1. Home
  2. Comparison

Apple iPhone 5 vs Samsung Galaxy Alpha

Compare recorded specifications, size and practical differences.

+ Add a third phone

    Key differences

    Calculated from recorded specifications using minimum difference thresholds. These are differences, not an overall ranking. For three phones, numeric highlights compare the two extremes.

    • Display technology

      OLED versus LCD

      iPhone 5:
      LCD
      Galaxy Alpha:
      OLED

    • Width

      iPhone 5: 6.9 mm narrower

      iPhone 5:
      58.6 mm
      Galaxy Alpha:
      65.5 mm

    • Screen diagonal

      iPhone 5: 0.7 in smaller diagonal

      iPhone 5:
      4 in
      Galaxy Alpha:
      4.7 in

    • Chipset

      iPhone 5:
      Apple A6 (32 nm)
      Galaxy Alpha:
      Exynos 5430 Octa (20 nm)

    • Depth

      Galaxy Alpha: 0.9 mm thinner

      iPhone 5:
      7.6 mm
      Galaxy Alpha:
      6.7 mm

    • Height

      iPhone 5: 8.6 mm shorter

      iPhone 5:
      123.8 mm
      Galaxy Alpha:
      132.4 mm

    Physical size

    Relative size, not calibrated actual size. Front and side outlines share one scale and a bottom baseline. Generic outlines use recorded body dimensions, excluding camera bumps.

    1. 1. iPhone 5

      Height:
      123.8 mm
      Width:
      58.6 mm
      Depth:
      7.6 mm +0.9 mm versus Galaxy Alpha

    2. 2. Galaxy Alpha

      Height:
      132.4 mm +8.6 mm versus iPhone 5
      Width:
      65.5 mm +6.9 mm versus iPhone 5
      Depth:
      6.7 mm

    Weight

    Bars start at zero and share a scale within this chart.

    1. 1. iPhone 5

      112 g

    2. 2. Galaxy Alpha

      115 g

      +3 g versus iPhone 5

    Screen size

    Approximate rectangular screens calculated from recorded diagonal and aspect ratio at one relative scale. Rounded corners and cutouts are not subtracted. These are not phone outlines or calibrated actual sizes.

    1. 1. iPhone 5

      Screen diagonal:
      4 in
      Aspect ratio (height:width):
      16:9
      Approximate rectangular screen area:
      44.1 cm²

    2. 2. Galaxy Alpha

      Screen diagonal:
      4.7 in
      Aspect ratio (height:width):
      16:9
      Approximate rectangular screen area:
      60.9 cm²

    Galaxy Alpha has approximately 38.1% more rectangular screen area than iPhone 5.

    Memory variants

    Each row compares the same storage capacity. Cells show recorded RAM alternatives, not combined maxima. Not recorded does not mean unavailable in every market.

    Recorded RAM for iPhone 5, Galaxy Alpha, compared at the same storage capacity.
    StorageiPhone 5Galaxy Alpha
    32 GB Unknown 2 GB RAM
    iPhone 5: Original memory entry

    16/32/64 GB · 1 GB RAM DDR2

    Practical features

    Explicit Yes and No values are shown directly. Qualified or regional records retain their details. Unknown means the record is missing.

    1. iPhone 5

    NFC:
    Unknown
    Headphone jack:
    Yes
    Memory card support:
    No

    2. Galaxy Alpha

    NFC:
    Yes
    Headphone jack:
    Yes
    Memory card support:
    No

    Battery capacity

    Capacity is not battery life. No endurance test is implied.

    Recorded battery capacity

    Bars start at zero and share a scale within this chart.

    1. 1. iPhone 5

      1440 mAh

    2. 2. Galaxy Alpha

      1860 mAh

      +420 mAh versus iPhone 5

    Specifications

    Open a section for more detail. On narrow screens, swipe sideways or use Left/Right arrow keys while the table is focused. Unknown means missing data, not No. Recorded zero values are shown as recorded.

    1. iPhone 52. Galaxy Alpha

    Everyday essentials
    Everyday essentials — specifications for iPhone 5, Galaxy Alpha.
    SpecificationiPhone 5Galaxy Alpha
    Dimensions (HxWxD)
    • 123.8 Х 58.6 Х 7.6 mm
    • 132.4 Х 65.5 Х 6.7 mm
    Weight
    • 112 g
    • 115 g
    Technology
    • LED-backlit IPS LCD
    • Super AMOLED
    Screen size
    • 4" inch
    • 4.7" inch
    Screen resolution
    • 640 x 1136 px
    • 720 x 1280 px
    Internal memory Recorded storage / RAM variants. Entries are alternatives, not a combined maximum. Ambiguous formats stay as recorded.
    • 16/32/64 GB
    • 1 GB RAM DDR2
    • 32 GB
    • 2 GB RAM
    Memory card support
    • No
    • No
    Battery Capacity is not battery life. No endurance test is implied.
    • 1440 mAh
    • Non-removable Li-Po
    • 1860 mAh
    • Removable Li-Ion
    Operating system OS
    • iOS 6
    • upgradable to iOS 10.3.3
    • Android 4.4.4 (KitKat)
    • upgradable to 5.0.2 (Lollipop)
    Chipset
    • Apple A6 (32 nm)
    • Exynos 5430 Octa (20 nm)
    NFC Unknown
    • Yes
    Headphone jack
    • Yes
    • Yes
    Display
    Display — specifications for iPhone 5, Galaxy Alpha.
    SpecificationiPhone 5Galaxy Alpha
    Touchscreen
    • capacitive touchscreen
    • capacitive touchscreen
    Display colors
    • 16M
    • 16M
    Screen area
    • 44.1 cm2
    • 60.9 cm2
    Screen format
    • 16:9 (height:width)
    • 16:9 (height:width)
    Screen to body ratio
    • 60.8%
    • 70.2%
    PPI /points per inch/
    • 326 PPI
    • 312 PPI
    Screen protection
    • Corning Gorilla Glass
    • oleophobic coating
    • Corning Gorilla Glass 4
    Camera and Video
    Camera and Video — specifications for iPhone 5, Galaxy Alpha.
    SpecificationiPhone 5Galaxy Alpha
    Rear camera, main
    • 8 MP
    • Single
    • 12 MP
    • Single
    Camera specs
    • 8 MP
    • f/2.4
    • 33mm (standard)
    • 1/3.2''
    • 1.4µm
    • AF
    • 12 MP
    • f/2.2
    • 31mm (standard)
    • AF
    Functions
    • Face detection
    • FaceTime over Wi-Fi or Cellular
    • LED flash
    • panorama
    • HDR
    Video
    • 720p@30fps
    • 2160p@30fps
    • 1080p@60fps
    • 720p@120fps
    Front camera, selfie
    • 1.2 MP
    • Single
    • 2.1 MP
    • Single
    Specifications
    • 1.2 MP
    • f/2.4
    • 35mm (standard)
    • 2.1 MP
    Performance

    Scores marked * are historical catalogue entries. Test conditions are unspecified; no new testing is implied.

    Performance — specifications for iPhone 5, Galaxy Alpha.
    SpecificationiPhone 5Galaxy Alpha
    Processor CPU
    • Dual-core 1.3 GHz Swift (ARM v7-based)
    • Octa-core (4x1.8 GHz Cortex-A15 & 4x1.3 GHz Cortex-A7)
    Graphics processor GPU
    • PowerVR SGX 543MP3 (triple-core graphics)
    • Mali-T628 MP6
    Antutu 7 score *
    • 13215
    • 50125
    GeekBench 4 Single Core * Unknown
    • 782
    GeekBench 4 Multi-Core * Unknown
    • 2457
    GeekBench 4 RenderScript * Unknown
    • 1804
    General specs
    General specs — specifications for iPhone 5, Galaxy Alpha.
    SpecificationiPhone 5Galaxy Alpha
    Release date
    • 2012
    • September
    • 2014
    • August
    Colors
    • Black/Slate
    • White/Silver
    • Charcoal Black
    • Sleek Silver
    • Dazzling White
    • Frosted Gold
    • Scuba Blue
    Historical recorded price Legacy catalogue value; date unknown. Not a current offer.
    • 340 EUR
    • 390 EUR
    Battery life
    • Stand by time- Up to 225 h (2G) / Up to 225 h (3G) Talking time- Up to 8 h (2G) / Up to 8 h (3G) Music play - Up to 40 h
    • Stand by time- Up to 350 h (3G) Talking time- Up to 11 h (3G) Music play - Up to 37 h
    Body build
    • Front glass
    • aluminum body
    • aluminum frame
    • plastic back
    Communication and Connectivity
    Communication and Connectivity — specifications for iPhone 5, Galaxy Alpha.
    SpecificationiPhone 5Galaxy Alpha
    SIM card
    • Nano-SIM
    • Nano-SIM
    Network
    • Show all network frequencies: -2G - GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 - GSM A1428 CDMA 800 / 1900 / 2100 - CDMA A1429 -3G - HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1700 / 1900 / 2100 - GSM A1428 CDMA2000 1xEV-DO - CDMA A1429 -4G - LTE band 4(1700/2100)
    • 17(700) - GSM A1428 LTE 700 / 850 / 1800 / 1900 / 2100 - CDMA A1429 LTE 850 / 1800 / 2100 - GSM A1429
    • Show all network frequencies: -2G - GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 -3G - HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1900 / 2100 -4G - LTE band 1(2100)
    • 2(1900)
    • 3(1800)
    • 5(850)
    • 7(2600)
    • 8(900)
    • 20(800) - G850F LTE band 1(2100)
    • 4(1700/2100)
    • 17(700) - SM-G850M
    Speed
    • HSPA 42.2/5.76 Mbps
    • LTE Cat3 100/50 Mbps
    • EV-DO Rev.A 3.1 Mbps
    • HSPA 42.2/5.76 Mbps
    • LTE-A Cat6 300/50 Mbps
    GPRS
    • Yes
    • Yes
    Edge
    • Yes
    • Yes
    Wi-Fi
    • Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n
    • dual-band
    • hotspot
    • Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac
    • dual-band
    • Wi-Fi Direct
    • hotspot
    GPS
    • Yes
    • with A-GPS
    • GLONASS
    • Yes
    • with A-GPS
    • GLONASS
    USB
    • 2.0
    • proprietary reversible connector
    • microUSB 2.0
    Bluetooth
    • 4.0
    • A2DP
    • LE
    • 4.0
    • A2DP
    • EDR
    • LE
    Harmful irradiation
    • SAR - 1.18 W/kg (head) 1.18 W/kg (body) SAR EU - 0.95 W/kg (head) 0.90 W/kg (body)
    • SAR - 1.18 W/kg (head) 0.75 W/kg (body) SAR EU - 0.37 W/kg (head) 0.51 W/kg (body)
    Music and Audio
    Music and Audio — specifications for iPhone 5, Galaxy Alpha.
    SpecificationiPhone 5Galaxy Alpha
    Radio
    • No
    • No
    Others
    • 16-bit/44.1kHz audio -Active noise cancellation with dedicated mic
    • Active noise cancellation with dedicated mic
    Other features
    Other features — specifications for iPhone 5, Galaxy Alpha.
    SpecificationiPhone 5Galaxy Alpha
    Dop
    • Sensors Accelerometer
    • gyro
    • proximity
    • compass - Siri natural language commands and dictation - Supported LTE Networks
    • Sensors Fingerprint (front-mounted)
    • accelerometer
    • gyro
    • proximity
    • compass
    • heart rate - ANT+ - Versions: G850F (Europe); G850T (T-Mobile)
    • G850M (Vodafone); G850FQ; G850Y Also known as Samsung Galaxy Alfa

    Similar comparisons

    Apple iPhone 5ZTE nubia X

    Apple iPhone 5 vs ZTE nubia X
    Celkon A200Samsung Galaxy Alpha

    Celkon A200 vs Samsung Galaxy Alpha