Samsung Galaxy Alpha price, release date and specs

THE SAMSUNG GALAXY ALPHA has arrived, and looks to challenge the likes of the iPhone and HTC One with its metal frame and octa-core innards.

Here, we round up everything we know about the anticipated Samsung Galaxy Alpha handset so far. Keep this page bookmarked, as we'll update as we hear more about the Galaxy Alpha.

Release date Samsung quietly announce the Galaxy Alpha, has rumours had suggested, on 13 August, announcing that it will be available in the UK from the beginning of September. Samsung has yet to announce an exact release date.

PriceAhead of its unveiling, UK SIM-free retailer Mobilefun prematurely started taking pre-orders for the Samsung Galaxy Alpha, outing its price as £549.

However, Samsung has yet to announce official pricing for the smartphone, nor has EE, which promptly announced it would be selling the handset.

SpecsThe Samsung Galaxy Alpha, which was the subject of multiple online leaks under the guise of the ' Samsung Galaxy F' and ' Samsung Galaxy S5 Prime' ahead of its unveiling, doesn't feature many surprises.

As speculation had suggested, the Galaxy Alpha is one of the first Samsung smartphone to boast a metal frame, which is thinner than the iPhone 5S at 6.7mm thick. Unlike the iPhone however, the Galaxy Alpha doesn't feature a full metal casing, and instead retains the perforated plastic rear found on the Samsung Galaxy S5. It will be available in the same colours too: black, white, blue and gold.

Much like its flagship predecessor, the Samsung Galaxy Alpha also arrives with a fingerprint scanner built into its home button, and with a heart rate sensor on its rear.

In terms of specifications, the Galaxy Alpha isn't much of a match for the LG G3 in the screen department, touting a 4.7in HD 720p Super AMOLED screen, with a pixel density of 320ppi. This is powered by Samsung's homegrown 1.8GHz octa-core Exynos 5 processor, with the handset set to also be made available with a 2.5GHz quad-core chip, equipping it with 300Mbps Cat 6 LTE speeds.

The Samsung Galaxy Alpha also boasts 2GB RAM under the hood, alongside a 1,850mAh battery and 32GB of included storage, which cannot be expanded via microSD. There's also a 12MP camera on its rear, a 2.1MP front-facing camera and built-in NFC support.

In terms of software, the Galaxy Alpha runs the newest version of Google's operating system - Android 4.4.4 Kitkat. However, Samsung has heavily-customised this with its own skin, equipping the phone with the likes of its own Galaxy Apps service and Magazine UX homescreen. µ