Samsung Galaxy Alpha vs Sony Xperia S

Compare recorded specifications, size and practical differences.

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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

    Galaxy Alpha:
    OLED
    Xperia S:
    LCD
  • Weight

    Galaxy Alpha: 29 g lighter

    Galaxy Alpha:
    115 g
    Xperia S:
    144 g
  • Width

    Xperia S: 1.5 mm narrower

    Galaxy Alpha:
    65.5 mm
    Xperia S:
    64 mm
  • Screen diagonal

    Xperia S: 0.4 in smaller diagonal

    Galaxy Alpha:
    4.7 in
    Xperia S:
    4.3 in
  • Memory variants

    At 32 GB storage

    Galaxy Alpha:
    2 GB RAM
    Xperia S:
    1 GB RAM
  • Chipset

    Galaxy Alpha:
    Exynos 5430 Octa (20 nm)
    Xperia S:
    Qualcomm MSM8260 Snapdragon S3

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. Galaxy Alpha

    Height:
    132.4 mm +4.4 mm versus Xperia S
    Width:
    65.5 mm +1.5 mm versus Xperia S
    Depth:
    6.7 mm
  2. 2. Xperia S

    Height:
    128 mm
    Width:
    64 mm
    Depth:
    10.6 mm +3.9 mm versus Galaxy Alpha

Weight

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

  1. 1. Galaxy Alpha

    115 g

  2. 2. Xperia S

    144 g

    +29 g versus Galaxy Alpha

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. Galaxy Alpha

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

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

Galaxy Alpha has approximately 19.5% more rectangular screen area than Xperia S.

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 Galaxy Alpha, Xperia S, compared at the same storage capacity.
StorageGalaxy AlphaXperia S
32 GB Recorded for all phones 2 GB RAM 1 GB RAM

Practical features

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

1. Galaxy Alpha

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

2. Xperia S

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. Galaxy Alpha

    1860 mAh

    +110 mAh versus Xperia S

  2. 2. Xperia S

    1750 mAh

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. Galaxy Alpha2. Xperia S

Everyday essentials
Everyday essentials — specifications for Galaxy Alpha, Xperia S.
SpecificationGalaxy AlphaXperia S
Dimensions (HxWxD)
  • 132.4 Х 65.5 Х 6.7 mm
  • 128 Х 64 Х 10.6 mm
Weight
  • 115 g
  • 144 g
Technology
  • Super AMOLED
  • LED-backlit LCD
Screen size
  • 4.7" inch
  • 4.3" inch
Screen resolution
  • 720 x 1280 px
  • 720 x 1280 px
Internal memory Recorded storage / RAM variants. Entries are alternatives, not a combined maximum. Ambiguous formats stay as recorded.
  • 32 GB
  • 2 GB RAM
  • 32 GB
  • 1 GB RAM
Memory card support
  • No
  • No
Battery Capacity is not battery life. No endurance test is implied.
  • 1860 mAh
  • Removable Li-Ion
  • 1750 mAh
  • Non-removable Li-Ion
Operating system OS
  • Android 4.4.4 (KitKat)
  • upgradable to 5.0.2 (Lollipop)
  • Android 2.3 (Gingerbread)
  • upgradable to 4.1.2 (Jelly Bean)
Chipset
  • Exynos 5430 Octa (20 nm)
  • Qualcomm MSM8260 Snapdragon S3
NFC
  • Yes
  • Yes
Headphone jack
  • Yes
  • Yes
Display
Display — specifications for Galaxy Alpha, Xperia S.
SpecificationGalaxy AlphaXperia S
Touchscreen
  • capacitive touchscreen
  • capacitive touchscreen
Display colors
  • 16M
  • 16M
Screen area
  • 60.9 cm2
  • 51.0 cm2
Screen format
  • 16:9 (height:width)
  • 16:9 (height:width)
Screen to body ratio
  • 70.2%
  • 62.2%
PPI /points per inch/
  • 312 PPI
  • 342 PPI
Screen protection
  • Corning Gorilla Glass 4
  • Scratch-resistant glass
Camera and Video
Camera and Video — specifications for Galaxy Alpha, Xperia S.
SpecificationGalaxy AlphaXperia S
Rear camera, main
  • 12 MP
  • Single
  • 12 MP
  • Single
Camera specs
  • 12 MP
  • f/2.2
  • 31mm (standard)
  • AF
  • 12 MP
  • AF
Functions
  • LED flash
  • panorama
  • HDR
  • LED flash
  • panorama
Video
  • 2160p@30fps
  • 1080p@60fps
  • 720p@120fps
  • 720p@30fps
Front camera, selfie
  • 2.1 MP
  • Single
  • 1.3 MP
  • Single
Specifications
  • 2.1 MP
  • 1.3 MP
Performance

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

Performance — specifications for Galaxy Alpha, Xperia S.
SpecificationGalaxy AlphaXperia S
Processor CPU
  • Octa-core (4x1.8 GHz Cortex-A15 & 4x1.3 GHz Cortex-A7)
  • Dual-core 1.5 GHz Scorpion
Graphics processor GPU
  • Mali-T628 MP6
  • Adreno 220
Antutu 7 score *
  • 50125
  • 3734
GeekBench 4 Single Core *
  • 782
  • 397
GeekBench 4 Multi-Core *
  • 2457
  • 704
GeekBench 4 RenderScript *
  • 1804
Unknown
General specs
General specs — specifications for Galaxy Alpha, Xperia S.
SpecificationGalaxy AlphaXperia S
Release date
  • 2014
  • August
  • 2012
  • January
Colors
  • Charcoal Black
  • Sleek Silver
  • Dazzling White
  • Frosted Gold
  • Scuba Blue
  • White
  • Black
  • Silver
Historical recorded price Legacy catalogue value; date unknown. Not a current offer.
  • 390 EUR
  • 230 EUR
Battery life
  • Stand by time- Up to 350 h (3G) Talking time- Up to 11 h (3G) Music play - Up to 37 h
  • Stand by time- Up to 450 h (2G) / Up to 420 h (3G) Talking time- Up to 7 h 30 min (2G) / Up to 8 h 30 min (3G) Music play - Up to 25 h
Body build
  • aluminum frame
  • plastic back
Unknown
Communication and Connectivity
Communication and Connectivity — specifications for Galaxy Alpha, Xperia S.
SpecificationGalaxy AlphaXperia S
SIM card
  • Nano-SIM
  • Micro-SIM
Network
  • 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
  • Show all network frequencies: -2G - GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900
Speed
  • HSPA 42.2/5.76 Mbps
  • LTE-A Cat6 300/50 Mbps
  • HSPA 14.4/5.76 Mbps
GPRS
  • Yes
  • Up to 86 kbps
Edge
  • Yes
  • Up to 237 kbps
Wi-Fi
  • Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac
  • dual-band
  • Wi-Fi Direct
  • hotspot
  • Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n
  • DLNA
  • hotspot
GPS
  • Yes
  • with A-GPS
  • GLONASS
  • Yes
  • with A-GPS
  • GLONASS
USB
  • microUSB 2.0
  • microUSB 2.0
  • USB Host
Bluetooth
  • 4.0
  • A2DP
  • EDR
  • LE
  • 2.1
  • A2DP
  • EDR
Harmful irradiation
  • SAR - 1.18 W/kg (head) 0.75 W/kg (body) SAR EU - 0.37 W/kg (head) 0.51 W/kg (body)
  • SAR - 1.31 W/kg (head) 0.60 W/kg (body) SAR EU - 1.30 W/kg (head)
Music and Audio
Music and Audio — specifications for Galaxy Alpha, Xperia S.
SpecificationGalaxy AlphaXperia S
Radio
  • No
  • Stereo FM radio
  • RDS
Others
  • Active noise cancellation with dedicated mic
  • Active noise cancellation with dedicated mic
Other features
Other features — specifications for Galaxy Alpha, Xperia S.
SpecificationGalaxy AlphaXperia S
Dop
  • 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
  • Sensors Accelerometer
  • gyro
  • proximity
  • compass - ANT+ -TV launcher -HDMI port -MP4/H.264/WMV player -MP3/eAAC+/WMA/WAV player -TrackID music recognition -Document viewer -Voice memo/dial/commands -Predictive text input - Also known as Sony Ericsson Xperia Nozomi
  • Sony Ericsson Arc HD