The much-rumored Samsung Galaxy Alpha has just received FCC certification, which indicates that it may soon become official, boasting a highly-expected metallic design.
Samsung may have several high-end devices on the market, but the company's infamous love of plastic is a turn off for many potential buyers. While Apple, HTC, and others are offering devices made of premium materials, Samsung has so far stuck to polycarbonate shells even for its top-of-the-line devices.
According to the rumor mill, however, that may well change soon, and more evidence is now backing up such claims. Rumors of a metal-clad Samsung smartphone have been making rounds for a long time, yet nothing materialized so far. Nevertheless, the company is still expected to launch a premium smartphone with a metallic build as the Galaxy Alpha, and the handset has now dropped by the FCC.
More specifically, the alleged Samsung Galaxy Alpha has hit the FCC sporting model number SM-850F, according to Phone Arena. The FCC is usually one of the last stages before a device becomes official and hits retail, so the Galaxy Alpha will likely launch very soon.
The FCC listing in question reveals that this handset measures 133 x 67 cm, which means that it will be smaller than the Samsung Galaxy S5. This falls in line with previous rumors indicating that the Galaxy Alpha would sport a 4.8-inch display. The listing further notes that the device underwent testing for Bluetooth, NFC, Wi-Fi, and LTE bands 2 and 6, which suggests that the version currently in testing may not be for U.S. carriers. This doesn't necessarily mean that the handset will not make it to North America, however, as it's still expected to hit at least AT&T and T-Mobile.
Based on previous rumors, the purported Samsung Galaxy Alpha may sport a Super AMOLED display with a 720p HD resolution and pack a Samsung Exynos 5433 processor under the hood. Other rumored specs include 2GB of RAM, 32GB of internal storage capacity, a 12-megapixel rear camera, and a 2.1-megapixel front shooter. On the software side, the smartphone is expected to run Android 4.4.2 KitKat out of the box.
Samsung is expected to officially unveil the metallic Galaxy Alpha on Aug. 13, but it remains unconfirmed for now. We'll keep you up to date as soon as more details become available, so stay tuned.
