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iPhone 6
The iPhone 6 is clearly the smartphone Samsung had in mind when it launched the Samsung Galaxy Alpha. It's got the same-sized 4.7-inch display, a similarly slim metal-heavy design and a similar price point.
Samsung has the slight edge on size and weight, but the iPhone 6 retains Apple's premium design edge with its all-metal construction. We'd also take Apple's classy iOS 8 software over Samsung's slightly clunky TouchWiz UI any day.
After our full review of the iPhone, it's definitely the superior phone in myriad ways, but it's also more expensive and this is Samsung's most focused attempt at taking on Apple directly in a single premium handset yet.
Sony Xperia Z3 Compact
The Sony Xperia Z3 Compact its clearly the most direct rival to the Galaxy Alpha after the iPhone 6.
It's got a similar 4.6-inch 720p display, and a similarly high-end Snapdragon 801 CPU powering it. In the Sony Xperia 3 Compact's favour it has a tasty-looking 20.3-megapixel camera.
Like the Galaxy Alpha, the Xperia Z3 Compact can also film 4K video but this time with a microSD slot that allows you to store a decent amount of 4K footage.
One thing the Xperia Z3 Compact doesn't have is a classy metal design, but on the flip side its tough plastic shell means that it's dust and water resistant. The Galaxy Alpha certainly isn't.
HTC One M7
You can't talk about premium metal Android phones without mentioning one of HTC's recent efforts.
While the HTC One M8 is the most recent and impressive effort, however, I feel that last year's HTC One M7 - which is still being sold as new by HTC - is a more apt Galaxy Alpha competitor.
After all, it too has a premium metal design and a 4.7-inch display. In fact, the HTC One M7 arguably has the superior examples of both. Its body is ALL metal, and distinctive to boot (no raiding of the Apple design book here).
Meanwhile the One M7's display has a much higher 1080p resolution, not to mention a well under £400 price tag for those prepared to shop around.
Of course, last year's HTC flagship also has an older, less capable Snapdragon 600 CPU, which means it's not as good a performer as the Alpha, nor is it as future-proof. Its 4-megapixel UltraPixel camera isn't as good an all-round snapper as the Alpha's 12-megapixel unit, either.
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