Samsung Galaxy S6 edge+ vs Samsung Galaxy S6 edge

Introduction

With the Galaxy S6 edge+, Samsung is pandering to the ever-growing market niche where 5" displays are simply not enough. Those of us who liked the innovative dual-edge screen of the Galaxy S6 edge, but are reluctant to use anything less than 5.5 inches, can now have everything they like about the S6 edge, but with a bigger screen, and still in a very slim form factor.

Other than that, the specs are nearly identical, save for the one gig of RAM more on the S6 edge+, and the larger battery.

Design

While with a way better screen-to-body ratio than the S6 edge, the 5.7” S6 edge+ is still harder to handle than its smaller sibling.

Messing with the best, this year Samsung decided to ditch its signature plastic designs, which, however, were among the few left to offer removable batteries or expandable storage. Both the Galaxy S6 edge and edge+ are made with a high-grade aluminum alloy frame and side rim, with layered nanocoating of the glass back to achieve shiny uniform coloring. Unlike the S6 edge, its larger sibling doesn't feel as “edgy” in the palm, as the frame's edges are smoother.

Moreover, the Galaxy S6 edge+ is slightly thinner, and with way better screen-to-body ratio than the S6 edge, despite still having a physical home key and fingerprint scanner embedded there, below the display. Other than those subtle differences, the overall look of the two handsets is practically identical, complete with the big, protruding camera unit on the rear.

Displays

The difference in screen sizes is significant, but the Super AMOLED characteristics are nearly identical on both handsets.

Hey, it's Samsung's Quad HD Super AMOLED display technology on both handsets, did you expect anything else? We bet you didn't, but the display panels host the biggest difference between the two – while the Galaxy S6 edge has a 5.1” 1440 x 2560 pixels screen, the S6 edge+ strikes back with a way bigger, 5.7-incher with the same characteristics. Naturally, this means that the pixel density will move from the record 577ppi on the flagship phone, to the still more than respectable 518ppi on the S6 edge+.

Other than pixel density, the rest of the screen characteristics are pretty similar. The screens share the same 500+ nits of maximum brightness and low reflectivity, making them good for use outdoors, even on a bright sunny day. Color credibility is very good, at least in the Basic display mode. The default mode is Adaptive Display, though, where AMOLED exhibits oversaturation nearing the Adobe RGB, rather than the standard color gamut. Also, even in the basic display mode, tilting the phone about 30 degrees or more will result in a dramatic color shift towards the cold side of the spectrum, making the display appear blueish. Other than that, the viewing angles are excellent throughout, and the deep blacks that AMOLED displays are famed for, are evident on the S6 edge and edge+ as well.

Interface

With both handsets running Android 5.1 Lollipop, Samsung's famed TouchWiz appears with its latest, and somewhat improved version on the Galaxy S6 edge+. The so-called "Apps edge" there lets users access their most used applications just by swiping it, while the "People edge" intros a similarly easy access to voice calls or texts to their top contacts from anywhere in the interface. As we mentioned, however, these newcomers are being rolled out to the S6 edge as well, so the difference in the interfaces boils down to nibbles.

Apart from the new wallpaper set, there are only a few visual upgrades, and a couple of new TouchWiz features that arrived with the S6 edge+. These include, but are not limited to SideSync 4.0, which offers both wireless and wired PC-phone connectivity across most of your computing devices. Thanks to the auto-detection and quick setup functionality, you can instantly connect your Samsung device to your computer or tablet to respond to texts, answer calls, or swap files and backup data. The new interface on S6 edge+ also introduces a bunch of novelties in the camera area like extra manual control, live broadcasting, and so on, which will be detailed in the camera section.

Processor and memory

Samsung didn't feel a need to upgrade the zippy Exynos 7420 from the S6 edge to the S6 edge+, keeping the clock speed at 2.1 GHz maximums. It also didn't need to. The octa-core chip has four Cortex-A57 cores, and four more power-efficient A53 cores, clocked at up to 1.5GHz, and is built on the class-leading at the moment 14nm process, so it still decimates any benchmark app thrown at it.

What really differs from the S6 edge to the edge+, however, is that the phablet is outfitted with 4GB of LPDD4 RAM, instead of three, so you can line up a few more apps or games waiting patiently in the background at any given time.

Internet and connectivity

Faster LTE and newer Bluetooth standard on the S6 edge+ may be offset by the lack of IR blaster for some.

The only significant thing going for the Galaxy S6 edge+ in the web browsing department, besides the usual expectancies for any high-end device, is the vast real estate we’re given for the occasion, compared to the 5.1” Galaxy S6 edge. Not surprisingly, it mitigates the need to scroll or pinch zoom a whole lot, as most pages are able to fit in their entirety on the display. Throw in lighting fast 4G LTE connectivity, you have all the necessary ingredients here for a great experience.

On the connectivity side of things, the Galaxy S6 edge+ supports 4G LTE-A with a staggering amount of support for various bands, and 600 Mbps speeds, next to the S6 edge's 300 Mbps LTE downloads support. Both share MIMO (2x2) antennas for improved reception and dual-channel Wi-Fi, as well as NFC, and positioning via GPS, Glonass, and the Beidou systems. The S6 edge+, however, supports Bluetooth 4.2, versus 4.1 on its smaller sibling. The S6 edge, however, sports an infrared blaster for controlling your home electronics – a feature that is missing on the S6 edge+.

Camera

Identical hardware with a few extra manual settings thrown in – the S6 edge+ produces nearly the same photo quality as the S6 edge.

Samsung has traditionally been a company that offers one of the best cameras on Android, and it aims to continue this tradition with the S6 edge+, as it uses the same 16-megapixel rear/5-megapixel front camera combo that we know and love from the Galaxy S6 edge. We have a 1/2.6-inch sensor size on both (one of the larger on Android) with 1.1 micron pixels, and both the front and rear cameras feature wide, f/1.9 aperture lenses, which is a good asset if you care about collecting more light and getting good pictures in low light.

The quick launch camera shortcut introduced with the S6 and S6 edge is here as well: just double click the home button to go straight into the camera application. The camera app on S6 edge+ is largely the same solution as on the Galaxy S6 edge with two new regimes being the big highlight: the auto mode that is self-explanatory, and the manual 'Pro' mode. The latter can now also control shutter speed on the Galaxy S6 edge+, as well as support to capture in RAW, for a truly full manual ride.


As the identical camera modules would suggest beforehand, our samples with both phones turned out remarkably similar when it comes to image quality. The S6 edge+ and S6 edge camera twins produce largely credible colors, with a slightly warm overcast. The exposure seems to end up a step above reality, producing somewhat overblown highlights, but illuminating shadowy scenes well. There is a fine amount of detail, and noise is kept in check throughout the frame. At night and in low-light scenarios, the wide aperture and OIS tech shine, producing sharp photos with high detail and low noise amounts.




When it comes to video footage, the handsets shoot in both 4K and 1080p definitions, producing sharp, vibrant imagery, with fast exposure compensation when panning around, though the same slightly warmish tones as the stills. The S6 edge+ also intros a Video Collage function, which can stitch together a few scene cuts, and add various effects to them for extra appeal.

Multimedia

For those of you choosing to stick with the TouchWiz music player, as opposed to Google Play Music, on the S6 edge+ you’ll be presented with the same design changes we’ve already seen established with the updated TouchWiz experience of the S6 edge. Simplicity, that’s the core principle of the music player, which now favors a cleaner look than before. We wouldn’t say that it’s as dazzling as say, the new Sense 7.0 music player, but the toned down approach helps to give it a more streamlined feel.

Whether it’s the new placement of the rear speaker, or something else entirely, the Galaxy S6 edge+’s audio output is less than what its pint-sized sibling produces. At 73.1dB, it’s still powerful enough to reverberate in tighter confines with a very neutral toned output. Yet, it’s not deafening like the S6 edge, but at the same time, it’s not shrill-toned either to make it sound irritating to the ear.

Listening through the headphone jack, however, delivers results that are more resounding. Squeezing out a commanding 0.77V of power, the highest amongst Sammy’s high-end crew, it produces crisp audio with an even balance throughout all audio ranges.


The Galaxy S6 edge+, however, introduces an option for ‘UHQ Upscaler’ in the settings menu, which Samsung alleges to enhance and upscale audio for a clearer listening experience. Using a pair of V-Moda M-100 headphones, we barely notice a difference with the quality. In fact, it seems as though it’s been treated to a boost in treble and bass for a more robust tone – and nothing more! While we don’t notice a tremendous difference in our experience, Samsung claims that ultra-high quality audio (UHQA) is supported over Bluetooth on Samsung’s next generation wireless audio accessories.

We wouldn't say that we prefer sloping edges of the screen instead of a flat one while watching videos, as that distorts the perspective a bit, but that's the price you pay for the dual-edge innovation. Nontheless, it’s a pretty nice treat to watch videos on the Galaxy S6 edge+ Super AMOLED screen, since the contrast and color saturation are manipulated to achieve the best possible visual results – and it helps too that it’s a powerhouse to fluidly play all sorts of content. The S6 edge mimics this remarkable experience, but on a smaller screen, which automatically deducts points, unless you watch from up close.

Editing tools are diverse throughout the Gallery app, enabling us to do all sorts of editing on the fly with the Galaxy S6 edge+ and S6 edge. Come to think of it, the selection is what we’d expect from most high-end phones nowadays, but there’s nothing really exclusive or unique about the tools at our disposal. Sure, we have things like cropping, filters, and shaping effects, but the added option of making collages is an added treat – a feature that’s rarely seen through stock Gallery apps.

Call quality

Unlike the Galaxy S6 edge, the Galaxy S6 edge+ offers an extra volume mode for those situations where the normal volume through the earpiece isn’t enough. Still, the quality with the standard volume is pretty good and audible – with voices exhibiting a fair amount of fidelity and clearness on both handsets. The phones offer noise-canceling mics that do a good job at weeding out ambient noises, and relaying our voice loud and clear to its receiving end.

Battery

Samsung equipped the S6 edge+ with a much larger, 3000 mAh battery, compared to the 2650 mAh juicer in the S6 edge. Needless to say, the larger phone managed to be excellent on our battery benchmark test as a result, clocking in the stellar nine and a half hours of screen-on time. The S6 edge, however, does very well in terms of battery endurance for its juicing capacity, too, resulting in over eight hours of screen-on time in our grueling test before it gives up the ghost completely.

Conclusion

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.