Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge+ review

design-screen and audio

Update: Less than a month after launch Samsung has dropped the price of the S6 Edge+ to less than £600/$600(or around £40 per month). That's a significant price drop and makes it a far more attractive proposition for those wanting a large-screened phone, or phablet.

WHAT IS THE SAMSUNG GALAXY S6 EDGE+

Samsung has made a bold statement with its Galaxy S6 range of smartphones. Plastic painted as metal and faux leather backs have been consigned to Room 101 and Samsung has finally put style and design at the core of its smartphone offering.

The Galaxy S6 Edge+ is born of that new philosophy. That’s not to say it’s all about style. For the eye-watering price of £749/$768 contract-free we would hope not.

Just like the Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge the 5.7-inch phone is a solid all-rounder and needs to be considering its key competitor, the iPhone 6 Plus.

The Edge+ is also the big-screen phone European Samsung fans will have to live with in lieu of the Galaxy Note 5 – Samsung has no plans to sell the Note 5 outside of Asia and the US at the moment.

GALAXY S6 EDGE+ DESIGN – THE BEST LOOKING PHONE EVER LOOKS EVEN BETTER

154.4 x 75.8 x 6.9 mm, 153g, Aluminium 7000 frame, Gorilla Glass 4

The Galaxy S6 Edge+ makes you feel like disappearing down an underground cavern while keeping a close eye out for tricksy hobbitses. It is precious. It is achingly desirable. It is futuristic. Slap it down on any beer stained pub table and it will make every other phone look old school.

The main allure comes, of course, from the unique, curved dual-edge display. There’s nothing else like it, apart from its smaller sibling the S6 Edge. It’s streets ahead of the Note 5 and iPhone 6 Plus when it comes to sex appeal.

An aluminium alloy frame is sandwiched between the tough Gorilla Glass 4 screen and back. It’s an upgraded version of the metal on Samsung’s previous phones and should help it avoid the (in our experience unfounded) Bendgate furore caused when the latest iPhones were released.

One thing it hasn’t managed to resolve is quite how easily the rear glass attracts greasy fingerprints. It’s a problem the S6 and S6 Edge also suffers from and it’s not too bad on the Sapphire Black version we’re testing here. Opt for the new silver coloured Edge+, though, and be prepared to regularly look like a cricketer getting ready to bowl.

Samsung has finessed the S6 Edge+ in some ways. The frame now has a fine tapered edge along the top and bottom and the curved screen seems to fit a little closer around the corners than it does on the smaller S6 Edge.

Not only is the Galaxy S6 Edge+ a stunner, it’s also brilliantly crafted.

Looks aren’t the be-all and end-all of design – ease of use is also key. The Edge+ doesn’t excel here.

For a start it’s a big phone, and that comes with its own set of challenges. Using a phone with a 5.7-inch screen is tricky to do one-handed, particularly when trying to reach the top corners. Your other hand will need to get involved sooner or later.

It’s an issue compounded by the curved screen. Yes it’s great to look at but you will, sometimes, find yourself wishing you had a little more frame to grasp. The bottom of your thumb can also interfere with the screen when stretching to tap an awkwardly positioned icon.

GALAXY S6 EDGE+ – CAMERA

16-megapixel sensor, f/1.9 rear camera with optical image stabilisation; 5-megapixel, f/1.9 front camera; 5 minutes of 4K video; 60fps 1080p video; Video stabilisation

The S6 Edge+ has the same camera as the S6, S6 Edge and Note 5 and that’s no bad thing. It is one of the best cameras you can get on a smartphone – perhaps only the LG G4 edges it in a head-to-head.

One of the best things about it is Samsung’s camera app, which opens quickly and lets you capture the moment with a minimum of fuss. This is exactly what the iPhone 6 Plus excels at and the S6 Edge+ is almost as good at capturing high-quality photos without spending ages tinkering.

Focusing and shooting is incredibly fast, even in HDR mode – this takes several photos in quick succession and merges them into a better image. It’s exactly what you want from a pocket camera.

If you do like to get a bit more hands on with your photos then you can go into Pro mode. This lets you change a huge range of settings from focus to white balance and ISO.

We find it’s not quite as easy to use as the manual settings on the LG G4, but it’s not far off.

Of course, the app also lets you add a range of filters for all the instagrammers out there. The S6 Edge+ also has an effective Bokeh app, called Selective Focus. Another nifty feature worth mentioning is Virtual Shot. This is like panorama in reverse. Select an object and rotate the camera round it and you get a little 360 degree video of it.

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