Living With a Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge+

For the past few weeks, I've been traveling with the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge+ and the Note 5, trying to see how Samsung's new larger phones stack up. Both come across as big brothers to the Galaxy S6 family, with fast processors, wonderful screens, great cameras, and a modern look. But each has its own unique features—the edge display on the Edge+ and the S Pen on the Note 5. On the other hand, each lacks some of the expandability that I liked on Samsung's early large phone, last year's Note 4.

In this post, I'll focus on the S6 Edge+, which really does look like the big brother to the S6 Edge. Like that phone, it has a metal and glass body, a Samsung Exynos 7420 octa-core processor, a terrific display, and Samsung's TouchWiz extensions on top of Android 5.0 Lollipop.

Of course, the selling point is that the display is much larger at 5.7 inches compared to the 5.1-inch display on the Edge, though both are SuperAMOLED displays at 2,560 by 1,440 pixels. (As a result, the S6 Edge+ has fewer pixels per inch, 518 vs. 577, but it's really hard to tell the difference.) As with the earlier Samsung phones, the display is simply the best I've seen on a phone. I like larger displays, because I spend much more of my time on the phone doing email or reading Web pages or apps than actually making phone calls, so in general I'm a fan of phones this size.

In size, the S6 Edge+ feels like a bigger and heavier version of the S6, at 6.07 by 2.98 by 0.27 inches and 5.4 ounces, compared to 5.65 by 2.78 by 0.27 inches and 4.87 ounces for the S6 Edge. Note that this makes the Edge+ smaller and lighter than the iPhone 6 Plus, at 6.22 by 3.06 by 0.28 inches and 6.07 ounces, even though the S6 Edge+ has a 5.7-inch display compared to the iPhone 6 Plus's 5.5-inch display. That's a nice improvement.

In general, I found that it fit fine in my pocket, so the size works for me. (I typically find the 6-inch phones to be too large, but this one worked.) One issue I did notice is that a double press of the home button will quickly bring up the camera and turn on the screen. While this is generally a great feature, it seems to be too sensitive: the phone has turned on while in my pocket occasionally, which makes it hot and depletes battery.

The camera system and photo apps are the same as on the earlier Galaxy S6 models, with a 16-megapixel rear camera and a 5-megapixel front-facing camera; the rear camera is also capable of taking 4K videos. I took a lot of photos with the S6 Edge+, and as with the smaller models, I have found these to be among the best smartphone photos I've ever seen. For now, I rate the Galaxy S6 models and the LG G4 to be the top phone cameras I've seen, with the G4 better at night and the S6 slightly superior in twilight.

Of course, one reason for picking the Edge line is the curved display, and here I have to say I'm a bit disappointed. Unlike last year's Note Edge, this edge display is limited in comparison, with exactly the same features as the S6 Edge. As on that phone, it is primarily used as a "People Edge," which lets you pick your five most frequent contacts, each indicated by a different color; the edge then lights up with that color when you get a notification (a text, email, or phone call from one of those contacts). Because of the curve, even when the phone is upside down, it will light up appropriately to show you who is calling. You can also quickly call, email, or text your contacts. This sounds appealing, but in practice, I didn't find myself using it often; I prefer to check my text messages in the messages app, where I can then respond. You can also use the edge as an alarm clock at night, which works, but doesn't seem like a big deal. On the other hand, it's distinctive, and I d id like the curved feel of the phone in my hand.

Also, some will be disappointed by the lack of an SD card slot or a removable battery, both of which were part of last year's Note models (though they are similarly lacking in the regular S6 and Note 5 models). I used a 32GB version (larger models are available), and generally that was enough for me, mostly because of cloud storage. I thought battery life was okay, but not exceptional. At the end of the day, I was typically running to the end of the battery, while on the iPhone 6 Plus, it's rarely been close.

Compared with the iPhone 6 Plus, or most other phones with a display this large, the S6 Edge+ is a great-looking phone with the best display I've seen, a great camera, and fast processing—in a package that's surprisingly thin and light for its size. The one big drawback is the lack of a stylus, compared to the Note series. It's a relatively expensive phone—you're certainly paying for the display and the look of the device—but it is one of the best phones I've ever carried.

In my next post, I'll look at the Note5.

Here's PCMag's full review of the S6 Edge+.

Source: Living With a Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge+