Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge India Hands-on and First Impressions

By Abhinav Pathak on Mar 24, 2015 03:52 AM

Samsung's Project Zero has now come to fruition. The Galaxy S6, Galaxy S6 Edge are here and these are the most well-made smartphones available today. Packing powerful specs, the best cameras around and future-proof Cat.6 LTE support, Wireless charging both the new Galaxy S6 are what Samsung was looking for after a dismal year with the Galaxy S5. But there's one among these that definitely has the, well Edge.

Both the Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge were launched in India yesterday in a jam-packed event in New Delhi with Media and Bloggers from the entire country. We were there too, and here's our hands-on with the Galaxy S6 Edge which simply gathered more attraction at the event.

Hands-on Video

Key Specifications

5.1-inch Quad-HD (2560x1440 pixels, 577 PPI) Super AMOLED, Dual-curved
2.1 GHz Octa-core Exynos 7420 (4 x Cortex-A53 + 4 x Cortex-A57)
Mali-T760 GPU
3 GB RAM, 32/64/128 GB Non-expandable Storage
16 MP f.1/9 Rear Camera, Optical Image Stabilization, 4K Ultra-HD Recording
5 MP f.1/9 Front Camera, Wide Angle Lens
Gorilla Glass 4 Front and Back
7 mm thick, 132 grams weight
4G LTE Cat.6, Dual-band WiFi ac, Bluetooth 4.1 LE with apt-X, GPS with GLONASS, NFC, FM Radio
Fingerprint Sensor on Home Button
2600 mAh Battery

Build

First of all, you would be amazed to find how light this phone is. At just 7mm in thickness and 132 grams weight, its one of the thinnest and lightest flagships available. But that doesn't take away from the build quality of the device. Metal and glass are a classic combination to make things feel premium and Samsung has done a great job of amalgamating them together. The curved sides of the Galaxy S6 Edge seamlessly blend with the metal frame and then the glass back. Both the front and back are covered in Corning Gorilla Glass 4 for added protection.

The first thing you see on the phone is its curved display. Wallpapers, text, everything just bends a little on the sides. It gives a 3D look to the content. You can easily swipe through the left for menus, and swipe right just to scroll through stuff and it feels natural. It seems as if these gestures were made for a curved display.

Below the display you have capacitive buttons for recent apps and back alongwith the physical home button which doubles-up as the fingerprint sensor. This time around it’s the tap-on kind and not the swipe one. Above the display you have your bevy of sensors, a notification LED alongwith the 5 MP front camera for selfies.

The entire front is covered in Corning Gorilla Glass 4 making it as reflective as it is a fingerprint magnet. The frame of the device however, it made of metal. It adds rigidity to otherwise what would have been a fragile device. The metal frame extends through the inside to give the Galaxy S6 Edge a backbone, so to say.

On the left you have the volume buttons, again made of metal – no use of plastic anywhere. They offer a satisfactory click and travel. On the top you can find the SIM card slot, noise-cancellation mic and the IR LED for controlling TV’s and other Samsung appliances.

On the right you have the power button, again as sturdy while the bottom is the busiest section of the phone. It houses the headphone jack, speaker and the micro-USB port for data transfer and charging.

The metal frame on the Galaxy S6 Edge is very thin on the sides which does dig a little in your palms, but its more to do with the fact that we are not used to this form factor. We generally either use phones with rounded sides or flat sides.

The back is all clean, you just have the protruding 16 MP camera in the middle and on its side is the flash and heart-rate sensor. Just below the camera module you would find Samsung branding and then an expanse of flat glass. Underneath all the glass and metal is the 2600 mAh non-removable battery with fast charging. Samsung says that 10 mins of charging will give you 4 hours of power. Moreover wireless charging is also built-in which supports both PMA and WPC or Qi standards.

The Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge is different, and that’s what it feels to hold. Build-wise, its sturdy and the metal frame alongwith glass adds that rigidity which was missing from previous Samsung flagships. But there are a few trade-offs, the battery is non-removable, no microSD card slot and no water-proofing either.

Price and Availability

Now the Galaxy S6 Edge as well as the Galaxy S6 will be available in three storage variants since there is no microSD card slot this time around. Here are the prices for the Galaxy S6 Edge:

32 GB - Rs. 58,900
64 GB - Rs. 64,900
128 GB - Rs. 70,900

The Galaxy S6 Edge alongwith the Galaxy S6 will be available starting April 10th, pre-orders have already begun. You will be able to get it in a range of colors including White Pearl, Black Sapphire, Gold Platinum and Green Emerald.

Accessories

Here are the several cases and covers for the Galaxy S6 Edge which too will be available starting April 10th, but there's no word on their pricing yet.

First Impressions

The build of the Galaxy S6 Edge is undeniably superb, it feels great to hold and look at. The cameras on the Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge performed well too in the little time I spent with it, images were crisp and without much noise even in the light that we were in.

It has one of the most powerful and efficient (14nm process, 35% more efficient than Note 4) chipsets, Exynos 7420, available in the market and that its made by Samsung just makes it that bit better. Samsung can optimize Android better for its own SoC than for Qualcomm’s.

That’s what you see here, TouchWiz blazes through without any discernible lag, the camera is quick to open, capture and multitasking is fast. Apps open up without a delay and multi-window makes you that more productive. TouchWiz itself has been scaled down, gone are the million options in settings, a hundred gestures and options. Although you might still find some hidden here and there, but the fact is they are hidden and not in your face as before, including ghastly tutorials on how each-and-every-one of those features worked.

TouchWiz is now modern as is the phone carrying it. The S6 Edge has a purpose, its not only to show-off Samsung’s design or engineering prowess but give us, the consumer, a wow moment.

It’s the most eye-catching smartphone I have come across in a long time, and just to add excellent performance to that is icing on cake.