The Samsung Galaxy Alpha, according to rumors, may be arriving as soon as next week, as the metal-clad device may likely get an official launch on August 13. It’s said that Samsung wants to make sure the Galaxy Alpha gets released in stores ahead of the iPhone 6, which may drop on September 19. Adding to the chances of the Galaxy Alpha getting revealed in the coming days is a new sighting, which confirms the phone has just “passed through”, or received certification from the FCC.
A phone with model number SM-G850F was sighted Thursday on the FCC database, and once a device is on the FCC database, that typically means it should be due for an imminent launch. The code name/model number “SM-G850F” has previously been connected with an European Galaxy Alpha variant, so it won’t be surprising at all if we’ll be seeing the Galaxy Alpha arrive next Wednesday, August 13.
As for the technical details on the FCC sighting, they don’t really say much, apart from confirming the phone’s connectivity. Its dimensions, as per the FCC document, are 133 by 67 millimeters, thus making it more compact than the 142 x 72.5 millimeter Galaxy S5. This meshes with rumors that the Galaxy Alpha may have a smaller 4.7-inch or 4.8-inch display, and probably measure just six millimeters thick. Connectivity options include the one-two NFC/LTE tandem, as well as dual-band Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.0.
The Samsung Galaxy Alpha is also expected to blend midrange and high-end specs in one metal device, and with that in mind, other rumored basics include 720p display resolution, a 12-megapixel rear camera, and the choice of a Snapdragon 805 quad-core or Exynos eight-core processor depending on market. Rumor has it that the U.S. may be the only market to get the Snapdragon-powered Galaxy Alpha, while the rest of the world may get the variant with an Exynos chipset under the hood.