Specification And Features Of Samsung Galaxy Note Edge

 

SAMSUNG Galaxy Note Edge

THE GALAXY NOTE Edge could be the most bizarre smartphone you’ll see all year. It’s based on Samsung’s excellent Galaxy Note 4 phablet, but the screen extends over the right side of the handset. This sloping edge adds an extra 160 pixels to its 5.6in, 2,560x1,440 display.

It’s an eye-catching design, but those hoping for a more pocket-friendly phablet will be disappointed; at a sizeable 151x82x8.3mm, reaching to the other side of the screen can be a bit of a stretch. At least the textured faux leather rear provides plenty of grip.

Swiping through the various side panels reveals a cut-down version of the app launcher, the day’s weather, stats from Samsung’s S Health app, news headlines, data usage, a Windows-esque taskbar and even a burger-stacking game, but none of them uses the curve in any meaningful way and shunting everything to one side feels cramped.

Away from the home screen you’re simply presented with a black edge, which can be customised with a bit of text. It suggests that even Samsung doesn’t know what to do with this strange display, and while the reflective screen surface masks the unused space rather effectively, the single handwritten font is tacky and detracts from the rest of the phone’s high-end design.

BEHIND THE CURVE

The curve makes taking pictures awkward, as the onscreen shutter button snakes round the top of the screen. Trying to reach it with our index finger felt cramped and reduced our grip. The 16-megapixel sensor has optical image stabilisation built in, but the shutter button is so uncomfortable we ended up tapping the screen to take pics.

Onscreen buttons aside, our outdoor shots looked great, showing bright, vibrant colours even in overcast conditions. Buildings look sharper than on the Note 4, and shadows are darker and more pronounced, giving objects a bit more pop. HDR mode also produces visibly pleasing shots. However, both phones tend to smooth over detail on HDR mode. We’d recommend sticking to Auto for more detailed shots.

The only good thing about the curved edge is the night clock, which shows the time and date when the phone’s in sleep mode. Screen brightness is just right, too, so it won’t distract you from getting to sleep.

The curve may be a bit of a botched experiment, but that doesn’t mean the Note Edge is a bad phone. The 5.6in screen is a fraction brighter than the Note 4’s at 340.1cd/m², with cleaner whites for slightly punchier visuals and more striking contrast. Text looks equally dark and defined thanks to perfect 0.00cd/m² black levels, while a pixel density of 524ppi is also higher than the Note 4’s 515ppi, though the difference is barely noticeable in practice.

KEEPING WARM

The Note Edge covers the full 100 per cent of the sRGB colour gamut, although this doesn’t necessarily guarantee accurate colours; our measurement report revealed oversaturated reds and greens. Still, we prefer the extra vibrancy afforded by the warmer colours, and videos in particular look superb.

Like the Note 4, the Note Edge includes Samsung’s S Pen, which slots into the bottom of the handset when not in use. With 2,048 levels of pressure sensitivity it’s a great tool for drawing, although the sloping edge doesn’t give quite as much rip as the Note 4’s flat sides. Multi Window, which lets you use two apps simultaneously, wasn’t designed with the Note Edge’s curved screen in mind. The already tiny sidebar footprint becomes even smaller here, making it difficult to swipe through the edge panels and tap icons accurately.

This is a shame, as the 2.7GHz quad-core Snapdragon 805 processor makes the Note Edge a fast and powerful phone. It scored a fast 347ms in our SunSpider JavaScript test, so will easily handle complex websites.

Graphics performance is impressive, too, maxing out 3DMark Ice Storm Extreme and scoring a huge 19,096 (or 76.1fps) in Ice Storm Unlimited. The extra resolution didn’t affect frame rates in Epic Citadel, where it managed 48.3fps on Ultra High quality settings. That’s just one frame per second behind the Note 4.

CANDLE IN THE WIND

Sadly, the Note Edge’s 3,000mAh battery can’t hold a candle to the Note 4, lasting just 13h 30m in our continuous video playback benchmark with the screen set to 170cd/m². The Note 4 lasted 15h 36m under the same conditions.

Our biggest concern, however, is the price. At £680 SIM-free or £53.50 on contract with a £49 upfront cost, the Galaxy Note Edge is more expensive than Samsung’s superior Note 4, and the curved screen does very little to justify the extra price hike other than its role as a glorified alarm clock. If you’re looking for the best large-screen phone, the Note 4 remains our phablet of choice.

Specifictions :

• PROCESSOR Quad-core 2.7GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 805
• SCREEN SIZE 5.6in
• SCREEN RESOLUTION 2,560x1,600
• REAR CAMERA 16 megapixels
• STORAGE 32GB/64GB
• WIRELESS DATA 4G
• SIZE 151x82x8.3mm
• WEIGHT 174g
• OPERATING SYSTEM Android 4.4
• WARRANTY One year RTB
• DETAILS www.samsung.com/uk
• PART CODE SM-N915G