Flagship with the world's largest double-curved screen

The prerequisites for creating such a model as the Samsung Galaxy S6 edge+ have matured as if by themselves. In this case, they were largely determined by the users themselves. Firstly, after the simultaneous release of the Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 edge, most people showed much more interest in the option with a curved screen (edge) than in the usual “flat” one. Well, the fact that smartphones with huge screens are now popular and that Samsung Note series tablets have been in stable and unrelenting demand for several years prompted developers to logically combine all these features in one device. Which is what the Koreans did, introducing a smartphone with a huge curved screen called the Samsung Galaxy S6 edge+ this fall.

Naturally, the new product is for the most part a successor to the Samsung Galaxy S6 edge, this is visible to the naked eye. And at the same time, it should not be considered the same device, only with a larger screen. There will be more differences between the two smartphones; for some, they may even seem so significant that they will push them to purchase a new product, but in any case, the Samsung Galaxy S6 edge+ is worthy of its own review.

Main characteristics of Samsung Galaxy S6 edge+ (model SM-G928С)

	Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge+	LG G4	Nexus 6	Huawei Mate S	Sony Xperia Z3+
Screen	5.7″, Super AMOLED	5.5″, IPS	5.96″, AMOLED	5.5″, Super AMOLED	5.2″, IPS
Permission	2560×1440, 518 ppi	2560×1440, 538 ppi	2560×1440, 493 ppi	1920×1080, 401 ppi	1920×1080, 424 ppi
SoC	Samsung Exynos 7420 (4x Cortex-A57 @2.1 GHz + 4x Cortex-A53 @1.5 GHz)	Qualcomm Snapdragon 808 (2x Cortex-A57 @1.8 GHz + 4x Cortex-A53 @1.5 GHz)	Qualcomm Snapdragon 805 (4 cores Krait 450 @2.7 GHz)	HiSilicon Kirin 935 (8 cores ARM Cortex-A53 @2.2+1.5 GHz)	Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 (4x Cortex-A57 @2.0 GHz + 4x Cortex-A53 @1.5 GHz)
GPU	Mali-T760	Adreno 418	Adreno 420	Mali-T628	Adreno 430
RAM	4 GB	3 GB	3 GB	3 GB	3 GB
Flash memory	32 GB	32 GB	32/64 GB	32/64 GB	32 GB
Memory card support	—	microSD	—	microSD	microSD
operating system	Google Android 5.1	Google Android 5.1	Google Android 5.0	Google Android 5.1	Google Android 5.0
Battery	non-removable, 3000 mAh	removable, 3000 mAh	non-removable, 3220 mAh	non-removable, 2700 mAh	non-removable, 2930 mAh
Cameras	main (16 MP; 4K video), front (5 MP)	main (16 MP; 4K video), front (8 MP)	main (13 MP; 4K video), front (2 MP)	main (13 MP; video 1080p), front (8 MP)	main (20.7 MP; 4K video), front (5 MP)
Dimensions and weight	154×76×6.9 mm, 153 g	149×76×9.8 mm, 155 g	159×83×10.1 mm, 184 g	150×75×7.2 mm, 156 g	146×72×6.9 mm, 147 g
average price	T-12788831	T-12466715	T-11153512	T-12840967	T-12568232
Retail offers for Samsung Galaxy S6 edge+	L-12788831-10

• SoC Samsung Exynos 7420 (64-bit), two clusters of four processor cores: ARM Cortex-A57 with a frequency of 2.1 GHz and ARM Cortex-A53 with a frequency of 1.5 GHz
• GPU Mali-T760
• operating room Android system 5.1.1 Lollipop
• Touch Dual Edge Super AMOLED display, 5.7″, 2560×1440
• RAM(RAM) 4 GB
• Inner memory 32 GB
• Nano-SIM support (1 pc.)
• No microSD card slot
• GSM communication 850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz
• Communication 3G WCDMA 850, 900, 1900, 2100 MHz
• LTE data transmission (Cat.9 or Cat.6) (FDD LTE Band 1,2,3,4,5,7,8,12,17,18,19,20,26)
• Wi-Fi 802.11a/b/g/n/ac (2.4/5 GHz) VHT80 MIMO (2x2), point Wi-Fi access, Wi-Fi Direct
• Bluetooth 4.2 LE, ANT+, NFC
• USB 2.0, OTG
• GPS/A-GPS, Glonass, BDS
• Position, proximity, lighting sensors, barometer, fingerprint sensor, heart rate sensor, electronic compass
• Camera 16 MP (F1.9), optical stabilization, autofocus, LED flash
• Camera 5 MP (F1.9), front
• Battery 3000 mAh, non-removable
• Support wireless charging
• Dimensions 154×76×6.9 mm
• Weight 153 g

Contents of delivery

Samsung Galaxy S6 edge+ is sold in traditional packaging for modern Samsung flagship products. The box is made of hard matte cardboard and is laconically designed, with a minimum number of inscriptions, no pictures or colors. The packaging is not too large in size; the entire set of accessories is located in the lower tier under a plastic tray with the device itself.

The package is standard and includes Charger(5 V, 2 A) with a Micro-USB connecting cable, a wired headset, a metal key for removing the SIM card, as well as several thin paper books with documentation.

The headphones are separately stored in their own plastic container, have a tangle-free flat wire and two sets of removable rubber ear pads.

Appearance and ease of use

As for the design of the new product, in this regard, the differences from the Galaxy S6 edge are minimal, there are almost none. The updated model with the prefix “+” in the name looks exactly the same from the outside as its predecessor. This is still the same rather original-looking smartphone with a “convex” screen, both sides of which are strongly curved, which, in fact, was the very highlight that attracted users so much. The smartphone really looks very impressive, unusual and catchy. Korean designers have made a giant qualitative leap and managed to raise the image component of their products to a completely different level.

At the same time, the dimensions of the smartphone have increased noticeably, and all the constituent elements of the body have increased proportionally. The stylish metal frame on the sides is no longer as thin and unpleasantly cutting into the hand as was the case with the regular S6 edge. On the other hand, due to the fact that the device has grown significantly in size, holding it in your hand with outstretched fingers has become less convenient. Naturally, some users have long switched to tablet phones and have no difficulties handling such “shovels,” but still the original S6 edge had dimensions that were much more comfortable to hold in the average hand.

At the same time, even the device, which has increased in size so significantly, does not weigh much more. Very large smartphone with a huge screen, the weight barely exceeded 150 grams, which is surprising and pleasant at the same time. Coupled with the very small thickness of the case, this significantly eliminates many of the unpleasant aspects associated with the large dimensions of mobile gadgets. Wide, but at the same time thin and light, the device fits quite comfortably into clothing pockets, although not just any pocket. In any case, with such dimensions everything could have been much worse.

As for the quality of materials and assembly, there can be no complaints here, everything is assembled and fitted perfectly, the body is monolithic, nothing creaks, does not play or bends. One can, of course, argue about the choice of materials themselves: slippery and easily soiled glasses used for the front and rear panels make up the largest part of the total surface area; the matte metal frame is lost against their background. Moreover, even this frame is very slippery for comfortable holding in the hand; in this regard, the new flagship Samsung devices cannot be called practical.

As for the elements placed on the body, in this regard, not everything exactly corresponds to the previous model. The increased size of the new product suddenly suddenly disappeared from the top end of the infrared port, which generally defies any logical explanation. But sometimes it was convenient to use a smartphone this way Samsung series Galaxy S as a remote control that could not only turn on the TV, but also display the current program guide on the screen.

Perhaps this is due to the move of the SIM card connector to the top end, but the rationale for this move is also unclear. In any case, the card is now inserted into a slot located not on the side, but on the top. Connector for installation microSD cards it is not provided either on the case itself or inside, that is, the device, like its predecessors from the sixth Galaxy S series, does not support expanding the storage capacity using memory cards, you have to make do with what you have.

On the opposite, lower end there were more various elements. There is a universal Micro-USB connector embedded in the middle, and an audio output for headphones and a speaker grille located on either side of it. Thus, a smartphone stuck in a pocket “head down”, even with headphones connected, will not cause discomfort. However, different people carry their mobile gadgets in their pockets in different ways.

The front panel of the smartphone remains unchanged, it is completely covered protective glass Gorilla Glass 4, which has a curved shape, causing the metal frame to taper on the sides. All together, this creates the impression that the smartphone has no side frames at all - naturally, this effect is achieved when the screen is turned off.

However, with the screen turned on, the smartphone looks even more impressive, especially when you look at it from the side. The screen curves on the sides along with the glass, creating a feeling of volume, it’s impressive.

At the top of the front panel, along with the eyes of the front camera and sensors, there is such a useful element as led indicator events. The large round dot lights up in different colors depending on the battery charging status or incoming messages.

At the bottom, under the screen, there are the usual control buttons, the central one of which is mechanical, and the other two on the sides are touch-sensitive and have their own backlight. A fingerprint scanner is built into the central key; it works without the need to “drag” your finger - just with a single touch. The finger can be placed at any angle, and the fingerprint will still be identified. The sensor works accurately, almost no errors were recorded.

The remaining buttons are located on the sides of the device: on the right side there is a power and lock key, on the left there is a double volume button. The keys are not as large as they were previously installed in Galaxy S series smartphones. Now they are quite small, thin metal buttons, which have, perhaps, too hard and a short stroke.

On the back of the smartphone there is still a large camera module that protrudes noticeably beyond the surface, adjacent to a single LED flash and a heart rate sensor that can act as a photo button when taking selfies with the front camera. The flash can act as a flashlight.

The smartphone is not protected from dust and moisture, and there is no fastening for a strap on the case either. The device supports wireless charging, compatible with WPC 1.1 standards ( output power 4.6 W) and PMA 1.0 (4.2 W). The Samsung Galaxy S6 edge+ goes on sale in two design options, which the developers traditionally gave sublime names: “Black Sapphire” and “Dazzling Platinum”.

Screen

The Samsung Galaxy S6 edge+ smartphone is equipped with touch screen Super AMOLED, protected by Gorilla Glass 4. The display glass is curved at the edges on both sides (Dual Edge), the developers claim that this is the world's largest screen curved on both sides. There are no separate side matrices along the beveled edges; the display here is a single whole, although the curved edges of the screen can carry additional load, acting as separate side mini-displays.

The physical dimensions of the display are 71x126 mm, diagonal - 5.7 inches. The screen resolution is 2560×1440, the pixel density is 518 ppi.

The frame around the screen is quite narrow. The sides from the edge of the screen to the edge of the body are a little more than 2 mm, and the convexity of the screen itself and the curved edges of the glass further conceal the width of these side strips. When the screen is turned off, it generally seems as if the smartphone is “frameless”. The top and bottom edges are 14 mm wide.

The display brightness is automatically adjusted based on the light sensor. There is also a proximity sensor that blocks the screen when you bring the smartphone to your ear. Multi-touch technology allows you to process 10 simultaneous touches.

A detailed examination using measuring instruments was carried out by the editor of the “Monitors” and “Projectors and TV” sections, Alexey Kudryavtsev. Here is his expert opinion on the screen of the sample under study.

The front surface of the screen is made in the form of a glass plate with a mirror-smooth surface that is scratch-resistant. Judging by the reflection of objects, the anti-glare properties of the screen are no worse than those of the Google Nexus 7 (2013) screen (hereinafter simply Nexus 7). For clarity, here is a photograph in which a white surface is reflected when the screens are turned off (on the left is Nexus 7, on the right is Samsung Galaxy S6 edge+, then they can be distinguished by size):

The screen of the Samsung Galaxy S6 edge+ is slightly darker (brightness according to photographs is 109 versus 111 for the Nexus 7, the glare curved edges of the tested screen are excluded) and does not have a pronounced tint. The ghosting of reflected objects on the screen of the Samsung Galaxy S6 edge+ is very weak, which indicates that there is no air gap between the layers of the screen. Due to the smaller number of boundaries (glass/air type) with very different refractive indices, screens without an air gap look better in conditions of strong external illumination, but their repair in the case of cracked external glass is much more expensive, since the entire screen has to be replaced. On the outer surface of the screen of the Samsung Galaxy S6 edge+ there is a special oleophobic (grease-repellent) coating (effective, slightly better than that of the Nexus 7), so fingerprints are removed much easier and appear at a lower speed than in the case of regular glass.

When the white field was displayed in full screen and with manual brightness control, its maximum value was 400 cd/m², the minimum was 1.7 cd/m². You also need to take into account the fact that in this case, the smaller the white area on the screen, the brighter it is, that is, the actual maximum brightness of the white areas will almost always be higher than the specified value. As a result, readability during the day in the sun should be at a fairly good level. The reduced brightness level allows you to use the device even in complete darkness without any problems. Automatic brightness adjustment works based on the light sensor (it is located to the left of the front speaker slot). You can make adjustments to the operation of this function by moving the settings slider. Below, for three conditions, we present the screen brightness values ​​for three values ​​of this setting - for 0%, 50% and 100%. In complete darkness in automatic mode, the brightness is reduced to 1.7, 7.3 and 16 cd/m², respectively (the first and second are too dark, the third is normal), in an office illuminated by artificial light (approximately 400 lux) the brightness is set to 43 , 130 and 325 cd/m² (dark - just right - bright, which corresponds to the specified correction), in a brightly lit environment (corresponds to lighting on a clear day outdoors, but without direct sunlight - 20,000 lux or a little more) - increases to 450 cd/m² regardless of the position of the slider. This value is greater than the maximum for manual adjustment. If you increase the brightness of external illumination (in the area of ​​the light sensor) to somewhere around hundreds of thousands of lux (corresponding to direct sunlight), then the screen brightness increases to 550 cd/m². This brightness should definitely be enough for the image on the screen to be clearly visible in any natural conditions. In general, the result of the function automatic adjustment brightness is as expected. Note that even with automatic brightness correction disabled in a dark environment, the smartphone does not allow you to set the brightness above 170 cd/m². At any brightness level there is significant modulation with a frequency of approximately 60-odd or 242 Hz. The figure below shows brightness (vertical axis) versus time (horizontal axis) for several brightness settings:

It can be seen that at maximum and close to it brightness, the modulation amplitude is not very large, and as a result, there is no visible flicker. However, as the brightness decreases, modulation with a large relative amplitude appears. Therefore, the presence of such modulation can already be seen in a test for the presence of a stroboscopic effect or simply with rapid eye movement. Depending on individual sensitivity, this flickering may cause increased fatigue.

This screen uses a Super AMOLED matrix - an active matrix on organic light-emitting diodes. A full-color image is created using subpixels of three colors - red (R), green (G) and blue (B), but there are twice as many green subpixels, which can be referred to as RGBG. This is confirmed by a fragment of a microphotograph:

For comparison, you can see the gallery of microphotographs of screens used in mobile technology.

In the fragment above you can count 4 green subpixels, 2 red (4 halves) and 2 blue (1 whole and 4 quarters), and by repeating these fragments, you can lay out the entire screen without breaks or overlap. For such matrices, Samsung introduced the name PenTile RGBG. The manufacturer calculates the screen resolution based on the green subpixels; based on the other two, it will be two times lower. The location and shape of the subpixels in this version is close to the case of the screen of the Samsung Galaxy S4 and some other newer devices from Samsung (and not only) with AMOLED screens. This version of PenTile RGBG is better than the old one with red squares, blue rectangles and stripes of green subpixels. However, some unevenness of contrast borders and other artifacts are still present. However, due to very high resolution they have minimal impact on image quality.

The screen is characterized by excellent viewing angles, although the white color, when deviated even at small angles, alternately acquires a light blue-green and pinkish tint, but the black color is simply black at any angle. So black that the contrast setting is not applicable in this case. When viewed perpendicularly, the uniformity of the white field is excellent. For comparison, here are photos in which the screens of the Samsung Galaxy S6 edge+ (profile Basic) and the second comparison participant, identical images were displayed, while the brightness of the screens was initially set to approximately 170 cd/m², and the color balance on the camera was forced to switch to 6500 K. White field:

We note the excellent uniformity of brightness and color tone of the white field (with the exception of darkening and changes in hue towards the curved edges). And a test picture (profile Basic):

Color rendition is good, the colors are moderately saturated, the color balance of the screens varies slightly. Note that in this case, the image occupies the height (at this screen orientation) of the entire area available for image display and extends onto the curved edges of the screen, which leads to darkening and color distortion. Also, in the light, these areas almost always glare, which makes it even more difficult to view images displayed on the entire screen. And even the picture of films with an aspect ratio of 16:9 bends, which greatly interferes with watching movies. The photo above was taken after selecting a profile Basic in the screen settings, there are four of them:

Profile Adaptive display differs in some kind of automatic adjustment to the type of image displayed and environmental conditions, and what happens when choosing the two remaining profiles is shown below.

Movie AMOLED:

Saturation and colour contrast noticeably enlarged.

Photo AMOLED:

Saturation is still high, but color contrast is closer to normal.

Now at an angle of approximately 45 degrees to the plane and to the side of the screen (profile Movie AMOLED). White field:

The brightness at an angle for both screens has noticeably decreased (to avoid strong darkening, the shutter speed has been increased compared to previous photographs), but in the case of Samsung the drop in brightness is much less pronounced. As a result, with formally the same brightness samsung screen The Galaxy S6 edge+ looks much brighter visually (compared to LCD screens), as the screen mobile device often you have to look at least from a slight angle. And a test picture:

It can be seen that the colors have not changed much on both screens and the brightness of the Samsung at an angle is noticeably higher. Switching the state of the matrix elements is performed almost instantly, but at the switching edge there may be a step with a width of approximately 17 ms (which corresponds to a screen refresh rate of 60 Hz). For example, this is what the dependence of brightness on time looks like when moving from black to white and back:

In some conditions, the presence of such a step can lead to plumes trailing behind moving objects. However, dynamic scenes in films on OLED screens are distinguished by high clarity and even some “jerky” movements.

For profiles Photo AMOLED And Basic constructed using 32 points with equal intervals according to the numerical value of the shade of gray, the gamma curve did not reveal any blockage in either highlights or shadows, and the index of the approximating power function is equal to 2.23, which is close to the standard value of 2.2, while the real gamma -the curve deviates little from the power-law dependence (the captions in parentheses show the exponent of the approximating power-law function and the coefficient of determination):

For profile Movie AMOLED The gamma curve has a pronounced S-shaped character, which increases the visible contrast of the image, but in the shadows the distinguishability of shades remains.

Let us recall that in the case of OLED screens, the brightness of image fragments dynamically changes in accordance with the nature of the displayed image - it decreases for generally light images. As a result, the resulting dependence of brightness on hue (gamma curve) most likely slightly does not correspond to the gamma curve of a static image, since the measurements were carried out with sequential display of shades of gray on almost the entire screen.

Color gamut in the case of a profile Movie AMOLED very wide, it almost covers the Adobe RGB gamut:

When selecting a profile Photo AMOLED coverage is adjusted to Adobe RGB boundaries:

When selecting a profile Basic coverage is compressed to sRGB boundaries:

Without correction, the spectra of the components are very well separated:

In case of profile Basic with maximum correction, the color components are already noticeably mixed with each other:

Note that on screens with a wide color gamut, without appropriate correction, the colors of regular images optimized for sRGB devices appear unnaturally saturated. Hence the recommendation - in most cases, watching movies, photographs and everything natural is better when choosing a profile Basic, and only if the photo was taken on Adobe installation RGB, it makes sense to switch the profile to Photo AMOLED. Profile Movie AMOLED, despite the name, is the least suitable for watching movies or anything else.

The grayscale balance is good. Color temperature in profile Movie AMOLED above 6500 K, in the remaining two - close to 6500 K, while in a significant area of ​​the gray scale this parameter does not change very much, which improves the visual perception of color balance. The deviation from the blackbody spectrum (ΔE) across most of the gray scale remains below 10 units, which is considered a good indicator for a consumer device, and also does not change very much:

(The darkest areas of the gray scale can be ignored in most cases, since there is no color balance of great importance, and the error in measuring color characteristics at low brightness is large.)

Let's summarize. The screen has a very high maximum brightness and has good anti-glare properties, so the device can be used outdoors even on a sunny summer day without any problems. In complete darkness, the brightness can be reduced to a comfortable value. It is acceptable (and even necessary in bright light) to use a mode with automatic brightness adjustment, which works quite adequately. The advantages of the screen include a good oleophobic coating, as well as a color gamut close to sRGB and an acceptable color balance (if you select the appropriate profiles). At the same time, let us remind you about the general advantages of OLED screens: true black color (if nothing is reflected in the screen), excellent uniformity of the white field, noticeably less than that of LCDs, and a drop in image brightness when viewed at an angle. Disadvantages include modulation of screen brightness. For users who are particularly sensitive to flicker, this may cause increased fatigue. However, overall the screen quality is very high. Separately, we note that from the point of view of image quality, curved edges are only harmful, since this design discovery introduces very noticeable distortions of the color tone and reduces the brightness at the edges of the picture, and in ambient light conditions it leads to inevitable glare along at least one long side of the screen.

Sound

The Samsung Galaxy S6 edge+ sounds quite decent. Both in the headphones and in the main speaker located at the bottom, the sound is clear, bright, thick, saturated with the entire spectrum of frequencies - there is not an abundance of lows, but the bass is noticeable. There is a volume reserve, although the device at the maximum level is not deafening. The sound at any volume level remains clear, without distortion or wheezing. In general, there are no complaints about the microphone - however, at the highest frequencies, interlocutors note a barely noticeable hiss, but this is already in the category of minor quibbles. The second microphone for noise reduction generally copes adequately with its functions. In conversational dynamics, the voice of a familiar interlocutor, timbre and intonation remain recognizable.

To play melodies, a proprietary player with big amount settings. Sound effects are united under the general name SoundAlive. Improvements with UHQ Upscaler technology, emulation of presence effect " tube amplifier Pro" and adding SoundAlive+ surround sound effects are only possible when headphones are connected. For manual settings An equalizer with preset values ​​is available, as well as separate controls for bass and treble. UHQ audio transmission via Bluetooth is supported with appropriate headphones.

There is no FM radio in the device. The standard voice recorder has several modes, including “interview” and “voice note”.

Camera

Samsung Galaxy S6 edge+ is equipped with the same two digital camera modules with a resolution of 16 and 5 megapixels as the S6 and S6 edge models released before it. The front camera is equipped with a 5-megapixel module with a CMOS sensor and an f/1.9 aperture lens. You can take pictures with the front camera using your voice or gestures, as well as by touching your finger to the heart rate sensor located on the back side next to the LED flash. This is convenient; it allows you to hold the device in front of you at arm's length in a more natural way; there is no need to touch the screen when shooting.

The front module copes with its tasks adequately. The camera works quickly, the color rendition is natural, the pictures are bright and detailed, there is even digital stabilization for video shooting. By the way, the video front-camera can shoot in resolutions up to 2560×1440 (QHD). True, the wide-angle module, clearly designed for group selfies, partly distorts the proportions of the face at close range. Most likely, the developers were counting on using the now fashionable stick-bracket, which increases the distance to the object being photographed.

The main 16-megapixel camera has an f/1.9 aperture lens, very fast autofocus with the ability to track an object, optical stabilization(OIS) and single LED flash. Quick start camera is possible by double-clicking the central hardware key under the screen, even if the smartphone is inactive (double-clicking the Home button turns on the camera in 0.6 seconds).

The camera settings are exactly the same as in previous models of the flagship series. They are combined into a long scroll, in addition to the usual automatic mode and manual settings mode, here you can also select panoramic, selective focus mode, HDR in real time (Real-time HDR), the possibility of virtual shooting three-dimensional object, GIF animation, as well as fast and slow motion video modes. In addition, using the camera of the Samsung Galaxy S6 edge+, you can make spectacular collages by combining up to four video fragments into one clip, each of which can be played back in slow motion.

Among the additions, we can note the new ability to save uncompressed images in professional mode. RAW format, and among individual modes - new opportunity live video broadcast to your YouTube channel. It is also possible to download additional various specific modes, from sports to food photography.

Video samsung camera The Galaxy S6 edge+ can shoot in a variety of resolutions and options, including slow and fast motion, 4K resolution (UHD), and Full HD at 60 frames per second. The camera copes well with any of the options; there are no complaints about the quality of the resulting video image or the sound recorded. The quality of video recording can be judged by test videos. Speeding up and slowing down is displayed when playing such videos on the smartphone itself, but not every player supports these functions when playing on a computer.

• Video No. 1 (64 MB, 1920×1080 @60 fps)
• Video No. 2 (55 MB, 3840×2160 @30 fps)
• Video No. 3 (40 MB, 2560×1440 @30 fps)
• Video No. 4 (40 MB, 1280×720 @120 fps, slo-mo)
• Video No. 5 (12 MB, 1280×720 @30 fps, accelerated)

	Good field and shot sharpness, although distant shots are slightly blurred.
RAW
	Again you can feel the soapiness in the background, but the foliage is done well.
RAW
	The camera handles close and medium plans perfectly.
RAW
	If you look closely, you can see a subtle sharpening on the wires.
RAW
	The license plates of all cars are distinguishable. Sometimes the camera doesn't work at all in distant shots.
RAW
	The camera copes well with plain surfaces.
RAW
	The shadows are well done. Once again, the distant plans are not blurred.
RAW
	Noises in the shadows are muffled neatly and almost imperceptibly.
RAW
	Even with backlight, noise in the shadows does not go off scale.
RAW
	Good detail in difficult lighting.
RAW
	The sharpness across the frame is almost excellent.
RAW
	The foliage is only slightly merging in places. There is no soapiness in the distant plans again.
RAW
	The text was worked out well, although for some reason it was also processed by the program.
RAW
	The camera copes well with macro photography.
RAW

We also tested the camera on a laboratory bench using our method.

Lighting ≈3200 lux.
Lighting ≈1400 lux.
Lighting ≈130 lux.
Lighting ≈130 lux, flash.
Lighting<1 люкс, вспышка.

Perhaps there is practically nothing to complain about. Only a slight blur in the background and barely noticeable sharpening give away the smartphone camera. Otherwise, including the noise reduction work, the pictures already resemble a good compact.

From the photographs of the stand it can be seen that the quality of shooting is at a fairly high level - even at the edge of the frame. Due to the relatively narrow flash angle, the resolution at the edge of the frame drops, but in this case it is possible to adjust the flash power, which allows us to flatten our curve. True, for this it is advisable to have a darker center of the frame so as not to overexpose it.

The S6 Edge+ camera is far from the first to shoot in RAW. Talk about “why do you need RAW in a smartphone?” we won’t, because such a question doesn’t even exist. If it is possible to make a double in RAW, then why not, but the owner of the device will decide for himself whether to use this opportunity. But here you need to understand that “pulling” a smartphone RAW is a little more difficult than a photo from a good camera, although it is quite possible to do this. Much here depends on the quality of the sensor, and no less on the quality of the optics. But with optics, modern flagships practically do not sin, but sensors still have room to grow. Below are a few images, with minimal processing, output through Camera Raw and RawTherapee, which prove that it is quite possible to pull out Samsung RAW, and moreover, it is quite possible to work with it.

An archive with RAW images can be downloaded from the link.

The camera takes RAW pictures in DNG format, which avoids special problems with profiles. Perhaps a smartphone shouldn’t take pictures in anything else.

The photos of the stand were taken through Camera Raw in the “As Shot” auto mode, and they show that the computer retains a little more detail than a smartphone, but careful processing of noise and working with color in this case falls on the user’s shoulders. In normal scenarios, the machine copes well, even perfectly. If you want special colors, it makes sense to use RAW. The size of such a photo is about 32 MB, so it is impractical to constantly shoot in RAW, but switching between manual and auto modes does not take long.

In general, the camera turned out to be quite flagship. It will cope well with shooting in both auto mode and RAW, which it can really afford.

Telephone and communications

The smartphone works as standard in modern 2G GSM and 3G WCDMA networks, and also has support for fourth-generation networks LTE Cat.9 (or Cat.6 depending on the operator). The following FDD LTE bands are supported: B1(2100), B2(1900), B3(1800), B4(AWS), B5(850), B7(2600), B8(900), B12(700), B17(700) , B18(800), B19(800), B20(800). That is, all three bands most common among domestic operators (B3, B7 and B20) are supported by the smartphone. In practice, with a SIM card from the Beeline operator in the Moscow region, the smartphone was confidently registered and worked in 4G networks. The quality of signal reception is not satisfactory; the device confidently maintains communication indoors and does not lose the signal in areas of poor reception.

The rest of the communication capabilities of the smartphone are also excellent. There is support for NFC technology, Bluetooth has version 4.2, and the ANT+ standard is also supported. Wi-Fi module 802.11n/ac, HT80 with MIMO technology (2×2, up to 620 Mbit/s) supports operation in both frequency bands (2.4 and 5 GHz), Wi-Fi Direct is supported. You can organize a wireless access point via Wi-Fi or Bluetooth channels. It is possible to connect external devices to the USB port in OTG mode. Payments in the Samsung Pay system can be made using NFC or MST (Magnetic Secure Transmission) technologies.

The navigation module works with all three world systems: GPS (with A-GPS), Glonass and Beidou (BDS). There are no complaints about the operating speed of the navigation module; the first satellites are detected during a cold start within the first tens of seconds. The smartphone is equipped with a magnetic field sensor, on the basis of which the compass of navigation programs operates.

The standard keyboard layout has a dedicated top row with numbers; it is possible to change the height of the row. For Swype fans, there is a method of continuously typing with a stroke from letter to letter when the T9 smart dialing system is turned on. The phone application supports Smart Dial, that is, while dialing a phone number, a search is immediately carried out by the first letters in contacts. It is possible to reduce the size of not only the virtual keyboard, but also the entire working area of ​​the screen for ease of operation with one hand. True, in this case all the information becomes too small and difficult to read. In order to reduce the working area of ​​the screen, you need to quickly press the central hardware button under the screen three times.

OS and software

Samsung Galaxy S6 edge+ runs on the fifth version of Android OS (5.1.1) with the proprietary TouchWiz shell installed on top of it. The TouchWiz interface here is almost the same as in the original Samsung Galaxy S6. Among the features: it is possible to work in multiple window mode (if the application supports split window mode) or in pop-up window mode. Gestures are supported (taking a screenshot or muting the sound with your palm, calling a contact by holding the device to your ear, etc.). For the convenience of working with one hand with an enlarged screen, the usual functions for this case have been added to shift the virtual keyboard closer to one of the edges of the screen and reduce the entire area of ​​​​the working space on the screen. From the fifth version of Android OS, the interface received pop-up interactive information tiles, a scrolling perspective menu of the latest open programs, and a guest mode. Of the additional themes immediately available for download and installation, you can choose the same soft pink for girls or inky blue with a cosmic twist for boys - for the rest you will have to go to the online theme store.

Naturally, additional functions are implemented for a curved screen, some of which, however, could well be used with an ordinary, flat screen - for example, the same multi-colored bookmarks, peeking out as labels on the side and tied to certain contacts. Of course, with a flat screen there is no way to provide backlighting to the side of the display when receiving calls or notifications, but it is, in fact, only useful if you place the device face down, and hardly anyone does this often.

In addition, a scrolling information feed with news received from subscribed channels can be displayed on the side of the screen, as well as a clock in night mode, which looks more interesting and useful. At least you don't have to turn on the whole screen to see the time. True, this option can also be implemented with a regular, non-curved screen: in LG devices, for example, you can pull down the blank screen, and the time and date will be displayed at the top (Glance View function). So, in general, it seems that the presence of curved edges of the screen does not provide any special functional advantages - after all, this is, for the most part, an impressive-looking element of decoration.

The set of pre-installed applications is standard and familiar from previous models in the series. The Smart Switch application for PC and Mac is designed to synchronize data using iTunes, as well as for devices based on the Blackberry and Windows operating systems. The SideSync function provides both wired and wireless connections to a computer without additional settings and cables for synchronizing and controlling your smartphone. A set of system utilities Smart Manager is responsible for system optimization, memory cleaning and anti-virus security. A widget called Briefing, no longer in the first generation of top-line Korean smartphones, is responsible for collecting and displaying information from various news sources. S Health is traditionally associated with health indicators: the program works both with the heart rate sensor located on the back of the device, and with numerous individual accessories, such as smart bracelets and watches.

Performance

The hardware platform of the Samsung Galaxy S6 edge+ is built on the Exynos 7420 single-chip system (SoC) of Samsung's own production, produced according to the standards of the 14-nanometer technological process. The configuration of this single-chip system includes two clusters of four cores: ARM Cortex-A57 with a frequency of 2.1 GHz and ARM Cortex-A53 with a frequency of 1.5 GHz. The GPU is a Mali T760 video accelerator. The smartphone has as much as 4 GB of RAM (using LPDDR4), which is more than the regular S6 edge version (3 GB). The “plus” version is currently on sale in Russian retail only with 32 GB of internal memory, of which about 25 GB is available to the user. There is no possibility of expansion through memory cards; connection in OTG mode is supported.

According to the testing results, the Samsung Galaxy S6 edge+, as expected, demonstrated the same high results as both previous flagship models S6 and S6 edge - fortunately they are based on the same platform. The scores in the 64-bit version of the popular AnTuTu benchmark are close to 67K points, and in the regular 32-bit version they are almost 63K, which has not yet been demonstrated by any of the competing SoCs Qualcomm and MediaTek. The most powerful of Huawei's platforms, the HiSilicon Kirin 935, does not reach such heights either. In other comprehensive tests, the results of the Samsung Galaxy S6 edge+ are also maximum.

In terms of graphics and support for 3D games, the Galaxy S6 edge+ platform is also at its best, although here the Adreno 430 graphics subsystem of the competing Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 platform is almost on an equal footing with the Mali T760 GPU, which is part of the Samsung Exynos 7420 SoC.

In any case, the device is extremely productive; the capabilities built into it will be enough for a long time to complete any assigned tasks, including the most demanding games.

Testing in the latest versions of comprehensive tests AnTuTu and GeekBench 3:

For convenience, we have compiled all the results we obtained when testing the smartphone in the latest versions of popular benchmarks into tables. The table usually adds several other devices from different segments, also tested on similar latest versions of benchmarks (this is done only for a visual assessment of the obtained dry figures). Unfortunately, within the framework of one comparison it is impossible to present the results from different versions of benchmarks, so many worthy and relevant models remain “behind the scenes” - due to the fact that they once passed the “obstacle course” on previous versions of test programs.

Testing the graphics subsystem in gaming tests 3DMark, GFXBenchmark and Bonsai Benchmark:

When testing in 3DMark, the most powerful smartphones now have the ability to run the application in Unlimited mode, where the rendering resolution is fixed at 720p and VSync is disabled (which can cause the speed to rise above 60 fps).

	Samsung Galaxy S6 edge+ (Exynos 7420)	Meizu MX5 (Mediatek MT6795T)	LG G4 (Qualcomm Snapdragon 808)	Huawei Mate S (HiSilicon Kirin 935)	Sony Xperia Z3+ (Qualcomm Snapdragon 810)
3DMark Ice Storm Extreme (more is better)	Maxed out!	Maxed out!	Maxed out!	6292	9817
3DMark Ice Storm Unlimited (more is better)	23125	16390	18372	12553	20169
GFXBenchmark T-Rex HD (C24Z16 Onscreen)	37 fps	27 fps	25 fps	16 fps	44 fps
GFXBenchmark T-Rex HD (C24Z16 Offscreen)	57 fps	27 fps	35 fps	12 fps	40 fps
Bonsai Benchmark	4237 (60 fps)	3966 (57 fps)	3340 (48 fps)	3396 (48 fps)	3846 (55 fps)

Browser cross-platform tests:

As for benchmarks for assessing the speed of the javascript engine, you should always make allowance for the fact that their results significantly depend on the browser in which they are launched, so the comparison can only be truly correct on the same OS and browsers, and this is possible during testing not always. For Android OS, we always try to use Google Chrome.

Thermal photographs

Below are thermal images of the rear surface obtained after 10 minutes of battery testing in the GFXBenchmark program:

The specular nature of the back surface causes surrounding objects to be reflected in it (in particular, the hand holding the camera). However, it can be seen that the heating is highly localized towards the right edge, which seems to correspond to the location of the SoC chip. According to the heat camera, the maximum heating was 40 degrees (at an ambient temperature of 24 degrees), this is the average heating in this test among modern smartphones.

Playing video

To test the omnivorous nature of video playback (including support for various codecs, containers and special features, such as subtitles), we used the most common formats, which make up the bulk of the content available on the Internet. Note that for mobile devices it is important to have support for hardware video decoding at the chip level, since it is most often impossible to process modern options using processor cores alone. Also, you shouldn’t expect a mobile device to decode everything, since the leadership in flexibility belongs to the PC, and no one is going to challenge it. All results are summarized in a single table.

According to the testing results, the subject was not equipped with all the necessary decoders that are needed to fully play most of the most common multimedia files on the network. To successfully play them, you will have to resort to the help of a third-party player - for example, MX Player. True, it is also necessary to change the settings and manually install additional custom codecs, because now this player does not officially support the AC3 sound format.

Format	Container, video, sound	MX Video Player	Standard video player
DVDRip	AVI, XviD 720×400 2200 Kbps, MP3+AC3	plays normally	plays normally
Web-DL SD	AVI, XviD 720×400 1400 Kbps, MP3+AC3	plays normally	plays normally
Web-DL HD	MKV, H.264 1280×720 3000 Kbps, AC3		The video plays fine, but there is no sound¹
BDRip 720p	MKV, H.264 1280×720 4000 Kbps, AC3	The video plays fine, but there is no sound¹	The video plays fine, but there is no sound¹
BDRip 1080p	MKV, H.264 1920×1080 8000 Kbps, AC3	The video plays fine, but there is no sound¹	The video plays fine, but there is no sound¹

¹ sound in MX Video Player was played only after installing an alternative custom audio codec; The standard player does not have this setting

Tested video output features Alexey Kudryavtsev.

We did not find the MHL interface, like Mobility DisplayPort, in this smartphone, so we had to limit ourselves to testing the output of video files on the screen of the device itself. To do this, we used a set of test files with an arrow and a rectangle moving one division per frame (see “Methodology for testing video playback and display devices. Version 1 (for mobile devices) 720/24p

Great No

Note: If in both columns Uniformity And Passes Green ratings are given, this means that, most likely, when watching films, artifacts caused by uneven alternation and frame skipping will either not be visible at all, or their number and visibility will not affect the viewing comfort. Red marks indicate possible problems with playback of the corresponding files.

According to the criterion of frame output, the quality of playback of video files on the screen of the device itself is good, since frames (or groups of frames) can be output with more or less uniform alternation of intervals and without skipping frames. In the case of files with 60 fps, one frame in 1-2 s is always displayed a little longer due to the strange screen refresh rate of 60-odd Hz. This effect also exists at lower frame rates, but it is more difficult to notice. When playing video files with a resolution of 1920 by 1080 (1080p) on a smartphone screen, the image of the video file itself is displayed exactly along the border of the screen, going to the bends. The clarity of the picture is high, but not ideal, since there is no escape from interpolation to the screen resolution. However, for the sake of experimentation, you can switch to the one-to-one mode by pixel; there will be no interpolation, but the features of PenTile will appear - the vertical world through the pixel will be in a grid, and the horizontal one will be slightly greenish. This is on test worlds; the described artifacts are not present on real frames. The brightness range displayed on the screen actually corresponds to the standard range of 16-235 - in the shadows only a couple of shades merge with black, but in the highlights all gradations of shades are displayed.

Battery life

The capacity of the built-in non-removable battery installed in the Samsung Galaxy S6 edge+ is a considerable 3000 mAh. An economical SoC, made using a 14 nm process technology, and a Super AMOLED screen did their job: the smartphone proved itself more than worthy in terms of battery life. Samsung flagships in recent generations have always demonstrated outstanding autonomy in the top segment, among their own kind, and the latest device in the series was no exception.

The settings traditionally contain two proprietary energy saving modes: normal and extreme. Maximum power saving mode significantly reduces energy consumption by turning off non-essential functions and preserving vital functions at the moment, and also, for visual effect, converting the color image on the screen to simplified shades of gray.

	Battery capacity	Reading mode	Video mode	3D Game Mode
Samsung Galaxy S6 edge+	3000 mAh	15:30	10:50 a.m.	4 hours 20 minutes
Sony Xperia Z3+	2930 mAh	13:40	8:30 a.m.	3 hours 40 minutes
Huawei P8	2680 mAh	13:00	9:00 a.m.	3 hours 10 minutes
LG G4	3000 mAh	17:00	9:00 a.m.	3:00 am
Nexus 6	3220 mAh	18:00	10:30 a.m.	3 hours 40 minutes
HTC One M9	2840 mAh	11:00 am	8 a.m. 20 p.m.	3 hours 50 minutes
Samsung Galaxy S6	2550 mAh	20:00	12:00 pm	4:00 am
Meizu MX5	3150 mAh	15:00	11:00 am	4 hours 10 minutes

The developers themselves promise up to 20 hours of talk time, as well as 11 hours of continuous work on the Internet and up to 66 hours of audio playback. Our own measurements showed that continuous reading in the Moon+ Reader program (with a light theme, with auto-scrolling) at a minimum comfortable brightness level (brightness was set to 100 cd/m²) lasted about 15.5 hours until the battery was completely discharged. Without the auto-scroll feature, these numbers will increase even more. When continuously watching video in high quality (720p) with the same brightness level via a home Wi-Fi network, the device lasted almost 11 hours. In 3D gaming mode the device worked for about 4.5 hours.

At the same time, the smartphone charges extremely quickly. With a proprietary Samsung charger with an output current of 2 A, a large smartphone battery is fully charged in just 1.5 hours. We did not have the opportunity to check the charging time from a wireless device, but the developers promise that it will only be no more than 2 hours.

Bottom line

Samsung has once again released a very high-quality product, the main drawback of which is only its high cost: in the current conditions, not everyone can afford it. At the time of release on the Russian market, the official price of a certified Samsung Galaxy S6 edge+ smartphone with 32 GB of memory in both color modifications is almost 55 thousand rubles. But those who are not put off by this price will be able to enjoy all the remarkable capabilities of this extraordinary smartphone with a high-quality large screen, one of the best cameras on the market, an impressive range of communication services, good sound and decent battery life. Not to mention the two most important features of any modern smartphone, such as expressive appearance and the highest performance of the hardware system.

Operational testing of one of the brightest smartphones of the new season

Every spring, at the end of February or beginning of March, the world's geeks eagerly await the Mobile World Congress exhibition. After all, it is during this time that almost all mobile device manufacturers, without exception, announce their new flagship smartphones. The greatest excitement is traditionally caused by new products from the leaders of the segment, and Samsung, of course, does not stand aside. We have already been accustomed to the fact that it is during MWC that the Korean company “rolls out” the next flagship smartphone of the Galaxy S line. Well, good traditions must be respected, and this year was no exception: on February 28, during the zero-day conference, we were shown as much two new devices - Samsung Galaxy S6 and Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge.

I must say that after 2014 and the Samsung Galaxy S5, the wait was a little tense. It’s not that last year’s leader was a disappointment, but it didn’t cause a true “wow”. There was too much criticism: a dubious, rather inconspicuous-looking plastic case, the surface of which many compared to a sticking plaster, and practically the same characteristics without significant improvements, and a somewhat “stagnant” proprietary TouchWiz interface. In general, the S5 then became “just another cool smartphone”, and against its background, for example, the elegant glass devices of the Japanese company with four letters looked much fresher, and the Chinese brothers were actively pushing with their “ultra-fast, ultra-thin, on the Media Library and everything for 200 bucks."

The situation with the ruble rapidly going into a tailspin and global crisis gloom also added heat to the cauldron of general mistrust; the situation turned out to be tense, here it was necessary to either give up and go into the “inexpensive, cheerful and good company” segment, or go ahead. Samsung chose the latter. It feels like someone stirred up the swamp, pulled out from somewhere from the depths of bureaucratic oblivion thick Talmuds with claims to the previous devices of the line, angrily hit the table with their fist, and exclaimed: well, they fixed everything immediately! And everything started to work out - they found new components, interesting technical solutions, instead of one of the two designers fired last year (it’s not clear: the one who held it, or the one who outlined it), they hired several with good taste, and... In general, Samsung finally , after much torment, made a premium smartphone, and not a product for geeks, for whom characteristics are most important.

Instead of one flagship smartphone, there were two. One is a more traditional version of the Samsung Galaxy S6. The second is an innovative modification of Edge. The difference between them is minimal - in fact, the devices differ only in the screen (and they also have a slightly different battery capacity, by 50 mAh). The “classic” model has a flat screen, while the Edge has a curved screen on the sides. At the same time, unlike the Samsung Galaxy Note Edge smartphone, where the “bevel” was a separate matrix, in the Galaxy S line there is a single screen, and it is also absolutely the same for both flagships (in the section about the screen I will talk about the difference in detail). Therefore, everything said about the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge is also true for the Samsung Galaxy S6. There are some differences in ergonomics, and, probably, the difference could be detected during instrumental testing of the screen, but the smartphone was in our hands for only one night, practically in “field” conditions, so we have not yet had the opportunity to conduct such tests.

Video review

First, we suggest watching our video review of the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge smartphone:

Now let's take a look at the characteristics of the hot new product.

Key Features of Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge

• SoC Exynos 7420 (64-bit), two clusters of four processor cores: ARM Cortex-A57 with a frequency of 2.1 GHz and ARM Cortex-A53 with a frequency of 1.5 GHz
• GPU Mali-T760
• Operating system Android 5.0 Lollipop
• Touch Super AMOLED display, 5.1″, 2560×1440
• Random access memory (RAM) 3 GB LPDDR4
• Internal memory 32, 64 or 128 GB
• No microSD card slot
• Communication GSM 850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz
• Communication 3G WCDMA 850, 900, 1900, 2100 MHz
• Data transfer speed max 4G LTE up to 150 Mbps
• Wi-Fi 802.11a/b/g/n/ac (2.4/5 GHz), Wi-Fi hotspot
• Bluetooth 4.1, NFC
• Support DLNA, OTG, MTP, Miracast
• GPS/Glonass
• IR port
• 16 MP camera with optical image stabilizer (OIS)
• Front camera 5 MP
• Barometer, fingerprint sensor, Hall and heart rate sensors
• Non-removable lithium polymer battery 2600 mAh
• Dimensions 142×70×7 mm
• Weight 132 g

Appearance and ease of use

Just a couple of years ago, smartphones of this size were called “shovels.” Today it is a strong average - 5.1 inches, now you won’t surprise anyone with such dimensions. At the same time, due to the narrowed edges, the device looks a little smaller than it actually is, and gives the impression of a kind of “neatness”.

The rounding also causes another generally positive effect - I personally have no particular desire to compare a smartphone with an iPhone. However, the constant mentions of “Apple” products at the presentation do their job: I want to remake the classic joke in a new way - they say, “he’s also gay, but now he’s crooked.” But if you take the issue seriously, no, it’s not similar (specifically in the Edge modification), and let the purists compare the location and shape of the grilles. The device lies confidently in my hand; the grip, in my opinion, is much better than that of the Samsung Galaxy S6. However, here we need to make allowances for the fact that I usually carry a Huawei Ascend Mate 7 and am used to large smartphones.

In terms of materials, there's a lot to like about the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge. Instead of fairly boring plastic, panels made of Gorilla Glass 4 are used on both sides - a new modification of plasticized glass, which is said to be much stronger than the previous one and, in addition, less fragile. The back cover looks very good - the designers specifically sought a “deep” glossy shade. There are 4 color variations for the smartphone: black, which was in our hands (although in fact it is very, very dark blue), white, bronze and green. The latter, in my opinion, looks especially impressive.

It must be said that fingerprints are clearly visible on both surfaces of the smartphone. Almost all color options are subject to “clogging”, and only white does not look like a textbook for a forensic scientist after just a few minutes of use. However, company representatives claim that this (test) modification is devoid of oleophobic coating, and the situation will greatly improve in serial deliveries. This statement seems to be true, but in any case, if “fingers” irritate you, it is better to prefer the white version of the smartphone.

The Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge is made on an aluminum chassis, the edging of which is noticeable on the edges of the device. Again, the company claims that the alloy used is "50% stronger than alloys in other top smartphones." And the smartphone will never bend. We did not check this statement, because we did not want, if something happened, to witness the death of one of the exhibition staff from a broken heart.

On the front, curved edge of the smartphone you can see the speaker grille, front camera, the screen itself, as well as a mechanical Home button. It is worth paying attention to the fact that double-clicking on it launches the camera - this seemingly incredibly simple solution made it possible to do without an “extra” key and at the same time with virtually no loss in convenience. The button is pressed clearly, with a clearly audible click, but tightly enough to avoid accidental presses in your pocket. The remaining two buttons (“Back” and calling the application list) are touch-sensitive.

On the back there is a powerful LED flash, as well as a decently protruding camera. The latter will inevitably cling to the edges of your pocket and to anything in general, however, in my opinion, the question “whether you want a non-protruding camera or a good one” should be left to everyone to decide for themselves. I suspect Samsung engineers did everything possible to fit the optical system between the Megara of the screen and the Athens of the back cover, trying to have as little in common with the well-known hero of Greek myths as possible.

The back cover is not removable, so you should give up hopes of changing the battery.

The right and left sides of the smartphone are designed laconically - on one of them there is a power/lock button, on the second there are two volume keys. Since the sides of the smartphone are very thin, the controls turned out to be small and thin - however, there are no complaints about their convenience.

On the top edge of the smartphone there is a slot for a SIM card (opened with a paper clip), you can see the hole for one of the two microphones used, as well as an infrared port. By the way, the return of the latter is becoming a trend, and this is good - it is better to control the TV from your usual smartphone than to look for this ever-lost “lazy device” throughout the apartment.

On the bottom edge there is a Micro-USB connector, as well as a 3.5 mm jack for a headset. Here you can see the hole for the second microphone. In general, both the top and bottom edges look as similar as possible to the iPhone 6, almost copied. However, as I already said, in general the device has its own “face”; it is almost impossible to confuse it with the products of the company from Cupertino.

There are no plugs on the case; the device is not protected from water and dust getting inside.

Screen

During the extremely limited time of our acquaintance, we did not have the opportunity to test the screen, so I will simply state my personal impressions here. Well, for starters, the screen is amazingly clear, and that's not surprising. The pixel density here is 577 ppi, while the Galaxy S5 had 432 ppi, the iPhone 6 Plus had 401 ppi, and the LG G3 had 543 ppi (the screen resolution of the LG G3 is the same, but the diagonal is larger - 5.5 inches ). The screen produces rich colors, very bright and contrasty, but what else could you expect from Super AMOLED? The inflated color saturation is especially noticeable when looking at photos taken with the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge. At the same time, the minimum brightness is quite comfortable for reading in the dark. It is possible to adjust the color temperature, as well as an energy-saving mode.

When looking at the screen from an angle, changes in brightness and contrast are absent as a class. Curved “corners” do not look alien and do not distort the perception of the picture. This can be achieved partly because the screen itself falls only on half of the “curve”, and the remaining part is a thin frame.

I couldn't find any apps where the rounded corners would get in the way. However, this effect may appear in some games that actively use the edges of the screen.

There were no differences in screen brightness and contrast compared to the Samsung Galaxy S6. However, as mentioned above, there should be no difference between them: this is the same matrix, as company representatives told us, the difference is only in the very final stage of creation, as well as in the coating - for Edge, Gorilla Glass undergoes additional heat treatment under pressure.

Sound

The sound of the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge is decent. The smartphone produces a fairly loud sound, saturated with the entire spectrum of frequencies, including low frequencies. The sound is quite pleasant, at the maximum volume level it is not distorted, there is no wheezing, and there are no complaints about the earpiece speaker. With headphones, the smartphone also sounds at the level of modern flagships.

Camera

Even though the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge (and the regular Galaxy S6) uses a camera similar in specs to the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 (same 16 megapixels, as well as optical stabilization), the f/1.9 lens gets the job done — The camera takes pictures very well in the dark. Useful technologies such as real-time HDR shooting (without the need to take multiple frames in succession) and a special mode for shooting in low light have been implemented. Another good thing is that the camera starts up very quickly - in just 0.7 seconds. There is no dedicated button to launch the camera, but you can double-click the center key (Home).

Below is an example of how the camera performs in low light: in almost complete darkness, in high contrast light, without processing.

Test photos can be viewed in the gallery on our photo hosting Fotkidepo: . There you can download the original for each, and in addition, the photo page displays additional information about the shooting parameters: aperture, shutter speed, etc.

Several resolutions for shooting photos and videos are available - up to 16 MP and up to Ultra HD, respectively. Examples of videos are given below (don't forget to open the video in full screen when watching!).

Full HD video at night:

4K video at night:

Full HD video during the day:

4K video during the day:

Slo-mo-video:

OS and software

The operating system is a version of the Google Android 5.0 (Lollipop) software platform, on top of which is traditionally installed its own proprietary graphical user interface - TouchWiz. However, little remains of the usual colorful and parrot-like TouchWiz in the updated interface - all the redundant whistles with animation have been cut down as much as possible, the lines have been simplified, and correspond as much as possible to the guidelines of the new Android. Unfortunately, the test sample was blocked from taking screenshots - we had to “take” them in the field, the old fashioned way, using a camera. Still, it's worth taking a look at them.

Overall, the updated user interface is more reminiscent of bare Android than earlier versions of TouchWiz. Most of the things criticized disappeared or were hidden away. Several special control gestures were added, “tailored” to the beveled edges. For example, if you slide your finger from the right edge along the top of the screen, a list of the most frequently called contacts will appear (screenshot below left), and if you slide your finger from the right edge in the middle of the screen, we will open a window with missed calls (screenshot below right). In general, the new gestures do not look vital or very convenient - rather, they are a demonstration of additional capabilities that appear due to the “convex” screen. In my opinion, it is enough that the screen is very beautiful.

The package comes pre-installed with Microsoft software.

Performance

As already mentioned, the screenshot functionality was blocked in the test sample. And since we were forbidden to modify the phone software in any way, we had to get out of it the old fashioned way.

In complex Antutu in 32-bit mode, the Samsung SoC Exynos 7420 used in the new flagship is head and shoulders above its closest (according to the benchmark) competitors. And judging by the available information, the Galaxy S6 Edge deals with other new products at MWC 2015 effortlessly:

Tested in MobileXPRT, as well as the latest versions of GeekBench 3, Mozilla Kraken and Google Octane

Javascript tests allow us to make at least some comparison of performance with the iPhone 6. In Google Octane, the Samsung smartphone lags behind the iPhone 6 (6256 points) quite a bit, but the difference with the iPhone 6 Plus (7056 points) is quite significant. In Mozilla Kraken, Apple products are already a quarter faster. In terms of performance of one core, Samsung is inferior to the iPhone, but in terms of performance of all cores it is twice as good as Apple's competitors. Which, to put it mildly, can be explained by the ratio of the number of cores in these smartphones. However, in any case, browser tests depend too much on the performance of the browser itself to draw far-reaching conclusions based on them.

A new milestone is achieved in 3DMark Unlimited - 22267 points. This is a record! Tablets with the new Tegra have even higher results, but their screen resolution is slightly lower. And in the smartphone market, the Galaxy S6 Edge, of course, has no competitors yet.

In the most trustworthy GFXBench, the Samsung smartphone trails the iPhone in the most demanding scene, and in T-Rex HD too. But here, again, you need to take into account the difference in resolution; taking this into account, the gap is quite small. Be that as it may, we have before us, undoubtedly, the most powerful smartphone with Android OS today.

Battery life

The battery installed in the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge is smaller in volume than even the Samsung Galaxy S5 - its capacity is 2600 mAh. However, the battery capacity of the Samsung Galaxy S6 is even smaller, although not significantly - 2550 mAh. At the same time, do not forget about the efficiency of Super AMOLED screens - it is usually at its best. However, we have not yet been able to adequately evaluate the energy-saving functions of the new Exynos SoC. The fact is that we had the device for a period of time that was completely insufficient for any lengthy tests, so we had to limit ourselves to gaming tests that fully loaded the processor and graphics. Note that the firmware on which we “drove” the smartphone may not be final at all, so the obtained figures should be taken as preliminary.

	Battery capacity	Reading mode	3D Game Mode
Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge	2600 mAh	—	3 hours 45 minutes
LG G3	3000 mAh	9:00 a.m.	2 hours 50 minutes
Sony Xperia Z2	3200 mAh	15:20	3 hours 30 minutes
Oppo Find 7a	2800 mAh	16:40	3:00 am
HTC One M8	2600 mAh	22:10	3 hours 20 minutes
Samsung Galaxy S5	2800 mAh	17:20	4 hours 30 minutes
TCL Idol X+	2500 mAh	12:30 pm	3:00 am
Lenovo Vibe Z	3050 mAh	11:45 am	3 hours 30 minutes
Acer Liquid S2	3300 mAh	16:40	6:00 am
LG G Flex	3500 mAh	23:15	6 hours 40 minutes
LG G2	3000 mAh	20:00	4 hours 45 minutes
Sony Xperia Z1	3000 mAh	11:45 am	4 hours 30 minutes

So, in 3D gaming mode, the smartphone worked for a little less than four hours, that is, its level of autonomy in this indicator is average. Under heavy loads, by the way, quite strong heating of the rear wall of the case is observed.

Bottom line

It looks like Samsung has finally managed to release an undisputed flagship. The Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge smartphone combines many things - design, performance, serious “lightness” of the built-in software, and, finally, noble body materials instead of boring plastic. Battery life is at an acceptable level. Among the “features” characteristic of modern top-end devices, the smartphone has almost everything, including an infrared port, a barometer, a fingerprint sensor, etc. Some may blame the lack of dust and moisture protection, however, as practice shows, the circle of fans This “trick” is so narrow that it is lost even against the background of the disappearing audience of buyers of premium gadgets.

Alas, you have to pay for everything, and in the case of the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge you will have to pay with money. The company is still afraid to name the retail price of the smartphone (because it will have to be stated in rubles, and it is unclear what the dollar exchange rate will be in a couple of months - 100 or 10 rubles), but various experts talk about an amount from 58 to 63 thousand rubles for the basic modification with 32 GB memory. The cost of the “uncurved” Galaxy S6 is 4-6 thousand rubles lower. However, this price is shocking only until you convert it into dollars or until you compare it with the cost of Apple products.

In other words, the device turned out to be interesting, but precisely in the uncompromising and premium segment. If we discard iPhones from consideration, then it has practically no competitors - it’s probably worth mentioning, first of all, the recently announced HTC M9 (but we haven’t tested it yet), and among the oldies - Meizu MX4 Pro (but it is already lagging behind in performance). The rest of the top smartphones have either an inappropriate diagonal, or insufficient performance, or different body materials.

Today we are looking at the sixth generation of Samsung’s flagship smartphone – the Galaxy S6. However, not on the original model, but on the Edge - exactly the same, only with curved edges. Last year, Samsung introduced not one Galaxy Note 4, but two in exactly the same way: and with .

Video review of Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge

I realized that I’m so old that I reviewed all generations of Galaxy S. The smartphone has come a long way, models were more successful and less so, there were some that were associated with other smartphones, there were those that looked soapy in appearance... But from the second half In 2014, the company's vision began to change dramatically. First we saw what was amazing in my opinion, which I still use and which I consider the best smartphone on the market, then there was the cool Alpha in a very nice case, the A line, in which, for some reason, metal was camouflaged as plastic, and now we saw the crowning achievement of this vision. The new Galaxy S6 turned out to be very beautiful and pleasant, and the S6 Edge is even more interesting. Of course, because of its edges.

There is no doubt that Samsung is showing its capabilities to a greater extent. Only for the first time they made an asymmetrical smartphone with one curved edge and began to explain this primarily with new functionality (I even), but now they have created a truly beautiful smartphone with an emphasis on design. I like this explanation much better. Well, to be fair, everyone likes the new Galaxy S6, as far as I can tell from personal observations. This is how high technology helped designers!

The only thing is that I like the regular S6 better. Firstly, it visually uses more metal, and secondly, it is more practical, since the curved glass edges will break more easily if dropped. But we'll talk about it next time.

Looking at the design of the new Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge, you understand that Samsung has changed its course dramatically. Smartphones used to be more practical, but this often made them feel cheaper than they actually were. But in the S5 the cover was removed (which did not break when dropped), under the cover there was a removable battery and a slot for a memory card. In addition, the smartphone was protected according to the IP67 standard from moisture and dust. Now all this is gone!

But only Gorilla Glass 4 and aluminum are used in the case materials. Which, as they said at the presentation, is 50% stronger than in the iPhone 6 - and the S6 will not bend. The assembly, as you would expect from such a design, is perfect. The only thing is that I’m really scared to imagine what would happen if my smartphone fell on the tiles...

Unlike the Galaxy A line and the Note 4/Edge model, the metal in the S6 was not painted, and rightly so. Some chips appeared on the coating on my Note 4, I wrote about this in, nothing like that will happen here. In general, I also like the new design, the main thing is that now no one will definitely say that the flagship Samsung looks cheap. I wonder what the Note 5 will be like now?

Of the elements located on the sides, I’d like to note the IR port, it’s cool that they didn’t kill it, as well as the fingerprint scanner. It's still built into the home key, but now you don't have to fiddle with it with your finger, just touch it. It works much better, but there are still a lot of false positives. And given the impossibility of setting a simple password for an alternative unlock, sometimes you have to worry about entering numbers and letters.

Display

The screen has been the most important part of a smartphone for about 8 years now. Whatever one may say, it takes up the most space, it is what you constantly look at, and it is through the display that all communication with the smartphone takes place. And here we have not just a display, it’s just magic! No, really, really cool. Despite the fact that the S6 Edge uses the curved sides more as part of the design, there is a functional load on them. Exactly the same as in Note Edge, on the side edge (and here you can choose which one) you can place a night clock, news and some other application strips.

Due to the fact that the screen is Super AMOLED, information can only be displayed on a certain part of the display. That is, night hours will practically not drain the battery. In addition, it became possible to hang 5 selected contacts on one of the faces and assign a color to each. Then, if you put your smartphone face down and one of these contacts calls you, you will know who it is without picking up the phone, since the light from the curved edge will be reflected on the surface. I use Pebble watches for this.

Like the original model, the resolution of the 5.1″ display is 2560x1440 pixels. Pixel density per inch – 577.

At certain angles you can see some slight greenery, but this has not been a problem for a long time. White color is as close to real as possible. The only thing is that due to the bending of the glass, the curved edges at some angles of inclination refract the colors of the display. Visible against a white background.

Camera

The camera is the most important component of a smartphone for me because I take photos all the time. Instapota, lapography, you know... And for myself, I only consider those smartphones that take good pictures. Since the first generation, Samsung Galaxy S has been ahead of most competitors in this regard, and the S6 is no exception.

It has a very good camera, which is perhaps the best in a smartphone today. The main 16 MP sensor (in 4:3 format - 12 MP) with optical stabilization and aperture ratio of 1.9 allows you to achieve high-quality images even in low light. The front one is now 5 MP with a wide capture angle. The software has changed, it has become much simpler, and now everything fits everywhere on one display. There are many nice features, one of them is that you can take selfies simply by touching the heart rate sensor on the back. Unlike the previous generation, it works very cool!

Sample photos

Example of video recording in 1080p

Example of video recording on the front camera

Specifications

Another fundamental difference from previous generations was the absence of a version with a Snapdragon processor from Qualcomm. They say it's due to overheating. I don’t know how it was, but the Exynos 7420 is physically more technologically advanced than the new Snapdragon 810. It is made using a 14 nm process technology, as opposed to the latter’s 20 nm. This means it must be more energy efficient. Graphics - Mali T760, 3 GB RAM. Built-in memory from 32 GB. Judging by the benchmarks, the smartphone has a huge performance reserve. However, tanks, unfortunately, still do not run with maximum graphics settings, as on iOS. But these are features of the adaptation of the game.

The glory of the Galaxy Note phablets began to fade, and Samsung decided to come up with something new. The success of the Galaxy S6 edge introduced in the spring showed that the company is moving in the right direction. The unusual appearance of the smartphone attracts attention. What need to do? That's right, the same thing, but more. Meet the Galaxy S6 edge+.

Model	Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge+ 64GB	Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge+ 32GB
Price range	no data	from 46888 rub.
Built-in memory	64 GB	32 GB
Model release	August 2015	August 2015

But beautiful

People are tired of comparing processors with each other and delving into the essence of benchmarks. When a smartphone costs under a thousand dollars, you just want to get a beautiful device that you don’t want to let go of. And the Galaxy S6 edge+ gives such emotions. Finally, Samsung has found its strong point. Compared to them, curved LG screens look completely different, but no one knows how to bend screens anymore.

We would like to note that compared to the “regular S6 edge”, its larger brother has become more convenient. Why? The model has become larger, now the wide smartphone occupies most of the palm without digging into it, the edges have become a little larger.

Despite the combination of glass and aluminum, the model does not seem slippery at all. The sides rest against the palm of your hand, and unlike the iPhone 6 Plus, there is no fear that the gadget will slip out. In addition, compared to the Apple phablet, the Korean new product came out very compact, so to speak about a smartphone with a 5.7-inch screen. But the diagonal is larger, and the dimensions are smaller. Apple is on the rise again.

The other side of a glamorous life is soilability. The shiny glass case is very easy to get dirty, so in order to maintain its appearance you have to regularly wipe the case with a cloth. We can advise you to pay attention to the light version, it looks more attractive. By the way, the IR port that was on the S6 edge has disappeared from the top end.

Galaxy S6 edge+ does not differ in design from the regular S6 edge. More due to the enlarged screen, but we have already seen the cool curved design, metal and glass. However, the smartphone has not ceased to be spectacular.

As good as it gets

The image quality is very high, this is one of the best screens among mobile devices on the market. 5.7 inches, resolution 2560x1440 pixels, Super AMOLED - this combination can only be found in Samsung.

Details of the implementation of double-sided bending are in the review of the regular S6 edge. In the plus size version, everything is exactly the same: impressive, unusual, convenient: we’ll talk about notifications and special modes further.

Our expert Mikhail Kuznetsov conducted detailed testing of the screen:

The Samsung GALAXY S6 edge+ smartphone boasts a 5.7-inch OLED screen (or Super AMOLED in the company's nomenclature), representing the latest technology. Its resolution is 2560x1440 (Quad HD), and the pixel density is off the charts - 518 ppi. Naturally, there is no need to complain about image clarity.

The actual brightness of an OLED display depends on the nature of the image. In the worst case - with a white fill on the entire screen - you can get 450 cd/m2, which can already be considered a good result. But if the smartphone is in auto mode in bright sunshine, then the screen brightness can increase up to 786 cd/m2. This is an unprecedented level of brightness for a smartphone, leaving even the recent Note 5 a little behind. The anti-glare properties, viewing angles and contrast of OLED are simply excellent, which adds points to the S6 edge+ screen.

Speaking about color reproduction, you need to take into account that the Samsung GALAXY S6 edge+ has four color profiles designed for different tastes and needs. They are quite different from each other.

The screen of the Samsung Galaxy S6 edge+ turned out to be excellent; there are few differences from the Note 5. The outstanding performance of the OLED display is supported by several color profiles, some of which are both accurate and flashy. A very versatile and impressive screen that can easily be customized to suit your tastes.

What's the benefit

Thanks to the screen curved on both sides, you can not only get a sense of volume while viewing photos or videos. Samsung has thought about how to make the most of this concept by offering the following options.

We select five contacts with whom we communicate more often than others, each of them receives its own specific color. Then, during an incoming call, it will be easy to identify the caller using the backlight. Another option is quick access to one of five applications of the user's choice. In addition, notifications about new messages or calls, time or weather data, as well as news information flow are included here.

Where is everything else?

We will not repeat the story about the characteristics of the smartphone. We have already tested the Galaxy S6 edge and Note 5, the models are identical, the only difference is the lack of a stylus on the S6 edge+. Therefore, do not be surprised by the short review, because the point is to save your time. Look at the benchmark measurements in comparison with competitors - everything is approximately the same.

We just note that the operating time of edge+ is slightly higher than that of the “regular” edge. The results themselves coincide with the measurements we carried out for Note 5. We get about 10-11 hours of playback in video mode, about 3.5-4 hours in games and more than 7 hours in PCMark.

As for the camera, it is also exactly the same. The module and shooting algorithms have not changed compared to the Galaxy Note 5. And why change something that is already one of the best on the market? Look at the gallery of pictures, in our opinion, there is nothing to complain about:

These are sample pictures of the Samsung Galaxy Note 5. Its camera is exactly the same as the S6 edge+. That is, one of the best among existing smartphones.

The phablet has support for LTE Cat.9. In theory, this gives very fast mobile Internet: 300 Mbit/s to the subscriber and 50 Mbit/s from the subscriber. But in fact, such networks are available only in a few cities in Russia, so this function will not play a special role when choosing a gadget. But it's still nice.

Bloggers will like an interesting feature - the phablet can stream videos directly to YouTube. All you have to do is launch the camera, select a mode, and log in to your account. After this, you can broadcast without any additional equipment.

We also note the presence of optical stabilization in the front camera, which is very rare now. Together with Note 5, this is the world's first smartphone with this feature. Examples of selfies below.

OPINION HI-TECH.MAIL.RU

Marketers should come up with a shorter name; “GalexiessixEdPlus” sounds like a medieval alchemist’s spell. But these are nitpicks: Samsung has turned out to be a real flagship. It differs from the “small” S6 edge by a noticeably larger screen, larger battery capacity and better operating time, and an improved front camera. Is it worth the overpayment of 12 thousand rubles? After all, the regular s6 edge costs 43 thousand rubles, and the edge+ is already 55 thousand rubles. (prices for variations with 32 GB of memory). Unlikely: the price is too high. In general, due to price wars, the S6/S6 edge pair turned out to be the best choice among flagship smartphones, and it is difficult to compete with it not only for other companies, but also for Samsung’s own new products.

Other competitors? The ubiquitous iPhone 6 Plus. It makes no sense to compare a Samsung gadget with other devices; they have a lower class. Among such devices are the HTC One M9+ and Sony Xperia Z3+ (but they have 5.2 inches - not enough), LG G4 (5.5 inches), and unofficially you can order the much more affordable Xiaomi Mi Note Pro. But the IFA exhibition and Sony's flagship are approaching, as well as the presentation of the new generation iPhone. That's when the real battle comes.

pros

• Spectacular appearance
• Great screen
• Great camera
• 4 GB RAM and LTE cat.9
• Fast charging

Minuses

• No memory card
• Average battery capacity
• No 128 GB version and 2 SIM cards in the standard version

Alexander Pobyvanets, [email protected]

Source Hi-Tech.Mail.Ru

Devices of the GALAXY S series have been known for almost their entire existence solely due to their advanced technical characteristics coupled with a moderate price, by flagship standards. And now the time for change has finally come: it seems that this year some manufacturers themselves will want to “circle” the GALAXY S6 Edge. But this device also costs more than others.

Samsung GALAXY S6 Edge, official photo

From the point of view of hardware, everything has also changed dramatically over time with the GALAXY S5, although the policy has remained the same: the new flagship gets the best, the most advanced. The S6 and S6 Edge smartphones boast a Quad HD display, the latest Exynos platform - 7420, the most advanced LPDDR4 RAM, support for LTE Cat. 6 and 16 megapixel camera. In general, “complete stuffing”, all with the latest technology. Are the new flagships really that good? Let's try to answer this question after a detailed test.

⇡ Technical specifications

	SamsungGALAXY S5	SamsungGALAXY S6	SamsungGALAXY S6 Edge
Touch screen	5.1 inches, 1920 × 1080 pixels, AMOLED, 432 ppi;	5.1 inches, 2560 × 1440 pixels, AMOLED 575.9 ppi; Capacitive, up to ten simultaneous touches	5.1 inches, curved on the sides, 2560 × 1440 pixels, AMOLED; 575.9 dpi; Capacitive, up to ten simultaneous touches
Protective glass	Corning Gorilla Glass 3		Corning Gorilla Glass 4 on both sides
Air gap	No	No	No
Oleophobic coating	Eat	Eat	Eat
Polarizing filter	Eat	Eat	Eat
Factory film	No	No	No
CPU	Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 MSM8974AC v3: four Qualcomm Krait-400 cores (ARMv7, 32 bit), frequency 2.46 GHz; process technology 28 nm HPm	Samsung Exynos 7420: 14 nm process technology	Samsung Exynos 7420: four cores ARM Cortex-A57 (ARMv8, 64 bit), frequency 2.1 GHz; four cores ARM Cortex-A53 (ARMv8, 64 bit), frequency 1.5 GHz; 14 nm process technology
Graphics controller	Qualcomm Adreno 330	Mali-T760 MP8	Mali-T760 MP8
RAM	2 GB LPDDR3	3 GB LPDDR4	3 GB LPDDR4
Flash memory	16 GB (~12 GB available to user) MicroSD memory card slot	32/64/128 GB	32/64/128 GB (64 GB version tested, ~53.7 GB available to user); There is no memory card slot
Connectors	1 × Micro-USB 3.0 (MHL) 1 × 3.5mm headset jack 1 × Micro-SIM 1 × MicroSD	1 × Micro-USB 2.0 (MHL)	1 × Micro-USB 2.0 (MHL) 1 × 3.5mm headset jack 1 × Nano-SIM
cellular	2G/3G/4G One SIM card in Micro-SIM format	2G/3G/4G	2G/3G/4G One Nano-SIM format SIM card
Cellular connection 2G		GSM/GPRS/EDGE 850/900/1800/1900 MHz	GSM/GPRS/EDGE 850/900/1800/1900 MHz
Cellular 3G	HSDPA (42.2/5.76 Mbps) 850/900/1900/2100 MHz		HSPA (42.2/5.76 Mbps) 850/900/1900/2100 MHz
Cellular 4G	LTE FDD band 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 20 (2100/1900/1800/850/ 2600/900/800 MHz) LTE Cat. 3 (150/50 Mbit/s)		LTE FDD band 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 17, 20 (2100/1900/1800/1700/850/ 2600/900/700/800) LTE Cat. 6 (300/50 Mbit/s)
WiFi		802.11a/b/g/n/ac, 2.4 and 5 GHz	802.11a/b/g/n/ac, 2.4 and 5 GHz
Bluetooth	4.0 + A2DP	4.1 + A2DP	4.1 + A2DP
NFC	Eat	Eat	Eat
IR port	Eat	Eat	Eat
Navigation	GPS, A-GPS, GLONASS, BeiDou	GPS, A-GPS, GLONASS, BeiDou	GPS, A-GPS, GLONASS, BeiDou
Sensors		Light Sensor, Proximity Sensor, Accelerometer/Gyroscope, Magnetometer (Digital Compass), Barometer, Fingerprint Sensor, Heart Rate Sensor	Light Sensor, Proximity Sensor, Accelerometer/Gyroscope, Magnetometer (Digital Compass), Barometer, Fingerprint Sensor, Heart Rate Sensor
Main camera	16 MP (5312x2988), CMOS matrix Samsung S5K2P2 size 1/2.6’’ with back illumination and ISOCELL technology, element size 1.12 μm; Autofocus, single LED flash	16 MP (5312 × 2988),	16 MP (5312 × 2988), BSI matrix Sony IMX240 size 1/2.6’’ with back illumination, element size 1.2 μm; Optical stabilization system; Autofocus, single LED flash
Front-camera	2 MP (1920x1080), No autofocus, no flash		5 MP (2592 × 1944), No autofocus, no flash
Nutrition	Removable battery 10.78 Wh (2800 mAh, 3.85 V)	Non-removable battery 9.69 Wh (2550 mAh, 3.8 V)	Non-removable battery 9.88 Wh (2600 mAh, 3.8 V)
Size	142 × 73 mm Case thickness: 8.3 mm	143 × 70.5 mm Case thickness: 6.8 mm	142 × 70 mm Case thickness: 7 mm
Weight	145 g	138 g	132 g
Housing protection	IP67	No	No
operating system	Google Android 4.4.2 (KitKat)	Samsung's own TouchWiz shell	Google Android 5.0.2 (Lollipop) Samsung's own TouchWiz shell
Current price	29,990 rubles	49,990 rubles	56,990 rubles

The only major difference between the Samsung GALAXY S6 and S6 Edge is in the display and design: the first device has a completely standard screen, while the second one is curved on the sides. Otherwise, the devices are very similar to each other, but are not completely identical. There is a slight difference in dimensions: the case thickness of the regular version is 6.8 millimeters, while the Edge is 7 millimeters. But the modification with a rounded display is a little lighter - 132 versus 138 grams. Finally, different batteries are used: 9.69 Wh (2550 mAh, 3.8 V) for the regular version and 9.88 Wh (2600 mAh, 3.8 V) for the Edge. Otherwise, the S6 and S6 Edge are identical in terms of technical stuffing.

⇡ Appearance and ergonomics

All Samsung devices are similar to each other in one way or another. They have similar body proportions, approximately the same corner radius, an elongated central key at the bottom of the front panel... in general, a Samsung smartphone has always been easy to recognize. The situation has not changed much: the appearance of the GALAXY S6/S6 Edge remains very characteristic - even if you see this couple for the first time, it will not be difficult for you to guess that this is a Samsung.

Nevertheless, the GALAXY S6/S6 Edge differs radically from its predecessors. So much so that, if we draw parallels, we can say: the S6 and S6 Edge are not even a “restyling”, they are a full-fledged new “body” for Samsung flagships. The company's designers and engineers finally abandoned the use of plastic in favor of metal and glass. This is perhaps the key difference between the S6/S6 Edge and its predecessors. The front and back panels of the device are covered with protective glass Corning Gorilla Glass of a relatively new, fourth generation. For the first time, by the way, it was used in the Samsung GALAXY Note 4 “phablet” - the company’s first production device with a curved screen. The glass quite reliably protects the panels of the gadget from scratches and other minor damage.

The GALAXY S6 Edge is available in four colors: Black Sapphire, Gold Platinum, White Pearl and the exclusive Green Emerald. Unfortunately, it is not yet possible to order the device in the branded green color in Russia. A black sapphire gadget came to us for testing. In our opinion, this is a very good color. The smartphone appears black, but when light hits it, a dark blue glow appears. In general, the phrase “dark blue metallic” characterizes this color much better and more accurately than “black sapphire”. It is worth considering that the “regular” GALAXY S6 has different body colors.

The Samsung GALAXY S6 Edge is a pleasure to hold in your hands. The gadget is quite convenient to operate with one hand: you don’t have to move it and hold it with the other - it’s good that Samsung decided not to increase the screen size compared to the GALAXY S5. Yes, the display here is 5.1-inch, which by modern standards is not so much. The device does not slip in your hands, although its panels are quite smooth. During operation, the palm somehow touches the “side” of the screen, but the gadget does not react at all to these false presses. They are probably blocked at the software level.

The layout of controls and connectors is quite standard - plus or minus the same as in previous Samsung devices. Getting used to a smartphone is very easy. At the top of the front panel there is a front-facing camera lens, a 5-megapixel camera, an earpiece mesh, a proximity sensor optocoupler and an LED indicator.

Samsung GALAXY S6 Edge - front-facing, five-megapixel camera

At the bottom of the front panel there is an elongated Home key with a metal edge, which has a built-in biometric sensor. Next to it are two standard touch buttons equipped with switchable backlighting - “Menu of open applications” and “Back”.

The thickness of the body here is by no means outstanding - seven millimeters (excluding the protruding rear camera lens). However, due to the tapering metal edge on the sides, a deceptive feeling is created that the smartphone is much thinner than stated.

The device's power key is located on the right side under the thumb, and the volume control buttons are on the left. The keys are metal, with a short and distinct stroke. The Nano-SIM SIM card tray is hidden at the top end, and next to it there is an infrared port for controlling household appliances.

The external speaker slot is located at the bottom end. Its placement is good - during operation it is not blocked by hand in any way. Next to it is a Micro-USB interface combined with a video output (MHL), as well as a universal 3.5 mm jack for connecting a wired headset.

On the back panel there is a main 16-megapixel camera lens along with an LED flash, as well as a heart rate sensor. The panel is quite easily soiled - it gets dirty quite quickly and very readily collects fingerprints. However, you can get rid of them using any cloth at hand. The body of the device is non-separable.

Samsung GALAXY S6 Edge - back panel. Peeling off a sticker with barcodes is quite a task