Samsung Flags Are Set Up At The Main Entrance To The Berlin Fair Ground
Samsung flags are set up at the main entrance to the Berlin fair ground before the IFA consumer electronics fair in Berlin in this August 28, 2012 file photo. Samsung Electronics Co Ltd is emerging as a major player in its local debt market, buying more South Korean-issued bonds as it juggles a $60 billion cash pile. Samsung's push into private bank debt and government bonds underscores the challenges faced by the electronics giant in managing its massive cash holdings, with local banks reluctant to overload on short-term deposits from Samsung. REUTERS

The OnePlus One was released in June, while the Apple iPhone 6 rival Samsung Galaxy Alpha has recently been released in September. Readers who are interested in the killer OnePlus One or the ultra-thin Samsung Galaxy Alpha should check out this comparison.

Display, Exterior And Size

The OnePlus One features a 5.5-inch LTPS LCD display and 1,080 x 1,920 pixels resolution. The Samsung Galaxy Alpha, meanwhile, comes with a relatively smaller 4.7-inch Super AMOLED display and 720 x 1,280 pixels resolution. Also, the pixel densities of Samsung and OnePlus smartphones stand at 312 ppi and 401 ppi, respectively.

When it comes to the exterior, the OnePlus One smartphone sports a unique magnesium exterior providing a premium-looking, matte-effect laden outer surface. Additionally, the phone's back shell is alterable with a slew of choices ranging from bamboo, kevlar to denim shells, says GizMag. The Samsung Galaxy Alpha, on the other hand, has abandoned the plastic look for an elegant metallic frame. This frame elevates the device's appearance to a whole new level accompanied by bevelled edges. In spite of this, the rear of the phone is covered with the same faux-leather material prevalent in Galaxy S5. However, the dotted/perforated pattern from the 2014 flagship is replaced by a cross-stitch design in the new Galaxy Alpha, according to Phone Arena.

Speaking of size, the thickness and the weight of the OnePlus device and the Samsung handsets are (0.35-inch and 162 g) and (0.26-inch and 115 g), respectively. Hence, the Galaxy Alpha is much thinner and a lot lighter than the OnePlus One.

Hardware, Software And Memory

The OnePlus handset is powered by a quad-core (Qualcomm Snapdragon 801) Krait 400 processor, clocked at 2.5 GHz. Meanwhile, the Galaxy Alpha is powered by a much-powerful octa-core (Exynos 5) processor with four 1.8 GHz Cortex-A15 cores and four 1.3 GHz Cortex-A7 cores. While the Samsung handset is backed by a 2 GB of RAM, the OnePlus One comes with an impressive 3 GB of RAM.

Moreover, the Galaxy Alpha runs on Android v4.4.4 KitKat OS with TouchWiz UI, whereas the OnePlus One runs on Android v4.4.2 KitKat OS with CyanogenMod 11S, which is upgradable to v4.4.4 KitKat. As far as the memory goes, the OnePlus One offers 16 GB and 64 GB of in-built memory, while the Galaxy Alpha comes with 32 GB of storage. Nonetheless, both the smartphones do not support expandable memory.

Camera And Battery

The Galaxy Alpha sports a 12 MP rear-facing camera with LED flash, whereas the OnePlus One features a 13 MP primary camera with dual-LED flash. In addition, the OnePlus handset houses a surprisingly good 5 MP front-facing shooter for killer selfies, whereas the Samsung device comes with a 2.1 MP shooter. On battery, the Samsung handset is backed by a Li-Ion 1860 mAh unit, whereas the OnePlus One comes packed with a whopping Li-Ion 3100 mAh battery unit.

Additional Features

1. Notably, the company OnePlus has replaced its invitation-only purchase model for a flash sale and pre-order system, similar to Xiaomi. And this would take effect sometime in October.

2. The Galaxy Alpha features the fingerprint sensor for unlocking the handset and also for making mobile-based payments.

3. Both the devices support NFC.

4. Readers should check out Bamboo StyleSwap Cover pertaining to OnePlus One that comes for US$49.

5. While the Samsung device supports nano-SIM, the OnePlus handset supports micro-SIM.

Price

The Samsung Galaxy Alpha (32 GB) is priced at AU$749.95. Meanwhile, the OnePlus One (64 GB) variant can be purchased for AU$559.95.

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