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Samsung supersizes its sexiest phones screen
CNET EDITORS' RATING
THE GOOD Samsung's Galaxy S6 Edge+ has a compelling design, top-tier specs and excellent battery life. Its second menu for the curved display adds some useful shortcuts.
THE BAD One of the most expensive handsets on the market, the Edge+'s usefulness doesn't live up to its sky-high price. Fans of removable batteries and microSD card slots will be disappointed that this has neither.
THE BOTTOM LINE Buy the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge+ if you love the idea of a wraparound screen; otherwise, you'll be able to find less expensive phones that do nearly as much.
The 5.7-inch Edge+ isn't just a larger version of April's 5.1-inch Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge, but it's close. A tiny upgrade over the smaller model, the Edge+ -- whose screen also curves over on both sides -- adds a shortcut menu to the edge screen for quickly opening apps, in addition to the existing menu for contacting your favorite people.
Otherwise, the Edge+ shares hardware guts with the Samsung Galaxy Note 5, including a strong 16-megapixel camera, 4GB of RAM and an octa-core processor of Samsung's own design (that means it has eight computing chips for completing tasks). Like its brethren, the Note 5, S6 and S6 Edge, the Edge+ shows off a snazzy metal-and-glass construction and loses the removable battery and microSD card slot for add-on data storage -- two points of pride for Samsung prior to its design turnabout in 2015.
The S6 Edge+'s presence in Samsung's smartphone quiver is significant because it capitalizes on demand for Samsung's smaller S6 Edge, this time in a larger footprint. Samsung is rapidly pulling ahead of LG in creating curved-screen phones that stand out among typical, blocky rectangular smart phone slabs. For Samsung, the Edge line represents its innovation in creating consumer choice. However, the Edge+ marks the fourth similarly appointed handset released in four months, which could confuse shoppers and dilute the sales of any single Samsung device -- a real problem Samsung faces amid an ongoing sales slide.
Besides its snazzier design, though, the Edge+ lacks the Note 5's signature stylus. That leaves potential buyers having to choose between the Edge+'s inviting curves or the Note 5's scribble-friendly practicality. Maybe next year Samsung can bring those two aspects together into one do-it-all design.
Nevertheless, the Edge+ is a seriously cool-looking phone that belongs in the canon of top smartphones despite its staggering price (see below). Serious buyers who crave those waterfall sides will be rewarded with a large, bright screen unlike most others. For everyone else, there are plenty of other good, large-screen phones out there that you can buy for a lot less.
Where can you buy it, and for how much?
Along with the Galaxy Note 5, the Galaxy S6 Edge+ sells globally on August 21. The phone comes in gold, silver, black and white, though different regions may carry different colors. Prices vary by retailer and country, but this Edge+ will cost more than the Note 5 overall.
In the US, it'll launch in gold and black colors (but not silver or white) for AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, US Cellular and Verizon. Expect it to eventually appear on prepaid carriers as well.
AT&T: Full retail: $720 (32GB) or $815 (64GB). Next 24 (30 monthly payments): $0 down and $27.17 (32GB) or $30.50 (64GB). Next 18 (24 monthly payments): $0 plus $33.96 (32GB) or $38.13 (64GB). Next 12 (20 monthly payments): $40.75 (32GB) or $45.75 (64GB).
Sprint: Full retail: $792 (32GB) or $888 (64GB). Two-year service agreement: $350 (32GB) or $450 (64GB). Lease program (24 months): $0 down and $30 (32GB) or $35 (64GB) per month, until you pay off the balance or upgrade. Easy Pay (24 months): $0 down and $33 (32GB) or $37 (64GB) per month.
T-Mobile: Full retail: $780 (32GB) or $860 (64GB). 24 monthly payments: $0 down and $32.50 (32GB) or $99 down and $31.67 (64GB).
Verizon: Full retail: $768 (32GB) or $864 (64GB). 24 monthly payments: $32 (32GB) or $36 (64GB).
US Cellular: 32GB version only. Full retail: $770. Two-year contract: $300. 20 monthly payments: $0 down and $38.45.
Design and build
If you're familiar with the Galaxy S6 Edge's curved screen and thin edges, you already know this supersized Edge+'s shapely silhouette. The glass (and display technology underneath) wraps around the left and right edges and meet along the back of the spines.
What's more important than the interesting shape is the fact that the curved sides look beautiful, and seems to make this feel like an entirely different, far more sophisticated, phone than a straight-sided one. The screen seems more immersive than the Note 5's, the curvature pulling you into the action of what's on the display. Maybe it's still some of the novelty, maybe there's a deeper psychology at play. Strangely, the effect is more pronounced on the smaller Edge+, possibly because this phone is personally a little large for my hand.
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At any rate, the Edge+ feels slimmer than most at its narrowest part (the middle), but a little inherent sharpness along the sides makes it easy to grip. The comparatively thicker corners round out to help carry through the themes of curviness and physical dimension.
Despite the wraparound sides, the screen measures a full 5.7 inches, all of which is fully usable and viewable (unlike the original Note Edge, which had an always-visible strip of navigation screen that you couldn't turn off). Above the screen, you'll see the 5-megapixel front-facing camera and a cluster of sensors. Below it sits the physical home button and integrated fingerprint reader, with its two touch-sensitive sidekicks, the Recent and Back buttons. Press and hold the home button to launch Google Now.
Flip over the Edge+ to find a smooth, reflective backing and 16-megapixel camera mount, flash and heart-rate reader. The camera module does slightly pucker out, but that's also because the rest of the phone is so thin and flat.
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Buttons and ports dot the Edge+'s metal frame, starting with the power/lock key on the right, the micro-USB charging jack and headset jack down below, volume rocker on the left, and SIM card tray along the top. There's no removable backing (or battery), and no space for a microSD storage card.
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