The Galaxy S6 Edge+ is out in the UK, and already we’ve seen a lot of interest in the new Samsung smartphone. Today, we’ll present our reasons why the S6 Edge+ is the best flagship option on the market right now.
10. Top-notch design throughout
The S6 Edge+ is gorgeous, with curved glass and metal throughout, and surprisingly slim dimensions given its edge-to-edge 5.7-inch display. Samsung has come a long way in the past year, and replacing cheap plastic with premium materials like metal and glass has definitely made a big impact.
9. Useful software features without the bloat
Samsung have finally figured out the software side of things – add features that are actually useful, make them opt-in, and don’t make changes from stock Android just for the sake of it – the days of eye-operated scrolling are over. The phone runs quickly, its Settings menu doesn’t go on for miles, and you can disable almost everything that you don’t want to use to get a near-stock Android experience.
You can even download themes to change the look of the phone, whether you want the Nexus look or something altogether more unique. Finally, a cleaner version of Android means faster updates to new versions, and Samsung have proved they will keep updating their smartphones years after release. And where Samsung will finally stop, count on developers to step up with custom ROMs based on the latest Android versions.
8. Incredible internals
Inside, the S6 Edge+ is a beast. It’s one of the first smartphones to come with 4GB of RAM, and this is backed with a Snapdragon 810 octa-core processor and 32GB of fast flash memory. You won’t have any performance concerns when using the S6 Edge+, whether your workload is a few emails or the latest Android games.
7. Leading cameras, front and back
Like the original S6 Edge, the S6 Edge Plus comes with a powerful 16-megapixel rear camera and a 5-megapixel shooter up front. The system includes all of the usual must-have features too, like LED flash, optical image stabilisation, slow motion and 4K video recording. Combined with some sensible processing by Samsung, and you get pictures of undeniable quality in all levels of light.
6. The phone of choice for the Galaxy Gear S2 smartwatch
It will be supported by the Samsung Gear S2 smartwatch, which looks like one of the best upcoming wearables. The S2 is small – just 1.2-inches across – and perfectly formed, with a clever rotating bezel and good app support as well. The S2 will work on other Android phones as well, but you can bet that it’ll be the best integrated with a Samsung phone like the S6 Edge+.
5. A rich accessory and developer ecosystem
The Galaxy S6 Edge+ is already successful, so you can take advantage of its burgeoning ecosystem. That means loads of S6 Edge+ cases and accessories, but it also means a rich community of developers working to bring their favourite ROMs, apps and features to the platform. If there’s a tweak you want to find or a particularly niche accessory, your chances are better with a popular phone like the S6 Edge+ than with a less well-known phone from another manufacturer.
4. Long battery life, fast charging
The S6 Edge+ lasts for two days between charges, and has plenty of options to recharge quickly. Qualcomm Quick Charge 2.0 compatibility means you can refill 60% capacity in just 30 minutes, and fast wireless charging lets you recharge fully in two hours. Combined, it means that you don’t need to worry about charging the way you did just two or three years ago; just charge when you can and let your smartphone handle the rest.
3. Samsung Pay support
The S6 Edge+ will work with Samsung Pay once it’s launched in the UK. The new payment service looks extremely promising, as it can work with old magnetic stripe terminals as well as the usual contactless (NFC) terminals. That means almost every business in the world already supports Samsung Pay, and that could be a critical factor against more established brands like Google and Apple.
2. A big and beautiful screen
The screen is awesome. It’s high-resolution (without being 4K levels of overpowered), it has great colours and excellent viewing angles. With a screen like this, everything looks a little bit better – and some stuff looks amazing. The curved edges are even used to great effect, letting you access favourite contacts and accessories with a swipe no matter where you are.
1. There’s no real competition
It’s not just that the S6 Edge+ is great – other 2015 flagships just don’t measure up. The Xperia series is a commercial failure with little innovation beyond pointless pixel pushing, HTC’s One is sinking without a trace and OnePlus continue to gate their phone behind a silly invite-only purchase scheme. Samsung has turned a corner, and has become the only really successful Android manufacturer in the west as its once-deadly rivals have begun to lag behind newer companies from China and elsewhere. If you’re looking for a top of the line Android smartphone, then the S6 Edge+ is the natural choice.
What do you think of our reasons? Let us know in the comments below. You can also write to us on Twitter @mobilefun or at facebook.com/loveyourmobile.
We’re preparing our rebuttle to this article now, so stay posted for an alternative point of view. In the meantime, thanks for checking out the article and have a good one!