Select a region
Samsung held its Unpacked event on Thursday – a month earlier than usual – as the Korean technology giant looks to steal a march on Apple ahead of the autumn smartphone rush.
What we got was the Galaxy S6 edge+, a larger version of the S6 edge and its curved screen that Samsung first introduced back in March.
There was also the announcement of the Galaxy Note 5 and Samsung Pay – but neither of these products are imminently coming to the UK, so the focus was on the curved-screened edge+.
The biggest physical change in the edge+ is that it is larger than the edge – housing a 5.7in screen compared with the 5.1in predecessor. That screen is a Quad HD Super AMOLED display, and keeps up the Samsung tradition of providing impressively crisp viewing spaces.
But despite this boost in size, the edge+ doesn’t actually feel bigger. It’s very light and, combined with the metal and glass-dominated design, continues the recently adopted Samsung approach of ‘premium’ design materials. It’s all glass and metal. In terms of size in your hand, the edge+ also feels manageable – it fits in your pocket comfortably, and despite having a larger screen than the iPhone 6 Plus, the whole device is actually smaller.
It comes in a range of colours – including something called gold platinum, which is surprisingly pleasing on the eye. The rise of gold products might have something to do with that, but in any design the edge+ looks appealing, though watch out for fingerprints appearing on the glass rear.
The curved screen is of course the feature that most draws the eye – and it has some new powers this time around too. While the original edge had People Edge – a shortcut on the curve that brought up favourite contacts quickly, this feature has been extended to apps on the edge+ as well.
This means being able to jump into your most useful applications in two gestures, and it works as a nice time-saving feature.
The edge+ has seen its RAM boosted to 4GB, and this does have an impact on response – multi-tasking is sharp and smoother than it has been previously.
Samsung has also put a lot of work into camera functionality, particularly around video. A feature called Steady Video has been added, which essentially gives video stabilisation for both the front and rear cameras during recording. But the more intriguing feature comes in the form of Live Broadcast, which enables users to live-stream footage from their device via YouTube. Users can send a YouTube to friends, who can then access the live stream on their own phone or other device.
It feels like a feature for the Millennials, and indeed this is something Samsung itself is very aware of, with figures quoted during the Unpacked event showing that the majority of S6 purchases were coming from the under-25s. The vloggers out there then are being well catered for with these features.
Another new addition is OnCircle, a messaging feature that enables users to quickly communicate with contacts saved to their People Edge. Tap on one of the faces and a series of communication options will appear, including an emoji option alongside the more traditional means such as text, email and voice calling. There’s even an option to send taps – knocking sounds combined with vibration – to other users in a similar vein to the Apple Watch.
Samsung Pay will be built in, but as yet there are no confirmed plans or date for a UK rollout of the firm’s take on mobile payments. Again appearing to be pushing the device towards the younger audience, the edge+ comes with a free six-month subscription to Google Play Music – though that’s a deal that runs out at the end of September.
Wireless charging has also been boosted on the edge+, with Samsung saying that the device can be fully charged via one of its wireless pads in 120 minutes.
We still don’t have a price for the edge+, but pre-orders are set to begin on August 18, with the device going on sale on September 4.
