After a period of slight stagnation, it’s fair to say that Samsung’s back with a bang with its Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge handsets. Made of metal and glass, with all-new internals, these new handsets are massive improvements over their predecessors. However, it now looks as the S6 family will be joined by another flagship handset in the form of the Galaxy S6 Edge Plus, a jumbo-sized phablet version of Samsung's curved S6 Edge handset. Not to be confused with the Note 5, here's everything we know about the S6 Edge Plus so far.
What you need to know, quickly
What is it? | A super-sized version of Samsung's latest flagship smartphone, the Galaxy S6 Edge |
When is it out? | We're expecting Samsung to launch the S6 Edge Plus in September at its IFA press conference in Berlin |
What's new? | Current sources suggest a 2K display, a new processor structure which combines the CPU, GPU, RAM, storage and modem on a single chip, a USB 3.1 Type-C port and there's a possibility there may be a curved screen version as well |
How much will it cost? | We'd expect the flat S6 Edge Plys to cost around £700 SIM-free, as the smaller S6 Edge currently costs around £600 SIM-free |
In detail - the full lowdown
Release date
We're expecting Samsung to launch the S6 Edge Plus at its IFA press conference in September alongside the Note 5, but the latest rumours from the Korean press (via SamMobile) suggest that Samsung could launch the Galaxy S6 Edge Plus on 12th August, with the phone going on sale around two weeks later on 21st August. The report also says it will launch at the same time as the Note 5. What's more, SamMobile's reporting that Samsung Pay will launch on 12th August as well in the US. However, SamMobile provide no proof to confirm this report, so for now we think an IFA launch is still the most likely date.
Display
As the name suggests, the S6 Edge Plus will have a larger display than the current 5.1in display on the S6 Edge. So far, all rumours point towards a 5.78in screen, according to PhoneArena and SamMobile. Likewise, there have been a series of leaked images from AllAboutSamsung supposedly showing the a retail dummy version of the S6 Edge Plus alongside the current Galaxy Note 4, which also has a 5.7in screen. Judging by the photo below, both phones look to have a nigh on identical display size and overall footprint, although if the original S6 Edge is anything to go by, the S6 Edge Plus should be easier to hold due to its curved sides.
As for the screen resolution, the jury is currently out on whether we'll see a 2,560x1,440 display like the Note 4 and S6 Edge, or a brand new 4K display. According to Phone Arena, Samsung will be releasing a 4K display at some point this year, with the new displays going into manufacturing next month. This would make the Galaxy S6 Edge Plus could be a prime candidate for this type of display, and if true, it would mean the phone would have an absolutely huge pixel density of 762ppi.
However, we have two issues with this theory, as while a curved 4K display would undoubtedly look very attractive, it would add a lot to the overall price of the phone. Likewise, if the leaked specs below are anything to go by, the Galaxy S6 Edge Plus will be less powerful than the original S6 Edge. Adding a 4K display to a technically inferior handset doesn't make much sense to us, so we think it's far more likely that it will have a 2,560x1,440 display when it eventually launches.
^ More images have surfaced courtesy of Mobile Fun as well showing the boot screen and the front of the handset face on
Specifications
Known internally as Project Zen, it looks as though the S6 Edge Plus will be powered by a hexa-core Snapdragon 808 processor, come with 32GB of onboard storage, a 16-megapixel camera with optical image stabilisation, a 5-megapixel front facing camera and a 3,000mAh battery, according to SamMobile. It will also ship Android 5.1.1 out of the box.
However, multiple sources (including SamMobile) are now suggesting it will have the same Exynos 7420 SoC and 3GB of RAM as the S6 Edge, so a 4K display could still be on the cards if the device was going to be on par with its smaller predecessor.
Price
Considering the S6 Edge cost an eye-watering £760 SIM-free when it first came out, we'd expect the S6 Edge Plus to cost at least the same, if not more to account for its larger screen size. As a result, we wouldn't be surprised if it cost £800 SIM-free at the very least, with contracts starting from around £40-50 per month.
