Samsung Galaxy Note 4, Alpha to Hit Stores Ahead of Apple iPhone 6 in India: Report

Samsung flagship devices Galaxy Note 4 and Galaxy Alpha are reportedly making India debuts ahead of Apple iPhone 6's mid-October launch.

Samsung has begun talking to local distributers of India to prep for the release of Galaxy Note 4 and Galaxy Alpha to cash-in on the upcoming Diwali season next month, reported The Economic Times.

However, there is no word on whether the curved-screen based Note Edge will set foot in Indian stores. 

Besides holiday season, Samsung is also gearing up to take on Apple, which has also announced the release of iPhone 6 series handsets on 17 October.

It's simple mathematics; Samsung will use the new metal-clad Galaxy Alpha to compete with 4.7-inch iPhone 6, whereas the bigger flagship Galaxy Note 4 will take on the 5.5-inch iPhone 6 Plus.

Galaxy Alpha was unveiled in mid-August and sports a 4.7-inch super AMOLED HD (1280x720p) screen and flaunts metal frame around the edge giving a premium finish to the smartphone.

Under the hood, it ships with Android v4.4.4 KitKat OS, Octa-core processor (-1.8GHz quad-core + 1.3GHz quad-core)/ 2.5GHz Snapdragon quad-core CPU (in some select markets), 2GB RAM and 32GB inbuilt memory (not expandable).

Other stipulated features include 12.0-megapixel camera (with LED flash, 4K @ 30 fps video recording ability, HDR, Selective Focus and more), 2.1-megapixel snapper on the front and 1,860 mAh battery.

And just like the flagship smartphone Galaxy S5, the new metal-clad Samsung phone too boasts of value added features such as finger-print sensors, heart rate monitor, download booster with MIMO (2 x 2) Wi-Fi, ultra-saving mode, private mode. Only feature missing is the IP67 water-resistant-and-dust-repellant certifications. However, all-in-all, the phone does have enough tricks up its sleeve to match Apple iPhone 6 (4.7-inch).

Samsung Galaxy Note 4 unveiled earlier this month comes with the same 5.7-inch screen size as seen in its predecessor, but its display resolution has gone a couple of notches up this time. It boasts QHD (aka 2K) 2560x1440p resolution display, that's equivalent to 515 plus ppi (Pixels Per Inch) pixel density.

Inside, it comes packed with company's in-house built Exynos 5433 series Octa-core CPU (1.9GHz quad-core+1.3GHz quad-core +ARM Mali T760 GPU)/ 2.7GHz Snapdragon 805 quad-core processor paired with Adreno 420 graphics engine. It is backed by 3GB RAM, 32GB inbuilt memory (expandable up 64GB) and a 3,220 mAh battery.

On the other hand, Apple's new iPhone 6 series handsets feature the biggest upgrades compared to their predecessors in terms out outlook and internal hardware.

Sans the screen specifications, both iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus pack pretty much same internal hardware. They ship with the new iOS v8.0 powered by the 20-nanometer class based second generation 64-bit A8 chipset, which is 25% faster (50% faster graphics too) than the A7 in iPhone 5S. It is aptly supported by second generation, M8 motion co-processor and

On Camera front, it houses the new 8-megapixel iSight camera with 1.5µ pixels, f/2.2 aperture, True-Tone flash, hybrid IR filter, five-element lens, sapphire crystal lens cover and a 1.2-megapixel FaceTime camera with f/2.2 aperture, auto-HDR and 720p HD video recording ability.

One key advantage of Galaxy Note 4 over the iPhone 6 Plus that the feature-rich S-Pen stylus feature, which acts as a handy navigation tool on the big-screen. It boasts of Air Command (Action Memo, Smart Select, Image Clip, Screen Write, S Note, Snap Note and Direct Pen Input feature.

Other important aspect which is certain to play crucial role in the adoption of Samsung and Apple devices is the price. Both have not released the price details of their smartphones for the Indian market yet.

Key specifications of Samsung Galaxy Note 4, Galaxy Alpha, Apple iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus: