Samsung Galaxy S6 edge+ was unveiled today in India at an event in New Delhi. The new phablet flagship of sorts was launched alongwith the Galaxy note5 just a week back in New York. We are not getting the Galaxy note5 till September and till then have to content with the Galaxy S6 edge+ and its actually not that bad a thing. The edge+ is bigger in every way with a 5.7-inch Super AMOLED quad-HD display, but brings a few neat tricks which make the bigger display worthwhile and easier to handle.
Hands-on Video
Key Specifications
- 5.7-inch Quad-HD (2560x1440 pixels, 518 PPI) Super AMOLED, Dual-curved
- 2.1 GHz Octa-core Exynos 7420 (4 x Cortex-A53 + 4 x Cortex-A57)
- Mali-T760 GPU
- 4 GB LPDDR4 RAM, 32GB Non-expandable Storage
- 16 MP f.1/9 Rear Camera, Optical Image Stabilization, 4K Ultra-HD Recording
- 5 MP f.1/9 Front Camera, Wide Angle Lens
- Gorilla Glass 4 Front and Back
- 6.9 mm thick, 153 grams weight
- 4G LTE Cat.6, Dual-band WiFi ac, Bluetooth 4.1 LE with apt-X, GPS with GLONASS, NFC, Fast Wireless Charging, Quick Charging
- Fingerprint Sensor on Home Button
- 3000mAh Battery
Build Quality/Overview
The button layout, ports everything remains the same on the bigger brother of the Galaxy S6 edge. Its still 6.9mm thin buys weighs in more due to the larger display and bigger battery. Its still one of the smaller devices with a 5.7-inch display, and the edge to edge display helps in that aspect. Corning Gorilla Glass 4 protects the front and back with metal frame running through the device and all the sides. The design is seamless, the curved display merges with the metal frame as does the back glass. The metal frame makes this device feel solid but not bulky by any means. There are no sharp edges here (pardon the pun.)
Swiping on the display seems natural, your fingers just follow the curve. Above the display you have a 5MP f/1.9 aperture front-camera alongwith the proximity, light sensors and notification LED.
The home button cum fingerprint sensor can be found below it. Its the same tap to unlock sensor as the Galaxy S6/edge.
Moving to the left you have very clicky volume buttons which offer great tactile response while the power button can be found on the right. You can also use the home button to wake up and unlock the device.
If we move to the top, a familiar sight is missed here. There is no Infrared Blaster here, which was found on the Galaxy S6 edge/Galaxy S6. But you still have the secondary-noise cancellation mic and the SIM card slot. The top and sides of the metal frame taper in slightly towards the back to make the phone feel better to grip.
The bottom of the device is very busy, you have the audio jack, primary microphone, single-speaker and the microUSB port sharing the space. Its definitely cramped and could've done with a bit of free-ing up. If you have held the Galaxy S6 Edge, you won't find the edge+ any different. It still digs a bit in your palms but feels very solid and is still as slippery as a fish. You need a good cover on it.
The back is clean with the 16MP camera sensor protruding out flanked by the flash and heart-rate sensor. Below the camera you can find the Samsung branding. The back-cover is non-removable and inside you will find a 3000 mAh battery which supports quick-charging. You can also try the new fast Wireless Charger from Samsung which charges it from 0-100 in just 120 minutes, or you can use the wired charger for charging in 90 minutes flat. Both PMA and WPC or Qi wireless charging are supported.
This is what I said about the Galaxy S6 edge when it launched "The Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge is different, and that’s what it feels to hold. Build-wise, its sturdy and the metal frame alongwith glass adds that rigidity which was missing from previous Samsung flagships." and the same is true for the Galaxy S6 edge+ too. There's still no microSD card slot, no removable battery and no water/dust resistance.
Camera
You have the same camera module on the Galaxy S6 edge+ as the Galaxy S6/edge. 16MP with f/1.9 aperture lens, optical image stabilization, 4K video recording, dual-mic noise-cancellation and 5MP front camera for selfies.
The camera on the S6 edge has already proved itself as the one of the best on any smartphones today beating out the LG G4 as well in outdoor conditions with better exposure control. Even the Galaxy S6 edge+ camera took great shots outdoors, you can see the samples below. Focusing was quick as was the shutter speed.
Samsung has also added direct live YouTube streaming in 1080p from the camera apps. Moreover another trivia to add here is that the YouTube Live streaming was envisioned and brought to life by Samsung's R&D in India. Although we weren't able to test the feature, it worked well in the demo. Another neat feature is the a video collage where you can create a collage of six 6-second videos again from within the camera app. Pro mode is still available for better control over the final image, filters to get the look your want and several other modes to suit your style of photography.
Image Samples
Edge Display, One-handed mode and Rounded Icons
Samsung has augmented the usability of the Edge display with Apps edge in addition to the People edge. You can now add 5 most used apps there, to use the edge as a fast app launcher. Moreover you can also change the position of the edge display bar so that you can pull it from any position of the display.
Given the larger display, Samsung has included an intuitive one-handed mode. By triple tapping the home button the entire UI shifts towards a corner making it easier to use with one hand.
TouchWiz has seen some visual changes as well. The icons are more rounded, but you still have access to a plethora of themes to change the look. It still looks modern, polished and there was no lag here. The Galaxy S6 edge+ uses the same SoC as its smaller brethren which is the industry leader in terms of performance, and it doesn't disappoint here either.
The Krazy Keyboard Cover
I know Samsung has been receiving quite a lot of flak over the new Keyboard cover and it seems to be well deserved. The Keyboard cover is just plain weird. It isn't a real keyboard even. The keys you press on the keyboard press the corresponding keys on the virtual keyboard on the display. The entire UI shifts up to accommodate the keyboard cover as it it was physically a part of the phone hiding that gorgeous AMOLED display.
The buttons are shallow, don't offer that good a feedback. There is a line of buttons corresponding to back, home and recent apps, again hiding that fingerprint sensor. So, its just plain weird. You can use the rest of the cover without the Keyboard on or put the keyboard on the back, but it doesn't justify the Rs. 4599 price-tag.
Pricing and Availability
The Galaxy S6 edge+ will be available in India starting August 28th priced at Rs. 57,900 for the 32GB variant. The 64GB variant won't be making its way to India anytime soon. You can pre-order it starting today from Samsung eStore or from Samsung retail stores offline. Pre-booking has its benefits, you will get a free wireless charger as part of the package, and one-time free screen replacement within a year of purchase even if you accidentally break it. Given the display on the edge+, breaking which would give nightmares for months.
There will be two color choices on offer, titanium silver and gold at the start. Moreover, the Galaxy S6 edge+ sold here will be made in India. Another feather in the cap of Indian manufacturing and how it has grown from being almost non-existent to being flagship worthy.
First Impressions
The Galaxy S6 egde+ wants to build on the momentum the Galaxy S6 edge started. Samsung's philosophy behind the "bigger the better" has been working well for the company, infact Samsung was the first company to foray into making large screen devices with the original Galaxy Note.
The S6 edge+ doesn't just feature a larger display but a larger 3000 mAh battery as well which features quick charging as well as wireless charging. Coupled with Samsung's own optimizations on Android Lollipop and TouchWiz you can expect good battery-life here but no promises.
Talking about TouchWiz, its not the bloated mess it was a year back. Its fluid, colorful and even playful to an extent with swanky animations. There is no lag anywhere, apps open quickly and multitasking is seamless with 4GB LPDDR4 RAM.
The S6 edge+ is still everything the S6 edge was, brilliantly designed, solidly built and dare I say beautiful to look at. The bigger display definitely makes watching videos more immersive, less scrolling on webpages, Twitter feeds, Facebook but also saps a lot of power even though its an AMOLED panel. For now the only real competition to the Galaxy S6 edge+ is the iPhone 6 Plus, atleast till Galaxy note5 becomes available in India.
