Samsung Ready to Release its Next iPhone Killer

Samsung is ramping up to launch its next smartphone designed to take down Apple's iPhone in August, and the electronics maker is hoping its preemptive strike will draw in consumers before the iPhone 6 hits store shelves. The latest iPhone contender from Samsung will be called the Galaxy Alpha and will be more of a cross between its not so successful Galaxy S5 smartphone and mini tablet Galaxy Note.

Samsung preps Galaxy Alpha as an iPhone 6 preemptive strikeSamsung preps Galaxy Alpha as an iPhone 6 preemptive strike

The Galaxy S5 was supposed to be the smartphone to dethrone the iPhone, at least according to Samsung, but instead has been piling up unsold in China and Europe. So far, sales have fallen below Samsung's expectations and have taken a hit on the company's bottom line.

The Galaxy S5 has been a distant second in worldwide sales behind Apple's iPhone 5S. Since the S5 can't compete with the iPhone 5S, Samsung's solution is to bring out yet another model, but this time with more iPhone killing smartphone goodness.

Samsung will try to make the Alpha seem more upscale by going with an iPhone-like metal chassis instead of the plastic it's been using on its other devices, according to TechRadar. By positioning the Alpha between the S5 and Note Samsung is hoping to catch the eye of potential iPhone buyers looking for a bigger screen size.

What's more likely, however, is that Samsung will blur the line between its products even more and confuse consumers in the process. The company may upset shoppers that bought the still relatively new S5 by rolling out an update so soon, although their customers should be used to the fast update cycle by now.

Details on what features the Galaxy Alpha may include are slim, and even the name may be wrong. The big feature from Samsung's perspective may be that the Alpha will be on store shelves before Apple announces the iPhone 6.

[Some image elements courtesy Shutterstock]