Geekazine

Geekazine


Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge – My Love – Hate Relationship with this Phone

June 10, 2015

 

Samsung has always tried to be on the cutting edge of mobile technology. They have continuously tout they have cooler features than the iPhone, and in some cases, they are right. However, the newest phone in their arsenal - the S6 Edge - while cool, shows that not all ideas are great.
Samsung Galaxy S6 edge Specs
This is a 32 GB device and this particular one is on the Verizon Network. The "Revolutionary design" is basically a side-less phone. The edge of the screen wraps around the phone and can serve as a small display that can tell the time, let you know if someone has called, get calendar alerts, and more.

The phone itself is a 5.1 inch Quad HD Super AMOLED display with Corning Gorilla Glass to protect from scratches and drops. The rest of the phone is metal.

A octa-core Exynos 7420 processor is inside running at 1.5 GHz with 3 GB of RAM to back it up. The internal storage is 32, 64, or 128 GB.

A 16 MP camera in the front and 5 MP selfie camera allow for some decent pictures and video. Get this - I can record in 4K, or 1080p 60 fps - which I usually record my videos in. It's a crisper overall look in the videos I record, and perfect for recording junior's soccer game to reduce a blurry figure.

The S6 Edge runs on Android 5.0 with Samsung's version of the software. Lots of great features and apps that come with it, including health tracking software (for their Galaxy watch wearable)

The 2600 mAh battery is non-removable, but with Samsung's power saving features, can last up to 20 hours of usage or 13 days in standby. Of course, that depends on what apps or settings you have set.

The S6 also uses the Qi wireless charging, or you can charge using the micro-USB port. There is no micro SD card slot.

4G LTE with 2x boost in certain cities gets you the content faster than ever. The phone also has 802.11 ac supported Wi-Fi, Bluetooth v. 4.1, NFC, Infrared (yes, you can turn it into a TV remote), and the standard 3-pole 3.5 mm headphone jack. A mono speaker is on the bottom to watch video with friends.

Finally, the Edge S6 sensors contain a Fingerprint reader, Compass, proximity sensor, accelerator, light sensor for the camera, Gyroscope and Barometer.

So that is all the cool stuff in the phone. But I'm not really a fan.
Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge - Pros and Cons
The Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge is a revolutionary phone, but I had a lot of problems with it. The biggest issue was the side of the phone actually felt like a sharp edge. The folks at Verizon sent along a case to help with the grip, but on it's own, there is very little space to hold onto.

The dual curved edge I found got in the way to a lot of things I was doing on the screen. My Oppenens pollicis - aka my palm - keeps touching part of the screen when I have to stretch the thumb for a button. Therefore it doesn't register as a tap and stays where it is.

These are really big issues, since a lot of times I use my phone with only one hand.

But there is a lot to like about this phone, too. This phone definitely performs. The camera works really well, even in low-light situations.

Many Samsung fans might not like the non-removable battery option, but you can charge within an hour and go 20 hours before trying to find a plug.

The phone - without a case - is pretty thin. Side-by-side with the iPhone and there is little difference. Weight is also pretty comparable.

I found that even though there are some great apps on the device, Samsung does install bloatware. I don't care too much about Cookie Jam, Stubhub, box, Google Hindi Input, Milk, or Candy Crush Soda.

In all, once you add the case like this Speck case, the phone is usable. Without the case, I feel like I'm holding the edges of a dull knife.

Get the S6 edge on Verizon