Samsung sharpens the edge

WHAT “PLUSES” does Samsung’s Galaxy S6 edge+ have over its predecessor, the S6 edge?

The Super Amoled display has grown to 5.7 inches from 5.1 while retaining the same 2,560x1,440-pixel quad-HD resolution. The working memory (LPDDR4 RAM) has expanded to four gigabytes from three – very handy when you’re multitasking and Android apps chew through a lot of resources.

And the edge+ quickly recharges by cable or wirelessly, whereas the edge was tardier in wireless charging.

The bigger display necessitates a bigger phone, so the S6 edge+ is 154.4x75.8mm, yet it’s still a tenth of a millimetre thinner. It’s also heavier at 153 grams than the 132g original edge, but that’s barely noticeable in the hand, apparently because the redesign has distributed the weight so well.

What the two phones do have in common is the hefty Exynos 7420 octa-core processor, with four cores running at 2.1GHz and the rest at 1.5GHz.

As far as looks go, the edge+ comes in gold, black, white or green, and I especially loved the gold option. The dual curved edge of the display is lovely. The hi-def resolution means it’s great for viewing photos and video clips, and those curved edges even seem to add depth to the images.

Performance is impressive beyond question. The touch screen and menus are very responsive, games and HD video clips smooth. High-resolution Flac 24bit/192kHz audio files play without hesitation, registering with the Samsung music player as “UHQ” (ultra high quality). Heard through Sony’s MDR-1ABT headphones, the clarity, bass and other details are thrilling.

I was able to swiftly find an LTE 4G connection on TrueMove H’s network, back up photos to Microsoft OneDrive cloud storage, post them on Facebook and download and install applications.

Like the S6 edge, the edge+ packs top-quality cameras – at the rear a 16-megapixel camera with an f/1.9 lens and up front a |5MP camera with an f/1.9 lens.

Auto mode on the main camera ensures gorgeous shots consistently and the quality remained good even at night. Other shooting modes include Pro, Selective Focus, Panorama, Live Broadcast, Slow Motion and Fast Motion.

In Pro mode you can adjust several parameters, such as exposure compensation, ISO, shutter speed, white balance and picture effects. Fast Motion is fun for freezing the action – think of soda gushing out of a shaken bottle. Selective Focus adds a blurred background if your subject is within 20 inches.

You can download more modes for the edge+, including Sports Shot, Beauty Face, Rear-cam Selfie, Food Shot and Dual Camera.

Optical image stabilisation guarantees that most shots will be sharp. The camera will also record 4K video at 3,840x2,160-pixel resolution of at 30fps.

One terrific feature is the rugged touch-type fingerprint scanner at the Home button. Your fingerprint will unlock the screen and your Samsung account, but – just in case anything ever does go wrong with this function –you first need to choose an emergency backup password. Only one fingertip is scanned. I had no problems unlocking the screen every time.

A heart-rate sensor is embedded in the back cover, under the LED flash and beside the lens. The sensor works with Samsung’s S Health app to measure heartbeats and SpO2 – arterial oxygen saturation. In my test it recorded my at-rest heart rate at 73 beats per minute and SpO2 at 97 per cent. S Heath says the normal adult heart rate is 61 to 77 beats. 

The Samsung Galaxy S6 edge+ with 32GB of storage retails for Bt29,900.

 

Key Specs

 

- OS: Android 5.1 (Lollipop)

- 4G network: |LTE Cat.9/ LTE Cat.6

- CPU: Octa-core (2.1GHz Quad + 1.5GHz Quad), 64 bits, 14nm process 

- Memory: 4GB RAM (LPDDR4)

- Storage: 32GB (UFS 2.0) 

- Display: 5.7-inch Quad HD Super Amoled 2,560x1,440 pixels (518ppi), dual-edge screen

- Camera: Rear 16MP OIS (f/1.9), front 5MP (f/1.9)

- Connectivity: Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, Mimo(2x2), Bluetooth v4.2 LE, ANT+, USB 2.0, NFC, 

- Sensors: Accelerometer, Proximity, RGB Light, Geo-magnetic, Gyro, Fingerprint, Barometer, Hall, HRM

- Audio: MP3, M4A, 3GA, AAC, OGG, OGA, WAV, WMA, AMR, AWB, FLAC, MID, MIDI, XMF, MXMF, IMY, RTTTL, RTX, OTA

- Video: MP4, M4V, 3GP, 3G2, WMV, ASF, AVI, FLV, MKV, WEBM

- Battery: 3,000mAh, fast charging both wired and| wireless, wireless charging |compatible with WPC and PMA

- Dimensions: 154.4x75.8x6.9mm

- Weight: 153 grams