Samsung Reportedly Plans To Ship A Premium Model Galaxy S5 With Metal Chassis

One of the few criticisms attached to Samsung's flagship Galaxy S5 smartphone is that it doesn't sport a premium construction like some of its rivals. Unlike the iPhone 5S or HTC One M8, Samsung decided against a metal chassis in favor of plastic -- hardly a deal killer, but still a buzz kill of sorts, especially when several rumors leading up to the Galaxy S5's launch suggested it might have a metal body. Well, it may still happen.

Citing a Korean-language news report, The Times of India says a metal-body version of the Galaxy S5 is headed to retail on August 13, undercutting Apple's rumored iPhone 6 unveiling by a full month. This is something that's been loitering around the rumor mill for about the past six months, though initial reports had it pegged as the Galaxy F followed by Galaxy Prime.

Samsung Galaxy S5 Prime

The original news report now has it being called Galaxy Alpha. Whatever name it ends up going by, there's talk of there being two versions of the premium handset -- one with a 4.7-inch Full HD 1080p (1920x1080) display and another with a 5.2-inch QHD (2560x1440) screen.

Display size aside, the premium SKU Galaxy S5/Alpha is also said to feature a 2.5GHz quad-core Snapdragon 805 processor, 3GB of RAM, and 20MP rear-camera. For comparison, the existing Galaxy S5 sports a 5.1-inch Full HD display, 2.5GHz quad-core Snapdragon 801 processor, 2GB or RAM, and a 16MP rear-camera.