Samsung surprised guests at the Berlin IFA technology show yesterday with its new Galaxy Note Edge phone. For the most part, it is similar to Samsung's new Note 4 – also unveiled at yesterday's show – but it is the Note Edge's unique screen that has caught the tech world's attention. It's flat at the front but bends around the right-hand side of the handset and can display notifications like a ticker. Critics have been eagerly testing the phone, also known as a phablet (phone-tablet hybrid) due to the size of its display. Here are their conclusions...
Display
The Galaxy Note Edge features a 5.6in Quad HD (2560 x 1440 pixel) Super AMOLED screen, but it is the unique curved edge that everyone is talking about. The Guardian describes it as a "genuine innovation" that is "unlike anything else on the market". While the Galaxy Round boasted an entirely curved screen, the new phone's display wraps around just one edge. It can be used as a customised control panel or for notifications when the main screen is being used for something else, such as a film or television show. It can also be used as a timer, stopwatch, light and 10cm ruler. While smartphone makers have been experimenting with different types of curved screens, the Note Edge is "the one that makes the most sense so far", says PC World.
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Design
The Note Edge will be available in Charcoal Black and Frost White with a textured plastic back. It also comes with a plastic S-pen, which has been upgraded since the Note 3. SamMobile says the new pen offers a "much more authentic pen experience" that emulates writing on paper with a fountain or calligraphy pen. With improved pressure sensitivity, writing is said to look more like real handwriting. For those worried about launching applications as they hold the curved screen, Sascha Segan at PC Magazine says he gripped the edge a "bunch of times" to check if this would happen. "It didn't," he says. "It has software that doesn't respond to multiple-finger grips, only one-finger swipes."
Hardware
Internally, the Note Edge is almost identical to the Note 4 with a 2.7GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 805 processor. It has slightly less battery power than the Note 4 but the battery is quick to charge, going from zero to 50 per cent in 30 minutes. It also has a 64GB option in addition to a 32GB version and a 16 mega-pixel rear camera with Smart OIS, as well as a "whopping" 3.7 mega-pixel wide-angle front camera, says PC Advisor.
Conclusions
The Wall Street Journal thinks the Note Edge is mostly a "they did it because they can" product. However, it adds that it is an "original design statement" and an "up-sell that would make sense for anyone in the market for one of Samsung's oversized Galaxy Note smartphones". CNET describes the display as "visually arresting" and unusual enough to generate some buzz. "So far, this seems like Samsung's best-rendered attempt at a second screen, one that's just crazy enough – and contextual enough – to actually work," it says. But can the Note Edge beat the likes of the new iPhone 6? "The Samsung Galaxy Note Edge is certainly a spectacle," says Pocket-Lint. "But we can't see it taking off as the next big thing. We think it's more about Samsung showing off just how darn clever it is."
Release date
There is no release date for the Galaxy Note Edge, but several tech sites suggest it will be later this year after the Galaxy Note 4 comes out next month. PC Advisor thinks it is likely to cost more than the Note 4, which it estimated to be around £550 to £600 without a contract.
