A worthy opponent for iPhone 6.

posted on Aug 13, 2014, 6:38 PM 1

9. RuiBacelar

Posts: 153; Member since: Feb 25, 2014

1860 mAh battery...uhhh, amazing!

posted on Aug 13, 2014, 5:18 AM 5

21. bobox

Posts: 6; Member since: Jun 03, 2014

Galaxy Alpha use Exynos 5430 is the first 20nm SoC of Samsung, so it has lower power consumption. Exynos 5420 and Snapdragon 800&801 are 28nm process.

posted on Aug 13, 2014, 9:42 PM 0

2. ArtSim98

Posts: 3535; Member since: Dec 21, 2012

Z1 C will remain king in this department untill the Z3 C :)

posted on Aug 13, 2014, 4:39 AM 14

10. JC557

Posts: 1925; Member since: Dec 07, 2011

If Sony wants it to do well they should do their best at making it available for as many carriers as possible. I don't even think I've seen the Xperia Z1 Compact available at a US Sony Store. I was bummed about the Xperia Z2 not making its way to Verizon.

posted on Aug 13, 2014, 5:49 AM 1

13. sachouba

Posts: 267; Member since: Jun 08, 2014

It would be if it were really compact, without those big bezels that make it almost as big as the Galaxy Alpha with a screen 0,4" smaller.

posted on Aug 13, 2014, 8:54 AM 1

18. xtremesv

Posts: 299; Member since: Oct 21, 2011

Actually those bezels serve me well because I rely on a mod that adds gesture based UI navigation to my SZ1c. But true to be told, bezels are somehow big and SZ3c will solve that.

posted on Aug 13, 2014, 4:17 PM 1

3. Settings

Posts: 2943; Member since: Jul 02, 2014

Spec-wise, obviously Z1 Compact has the lime light. S5 mini is a joke.

posted on Aug 13, 2014, 4:40 AM 10

5. Felix_Gatto

Posts: 942; Member since: Jul 03, 2013

This is not you, Samsung. Why no SD card slot????!!

posted on Aug 13, 2014, 4:48 AM 0

8. ArtSim98

Posts: 3535; Member since: Dec 21, 2012

They want to become like Apple.

posted on Aug 13, 2014, 5:13 AM 1

11. Amir1 unregistered

the one and ONLY compact flag is z1c, soon to be replaced by z3c. alpha is a joke.

posted on Aug 13, 2014, 6:19 AM 2

12. Arte-8800

Posts: 4562; Member since: Mar 13, 2014

Exynos chips have always tended to outperform Snapdragons released at about the same time. Problem is that Cortex-A15 has been a dud in terms of power consumption, which is why it hasn't been seen in anything but a small percentage of mainline phones. Even in tablets where its poor power efficiency is less of an issue, Qualcomm Kraits have been dominating. big.LITTLE helps a bit here, but the truth is - at peak performance, Krait is far more power efficient than the A15, which means that it takes longer for a Krait to hit thermal throttling limits and can run for longer on battery. What's the point of having that insane peak performance if you can't sustain it without overheating or killing the battery? Snapdragons didn't have such a clear advantage when it came to Scorpion vs. Cortex-A9, or even dual-Krait vs. quad-A9 which is why Exynos 4210 and 4412 dominated Samsung's handset lineup in their heyday - but the A15 has been a failure outside of the tablet and Chromebook market. Samsung will claim the reason for Krait dominating their handset lineup is LTE in public documentation, but the Note 2 and international LTE GS3 (I9305) proved that Samsung can hang a Qualcomm LTE modem off of an Exynos CPU. Specs are the same The Cpu, Gpu destroys the S805, let alone S801.

posted on Aug 13, 2014, 7:47 AM 1

15. Berzerk000

Posts: 4275; Member since: Jun 26, 2011

How is the Alpha a joke? The Exynos 5430 is actually more powerful than the S801 the Z3 Compact is supposed to have, and it has the same resolution display the Z3 Compact is supposed to have. And I bet it'll probably be around the same price of it too.

posted on Aug 13, 2014, 11:38 AM 2

14. Taters

Posts: 6474; Member since: Jan 28, 2013

This is a perfect example of the lack of intelligence and double standards on phone arena. The alpha is pretty much comparable to the Z3 compact and most likely the iPhone 6 in specs, including size, yet one is mid range garbage from Samsung, and the other two are true mini flagships. Okay there buddies.... You either need to get your head checked or at least attempt to research before you post anything.

posted on Aug 13, 2014, 11:18 AM 0

16. vuyonc

Posts: 1091; Member since: Feb 24, 2014

It's not mid-range. It's overpriced. THAT is why everyone is upset. You're basically getting a lower resolution, non-water resistant GS5 without expandable storage. At nearly the same price. The Z3C has expandable storage, is waterproof and likely has stereo speakers, maybe DNC earphones, and improved camera software. You know, stuff that actually justifies its premium price. You should get your head checked.

posted on Aug 13, 2014, 12:13 PM 1

22. Taters

Posts: 6474; Member since: Jan 28, 2013

Actually this has the most important advantage. The gpu/cpu is as good as it gets and it's way thinner than the fat 10.5 mm compact. No one really cares about the so called premium things you mentioned. Lol