Samsung Electronics Corporation has quietly unveiled the Galaxy Alpha, one of two phones the company has been hinting at since summer.

In contrast to the glitzy unveilings that are the norm, Samsung didn't offer any kind of gimmick to publicize the launch of its most recent handset. There was no information on which mobile service provider would sell the smartphone; no flowery speeches from a high-level executives and no extravagant introduction event.

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The newest reveal is a far cry from the company's release of the Galaxy S5 last February where Samsung rented a huge convention center in Barcelona, Spain.

The Galaxy Alpha, which is equipped with a metal band around its edges, is Samsung's response to consumers that complain about the feel of cheap plastic that characterizes most of the company's phones.

The handset is a bit confusing because it doesn't readily fit Samsung's portfolio, according to CNET.

Though clad in metal that should means it's a flagship smartphone, the Galaxy S5 has weak hardware compared to predecessors. This suggests the handset is positioned in the mid-tier category.

The Galaxy Alpha has a 4.7-inch screen with a resolution of 1280 x 720 pixels and a pixel density of 320 pixels per square inch.

It sports a 12 megapixel auto-focus back camera with an LED flash and a front camera with a 2.1 megapixel resolution. The handset is equipped with an octacore Exynos 5 Octa 5430 chipset and runs on Android 4.4.4 KitKat out of the box, according to GSM Arena.

In contrast, the Galaxy S5 has a 5.1-inch screen with a resolution of 1920 x 1080, a pixel density of 432, a 16 megapixel back camera, a 2 megapixel front camera and a Qualcomm MSM8974AC Snapdragon 801 chipset. It runs on Android 4.4.2 KitKat.

Though the Galaxy Alpha is handily beaten by the Galaxy S5 in hardware, it leaves the plastic S5 in the dust as far as aesthetics go.

It has dimpled textures on its front and back although the material used in its casing remains unclear as of the moment. As mentioned earlier, it has a beveled and polished metal band surrounding the phone. The speaker holes on the bottom look identical to the iPhone's.

Samsung has yet to release the official price of the smartphone.

TagsGalaxy, Samsung Galaxy, Samsung Galaxy S5, Samsung Galaxy Alpha, Smart Device