I have always have had a love hate relationship with Samsung devices. My very first Samsung phone was the Galaxy S3 and it was one of a kind for Android devices. It was a device that actual competed and in my opinion, out-performed the iPhone. The S3 had the perfect mixture of TouchWiz that wasn’t overzealous, but still performed well. Lately, more so with the Galaxy S4 and Galaxy S5, performance has lacked.
I wasn’t really a fan of either of the past to S devices, nothing really stood out to me. The Galaxy S6 edge however, has rekindled my liking for Samsung’s S series. Not only is it designed very well, it features something no other device boasts along with buttery smooth performance.
The Galaxy S6 edge is miles ahead of the Galaxy S5. Not only is every spec updated, but the exterior build quality is unrivaled. I never thought I’d see the day where Samsung wouldn’t include plastic on a device. The metal frame flanked by glass on both the front and back of the device gives it a very premium feel that is easy to hold.
The device is not nearly as slippery as you’d expect from a glass-backed device and the dual-edge display actually makes the device very ergonomic. For those of you wondering, it is not hard to hold at all, and I actually think I prefer it over a typical device. I have not experienced any accidental touches.
So far, the device performs as well as it looks. Samsung’s Exynos 7420 processor backed by 3 GB of RAM definitely makes TouchWiz seem fast. Now, it isn’t as smooth as my Nexus 6 on stock Android, but TouchWiz has come a long, long way. There are occasional stutters, but nothing too bad. It only mainly happens when transitioning between apps.
Few notes:
Theme engine: This theme engine looks very promising. As of now there aren’t many in the store, but the hope is that more will come soon. Samsung is expected to release a theme maker later in April.
Edge display: The edge display looks very good and it isn’t as radical as the Note Edge. Transitions flow off to the side to make it look as if the content is being pulled out from the bottom of the device. Like the theme engine, once more apps take advantage of this, it will be a great thing.
Battery: Battery life is something that I was worried about on this device. The small 2,600 mAh powers a QHD display that sports 577 ppi. So far, the device seems on par with my Nexus 6, but trails the Note 4. I’ll reserve judgement until the full review but, so far it’s better than I thought, not as good as I hoped.
Camera: One thing Galaxy devices have been slow with was opening the camera. The S6 edge is a completely different animal. The camera opens in .7 seconds, which is amazing. So far quality is great and night shots are surprisingly crisp.
So far I am pretty impressed with what Samsung has thrown together for the Galaxy S6 edge. Project Zero was the right name because this is in a completely different league than any of its predecessors. There are a few hiccups, but nothing that can’t be worked out via software updates. I’ll try to get a review up by earlier next week, if not sooner.
If there are any questions you have or anything you want me to go over, be sure to let me know in the comment section below!
