Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge+ review: This phone is seriously good

The Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge+ is an odd proposition. Unlike Samsung’s previous large-screened phones – I’m thinking of the Galaxy Note series here – it has no defining feature, no stylus and no identity of its own. It is, instead, merely a larger version of another handset – the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge – which has been with us since earlier this year.

As such, it makes a very similar first impression. Just like that phone, it’s drop-dead gorgeous, with its swooping curved display and gleaming, coloured glass at the front and rear. But, as with the S6 Edge, it begins to lose a little of that allure when it quickly picks up greasy fingerprints and smears.

Still, if you can put up with having to carry around a cleaning cloth with you wherever you go, or don’t mind continuously polishing it on your trousers (as I found myself doing several times a day), there’s no doubt that this phone is miles ahead of most of the competition when it comes to looks. It’s the sort of phone that, when you take it out of your pocket, attracts attention – covetous, jealous and lustful gazes. All of your friends will want to have a go.

Gorilla Glass 4 covers the front and rear to help stave off scratches and more serious damage, and Samsung claims to have strengthened the chassis over the standard S6. Just as well, because this phone feels rather fragile and delicate, with so little frame to protect the screen and glass rear.

One thing you just can’t avoid is the size of the thing, though. The Edge+ is equipped with a 5.7in display, and, although Samsung has done an incredible job of reducing the surrounding frame (it has a smaller footprint than the iPhone 6 Plus, which has a display that is 0.2in smaller across the diagonal), I still found it a bit awkward to carry around.

It’s the height (154.4mm) more than anything that gets in the way. My capacious front jeans pocket swallowed the phone fine, but I found it jabbed me in the hip when power walking up the stairs two at a time, and I was afraid of snapping the phone in two whenever I bent down to do up my shoelaces. Those who wear a suit to work won’t have a problem here, especially since the weight is a very reasonable 153g, but who wears a jacket all the time? There eventually comes a point when the size will make itself felt.

Still, there’s little else wrong with the design. All the buttons are logically placed and have a positive, high-quality feel to the click. Also, you don’t get the thing I’ve experienced with some other large-screened phones where the phone mistakes an encroaching palm for a second finger, and zooms you in and out of a web page instead of scrolling up and down. That’s despite your palm being in almost constant contact with the curved edge of the screen.

In all, the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge+ is a fine example of phone design. Some might say it’s a touch too brash – too glitzy for their tastes – but that’s partly what you’re paying the big bucks for. Samsung, never renowned for its industrial design, has turned it around in 2015 and really nailed it with the S6 and now the S6 Edge+.

There are downsides to this new design, though. Unlike the LG G4, the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge+ has no microSD slot and no user-replaceable battery.