The Galaxy S6 edge was an unexpected hit after being launched alongside the standard Galaxy S6, and now six months later Samsung is hoping to continue on that momentum with a larger version, the Galaxy S6 edge+. The GS6 edge+ is an interesting device as it looks identical to the original Galaxy S6, simply with a larger screen, but also has the few enhancements that put it in a class with the newer Galaxy Note 5.
In all there isn't too much to unpack when looking at these phones side-by-side — let us show you the finer points.
Same hardware, new size
Though the naming convention gives little room for confusion, the Galaxy S6 edge+ really is just a larger version of the Galaxy S6 edge. There's a jump up to a 5.7-inch display — the same as the one in the Note 5, plus curves — from 5.1-inches in the original, and the entire design has just scaled up to meet the new screen size.
This is the same solid metal frame, flat glass back, buttons and ports as you'll find in the original, and the same color choices will be available (with regional exclusivities expected) as well. That glass back still hides wireless charging underneath, and though the camera pod on the back has a slight color change it's protecting the same 16MP sensor and capabilities. The one physical change you can notice is the loss of the IR port on the top edge of the phone, and the subsequent movement of a microphone hole.
Whether or not the larger size will cause issues with usability will be a personal question, but considering how the original Galaxy S6 edge was a bit tough to hold onto due to its design I can't imagine the larger screen would help any. A screen size bump of just over a half an inch isn't egregious, but it's enough to potentially make a big difference in usability. More folks will have to get these phones in their hands side-by-side to get a better feel for how big a difference that is.
A tiny bump in specs
Internally, things are very similar between the two phones. The screen is the same type, quality and resolution but simply at a larger 5.7-inch size, and there's a familiar octa-core Exynos processor under the glass supported by 4GB (one gigabyte more than the S6 edge) of RAM. The larger phone size bumped the battery up from 2600 mAh to an even 3000 — and in both cases it can't be removed, but can be quickly charged either with a wire or your choice of Qi or Powermat wireless charging.
The only other difference is storage — the Galaxy S6 edge+ has 32 or 64GB options, whereas the original had a 128GB option, depending on where you were looking to buy. Naturally there's no SD card slot in the Galaxy S6 edge+, as is the case on the Note 5 and the original Galaxy S6 edge.
| Category | Galaxy S6 edge+ | Galaxy S6 edge |
|---|---|---|
| Operating System | Android 5.1.1, TouchWiz | Android 5.1.1, TouchWiz |
| Display | 5.7-inch QHD (2560x1440, 518 ppi) Super AMOLEDDual edge screen | 5.1-inch QHD (2560x1440, 577 ppi) Super AMOLEDDual edge screen |
| Processor | Exynos 7420 octa-core (2.1GHz quad + 1.5GHz quad)64bit, 14nm | Exynos 7420 octa-core (2.1GHz quad + 1.5GHz quad)64bit, 14nm |
| Storage | 32 or 64GB, UFS 2.0Non-expandable | 32, 64 or 128GBNon-expandable |
| RAM | 4GB (LPDDR4) | 3GB |
| Rear Camera | 16MP, f/1.9, OIS, phase detection auto focus4K video, slow motion video | 16MP, f/1.9, OIS, phase detection auto focus4K video, slow motion video |
| Front Camera | 5MP, f/1.9 | 5MP, f/1.9 |
| Network | LTE cat.9(network bands vary by market) | LTE cat.6(network bands vary by market) |
| Connectivity | 802.11ac Wifi, 2.4/5GHz, MIMO (2x2), 620MbpsBluetooth v4.2 LE, ANT+NFC, Location (GPS, Glonass, Beidou) | 802.11ac Wifi, 2.4/5GHz, HT80 MIMO (2x2), 620Mbps, dual-band, Wi-Fi Direct, Mobile hotspotBluetooth 4.1 LE, A2DP, atp-X, ANT+GPS, GLONASS, NFC, IR remote |
| Sensors | Accelerometer, Proximity, RGB Light, Geo-magnetic, Gyro, Fingerprint, Barometer, Hall, HRM | Accelerometer, ambient light, barometer, compass, fingerprint, gyroscope, hall, heart rate monitor, HRM, proximity |
| Charging | Micro USB 2.0, Adaptive Fast ChargingQi wireless, Powermat wireless, fast wireless charging | Micro USB 2.0, Adaptive Fast ChargingQi wireless, Powermat wireless |
| Battery | 3000 mAhNon-removable | 2600 mAhNon-removable |
| Dimensions | 154.4 x 75.8 x 6.9mm | 142.1 x 70.1 x 7.0mm |
| Weight | 153g | 132g |
| Colors | black sapphire, white pearl, gold platinum, green emerald(colors will vary by market) | black sapphire, white pearl, gold platinum, green emerald(colors will vary by market) |
Small software changes
As covered in our hands-on impressions of the Galaxy S6 edge+, Samsung hasn't changed much in the software since it revamped things with the launch of the Galaxy S6 and S6 edge earlier this year. Beyond simple differences in the look of icons and some styling in the launcher, there are two big changes about how the edge screen works.
On the Galaxy S6 edge+ you can now swipe in from the edge to expose the "people edge" even within apps, an upgrade over the previous system that required you be on the home screen or lock screen, and you can also configure the people edge to launch anywhere on the side, not just at the top. With the people edge exposed, you can now also give it an additional swipe to launch an "app edge," which gives you a handful of your favorite apps to launch. When paired with the ability to launch in any app, it should be a nice boost to multitasking functionality.
Samsung was (expectedly) quiet on a timeline for bringing these new edge features back to the original Galaxy S6 edge, but I would be surprised if they didn't arrive in a software update in the near future. The few simple changes to the way the edge screen works are great without being confusing, and don't get in the way when you don't want to use them.
