Samsung's been getting a lot of attention lately when it comes to leaked, unannounced devices. For good reason, admittedly. Their oft-rumored Galaxy F/Galaxy S5 Premium has been something of a mystery lately, with only some rehashed information to go off of, plus a lot of leaked renders showcasing different color schemes. As far as real details go, they're few and far between these days. Ever since the manufacturer launched the Galaxy S5 LTE-A, a slightly better version of the original Galaxy S5, in South Korea, it's been pretty quiet on the Galaxy F front.
Not for leaked renders, mind you. We've got plenty of those. From seeing the device in two different shades of gold (for some reason), and just recently with its "Crystal Clear" silver tone on display, we've got plenty of CG-rendered images to go off of. But very few cold hard facts, or even real world images. The Galaxy F is pulling the best Sasquatch prank ever at this point.
That changed slightly earlier today, though, as a new leak from GSMArena suggests that we can finally see the Galaxy F in the wild. That's right, that's the device in question, supposedly, up there at the top of the article. It certainly looks like a Samsung-branded device, with all those sensors and the front-facing camera. But then it also looks like an iPhone 5/5s, too, with that chamfered edge.
I'm going to ignore that, though. Instead, I want to focus more on the chassis. The metal part.
It's been a rumor that Samsung would be launching a metal smartphone for so long, that most people have just stopped listening to it. It dates back to the Galaxy S III, and the Note 2, when Samsung was supposedly gearing up to launch variants of those devices with a metal redesign. Those same rumors get recycled every year, with every flagship handset, but they just don't come true. This year isn't any different, with the Galaxy F taking the limelight this time around.
And, according to the information leaked alongside that image up there, the Galaxy F does indeed have metal in the design, but just around the edges. The chassis is supposedly metal, while the rest of the device is plastic. The familiar plastic back cover that we've known for so long is still there, primarily so that owners can still swap out batteries when they need to.
I honestly think this is going to be enough for Samsung. Not only to call this their "metal phone," and to put it up as competition against Apple's smartphones and HTC's One M-series, but also to sell it as a premium handset. And sell a lot of them. Is it really a metal smartphone? Or is it a plastic phone with metal accents? Does the difference matter?
If Samsung can indeed pack all of the features that are rumored to go into the Galaxy F, including Qualcomm's Snapdragon 805 processor, 3GB of RAM, and the large QHD display, then I think the metal chassis will just be a bonus. It could also very well be a reason for Samsung to hike up the price tag.
My question to you is if this is enough for you. Is that little bit of metal along the edge enough for you to pay a premium price for this handset, compared to the competition out there (or will be available, later this year)? Let me know.
