Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge Review

Product Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge
Website Samsung
Specs 5.1in QDHD 2560x1440 577ppi Super AMOLED Edge screen, octa-core Exynos 7420 processor, 3GB RAM, 64GB or 128GB storage, 16MP camera with OIS and LED flash, 5MP front-facing camera, GSM/3G/4G, 802.11a/b/g/n WiFi, Android 5.0.2 Lollipop, Samsung TouchWiz, Li-Ion 2600mAh battery, 143x71x7mm, 132g

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THE GALAXY S6 EDGE will be seen by many as an expensive gimmick given that it's over £100 more expensive than the regular Galaxy S6, while others will see it as Samsung pushing the boundaries of design, and trumping its rivals by bringing something new to the smartphone market.

DesignAs we pointed out in our review of the Galaxy S6, the design of the Galaxy S6 Edge, which comprises a mix of Gorilla Glass and a custom metal alloy, is a huge improvement on the Galaxy S5's plastic body, and means that Samsung's Galaxy handsets finally feel as high end as the likes of the HTC One M9 and iPhone 6.

The handset's Edge screen is very subtle and, while we found it a little awkward to grip comfortably at first, we soon found it a pleasure to use. At 7mm thick and 132g (6g lighter than the Galaxy S6) it's extremely skinny and light, although we found this almost took away from the handset's all-round premium feel.

There's no protection against dust or water like with last year's model, and we do feel that the handset might get damaged quite easily. 

Like its non-curved sibling, the Galaxy S6 comes with a physical home key which houses a fingerprint scanner. This is a touch-based scanner, unlike the swipe-based version on last year's Galaxy handset, and we found it much more accurate. We rarely had to scan our finger more than once to gain access to the handset, which can't be said for our iPhone 6. 

DisplayOf course, the screen on the Galaxy S6 Edge is its main selling point. The handset has a similarly-specced 5.1in 1440x2560 577ppi Super AMOLED screen to the Galaxy S6, but with the added bonus of curved edges that fold into each side of the handset. 

We didn't really see the benefit of the curved screen design at first as it offers little functionality besides quick access to favourite contacts, and weather or call alerts. But we soon grew to appreciate the added space that the edges offered, which made for better viewing angles and outdoor visibility. 

In terms of screen quality, Samsung claims that the display on the Galaxy S6 Edge has 70 percent more pixels than on the Galaxy S5 and is the sharpest ever seen on a smartphone.

We'd be hard pushed to argue, and the QHD screen offers extremely crisp text, vibrant colours and great brightness levels.

Unlike other Galaxy smartphones, such as the Galaxy S5, we didn't notice any problems with over-saturation on the S6 Edge or S6. 

PerformanceSamsung has ditched Qualcomm processors for the Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge, instead equipping the handsets with its own 14nm, 64-bit, octa-core Exynos 7420 processor, backed by 3GB RAM.

Samsung claims that the processor outperforms others on the market, and its claims are legit if benchmarking scores are anything to go by.

The Galaxy S6 Edge scored 70,075 on Antutu, 1,491 single-core and 5,281 multi-core on Geekbench, 22,065 on 3DMark, and 1,778 overall, 3,578 system, 1,287 memory, 2,493 graphics and 871 web on Basemark OS II.

This makes the Galaxy S6 Edge one of the fastest Android smartphones that we've tested. By comparison the HTC One M9 scored 52,954 on Antutu, 753 single-core and 2,935 multi-core on Geekbench, 21,873 on 3DMark, and 1,288 overall, 1,407 system, 828 memory, 3,193 graphics and 739 web on Basemark OS II.

The benchmarks rang true with real-world use, and we found the Galaxy S6 Edge one of the fastest smartphones on the market and didn't notice any serious performance problems.

Software
The Galaxy S6 Edge ships with Google's Android 5.0.2 Lollipop software, which comes skinned in the latest version of Samsung's custom TouchWiz overlay.

Samsung appears to have learned from past mistakes with the latest TouchWiz release, which takes things back to basics and doesn't overload the handset with apps and bloatware.

Sure, Samsung has continued to rework some of Google's best Lollipop features, such as the pull-down Notifications menu, but the Galaxy S6 comes with just a handful of the company's own apps pre-loaded, including S Health and S Voice.

There's also a folder of Microsoft apps loaded onto the handset, including OneDrive and OneNote, which might be seen as a bonus to those using the handset for business. 

Swiping left from the home page reveals the Flipboard-powered My Magazine section. We didn't find ourselves using it much, but we preferred it to HTC's similar BlinkFeed offering. 

Samsung has toned down the number of apps loaded onto the handset, but you'll still find a handful of its custom tweaks. Multi-window remains, which lets you use two apps simultaneously on the Galaxy S6 Edge's 5.1in display.

As we mentioned previously, the Galaxy S6 Edge is lacking when it comes to dedicated features for the curved displays, even more so than last year's Galaxy Note Edge.

There's People Edge, which is accessed by swiping left from the top right of the display. This lets you create colour-coded shortcut icons for five regularly used contacts, and will make the handset's curved display light up in a specific colour when a call or message from one of the contacts is incoming and the phone's main screen is facing down.

You can also choose to switch on Information Stream, which will use the curved screen to throw information at you, be it missed calls, sports results or the weather forecast.

Camera
The Galaxy S6 Edge has a 16MP rear-facing camera with f/1.9 lens, Optical Image Stabilisation (OIS), real-time HDR, autofocus and a two-tone LED flash. It's perhaps the best camera on a Samsung phone to date, apart from the identical sensor on the Galaxy S6. 

As we pointed out in our Galaxy S6 review, OIS improves photo quality by compensating for shaking while shooting, while the real-time HDR mode makes images look balanced, natural and full of detail.

The autofocus and shutter speed are also impressive, and we found it much faster than our iPhone 6 at capturing images.

Taken on the Galaxy S6 Edge

For those who like to take selfies, or regularly make video calls, Samsung has loaded the Galaxy S6's 5MP front camera with the same f/1.9 lens, while those who like fiddling with their images will welcome the onboard Pro mode, which allows the tweaking of settings such as ISO sensitivity.

Battery and storageWe didn't experience a notable improvement during our time with the Galaxy S6 Edge over last year's model when it comes to battery life.

The 2,600mAh battery made it through around seven hours of constant video playback, and the Galaxy S6 Edge showed signs of struggling before we made it to bed after an average day's use.

It has a saving grace, though, as the handset charges exceptionally quickly. Plug it in for 10 minutes, for example, and you'll have enough juice for four hours. Unfortunately, despite the handset's support for wireless charging, there's no wireless charger included in the box. 

The Galaxy S6 Edge ships with 64GB or 128GB of storage. There's no onboard microSD slot, unlike last year's Galaxy S5, which might put off some buyers. 

In shortThe Galaxy S6 Edge, much like the Galaxy S6, is undoubtedly one of the best Android smartphones on the market.

It's not without its faults, however. The Edge screen has limited functionality, so much so that we found ourselves rarely using it, making the £760 price tag seem unnecessarily high. The battery is nothing to write home about either, nor its lack of microSD slot. 

The good
Premium design, super-crisp display, slick performance, improved TouchWiz UI, great camera 

The bad
Edge screen has limited functionality, average battery, no microSD slot

The ugly
£760 starting price

EGY - Tech's score
8/10