Samsung unveils the Galaxy Alpha, complete with shiny metal frame

Samsung on Wednesday took the wraps off its new Galaxy Alpha smartphone, which as expected features a shiny metal frame, although it looks like Samsung has stuck with its standard plastic for the device’s rear casing.

Nonetheless, Samsung calls the phone part of its “new design approach” that brings “both beauty and functionality” by “combining a stunning metal frame and slim, light weight design with the same powerful hardware and features users expect from a flagship Galaxy mobile device.”

So what’s under the hood of this new device? As previous leaks have suggested the device features a mix of high-end and mid-range specifications, including a 4.7-inch Super AMOLED display with a resolution of 1280 x 720 pixels, an octa-core processor that combines two quad-core processors that run at 1.8GHz and 1.3GHz, a 12-megapixel rear-facing camera, a 2.1-megapixel front-facing camera, a 1,860 mAh battery, 2GB of RAM, 32GB of internal storage and Android 4.4.4 KitKat.

Samsung says the Galaxy Alpha will be available at “the beginning of September” which just happens to be the time when Apple will launch its hugely anticipated iPhone 6. Pricing information is not available at this time, however.