Samsung Galaxy S6 vs Galaxy Note Edge: first look

We can easily say that Samsung has never before made a phone with such an exquisite selection of build materials. Good riddance, plastic and faux leather elements, there are new kids on the block: glass and metal. In particular, the front and the rear of the phone are covered with layers  of Gorilla Glass 4, while the chassis and the frames are employing an aircraft-grade aluminum in their rounded and eye-grasping design. 

The older Note Edge, on the other hand, is also an elegant phone, although it only uses metal for the chassis and the frames, with the rest of the exterior materials being plastic and faux leather at the rear. The latter has a slight advantage in terms of being smudge-proof, but apart from that, the Galaxy S6 has the upper hand in overall design.

We should also stress on the fact that one of these Samsung phones is coming with a removable battery/rear cover and that's not the Galaxy S6 - the Note Edge is the device flaunting these design features that were once standard for Samsung's high-end phones, but we might be witnessing their slow demise.

Okay, the Galaxy S6 doesn't have a rounded, sloping display like its "edgy" cousin, but this doesn't mean that its not a wonder of its own. The 5.1-inch Super AMOLED display of the Galaxy S6 pack a Quad HD resolution of 1440 x 2560 pixels, resulting in a mind-boggling pixel density of 577ppi. The Note Edge is armed similarly - its 5.6-inch display also boasts Quad HD resolution, though it has an altogether lower pixel density of 526ppi. With the unarmed eye, spotting differences in the sharpness of both screen is a cumbersome task. As far as display properties are concerned, we are pretty sure that the Galaxy S6 is better, if not on par with the Galaxy Note Edge. After all, Samsung has been on the run of late, treating with increasingly more color-accurate AMOLED displays, starting with the Galaxy S5, then the Note 4/Note Edge, and we are certain that the Galaxy S6 and the S6 edge will be next in line.

Android 5.0 Lollipop with TouchWiz running on top is what you'd find on both of these Samsung handsets. As we already mentioned in our hands-on of the Galaxy S6, Samsung has somewhat toned-down TouchWiz, but don't be fooled - it's still the good old feature-packed UI that we're used to, although in a more polished guise.

Paired with the impressive hardware setup, we can easily say that it's unlike any other Samsung device in the UI performance section. The Note Edge is totally not a slouch, but its version of TouchWiz does not feel as fast as the new version that comes with the Galaxy S6.

Similar to the TouchWiz variation on the Galaxy S6 flagman, the Galaxy Note Edge is home to a number of additional spic and span features that further complement the S Pen functionality of the phablet.

Functionality-wise, both phones have their strong and weak points (S Pen with a larger display for the Galaxy Note Edge), but what remains for the brand new Galaxy S6? 

Well, its UI is way more polished than the Note Edge, not to mention that its miles ahead friendlier in terms of single-handed usage. What's more, the sloping display of the Note Edge offers an additional level of functionality, which the Galaxy S6 is devoid of.

Processor and memory

Powered by an octa-core Exynos chipset based on the 14 nm process (we're assuming it's the new 7420 one, but we're waiting for an official word), the Galaxy S6 is expected to blow most other mobile SoCs out of the water. Samsung isn't willing to make compromises with regards to the internals of its upcoming flagship, which will make full use of Android Lollipop's 64-bit capabilities.

It will most probably surpass the Galaxy Note 4 in this regard as well, as the latter is only endowed with a "measly" Snapdragon 805 silicon muscle. The Galaxy S6 takes a page out of Note Edge's book and also flaunts the respectable amount of 3GB of RAM. Fortunately for all of us, this means better multitasking capabilities, which is always welcome, isn't it?

You get either 32, 64, or 128GB of native storage with both the Galaxy S6 and the Note 4, but the latter also offers a microSD card slot on board. The Galaxy S6 is devoid of this useful feature, which might be a deal-breaking absence for a certain breed of Android fans.

Camera

The Samsung Galaxy S6 has a 16MP rear camera, which is similar to the ones of the S5 and the Note 4, but there is a respectable host of new features involved. One of the more intriguing ones is optical image stabilization, in addition to reat-time HDR, infrared white balance, and tracking auto-focus for the video camera. 

The Samsung Galaxy Note edge is also adorned with a 16MP camera at the back, with optical image stabilization an board, and it's also a respectable cameraphone, though we like the Note 4 slightly more. Interestingly-enough, both the Galaxy S6 and the Note Edge share one and the same camera sensor.

Besides the mandatory cleanup work in the camera application, Samsung has made sure to upgrade its camera module a bit - the 16 MP resolution will be accompanied by a wide, F1.9 aperture now, promising to deliver better low-light image quality than that of the Galaxy S5 (its aperture was F2.2). In the meantime, the Note Edge flaunts a camera with an f/2.2 aperture, which is another impressive performer.

At the front, the Galaxy S6 has a 5MP selfie shooter, whereas the Note Edge "only" comes with a 3.7MP one. Undoubtedly, given the appetizing specs sheets, the new flagship smartphone will be a worthy spiritual successor to the Note 4 in terms of overall selfie quality.

Expectations

This is it, our brief hands-on comparison between the Galaxy Note Edge and the Galaxy S6. Both are as different as they're similar - despite the small discrepancies in the specs sheets here and there, these top-end Samsung phones are aimed at different consumer groups. If the S Pen and the intriguing larger display have got your full attention, you'd probably lean towards the Note Edge, but if the Galaxy S6 with its super-powerful hardware, insanely high-res display, and intricate exterior design attract you more, then the Note Edge has little chances of besting the newest Samsung smartphone.