the camera on the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge is again refined (well, if you consider this a sort of sequel to the Galaxy S5). It's got a 16MP camera with f1.9 aperture sensor, so it'll have a very fast sensor with good ability to draw in light in darker situations.

The interface here has been well improved, as instead of a sea of icons users are greeted with fewer pictures and more words to help explain what you'll be tapping when trying to get a snap.

Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge review
The front facing camera is wider than before but has the same decent low light abilities, allowing you to improve your narcissism whenever you fancy. However, unlike the Galaxy S6, it seems that there's no ability to touch the heart rate sensor on the back to take a selfie... although that might just be a glitch in the software I tried.

Battery and specs

Samsung's gone big on the specs for this phone, as it's got something to really shout about with the curved screen. There's no Qualcomm chip here (at least, that's what I deduced by being told it was a '64 bit chip' for the first true 64 bit OS).

Rumour has it that this is Samsung's own-brand Exynos octacore chip running things, and backed up by 3GB of RAM it's certainly a powerful beast.

I've still yet to find out clockspeed, but under the finger it felt slick and smooth. Then again, coming from the Galaxy S5 recently anything feels fast in comparison.

Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge review
Like the S6 it comes without a microSD slot (or removable battery) but the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge does have the same faster RAM and memory on board, which were apparently key factors in the slowdown before.

To make up for that lack of expansion, Samsung is offering a 32GB / 64GB / 128GB to those that fancy a different package and that's combined with a lot less bloatware so the overall space you have free is much improved.

The battery life could be something of a concern here, I'll admit. While that extra 50mAh of life (ramping it up to 2600mAh) doesn't sound like much, it could be crucial to this phone lasting a day. It's got a lot of pixels to power in a very tightly packaged body... this could be disastrous if Samsung hasn't optimised it properly.

Verdict

The Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge is one of those phones that sets a line in the sand for smartphones. It makes curved edges viable, offering them in a phone that doesn't look bonkers just for the sake of it.

It won't sell anywhere near as well as the standard S6, simply because it will very likely be more expensive and users are always reticent to try something new when there's no proven need for it, and rightly so.

Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge review
But this is the phone we all hanker after secretly, something that looks premium yet futuristic. And if the battery life holds up well, the combination of form and high end specs could see the Galaxy S6 Edge being something of an underground hit.