Top positive review
5.0 out of 5 starsA Beautiful Beast, S6 Edge + is a solid alternative to the phone formerly known as Galaxy Note 7
Reviewed in the United States on November 18, 2016
This phone is a beast. My impression of the S6 Edge + after using for more than a month is that it is the most stylish and functional phone I have ever owned. The 5.7" screen is the biggest I have ever used, and the edge screen makes it fairly easy to handle for it's size. The screen is absolutely beautiful and the edge screen provides almost an "infinity pool" feel to it. It's just beautifully designed through and through, and really a pleasure to use. Samsung has done great work in scaling down it's TouchWiz overlay and it is barely noticeable here. They have also made great strides in making their exclusive apps and features very useful.
I was targeting an Android phone with a 5.7" screen which offered solid business functionality along with flexibility to shine with a wide variety of personal uses from camera, to entertainment, to social media. I am a power user and wanted a phone that was reliable and good at everything. I have always been drawn to the Galaxy Note Series for their size and functionality. Even before the issues with Note 7, I all but ruled it out because of it's hefty price tag. Instead, I focused on 3 phones that were a year old, opting to pay for my phone up front, get away from the 2-year carrier subsidy pricing which is being phased out anyway, and save some money long term. My final 3 choices were the Galaxy S6 Edge Plus, The Nexus 6P, and the Galaxy Note 5. I'm convinced the Nexus would have suited me very well. My guess is it would have beat the S6 Edge + on battery life (bigger battery and seems to consume a little less power). I have watched several compare videos of different combinations of these three phones, and the Note would have provided a little more actual size and the S-pen, but not the edge screen. Other than that, the specs were incredibly similar. I visited the stores several times to demo the Nexus and at the end of the day, nothing could overcome the WOW factor of the S6 Edge +. It may be gimmicky, and I may have factored in the style of the design more than I usually do. But overall, I am very happy with my choice.
First, the most important factors for me in choosing a smartphone and how this phone stacks up:
1. Battery Life - very good for it's size, power, and incredibly rich, beautiful screen. I need my phone to get me through the day. I think it meets the expectation here, but definitely doesn't exceed it. When I use the phone more heavily, I do worry I am going to run out of power. I have never run it completely out, but I have gotten down to 5%. I struggle when I am in places where the signal is not great, as the phone really drains power, but I do think this is the case with most phones. I am learning how to better leverage the different power saving modes and they have already come in handy. It has a power saving (removes some functionaility and screen brightness) and super power saving mode (strips down to black and white screen and a few necessary apps). For example, I had the phone with me for a day at an indoor water park with my kids, where it really struggled to find a signal and seemed to drain terribly fast. I had no access to an outlet. I used the phone pretty heavily at times during the day, when taking breaks from the water, as I had some e-mails to respond to and was following my facebook feed and news, etc. By the end of the day, I was really low, and need to make sure I didn't run it completely out because I knew my wife would be texting me on plans for the rest of the evening. I switched to super power saver, which was a life saver. It kept me from missing communication I needed to get. Bottom Line -Ultimately, I need to adjust how I use my phone and work better with the phone's settings to conserve power. I have run it through it's paces in the first month to see how it handles high performance with little effort to conserve, and it has done pretty well overall and has a nice safety net with the power save features.
2. Charging capabilities - Quick charge feature is awesome. It charges the entire battery incredibly quick. I haven't timed it, but it is fast enough to make a significant difference in my day. If battery is lower than what I'd like, I just plug it in for 30-45 minutes and get it nicely recharged. I was at the airport and was low after a day of heavy use. I had 15 minutes before I boarded so I plugged it in. I gained a significant boost in a short time to make me feel better about getting on the plane! I have not used the wireless charging, but I do plan to get the wireless charger.
3. Size vs.Functionality - I wanted a 5.7" screen minimum. The phone does not feel too big in my hand or in my pocket. If you are concerned about this, I would suggest that the edge screen helps the phone maintain a big screen with a relatively slim profile. I like that the phone also has features to make it easier to use the phone one-handed for those who are concerned. Overall, I love the phone's size and functionality. I use a very slim profile Spigen gel case, which helps the phone's feel in my hand. The extra screen real estate makes multi tasking a breeze.
4. Camera - I am far from an expert on cameras, but like many people, I stopped carrying a camera with me even on vacations as I found my smart phone more than capable of capturing memories to the quality level I expect. I read quite a bit about the camera of this phone, and by all accounts, it was described as among the best available. I have found it to be much better than the other smart phone cameras I have used. Very high quality pictures and more features than an average user would probably need.
5. OS, Speed, and Features - the phone came with Lolipop and I promptly updated to Marshmallow without any issues. The phone is a power house and apps,Web browsing, and videos run smoothly. Very happy with it's performance. Some other features that I have used so far:
Edge Screen - The actual functionality of the edge screen is debatable, so if you are really looking to get something special out of it, I would hesitate to encourage you there. It's features are more supplemental in nature, and compliments the overall experience nicely, but I can't say that there is a ton of added productivity. I like that I can swipe the edge screen while the screen is off and it brings up the weather, time, and battery level and I can further access the news scrolling across. It's a very cool feature and adds to the overall style of the phone, but only really useful when it is sitting on my desk. While the phone is on, I like that I can customize the edge screen features and set my favorite apps and contacts. Again, another feature that supplements, but I don't know that I would miss it if I didn't have it. The night edge screen is probably the most functional aspect of the edge screen (you can set the night edge screen to come on when the phone is locked and the screen is off at specific times, and it will show the time, which in theory is very helpful if you don't have a clock where you sleep). The problem is, this feature is glitchy. It seems to get stuck on a certain time overnight which is less than useful if I wake up and glance at the time. I have not fully troubleshooted this, as it isn't a deal breaker for me, but it would be much better if it worked.
Fingerprint Sensor - meets my expectations. Only issues I have are when I am trying to put my finer on it from a weird angle or when I had moisture on my hands, etc. Other than that, I like the way it works.
I'm sure there are other things I am forgetting, but overall, I will just say that I love this phone through and through. My experience with Samsung prior to the S6 Edge + was limited to the Galaxy S3, which was less than stellar, primarily due to an overbearing and incredibly glitchy TouchWiz overlay experience, which has clearly been corrected is subsequent Samsung offerings. I do not regret going back to Samsung.
