Rumors of a metal-clad lineup of Samsung smartphones – or a single phone – have been surfacing by the dozens ahead of a supposed mid-August launch. While concrete details regarding display resolution and size are sparse, it is agreed that the body of this device will be at least partially made out of metal. The timing of this launch makes no attempt at hiding the fact that this move is targeted directly at Apple's looming iPhone 6 release. New industry information suggests that the metal case manufacturers who aren't controlled by Apple can only produce 1 million metal bodies a month.
Because there are no metal case producers in Korea, it is believed that Samsung will turn to the Chinese firms. As mentioned above, these firms combined can produce approximately 1 million units per month. With a rumored launch date sometime in August and production that is still in its early stages, it seems likely that the Galaxy Alpha will see a limited number/limited market release much like last years Galaxy Round or Galaxy J.
Rumors about a metal-bodied Galaxy S5 Prime turned out to be off base all year long until they melded with the current reports of the Galaxy Alpha. Thusly, it seems that it might be most prudent to assume that a large-scale metal Samsung phone release is not happening just yet. That said, the past few days have seen an increase in reports claiming that a metal variant of the Galaxy Note 4 will be made widely available, so there may be hope after all.
