Introduction
We have the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge in, and our review will be live once we've had enough time to fully explore and test the handset and all its features. The handset only arrived in the UK on March 24, so please bear with us while we give it the time and attention it deserves.
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The Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge is a striking handset, taking the title as the world's first dual curved displays smartphone.
It attracts the eye, puts butterflies in my stomach and makes me weak at the knees. Samsung has, at last, made a handset which not only packs a powerful punch, but looks fantastic too.
Following on from the Galaxy Note Edge which boasted a single curved screen, the Galaxy S6 Edge was rumored for some time so its arrival wasn't a surprise - it's the natural progression for Samsung's curved display technology.
It's certainly not cheap though, with the entry level 32GB model rocking a wallet trembling SIM-free price tag of around £700 (around $1030, AU$1320).
If you fancy 64GB or even 128GB of internal storage you're looking at approximately £760 (around $1120, AU$1430) and £800 (around $1180, AU$1500) respectively.
That makes the Galaxy S6 Edge more expensive than the iPhone 6 Plus, a handset that already has my bank manager sweating.
It arrives alongside the Samsung Galaxy S6, and the two handsets share pretty much identical specs. The S6 Edge is slightly thicker (7mm vs 6.8mm), slightly lighter (132g vs 138g) and packs an ever so slightly bigger battery (2600mAh vs 2550mAh), but that's it.
In short then, there's very little between the two, aside from the obvious inclusion of the two curved display edges on this device. It makes the £100 difference in price hard to swallow and me question why Samsung bothered making both handsets in the first place.
For those looking to upgrade from the Galaxy S4, or even the Galaxy S5, there are a few compromises for you to consider.
In an effort to get a slender handset with a metal unibody Samsung has removed the microSD slot, blocked access to the battery and shied away from dust and waterproofing.
Many potential customers won't be too bothered about these omissions, but for power users who have stood by Samsung for its continued inclusion of expandable memory and removable battery this news will be difficult to hear.
That said, whip the Galaxy S6 Edge out when you're with your mates and they'll all be clambering over you to get a peek of your new SpacePhone.
Design
I've already expressed my love for the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge's design, but in truth this is a Jekyll and Hyde device.
Place the S6 Edge face up on a desk and you can't help but be impressed with the sweeping sides, rounded metal frame and overall premium appeal of the handset.
These are compliments usually reserved for the iPhone range and HTC's One series, but Samsung has managed to haul its design department into the 21st century banishing plastic to the lesser mobiles in its line up.
There's no question there are some similarities to Apple's design here. The placement of the headphone jack, microUSB port and machine drilled speaker holes on the base mimic the iPhone 6, while the change from a volume rocker to separate metal keys on the left also suggests a Cupertino influence.
With the edges of the handset tapering to a very slender profile thanks to those dual curved displays there's no space for a SIM tray - plus that glass rear isn't coming off.
This has forced Samsung to the top of the handset where it lines up alongside an Infra Red blaster, handy for controlling your home entertainment systems.
Everyone I showed the Galaxy S6 Edge was impressed by the handset's premium appeal and lush curves - that was until they actually picked it up.
While the front of the S6 Edge is beautifully curved, the rear is as flat as a pancake, instantly making the handset feel a lot wider than it is.
Coming from the HTC One M9 which sports a lovely arching metal behind which nestles wonderfully into the palm, the S6 Edge never felt at home in my hand.
Things are made a little more unbearable thanks to the metal frame which runs round the circumference of the device.
On the front it doesn't sit flush with the curved Gorilla Glass 4, creating a rather annoying lip which you don't get on the Galaxy S6, while on the back the edges of the frame are sharp and dig into your hand.
The glossy glass rear offers little in the way of grip, which made me tighten my grasp on the handset, resulting in the frame digging into my palm more.
It's never going to draw blood, and I wasn't exactly in pain, but the S6 Edge is uncomfortable to hold for extended periods.
Had Samsung repeated the curved design of the front on the rear the Galaxy S6 Edge would sit a lot better in the hand. It may make it slightly thicker, but that would mean a bigger battery and no camera protrusion - which in my book would be good things.
Sticking with the back and I have to say I'm a little disappointed. For all the good things I can say about how the Galaxy S6 Edge looks front-on, it all seems to be undone by a sloppily implemented rear.
True, you don't spend much time looking at the back of your smartphone, but the rear of the Galaxy S6 Edge looks like it was a bit of an after though.
I'm all for minimalism, but the flat, blank rear does nothing to ignite the senses and the bulky camera lens rearing its ugly head from the S6 Edge is a rather unattractive sight.
The Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge is available in white, black, gold and green - and the latter three reveal just how much of a fingerprint magnet it is.
There is some evidence of this on the white model when you turn the screen off, but the other colors reveal the full effect of the finger smudges - front and back.
In short, you'll find yourself cleaning your Galaxy S6 Edge regularly if you don't want your greasy paw prints on show.
Samsung's iconic home button is retained on both the Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge, but it's been updated with a vastly improved fingerprint scanner (more on that later) and a sturdier construction.
This makes it feel more premium and resilient, while the touch sensitive 'back' and 'multi-tasking' keys flank it, illuminating only when required.
The design of the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge is very good and a huge leap forward from the Galaxy S5 and even the Galaxy Note Edge.
The futuristic premium look and feel helps to justify its lofty price tag a little more, but a number of niggles detract from the overall experience.
Display and interface
Screen
The display is something to behold. It's definitely the next generation compared the Galaxy Note Edge, for instance. That phone looked lopsided and the 'spine' screen looked like it was tacked on later.
With the S6 Edge, both sides of the screen are more subtle, not quite reaching to the bottom of the chassis to make it seem like the whole front is just well-designed.
It's also very impressive that this phone manages to pack QHD resolution into the smaller display and bend it at the sides. Although you could ask what those curves are actually for beyond a headline grabber.
It'd be a fair question to ask too. The Galaxy S6 Edge has a great screen, and things like being able to control the video player without having have the controls wipe across the main display are cool but not necessarily game changers.
This is a phone that does have some reasons to use the curved edges, but perhaps not enough to convince you to spend more than just buying the main Galaxy S6.
TouchWiz
It's still here, but Samsung's overlay has at least been refined. Plus it comes with some nifty abilities to make use of the curved sides of the Edge.
For instance, when the phone is flipped on its front the sides will glow a specific colour when one of your favourite contacts calls in, so you can see who it is without having to turn the Edge over.
It's basically the same as having a notification light on the back, which doesn't sound that exciting when you say it in such a way.
However, sliding from the edge of the screen does allow you to get access to your favourite people anywhere in the phone, and apparently pick up things like missed calls and messages from the same people.
I assumed the same touches from the Galaxy Note Edge will make their way over to this phone - this means being able to control your music at the side while still using the phone to browse Facebook, for example.
Sadly, due to the refined nature of the curve, that's not going to happen here. It seems that edge for displaying information will solely be used when the phone is in sleep mode.
It's not a very intuitive way of doing it either: you need to sort of rub the edge of the phone to light it up, and from there you can see the night clock, notifications, sports scores and more. The good news is this arsenal of information can be updated through the improved edges you can download from the Samsung store,
The TouchWiz interface has been cleaned up to be a little flatter and easier to use, with fewer menus and dialogue boxes to annoy you. It's still too garish and cartoony, but it's done some growing up in the last year.
Themes will help that somewhat: you can download new changes to the interface quite easily, as you can see here. However, they're still the same TouchWiz underneath, which may still irk.
Better to have a complete overhaul with a new Android launcher - we've got the best to choose from right here - as that will bring a greater change to the way you interact with your phone.
Camera, battery, specs and verdict
The camera on the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge is again refined (well, if you consider this a sort of sequel to the Galaxy S5). It's got a 16MP camera with f1.9 aperture sensor, so it'll have a very fast sensor with good ability to draw in light in darker situations.
The interface here has been well improved, as instead of a sea of icons users are greeted with fewer pictures and more words to help explain what you'll be tapping when trying to get a snap.
The front facing camera is wider than before but has the same decent low light abilities, allowing you to improve your narcissism whenever you fancy. However, unlike the Galaxy S6, it seems that there's no ability to touch the heart rate sensor on the back to take a selfie... although that might just be a glitch in the software I tried.
Battery and specs
Samsung's gone big on the specs for this phone, as it's got something to really shout about with the curved screen. There's no Qualcomm chip here (at least, that's what I deduced by being told it was a '64 bit chip' for the first true 64 bit OS).
Rumour has it that this is Samsung's own-brand Exynos octacore chip running things, and backed up by 3GB of RAM it's certainly a powerful beast.
I've still yet to find out clockspeed, but under the finger it felt slick and smooth. Then again, coming from the Galaxy S5 recently anything feels fast in comparison.
Like the S6 it comes without a microSD slot (or removable battery) but the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge does have the same faster RAM and memory on board, which were apparently key factors in the slowdown before.
To make up for that lack of expansion, Samsung is offering a 32GB / 64GB / 128GB to those that fancy a different package and that's combined with a lot less bloatware so the overall space you have free is much improved.
The battery life could be something of a concern here, I'll admit. While that extra 50mAh of life (ramping it up to 2600mAh) doesn't sound like much, it could be crucial to this phone lasting a day. It's got a lot of pixels to power in a very tightly packaged body... this could be disastrous if Samsung hasn't optimised it properly.
Verdict
The Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge is one of those phones that sets a line in the sand for smartphones. It makes curved edges viable, offering them in a phone that doesn't look bonkers just for the sake of it.
It won't sell anywhere near as well as the standard S6, simply because it will very likely be more expensive and users are always reticent to try something new when there's no proven need for it, and rightly so.
But this is the phone we all hanker after secretly, something that looks premium yet futuristic. And if the battery life holds up well, the combination of form and high end specs could see the Galaxy S6 Edge being something of an underground hit.
- Check out the rest of our MWC 2015 coverage
from TechRadar: Technology reviews http://ift.tt/1NdBfYS
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