With its Galaxy S6, Samsung managed to do something completely different to every other smartphone manufacturer, creating a phone like no other. Now it’s back, with the much-rumoured S6 Edge+. The easiest way for me to describe the new phone is as a larger version of the existing Edge. I don’t think that’s a bad thing, as you get the same quality build, the same brilliantly curved screen edges, but a larger 5.7in screen, up from 5.1in on the S6 Edge. If you want a large-screen Samsung phone this year, it's also your only choice as the Galaxy Note 5 is not coming to the UK at the moment.
At the product's official launch Samsung said that the Galaxy S6 Edge+ would be available to pre-order from the 18 August 2015 and would be on sale in stores from the 4 September. As usual with this kind of pre-order cycle, it means that there are no official prices for it at the moment, so this article will be updated as we get the information. To tempt people into buying the phone when it comes out, Samsung is offering people that buy the phone before the end of September a free six-month subscription to Google Play Music, which makes sense given the focus on audio quality that the product has (see below for more information).
Display
In many ways, I have to say, the larger screen is much better. Due to the way that the display curves on either side, it means that you get more real estate in the centre of the screen; in comparison, the S6 Edge looks a little narrow. Despite the larger screen, Samsung has managed to make the S6 Edge smaller than the 5.5in iPhone 6 Plus.
Both handsets use Samsung’s excellent Super AMOLED screen technology and have the same Quad HD (2,560x1,440) resolution. With the larger S6 Edge+ it means that the pixel density is less at 518ppi (the S6 Edge has 577ppi). In practice, I didn’t find much to tell between the two handsets and the S6 Edge+'s screen looks incredibly sharp. Image quality from the Super AMOLED panel also looked top-notch, although I’ll have to wait until we can run the phone through the Expert Reviews labs to find out how it really performs.
As there’s slightly more space on the edges of the screen, Samsung has added a couple of additional features. Apps Edge is new to this handset and gives you a quick way to launch your favourite apps; People Edge has been improved and gives you new ways to interact with friends, such as sending them images. It’s arguable how useful the latter’s features are, and they felt a little gimmicky to me.
Build quality
Samsung massively upped its game when it built the S6 Edge, picking premium materials, rather than sticking with the plastic it used in the Galaxy S5. For the S6 Edge+, Samsung has kept the same materials as with its smaller handset, which I think is the right decision. Its glass back and metal chassis have a quality to them that shouts that this is an expensive, premium smartphone. Samsung is claiming that the S6 Edge+ is 1.7x stronger than the S6. I haven’t had the chance to prove those claims, but if they’re correct, adding durability is something to be applauded.
I think that the S6 Edge+ is one of the most attractive phones available. It’s definitely the type of handset that will attract attention when you pull it out of your pocket. There’s a decent range of colours available, although I’m waiting to find out which ones will definitely be available in the UK.
Battery
A bigger body means that there’s more room to fit a bigger battery, so the S6 Edge+ gets a 3,000mAh battery, up from the 2,550mAh battery in the S6 Edge. There’s a bigger screen to power here, but even factoring this in you should be able to get more time from a single charge. Using the Expert Reviews video playback battery test, the S6 Edge lasted 13h 37m, so any improvement on that would be good to see.
You can’t flip the back cover off and replace the battery, so you’ll have to make do with what you can get out of a single charge. If you want the convenience of wireless charging, Samsung is promising that the S6 Edge+ will only take 120m to fully charge, which is 27% faster than the S6 Edge’s charging time.
Performance
Inside, Samsung is using a same Exynos 7420, which has a full-power 2.1GHz quad-core CPU for when the phone needs the raw power and a battery-saving low-power 1.5GHz CPU as a backup. This is the same chip as used in the entire S6 line, although when we tested these phones in Geekbench and GFX Bench, we found that the S6 Edge outperformed the S6. It’s possible that this is down to thermal headroom, with the slightly thicker S6 Edge case allowing the CPU to run faster. I was unable to run any benchmarks on the S6 Edge+, but I’d hope that it would have at least the same performance as the S6 Edge, if not more.
Camera
A 16-megapixel camera sensor with image stabilisation is installed, which is the same resolution as on the S6 Edge. It’s a brand-new sensor, though, using Samsung's 1um-pixel technology. The short version is that it allows for the smaller sensor, while retaining the same image quality. I didn’t have the opportunity to test the camera, so I’ll have to wait until the review sample comes in to find out if the new sensor is any good.
Samsung has built in a tool so that you can automatically stream live to YouTube. It's not the first phone or device to have this capability, but it's a handy tool to have if you want other people to be able to see what you're up to live.
Storage
Anyone hoping for Samsung to return the microSD card slot after this option was removed with the S6 will be disappointed. Once again, the S6 Edge+ is available with internal memory. It’s a move that I’ve seen more and more mobile manufacturers make. I can understand why it’s done, reducing complexity and increasing margins, but it’s a move that frustrates a lot of people. That said, with a choice of 32GB or 64GB models, there’s plenty of storage for most people.
Audio
Most of us listen to music on our smartphones, although the quality isn’t always the best. With the S6 Edge+, Samsung wants to change that with its new audio chip. It has an upscaler that will convert audio to 24-bit/192KHz audio, while there’s a new Bluetooth codec that streams at 24-bit/96KHz. I was unable to test the former, while the latter requires Samsung’s headphone or speakers to work. I’ll pass judgement on the audio quality until I’ve seen the review sample and can give it a proper testing.
Computer integration with SideSync
Samsung has revamped its SideSync software, which is available for Windows and Mac. It's a way of integrating your phone with your computer and lets you control your phone, play Android games, send and receive text messages, and drag-and-drop images and files. It's not quite as swish as Apple's integration, but that's to be expected, as Samsung doesn't control the desktop environment. However, I have to say that it's a useful tool and the ability to quickly drag-and-drop files between desktop and phone is pretty powerful.
Accessories
Samsung’s got its usual range of cases and accessories, but the one that really caught my eye was the QWERTY keyboard case. This has clip on keyboard and lets you type much faster and more accurately than using the on-screen keyboard. Cleverly, the keyboard doesn’t require any power: the phone senses that the keyboard has been connected and picks up the presses via its touchscreen.
Samsung Pay
With Samsung Pay due to hit the UK this year, it’s no surprise that the S6 Edge+ supports the digital payment system. Similar to Apple Pay, it will mean that you’ll be able to pay for goods and services in shops using your mobile phone. I saw a demonstration of the system in action and it looks as easy to use as Apple Pay, but I'll have to wait until it's officially launched to see if it can compete in terms of compatibility and bank support.
Conclusion
In terms of size, I feel as though Samsung has got the S6 Edge+ just right. It fits neatly in the hand, but gives you plenty of screen space. Its excellent built quality and fast CPU make this one of the most desirable phones that I’ve laid eyes on. Effectively, as it’s really just a bigger S6 Edge, this smartphone’s true worth will come down to cost, and we don’t yet have
