Samsung Galaxy Note Edge

Introduction:

Introduction

Experiments are great but it takes manufacturing prowess to follow them all the way to the retail shelves. Samsung have it - no surprise there - and they pulled it off, bringing the Galaxy Note Edge to stores. Never mind that curved screen looks like a concept. The Galaxy Note 4, which was used as a base, will otherwise continue to offer the flagship experience, sans the experimental features.

Samsung Galaxy Note Edge

The Galaxy Note Edge features a 5.6" QHD+ screen - a little smaller than the Galaxy Note 4 screen up front, but with 160px worth of an added strip on the right side of the device. This "Edge screen" is subtly curved outwards but connected with the main screen - in fact, they are one piece in terms of hardware, though the software handles them separately for added functionality.

We'll discuss the software additions in detail, as for the basics you're basically looking at a Galaxy Note 4 with a Snapdragon 805 chipset - this includes everything from the S Pen stylus to the heart rate and SpO2 sensors.

Key features

5.6" 16M-color QHD+ Super AMOLED capacitive touchscreen with curved Gorilla Glass 3
Curved Edge display for extra content, features
Android OS v4.4 KitKat with TouchWiz UI
Quad-core 2.7GHz Krait 450 CPU, Adreno 420 GPU; Qualcomm Snapdragon 805 chipset
3GB of RAM
16MP OIS camera with 2160p video recording @ 30fps, 1080p @ 60fps, 720p @ 120fps
3.7MP front-facing camera, 1440p video recording
• 32/64GB of built-in storage; microSD card slot
S Pen stylus
Enhanced Multi-window multitasking support
Fingerprint scanner with PayPal support and private mode access
LTE Cat. 6 (300Mbps), Wi-Fi a/b/g/n/ac, GPS/GLONASS/Beidu receiver, Bluetooth v4.1+LE, ANT+, NFC
NFC
IR port for remote control functionality
Standard 3.5mm audio jack
Accelerometer and proximity sensor
Heart-rate monitor, SpO2 sensor
Active noise cancellation with a dedicated mic
3,000mAh battery

Main disadvantages

Edge display better suited for right-handed users
Rear-mounted mono speaker
The uneven gap between the metal frame and curved screen glass takes a few points away from an otherwise excellent build
No enhanced resistance to liquids or dust
Wireless charging support only enabled by an optional back cover

Samsung's previous device with a bent screen, the Galaxy Round, was a high-end phablet in its own right but the added value of the arched screen was questionable. The Galaxy Note Edge seems to have more purpose and steps on the recognizable giant shoulders of the Galaxy Note 4, instead of building user awareness from scratch.

The Edge screen is used by the TouchWiz software to display at-a-glance info and offer various shortcuts. You can flip between multiple panels with a swipe and they offer a new multitasking experience on Android. The Edge screen boosts the user experience in compatible apps too: being on the side it can act as side-mounted buttons, like a shutter key for the camera or playback controls for the video player. This leaves the main screen fully dedicated to displaying content.

Samsung Galaxy Note Edge chilling in our office

The Samsung Galaxy Note Edge seems like an odd device, but so did the Galaxy Note and, in retrospect, a lot of its features make sense. Will we look back at the Edge as "the one that started it all?" With multiple companies pursuing bendable displays, this may just be the first step to a flexible future. For now we'll stick to examining the Galaxy Note Edge in the present.

Hardware overview

Samsung's designers were imagining flipping a book when designing the Galaxy Note Edge, which is why they placed the Edge screen on the right. For the majority of the population that's okay but lefties may feel left out.

Samsung Galaxy Note Edge in the hand

Using the phablet upside down is possible in some apps, but not viable for everything - even if Samsung had dropped its hardware keys for on-screen ones, there's still the earpiece and mouthpiece to worry about. A true ambidextrous Edge would've had the screen curved on both sides.

Galaxy Note Edge has a unique two-sided screen

For now, it's possible to reach the curved section with your left thumb but it's difficult. This raises the question - when you put a touchscreen on the side, how do you hold the device without touching it unintentionally? Samsung offers palm rejection technology to discard accidental touches, but also the Edge screen often shows info rather than actionable buttons.

The Galaxy Note Edge is part of Samsung's H2 2014 premium line - meaning it has an aluminum frame. Like the Galaxy Note 4 it's left uncovered on the sides (with a touch of paint to match the rest of the color scheme). Unlike the Note 4, however, the frame bends on the right side to make room for the Edge screen.

That doesn't change the overall premium feel, the phablet feels sturdy, befitting a business device. While Samsung is more popular with the tech crowd, the Galaxy Note and Note Edge have plenty of features to draw in former BlackBerry users who are used to the legendary build quality of the Canadian phone maker.

The front of the Note Edge is virtually identical to that of the Note 4. The hardware Home key houses a fingerprint reader and is flanked by capacitive App switcher and back buttons. Above the screen, the setup is identical too, down to the 3.7MP selfie camera. It exactly matches the resolution of the QHD screen and features a bright f/1.9 aperture for better low-light shots.

3.7MP camera above • fingerprint reader Home key below

Some change was necessary on the right - the Power key was moved to the top, where it's a bit hard to reach. We would have preferred if Samsung placed it on the left instead or even better, just enabled double-tap to wake.

The Power key moved on top • the 3.5mm audio jack, an IR blaster and a mic are also here

Along with the repositioned Power key, there's a 3.5mm audio jack and an IR blaster on top, along with one of the mics. All the way down is the mouthpiece, which consists of two separate microphones. The three mics are used for Directional voice recording - they are sensitive enough to separate speakers, a trick used in the Voice recording app.

The mouthpiece shares the bottom with a regular microUSB 2.0 port - Samsung tried microUSB 3.0 on the Galaxy Note 3 and Galaxy S5, but gave up. We don't miss the clunky connector, USB 2.0 with MHL3 and Quick Charge 2.0 handles all our wired needs, data transfers usually go over radio waves these days.

Also on the bottom is the S Pen sheath, more on the trademark stylus in a bit.

The S Pen sheath, microUSB 2.0 jack and two microphones on the bottom side

We go around to the back of the Samsung Galaxy Note Edge and here it's even harder to tell apart from its sibling. The new faux leather finish is patterned after Togo leather, which gets often used in premium products (quick Googling shows a lot of handbags, make of that what you will). To the touch it's not quite real leather but is definitely more pleasant than plain plastic (especially Samsung's Glossy Special).

The 16MP camera protrudes from the back (nothing out of the ordinary for Samsung). It features Optical Image Stabilization, though it uses a Sony sensor so it lacks the phase-detection autofocus of the ISOCELL sensor in the Galaxy S5. It still records 2160p video though.

Below the camera is a single-LED flash and Samsung's latest heart rate monitor, which also include a SpO2 sensor. That's blood oxygen saturation in plain English, another important factor in health and exercise tracking.

Togo leather-like back • protruding 16MP camera with OIS and heart rate sensor • single loudspeaker

The back opens to reveal a 3,000mAh battery - 220mAh less than the Note 4, but the internals of the Galaxy Note Edge are smushed to the side due to the Edge screen, so the battery is physically smaller too. The card slot situation is unchanged though. The microSIM card is blocked by the battery, preventing hot-swapping, but access to the microSD card is unobstructed.

A 3,000mAh (11.55Wh) battery

S Pen, S Voice

When you take out the S Pen, the Air Command menu launches. This works even if the device is asleep (unless you have a secure lockscreen set up, of course). Menu can be brought back up if with a press of the S Pen's button.

Action Memo lets you jot down notes but it uses handwriting recognition for clever tricks. You highlight a section with the S Pen button pressed and pick an app to send the text to - phone numbers to the dialer, URLs to the browser, addresses to Google Maps and so on. The handwriting recognition works impressively fast and quite accurately too - it handles just about everything you throw at it.

Air command • Action memo

Smart select is the newest option. It lets you select on-screen content and extract the text from it. Multiple items can be collected and added to a scrapbook or shared.

Smart Select

Screen Write takes a screenshot and lets you scribble a note on top. Image clip is similar but directly crops out a part of the screen.

Screen write • Image clip

S Note is where the S Pen's drawing and writing skills are used to the fullest. You can create entire notebooks from 18 templates and you can create ones using images from the gallery. You can sort notebooks by tag, time or location.

S Note

S Note features the photo note camera. It can snap a photo of a document and automatically separate the elements. You can move elements around, copy or delete them, change their size, add borders or effects to them. If you need to quickly retouch a brochure or something, this is one of the quickest ways to do it - dead simple too.

Photo note

Scrapbook lets you keep any content you browse through on the Note Edge's screen. You need to select anything on the screen of the Galaxy Note Edge by pressing the S Pen button and the software highlights it and gives you a prompt to send it to Scrapbook via an image.

Scrapbook

Hovering the S Pen over certain kinds of content can display a pop up with information. In the S Planner app hovering over a date will list the events, in the gallery a hover will show you a preview of a picture or album, in the video player if you hover over a video it will silently play in a pop up. In the browser clicking the S Pen will let you highlight text and give you a copy option.

You can even hover over a link you got in the Messages app and that site will be opened in a preview window, so there's no need to tap the link and leave the app.

Hover • Text selection with S Pen

You can enable and disable all or some of the S Pen features in its dedicated settings menu. The motion and gestures menu has seen a big cut in features. You can directly call a contact from the messaging app by raising the Samsung Galaxy Note Edge to your ear, mute or pause a song by placing a palm on screen or turning the device over (this will also mute the ringer).

A palm swipe over the screen will capture a screenshot. Finally, smart alert will vibrate the phone when you pick it up if you have unseen notifications.

S Pen settings • Motion gestures

S Voice has gotten smarter as well. It can be set to constantly listen for your voice and you can set a custom command to wake it. S Voice can be used to initiate a call, dictate text, play music, open an app, change a setting, make a memo (including voice memo), add a reminder, schedule an event, set an alarm or timer, check the weather, do an Internet search, look for local listings (e.g. nearby restaurants) and even get an answer to a question.

S Voice

Final words

We've been using the Samsung Galaxy Note Edge for a few weeks now and the Edge screen has entered our work flow - mostly for checking notifications and at-a-glance info (e.g. the S Health stats). It does work great with certain apps, like the media players, but for now that functionality is exclusive to TouchWiz titles.

Some compromises had to be made as the Edge screen affects the grip and makes one-handed use in some cases impossible (the camera is especially tricky). It's safe to say that it's too early for Edge to spawn its own lineup like the Note did, the manufacturing isn't quite there and most users are not ready yet perhaps to commit the extra cash and trade off the proper grip for the additional usability offered by the Note Edge's curved screen.

Key test findings

The Edge screen sacrifices grip and can't be operated single-handedly with a left hand; we used it more for glancing status info, interacting with it is limited to TouchWiz apps for now
The main display is as good as they come, but dimmer than the Galaxy Note 4
Battery life is unimpressive, and noticeably worse than the Note 4
Superb performance, proper benchmark champion

Samsung Galaxy Note Edge

Introduction

Key features

Main disadvantages

Hardware overview

S Pen, S Voice

Final words

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