The Samsung Galaxy Alpha and Galaxy Note 4 will reportedly be the first smartphones in the market to feature Corning Gorilla Glass 4. The latest generation of Gorilla Glass will be 2x times drop resistant as compared to the previous versions which means it can withstand drops around 80% of the time. Corning's experts studied over hundreds of broken devices to understand why the glass breaks after a fall. The results of the study indicate that over 70 percent of breakage occurs due to the surface contact with glass. In order to avoid this, the company made its latest Gorilla Glass 4 almost two times tougher. At the same time, the company managed to reduce the glass's thickness as compared to its previous generations. With this extra thin protective glass, Samsung managed to reduce the thickness of its Galaxy Alpha smartphone to just 7mm. The metal build coupled with the Gorilla Glass 4 protection makes the device sturdy and durable in spite of its thin profile. As for the tech specs, it features Samsung's Exynos 5 chipset with 4G LTE support, 4.7 inch Super AMOLED display, 13MP rear camera, 2.1MP secondary camera and 1860mAh battery. The Samsung Galaxy Alpha is available for purchase in Malaysia for RM1899 while the Galaxy Note 4 is going for RM2499.

Maxis is now offering the Samsung Galaxy Alpha from RM1199. While this isn't the lowest subsidized pricing off of the current retail price of RM1899, it is on the MaxisONE postpaid plan which offers limitless calls and SMS. However, you will have to sign up for a 24 month contract. As a bonus loyal Maxis users who have had a year's worth of good payment and port-in users with good payments records for the past 3 months don't have to pay the advance payment. The Advance payment is actually 4 months worth of monthly commitment fees. Check out the table and links in this article for more details.

U Mobile is now offering the Samsung Galaxy Alpha from RM709 which is a good thing considering that it retails at RM1899. The Galaxy Alpha will be available on a 24 month contract with no upfront payment required. Of course, there is a catch for the No Upfront payment as you have to buy the device via credit card and subscribe auto debit for the monthly access fee. You can however, choose to sign up with the U58, U88 or U Plus postpaid plans. Check out the table and links in this article for more details.

The Samsung Galaxy Alpha was just launched today in Malaysia for RM1899. The super thin metal frame smartphone from Samsung is currently available in authorized Samsung Experience Stores and other retail outlets but is limited to just black or white for now. The gold and silver colours will be coming later. The Samsung Galaxy Alpha tech specs and features are as follows:

• Octa-core Samsung Exynos processor (1.8GHz quad-core + 1.3GHz quad-core)
• 2GB RAM
• 32GB storage
• 4.7-inch display (Super AMOLED, 1280 x 720 pixel resolution)
• 12MP rear camera (ISOCELL, LED flash, 4K video record) + 2.1MP front camera
• features LTE Cat.6, WiFi 802.11 ac, MIMO(2x2), NFC, Bluetooth 4.0 BLE, Hall Sensor, Fingerprint Sensor, Heartrate sensor
• 132.4 x 65.5 x 6.7mm | 115g
• 1860 mAh battery
• available in charcoal black, dazzling white, frosted gold, sleek silver and scuba blue
• Android 4.4.4 KitKat

Direct from Samsung Malaysia, the Samsung Galaxy Alpha smartphone will be coming on 19 September 2014 and will also be available with a FREE Samsung Gear 2 smartwatch. The offer is for the first 100 buyers of the Samsung Galaxy Alpha smartphone at the Samsung Experience Store in The Gardens KL, Gurney Paragon Penang and the Maxis Centre at KLCC. No confirmed Malaysia pricing yet but some retailers are offering the Samsung Galaxy Alpha from RM1899. The metal-frame Samsung Galaxy Alpha offers tech specs and features that includes:

• Octa-core Samsung Exynos processor (1.8GHz quad-core + 1.3GHz quad-core)
• 2GB RAM
• 32GB storage
• 4.7-inch display (Super AMOLED, 1280 x 720 pixel resolution)
• 12MP rear camera (ISOCELL, LED flash, 4K video record) + 2.1MP front camera
• features LTE Cat.6, WiFi 802.11 ac, MIMO(2x2), NFC, Bluetooth 4.0 BLE, Hall Sensor, Fingerprint Sensor, Heartrate sensor
• 132.4 x 65.5 x 6.7mm | 115g
• 1860 mAh battery
• available in charcoal black, dazzling white, frosted gold, sleek silver and scuba blue
• Android 4.4.4 KitKat

Samsung Malaysia recently teased an image showing off the metal  frame of their Samsung Galaxy Alpha smartphone. After years of putting out mostly plastic smartphones the Galaxy Alpha is the first Android smartphone from Samsung to offer a full metal frame. The teaser image says to go check out a Samsung Experience Store like the one in Mid Valley this 19 September 2014. While the frame is premium metal, tech specs for the Galaxy Alpha include the following:

• Octa-core Samsung Exynos processor (1.8GHz quad-core + 1.3GHz quad-core)
• 2GB RAM
• 32GB storage
• 4.7-inch display (Super AMOLED, 1280 x 720 pixel resolution)
• 12MP rear camera (ISOCELL, LED flash, 4K video record) + 2.1MP front camera
• features LTE Cat.6, WiFi 802.11 ac, MIMO(2x2), NFC, Bluetooth 4.0 BLE, Hall Sensor, Fingerprint Sensor, Heartrate sensor
• 132.4 x 65.5 x 6.7mm | 115g
• 1860 mAh battery
• available in charcoal black, dazzling white, frosted gold, sleek silver and scuba blue
• Android 4.4.4 KitKat

According to Samsung, the metal-body Samsung Galaxy Alpha was originally based on the Samsung Card Phone or SGH-P310 partly for it's thinness and partly for it's grip. The curved corners on the Galaxy Alpha were actually designed that way to minimize shock from a drop as smartphones usually fall on the corners when dropped. To further enhance the grip a thin coating was placed near the sides, making it less likely to slip. For a closer look at the overall design, do check out the video of the Samsung Galaxy Alpha below:

The just announced metal frame Samsung Galaxy Alpha could well be on the way to Malaysia in record time. This comes from a listing of the SM-G850F, which is the model number for the Galaxy Alpha, at the SIRIM database. The listing shows a number of tech specs and also confirms that the model we will be getting here in Malaysia will have 4G LTE connectivity. Other recently confirmed tech specs include the fact that the 12MP rear camera uses a Samsung ISOCELL camera sensor, and therefore, should be able to deliver similar performance with the 16MP ISOCELL sensor on the Samsung Galaxy S5. We still don't have any details on the exact Malaysia release date or pricing but we expect the Malaysia release of the Samsung Galaxy Alpha to be within a month from this date based on the previous release of the Samsung Galaxy Tab S 10.5 and Galaxy Tab S 8.4.

Samsung fans have waited a long time for a semi-premium smartphone made from metal, and Samsung have finally given in by officially announcing the Samsung Galaxy Alpha. Rumoured to be the Samsung smartphone with the brushed metal backside, this appears to be still a rumour as only the frame is solid metal, but it does a lot to making the phone feel more premium. The Galaxy Alpha should now have less flex and feel a lot more sturdy compared to the larger and thicker yet more plastic build of the Samsung Galaxy S5. The perforated design on the back casing remains the same though just as the back material is also still plastic. Ironically, the Galaxy Alpha is much lighter at 115g and super thin at just 6.7mm. Check out the full tech specs and feature list for the Samsung Galaxy Alpha below:

• Octa-core Samsung Exynos processor (1.8GHz quad-core + 1.3GHz quad-core)
• 2GB RAM
• 32GB storage
• 4.7-inch display (Super AMOLED, 1280 x 720 pixel resolution)
• 12MP rear camera (LED flash, 4K video record) + 2.1MP front camera
• features LTE Cat.6, WiFi 802.11 ac, MIMO(2x2), NFC, Bluetooth 4.0 BLE, Hall Sensor, Fingerprint Sensor, Heartrate sensor
• 132.4 x 65.5 x 6.7mm | 115g
• 1860 mAh battery
• available in charcoal black, dazzling white, frosted gold, sleek silver and scuba blue
• Android 4.4.4 KitKat

More pictures of the metal body Samsung Galaxy Alpha have appeared and this time they are quite clear. The pictures reveal a fairly standard design with a matte white backside. No sign of any brushed metal back cover as shown in previous press renders but the sides reveal a flat and thin design very similar to an Apple iPhone 5s. Tech specs and features have yet to be confirmed but rumours indicate that they will be midrange. Further tech spec details include an octa-core Samsung Exynos 5433 processor, 2GB RAM, 32GB storage, 4.8-inch display with 720p pixel resolution, 12MP rear camera, 2MP front camera and Android 4.4.4. No Malaysia release dates or pricing details just yet, but it could likely be unveiled at the upcoming Samsung UNPACKED 2014 event alongside the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 on 3 September 2014. Check out the pictures for yourself below.