Welcome to Samsung’s latest and arguably most confusing new smartphones. Having split the Galaxy S line in two earlier in the year with the Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge, now Samsung has effectively split its phablet range into two huge but confusingly similar new models: the Galaxy Note 5 and Galaxy S6 Edge+.
The good news is Samsung has drawn a distinct line in the sand between the two phones, so let’s break them down and also help you understand where they sit compared to the existing S6 and S6 Edge…
What Is Different?
Understanding The Names
The first place to start with these new models is their names because they help distinguish their target markets.
The Galaxy Note 5 is the successor the Galaxy Note 4 (despite a massive redesign) which means it is primarily a productivity device targeted at business users. Simple.
The Galaxy S6 Edge+ is a Galaxy Note 4-sized device, but essentially a massive version of the existing Galaxy S6 Edge and therefore primarily a consumer device.
As such what Samsung has done is give consumers who want a huge, premium smartphone (phablet) an option which isn’t weighed down by the Note’s business pretensions and stylus.
Then again there’s a lot more to them than that:
Displays: Straight Vs Curved
On paper both the new phones look identical, but this is actually their biggest design differentiator since the S6 Edge+ features the same dual curved display as the S6 Edge. I’ll get into the functionality changes this brings in the Software section, but first: how do they look?
In short, drop dead gorgeous. The phones use the same panel technology which makes the S6 and S6 Edge the best smartphone displays currently on the market and enlarging them only increases the Wow Factor.
Are they better than the S6 and S6 Edge? Personally my limited time with them concluded that they were at least on a par and that’s a strong start.
The Galaxy S6 Edge+ display is stunning – Image credit Gordon Kelly
More importantly, however, is the difference in how they feel in use. I’ll discuss this more in the next section, but the Galaxy S6 Edge+ is more manageable because it is slightly narrower, thinner and noticeably lighter.
That said, you will find yourself accidentally activating the S6 Edge+ screen edges when stretching to reach corners. This already happens on the S6 Edge, but with a 5.7-inch display more stretching means it occurs more often. Perhaps that’s the price for the Edge+ looking cooler than the Note 5 – at least in my opinion.
Read More @ Forbes
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