Samsung Galaxy S6 edge+ Pro Reviews

A superb phone for those in love with phablets - this is aesethetics combined with stellar performance at a decent price... just a shame the battery still suffers.

The Galaxy S7 edge and the Galaxy S6 edge+ are impressive showcases of Samsung's technological proficiency, displaying quality design and containing some of the best mobile hardware money can buy in 2016. Without question, both devices have the style and the guts to defend Samsung's enviable smartphone market share for another year.Similar as they are, the smartphones do have some differences to be mindful of. The Galaxy S7 edge has a better screen-to-body ratio, which makes it suitable for one-handed usage (with a bit of a stretch). The Galaxy S6 edge+ is a bit more of a handful, and it also lacks expandable storage, but its screen is a little bigger. Hardware-wise, both handsets are speed demons with fast chipsets and blazing UFS storage memory, but it has to be noted that the Galaxy S6 edge+ can pull through a full 8-hour workday and more, whereas the Galaxy S7 edge may be unable to get you this far. That aside, both devices have excellent cameras, although the Galaxy S7 edge's is exceptionally fast to focus and takes better shots in low light.

The camera in the Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge has proven to produce terrific image quality, so it’s no surprise that it generates the same quality results in the new S6 Edge+. Detail is incredibly well resolved for such a small image sensor, while Samsung’s focusing, exposure metering and colour reproduction are spot on. Even low light performance – which was less impressive with the original Galaxy S6 – has now been improved with software tweaks, though if you look closely, detail smearing and image noise are still apparent. But while the camera and lens perform very well, the Edge+ is less accomplished on the outside. Its bevelled screen edges have little real world benefit and are best suited to attracting admiring glances, or looks of pity when those super-slippery tapered edges eventually slip out of your hand and onto the pavement. These ergonomic shortcomings also plague the standard S6 Edge, but upping the screen size to 5.5 inches only exacerbates the problem. There’s no doubt that the Galaxy S6 camera is superb, but the Edge concept is hard to see as anything other than a gimmick, and one which will cost you a noticeable premium over a regular Galaxy S6. This is still our pick of the S6 range, but if you’d rather a larger 5.5-inch display, consider the excellent LG G4 which boasts similar specs and camera quality, yet offers expandable memory and a user-accessible battery for less money.

The Galaxy S6 Edge Plus delivers a lot of photography bang for the buck, and displays its creations beautifully on its huge, sharp display.

Both the Galaxy S6 edge+ and the LG G4 have very good designs, but whereas the former is purely a showpiece, the latter is more practical with its removable battery and microSD card slot. The display on the Samsung phablet has a more natural look with its color accuracy, but LG's doesn't look bad either. And still, both are bragging material with their excellent minimum and maximum brightness levels. Also, the S6 edge+ and the G4 boast mature, streamlined user interfaces that have been set on path of improvement, with both having plenty of potential to get even better. Hardware-wise, the Samsung phablet is definitely superior to the LG G4 with more powerful and efficient internals, not to mention that crazy UFS 2.0 flash storage. But the LG G4 is solid enough as it is, leaving only those wishing to play hi-end, heavy games with the feeling of lacking performance. Connectivity features are great for both, and the cameras are killer, yet the S6 edge+ delivers livelier, artificially glorified photography, while the G4 is about preserving natural colors and fine details.

It’s hard to get used to the crazy pace of innovation in the mobile space with so many new devices, but comparing the Galaxy S6 edge+ with the nearly year-old Nexus 6, the pace of innovation can be clearly felt. And we’re not talking just about the cool-looking edge screen - we consider this a neat little touch that required some serious display innovation, but its hard to say that it brings a ground-breaking change in usage. No, we’re talking about overall design and performance: the S6 edge+ has a much faster and consistently great camera, a significantly better, brighter and more power efficient AMOLED display, neat wireless charging option, a hugely improved thin and stylish design, a fast and reliable fingerprint scanner with the option for future use with Samsung Pay, and the list just goes on. Not just that, the S6 edge+ is also features narrower bezels and it is impressively compact for its size, especially compared with the Nexus 6 alongside, which just feels inconveniently gigantic. It’s clear that the S6 edge+ is the better device by a long stretch.

Given how closely the Galaxy S6 edge+ matches, and sometimes outperforms the iPhone 6 Plus's core appeals — namely great design, a fully fleshed-out user experience, solid performance, and a great camera — we're keen on naming it the best Android competitor to Apple's phablet. However, it will be time that will prove us right or wrong. If you ask us, the Galaxy S6 edge+ has everything — everything save for iOS, that is — to account for a dent in Apple's quarterly report. It also has a superior screen, longer battery life, and a striking, innovative design. In other words, the S6 edge+ is plain cool — just like the iPhone has always been. Depends on taste, we guess. Regardless, we'll be watching the oversized S6 edge's market performance with a genuine interest. We're also curious about your opinion on which device makes for a better all-around phablet. Give it a run!

I stare deep into that gorgeous curved screen and wonder what it might be like to be wealthy, and to care about showing off that wealth. To not worry about dropping phones. Because this phone is clearly destined to be a status symbol. The fact that it’s so obviously the wrong choice compared to an S6 or a Note 5 will make it that much more exclusive. And that much more desirable to the right person.

At £700 the Galaxy S6 Edge+ is a seriously expensive phone, and we were happy enough with the size of the regular model. If you do want a larger version then great and the increased memory and bigger battery are nice upgrades. However, the IR blaster is gone and the functionality of the edge screen is still gimmicky. Check back for a final verdict soon.

Rather than going into detail about their pricing, we’ll just generalize it by saying that the Galaxy S6 edge+ carries a higher premium than the Note5. There might not be a huge disparity when breaking down their pricing on a fixed, monthly financing plan, but it’s undeniably profound when we look at their outright costs. In fact, the Galaxy S6 edge+, depending on which carrier you buy it from, is normally accompanied with an $80 increase over the Note5. Again, it’ll be different for each carrier, but that’s the cost we’re roughly looking at here. Absorbing all of that, it boils down now to which of the two phones should you pick up. If we’re to factor in their performances and the kind of value brought on by their pricing, we’d give the nods to the Note5 purely because of the added benefit that comes with its S Pen. Not only from a utility point of view, but also in terms of the value brought on by the features that accompany it. For the most part, we find them more meaningful and impactful than the features of the dual-curved display with the Galaxy S6 edge+. We will, however, say that the Galaxy S6 edge+ boasts the slicker design. Ultimately, though, it comes down to personal preference. Indeed, the Note5 comes at us with a more rounded package, but the Galaxy S6 edge+ still carries its own noteworthy qualities to attract consumers. However, the difference in cost might open peoples’ eyes to take notice of the Note5’s extended worth.

The Galaxy S6 edge+ can be considered simply an S6 edge with a bigger screen, right? Well, our thorough comparison showed that this statement is true only to an extent. The larger, 5.7” display makes a world of difference when it comes to browsing, watching videos, and even perusing the extra features of the interactive side edges of the two flexible display phones. Moreover, the S6 edge+ features longer battery life, and better connectivity options, like faster 4G LTE download speeds, or the latest Bluetooth 4.2. Compounding on its advantages over the S6 edge is the full suite of manual options in the camera app that includes shutter speed control. When we add these under-the-hood improvements, the Galaxy S6 edge+ becomes the better phone of the two. It is, however, about a hundred dollars or euros more expensive, but if you are going to splurge that much on a unique phone anyway, and size isn't an issue, you might want to go the whole nine yards, and get the bigger, better device.

For the upcoming holiday season, Samsung has two phablets in its roster to compete against the competition – the Samsung Galaxy Note5 and the Galaxy S6 edge+. After reviewing the Note5, it’s still the ultimate productivity tool that’s unrivaled in the space. So where does that leave the “other” phablet in Sammy’s stable? And that, folks, is THE one million dollar question we’re all dying to know. Getting straight to the point, the Galaxy S6 edge+ is more of that “fun” smartphone that should theoretically appeal to a wider audience. We say SHOULD because of the appeal that accompanies its dual-curved display, in how it adds to the outstanding aesthetics of the phone’s frame. However, as we’ve seen, it’s still an area of opportunity because the features it offers are still widely underwhelming – not even coming close to what we’ve seen already with last year’s Galaxy Note Edge.

Personally, I think the biggest competition comes from within Samsung's own house. The Galaxy Note 5 may not have the fancy curves, but it does get the excellent S Pen, more flexible software, and a slightly smaller price. Your decision, then, comes down to the respective values you place on design versus usability: I love how Samsung pushes the envelope in hardware, but I can't help but wish the company had a better idea of what to actually do with it.