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Andrew Hoyle/CNET
Samsung is planning to launch a new, high-end smartphone next month that will be designed to take on the iPhone 6, according to reports out of Korea.
Over the weekend, Korean publication ETNews reported that Samsung is working on a device known as the Galaxy Alpha that it plans to launch in August. Samsung wants to get the handset out to store shelves before Apple has a chance to announce the rumored iPhone 6, the report said, citing sources who claim to have knowledge of the situation.
The Galaxy Alpha is the latest in a long line of potential names for a new rumored Samsung device. For months, reports have been swirling, suggesting Samsung is working on a higher-end smartphone than its flagship Galaxy S5, which only just launched in April, that will sport a metal chassis and come with several additional features to make it feel higher-end. According to the ET News source, the Galaxy Alpha will be a mix between the Galaxy S5 and Samsung’s phablet, the Galaxy Note.
It’s believed that the Galaxy Alpha could be the same device with another name that’s been bandied about the Web over the last several months. Several rumors have suggested Samsung is working on a Galaxy S5 Prime or a Galaxy F, both coming with the same high-end features mentioned in the Korean news story. This is the first time the “Alpha” name has come out.
Samsung and Apple are waging a war in the mobile space as both companies continue to sell millions of devices each quarter. Combined, however, the firms are doing quite well, generating over 100 percent of the smartphone industry’s profits, after losses from other firms are taken into account.
Details on the new smartphone handset are slim at this point, and the ETNews article didn’t provide much, as was also the case with other reports about the device. It’s a similar refrain on the Apple front, where that company is expected in the coming months to unveil perhaps two new iPhones. Details have been somewhat slim to this point.
CNET has contacted Samsung for comment on the report. We will update this story when we have more information.
(Via TechRadar)
