Samsung is ditching plastic and going with metal with its new flagship smartphone.

The company has just announced the Galaxy Alpha, a new version of the Galaxy S5 that comes with a metal frame. 

In a press release, the company called the addition of a metal frame "a fresh approach to design." The claim is definitely an overstatement, however, it does represent a departure for the company in terms of the way it designs its products.

For years, Samsung has chosen to encase its high-end devices in plastic. Justifiably, this has inspired criticism among critics and users, who say that the devices look cheap in spite of costing more than $500. 

"The Galaxy Alpha was built and designed based on the specific desires of the consumer market," said Samsung CEO and Head of IT & Mobile Communication JK Shin. "With an entirely new appearance, the Galaxy Alpha focuses on both beauty and functionality combining a stunning metal frame and slim, light weight design with the same powerful hardware and features users expect from a flagship Galaxy mobile device."

The new smartphone, which eerily looks like an iPhone, scrimps on metal compared to its counterpart from Apple. The whole casing is not metal. Only the four edges of the device are endowed with the material. 

The Galaxy Alpha is expected to Samsung's answer to the upcoming iPhone 6. The company revealed that the smartphone will have a 4.7-inch HD Super AMOLED display. Apple's long-rumored device is expected to come in that size, as well as in a bigger 5.5-inch variant. 

Samsung's design overhaul comes at a difficult time for the company. Two weeks ago, it announced its weakest quarterly numbers in two years. From April to June, the company's profits dropped by 24.6 percent compared to the same period last year. The results represent its third straight quarterly profit decline. The weak quarter was driven by decreased profits from the company's mobile division. During the period, profits in Samsung's mobile unit dropped almost 30 percent to 4.42 trillion won.   

Earlier this month, the company also showed signs of losing its hold on Chinese mobile users. It was dethroned by local company Xiaomi as the biggest selling smartphone manufacturer in the country.

The Galaxy Alpha will be available starting in September. The device will come in five color variants when it gets launched.