Review: Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge

Hello Everyone! Finally, our staff got their hands on these new smartphones, and today I can do a review of the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge. The most particular of Samsung family and the first smartphone with curved display to be thought to a spread of large scale (unlike Round and Note Edge). I don’t thinks it necessary to write also about S6, as they are virtually identical.

Hardware, Materials and Ergonomics: The new Samsung top range are undoubtedly a significant improvement compared to the models of 2014. Although the general lines are not all that different from S4 and S5, the Korean manufacturer has skillfully mixed materials, shapes and sizes, creating a product that takes much of the quality of the previous Galaxy, some Apple concepts and a building that resembles the Sony Z series, especially Z3.A smoothie that is very good, sweet and balanced and that, although ports to some compromise, it is virtually impossible to reject.

Galaxy S6 Edge obviously has the uniqueness of the display with curved corners that makes the product not only extremely attractive, but also very original. For both new S6, coloring has a key role in the choice and each version has a unique variant (emerald green for Edge) that makes particular the smartphone. In my tests i tried both black and white version that in general the new S are advisable in some solid color rather than white as they change under the light giving brilliance and originality to the products.

Samsung has therefore chosen metal and glass for its new top range being able to drastically improve the feeling in your hand and ensuring both a strength and a greater premium touch feeling, the other containing the weight and size. Until a few weeks ago S6 was a possible choice in the panorama of the top range of early 2015, after the presentation of the competitors who have done a great job but it does not upset the aesthetics (see the conservative M9), S6 becomes hard to beat within the logic of the mass market. Small, thin, light, with stylish colors and with excellent features, in addition to the Galaxy and the Samsung brand name printed on them … I mean, that seems like an iPhone Android given the numbers of pre-orders.

So if the gear change is obvious, some compromises are still present. S6 does not open, does not have a removable battery pack and has expandable memory, which for years have distinct characteristics devices of the company. In addition, the glass is definitely great, especially since the use of Gorilla Glass 4, but it is also very slippery. In hand do not have problems of grip and the grip is still very good but when you will support the phone, you will definitely notice a huge propensity to slipping. Just a minimum of inclination and your S6 it might find on the other side of your desk, or even worse, on the ground.

• Dimensions: 70.1 x 142.1 x 7 mm
• Weight: 132 g
• SoC: Exynos Octa 7 7420
• Processor: 4x 2.1 GHz ARM Cortex-A57, 4x 1.5 GHz ARM Cortex-A53, Octa Core
• GPU: ARM Mali-T760 MP8, Octa Core
• RAM: 3 GB
• Internal memory: 32 GB, 64 GB, 128 GB
• Display: 5.1-inch Super AMOLED display, 1440 x 2560 pixels
• Battery: 2600 mAh
• OS is: Android 5.0.2 Lollipop
• Camera: 5312 x 2988 pixels, 3840 x 2160 pixels, 30 fps
• SIM: Nano-SIM
• Wi-Fi: a, b, g, n, n 5GHz, ac, Dual band, Wi-Fi hotspot, Wi-Fi Direct
• USB: 2.0, Micro USB
• Bluetooth: 4.1
• Navigation: GPS, A-GPS, GLONASS, Beidou

Subtleties of support aside, the handling is excellent and after years of general magnification it seems that in this 2015 there is a stop sign and an important refinement of all production processes, not only aesthetic. If in fact the design was heavily revised, S6 and S6 Edge have that S2 flavor that much like the nostalgic and fans of the brand. Everything is summed up by Exynos processor in 7420, and S6 Edge (along with S6), returns to exist only in this unique variant worldwide. A CPU that is the current state of the art as regards the ARM platform: a 64-bit built with production process to 14nm and a heart able to achieve exceptional performance thanks to memories extremely rapid and abundant ram. We do not speak of 4GB unfortunately, Samsung wanted to keep this card for the Galaxy S7 2016 (or Notes 5?), But the 3GB are more than enough against a lightening touch Wiz and greater optimization software.

Display:

Whether you like or not the Amoled technology, on one thing we can all agree: S6 Edge screen is outstanding. If in terms of quality there is not much to say because there is a further improvement compared to Notes 4 saw that we have a greater density of pixels with a resolution qHD “spread” on a 5.1-inch, from a technical standpoint Samsung worked really well.

The front glass is smooth and the touch is really accurate. All sensors work best and allow you to adjust the brightness very well. In the presence of direct sunlight, S6 Edge passes into a kind of mode Fluo which improves the readability even under the sun. A brightness thus arriving at excellent levels for a AMOLED and which shows no problems in almost all conditions.

Also good calibration of the colors that are not too vivid and obviously can be adjusted via software settings and perfect viewing angles. Just then the angle becomes a fundamental element of S6 Edge since both sides are rounded. Good or bad? Visually the sense of immersion is undoubtedly greater and aesthetically smartphone is very different from the competition. In everyday you have strengths and weaknesses.

The good it can be found in the software that allows you to take advantage of the People Edge to manage your favorite contacts in a more productive and to interact with one swype any screen with our friends. Also available are the customization screen that lights up in a color according to the contact who is calling and who is in the side edges enlightened found a nice aesthetic.

The “bad” it is, instead, in the reflections, slightly more pronounced on the sides and in particular in the curvature between the oblique part and the flat, and during the typing that is less immediate when click on the letters more lateral seen that the interface a little ‘bends toward the outer edges.

Compromises that still does not affect the normal use daily and which are “the price to pay” to have something unique in the current smartphone. Therefore display full marks in this variant curve even if the interaction of the side panels is certainly not as effective as notes on Edge. There remains only one regret: where is it possible to keep always on the external keys? Unfortunately you can not do it …

Battery, Audio and Network:

Among the changes that I have listed at the beginning, the new course of Samsung sees the elimination of the replaceable battery. Edge S6 and S6 have indeed integrated batteries that can not normally be changed, and they have done a lot to discuss. Although the processor is made with a great production process, 2600mAh are definitely not many, especially if we think of the AMOLED qHD display that consumes a major.

On balance, the you can reach the end of the day without too many problems in normal use. But if you start to actively use the phone, consider a duration of 9:10 hours with a single charge. A little ‘just maybe not in 2015 but competitors do better unfortunately.

The real “problem” is that the S6 does not have abnormal consumption but it is indeed extremely predictable, except that the display is turned on with maximum brightness the percentage charge drops to the eye. From tests conducted in the past days i noticed an average consumption of about 10% every 30 minutes of screen lit in normal use, not during a game but in the web browsing, using social and traditional applications.

It should be stressed that S6 has a couple of “aces” up his sleeve. I find fast charging can lead to 50% of the smartphone in a few minutes (as long as you use its charger and not the induction) and energy savings that really makes miracles. With the ultra-saving, though the interface is changed drastically, we can communicate, including WhatsApp, for hours even with a percentage below 10%. In the test results was almost an agony turn off S6 Edge.

Nothing to say about the audio part: the HD voice is good (for providers that support it), convincing volume and also the speaker placed in the lower part of the body is sufficiently powerful. We do not have a volume twice S5 but the overall quality is better and the positioning is not on the back of the phone makes it better.

Also good attachment of the cells: in 4G will reach incredible speeds but obviously consumption will suffer a bit ‘. Perfect the Wi-Fi and GPS as well as the bluetooth which also improves the sound quality compared to Note 4 in the use of wireless headsets. No problem with Android Wear and the like.

Software:

All new also the heart of the phone. Samsung has indeed changed totally its Touch Wiz and although it has never been the best Android interface, On the new top range is a whole other thing. First of all graphic consistency improved significantly with an attention to detail and a perceptible improvement in the fluidity, animations and clear launcher. The Material Design and light colors are the protagonists, in defiance of the black dell’amoled might say, as well as animations that make pleasant user experience.

Samsung has worked up going to improve every aspect of its UI. The result is convincing and there are many more customizations that at the same time make the phone easier to use and more intuitive. Without going too much, the home screen can now have a more dense grid of icons, there are themes that modify totally Ui and there are colored folders and greater visual clarity. The parallax effect on the home allows you to have a 3D look very nice and the magazine side can be eliminated by deactivating page management.

Immediately you notice then as even small items have been replaced, and finally the lag are a memory. I do not want to say that S6 Edge is the perfect smartphone, but the responsiveness of the system is quite different than previous smartphones, including Note 4. Using S6 i have the desire to have this new interface on all Galaxy but, unfortunately, it will be difficult through official firmware.

If, therefore, there is an element that can be interpreted negatively, however, Samsung has done some cutting too. In particular the application menu can not be arranged in alphabetical order but the app are positioned according to the installation although obviously we can move and organize the drawer as we want. In the settings you can not change the type of view and then the alarm clock does not allow you to customize the snooze and see after how many hours playing once set. Smallness, fineness, but some things were comfortable and, as already said, the keys were to remain always lit as possibilities. We’ll see if there will be future updates anyway.

Back to the software, I appreciate the significant improvement of the fingerprint reader that now not only interacts with better password management and paypal, but it is also much more effective, precise and just one click to unlock the phone. 4 are then stored fingerprints but if past several fingers at the same stage, you will have a much wider recognition and also with 7/8 fingers without problems.

Really good then browsing internet with both the Samsung browser, renovated in internal engine and optimized graphically or via Chrome, always great and lightweight. Many then the software with the system that allow to handle very well the resources of the system and to interact with applications in various ways. Multitasking is in fact that of the Note 4, with the ability to restrict a screen by a swipe from the top and open two windows together using a renewed and more simple (but very well done) menu for Dual Windows that also takes applications from the history of multitasking.
S6 Edge also has the ability to leverage the People Edge, a section of the phone always accessible with a Swype side and offering direct interaction with 5 favorite contacts. To this is associated with the call screen turned on and a selective seire of “led” side that color part of the screen depending on the notifications that trigger the contacts of the People Edge.

Interesting part the themes. Although currently there are few present, the framework of Samsung from the ability to change many aspects of the phone: icons, colors of the UI, part phone, settings, notifications, background, screen freezes, system sounds, and more. The hope is that many developers can publish themes able to change things around touch wiz in a click.

Summing up on the software, S6 Edge always behaves very well with excellent responsiveness, excellent fluidity and pleasantness of use remarkable. Some slight reload sometimes is present but it is really extreme situations and sporadic events.

Camera and Multimedia:

Thanks to the 16-megapixel resolution has improved focal lenses and aperture (1.9) with respect to Notes 4, photos of S6 Edge are really good and even videos are no different. The software has been completely rewritten to have an interface allowing much simpler but equally functional and customizable.

Also thanks to the optical stabilizer and the dedicated processor, the focus is very fast and the access time to the room is so impressive is fast. Double click on the home button launches, also screen off, the camera app in just a few hundredths of a second, allowing us to catch even the shortest moment. Also, the galleries is all new, fast, and finally with the right functionality and serving a good program to edit images. There are also excellent video arriving at a resolution 4K rear and front qHD with a sound that convinces.

Perfect then the multimedia suite that finds programs for photos and music very well made, colorful and very fast with a good compatibility with regard to the supported formats. The screen then makes video playback really nice view of the absence of side edges and rounded the effect this. Unfortunately lacks the FM radio that is one of the features that Samsung does not like to put. Nothing to say about the games given the power of the GPU Octa Core present.

Conclusions:

Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge is definitely a product that convinces and that turns out to be the most technologically advanced smartphone currently on the market. Powerful processor, excellent screen and particular thanks to the lateral curvature and clearly improved software are the main qualities of this device. A battery with a larger capacity, expandable memory and a price slightly lower than they might have done more happy geeks but the smartphone perfect does not exist and probably never will exist. S6 Edge is still, to this day, one of a kind.

Thanks for reading and as always I invite you to leave comments below and follow me on Twitter darkamon for more contents.

See ya!!!!