Gadgetory

way back in 2010 Samsung built a dual screen Android smartphone that brought a new take on multitasking to the Galaxy S experience four years later the company is doing it again and this time its phablet owners who are taking note I'm Michael Fisher with PocketNow and this is our video review of the Samsung Galaxy Note edge when we first saw the smartphone at Aoife 2014 in September I was less than impressed the software was buggy and the compromises made to accommodate the novel display meant the fit and finish suffered in comparison with the excellent galaxy note 4 that last point still stands the note 4 does boast a better in hand feel and if you want more details on that check out our recent comparison video standing alone though the Note edge is more oddity than anything else an asymmetric airplane wing of a smart phone that's a little awkward to pick up and a little delicate to hold both thanks to that futuristic curved display the curved component is just a small part of an otherwise excellent AMOLED screen with plenty of pixel density terrific saturation and contrast and the embedded Wacom digitizer that makes the included S Pen work the edge display dominates the phone's entire right-hand side so the power standby key now sits up top and inconvenience on a phone this big everything else though remains where you expect it on a top tier Samsung from the IR transmitter to the heart rate blood oxygen sensor to the removable battery and storage expansion bay there may be an edge here but remember that's the second word in the name first and foremost this thing's a note and as such it's a really good smart phone if you watched our galaxy note 4 review a few months back you already know our feelings on the software here if you didn't they can be easily summarized if you don't mind waiting a while for an update to the latest Android version and you really want to make the most out of an oversized display you'll be right at home on a note Samsung's software is neither the prettiest nor the most consistent but it takes better advantage of a big screen than any other interface out there and that goes double for the Note edge that's thanks to the edge display which Samsung's UI treats as a totally different screen kind of like the old external color ID screens on yesterday's clamshell phones the edge display serves as a cosmetic accessory big notification bar handy bedside clock sports social and stock ticker data usage meter shortcuts panel you name it Samsung has probably found a way to shoehorn it into 160 pixels even the ruler which I instinctively made fun of it first came in handy recently when a friend called me up asking me to measure my foot to be fitted for wedding shoes and even if none of that ties your top ciders Samsung has provided the api's for developers to build their own downloadable panels which are sparse now but may grow if Samsung releases more bent screen phones in the future as a whole the edge display is definitely a bit superfluous but don't be too quick to dismiss it if you really commit to using it it's very convenient for one-handed access to your apps and it frees up a ton of home screen space for widgets or just a cleaner look and it adds still another layer to Samsung's multitasking portfolio check it out with the edge screen combined with multi window you can literally watch netflix surf twitter and keep an eye on football scores all on the same screen and the phone doesn't even break a sweat while you're doing it is it comfortable or practical not in the slightest but you can if you want to and come to think of it that might as well be the unofficial slogan of the whole note family the edge smartly takes advantage of its curved display in the camera software which puts all the controls above the fold of the screen this looks great probably better than any Samsung viewfinder on the market but it's also really easy to accidentally shoot pictures especially when you're shooting one-handed fortunately the performance of the camera itself is just as impressive here as on the note 4 the 16 megapixel shots feature great rich colors and contrast smart blending in HDR and pretty good low-light quality thanks to optical image stabilization unless you regularly tote a DSLR or mirrorless camera around this is a smartphone shooter that probably won't leave you wishing for another by the same token you're probably going to be impressed by the note edges general performance regardless of application our AT&T review device gave us excellent data speeds and average voice quality and Greater Boston over a one week period and testing its Snapdragon 805 with a title like sky gamblers air supremacy was sublime even over a nonstop half-hour of play the game didn't stutter once the interface is still subject to the occasional herky-jerky responsiveness issues but as we learned in our Nexus 6 review that's no longer an issue confined to phones with heavy skins still sluggishness does tend to get worse over time rather than better so we'll keep an eye out for how well the note edge ages and if we're able we'll report back in an installment of after the buzz the final test area battery life yielded no surprises despite the reduction in battery size relative to the note 4 the edge is capable of the same 5 hours of screen on time over a day of moderate usage that's admirable considering the added display activity the edge screen brings but it's not nearly as impressive as the 6 7 even 10 hour screen on times we've seen on similarly sized devices with lower resolution displays fortunately the same quick charging we're seeing on most modern phones has made its way here as well is the node edge the best Galaxy Note there is not necessarily the more conventional note 4 might be less flashy but it feels better in the hand it's easier to use in some ways and I think it looks better but the Note edge is bigger in an abstract sense it's the ultimate expression of Samsung's phablet philosophy the Note edge seems to say anything you can dream of doing on a smartphone you can do with this device and in that respect it almost justifies its outsized price tag almost the Galaxy Note edge isn't for Joe Sixpack looking for mirror utility it's an overpowered showboat for the futurist the feature flaunt ur or just the Android user who truly wants it all for an in-depth look at everything the Note edge was built upon check out our galaxy note 4 review here on youtube and at pocket now linked in the description below and check out Galaxy Note edge vs. galaxy note 4 also here on YouTube till next time this has been michael fisher with pocket now captain two phones on twitter thanks for watching I'm gonna go take the edge off sorry that's the last one I promise we'll see you next time