Samsung Metal Smartphone May Launch In August With ‘Galaxy Alpha’ Name

Rumors Samsung Electronics Co. (KRX:005930) would begin selling a smartphone featuring a metal exterior have circulated for nearly a year. Now, the big Korean electronics manufacturer appears close to making those rumors fact.

Previously, rumors circulated about a potential full-metal device called the Samsung Galaxy F, but Korean publication ETNews said Monday Samsung plans to call its first metal smartphone the “Galaxy Alpha.” The publication noted the name is still tentative; however, there is evidence Samsung has plans for a device with this name. The manufacturer gained rights to the name Galaxy Alpha in June through the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

The Galaxy Alpha could be the first device in a new Samsung line, analysts said. Many previous rumors have suggested Samsung has had plans to introduce a new flagship line to replace its current Galaxy S line.

Industry insiders recently told the Korea Herald the Galaxy Alpha may feature a premium metal body, Samsung’s Exynos 5 Octa chipset and a 4.7-inch Super AMOLED display. Additionally, Samsung may categorize the device as a “card phone,” it will reportedly be 6-mm thick (about 0.24 inch), similar to the recently released Samsung Galaxy Tab S tablet, which has a thickness comparable to a stack of five credit cards.

The Galaxy Alpha is also expected to be compatible with Samsung’s new broadband LTE-A mobile network. The LTE-A mobile communication standard connects electronic devices to the Internet wirelessly at faster speeds than most common networks allow, and broadband LTE-A, which was introduced on the Samsung Galaxy S5 LTE-A smartphone in June supports upload and download speeds of up to 300 megabits per second.

ETNews said the Samsung Galaxy Alpha could be official as early as August to compete with the iPhone 6, which is expected to launch in September.