The Galaxy S6 Edge is arguably Samsung’s best phone yet, taking the flagship Samsung Galaxy S6 and adding two curved edges, which both make it more eye-catchingly stylish and add some new features.
But at 5.1 inches it’s just not big enough for some people, which presumably is why we’ll soon have the Samsung Galaxy S6 Plus (or the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge Plus as it might be called), a phone which by most accounts is a larger version of the company’s edgy handset. Here’s what we’ve heard about it so far.
Originally it was thought that the Samsung Galaxy S6 Plus would launch at or around IFA 2015 in September alongside the Galaxy Note 5, as that’s the typical launch timing of Samsung’s phablet flagships.
However it now looks like Samsung is pushing its schedule forward, as it’s announced its Unpacked event for the 13th of August. You can expect to see the Note 5 there and it’s likely that we’ll also see the S6 Plus there.
That also lines up with some recent rumours. As for when it will actually land in stores you probably won’t have to wait much longer, with the 21st of August looking likely. It’s a date that’s both been leaked and appears on a leaked press render of the handset.
We don’t know for sure what the Galaxy S6 Plus will cost yet, but you can expect it to be one of the most expensive phones available. The Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge already is and with a bigger screen we wouldn’t be surprised if the Galaxy S6 Edge Plus was as much as around £700.
One early price leak puts the 32GB model at 799.99 Euros, which is only around £550, but you can expect the UK price to be higher even if that is accurate.
Although the Samsung Galaxy S6 Plus will have a bigger screen than the S6 Edge it might not be gigantic, with some current rumours placing it at 5.4 or 5.5 inches, though other rumours put it at a larger 5.7 inches.
It will of course have two curved edges just like the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge and from leaked images the curves look similarly small, so don’t expect to be able to use them for much. It’s also almost certainly going to have a 1440 x 2560 QHD Super AMOLED screen, just like its smaller sibling, but one leak suggests it could get a slight bump up to a 1600 x 2560 resolution.
The design of the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge Plus is expected to be much the same as that of the Galaxy S6 Edge, just in a larger size. So expect a metal frame and a glass back with a slim overall build.
Measurements of 153.3 x 76.1 x 7.9mm have been attached to it, which would make it slightly fatter than the 7.0mm thick Galaxy S6 Edge, but still leave it slim overall.
It’s too early to say whether or not those dimensions are accurate, but there have been several leaked images and they strongly suggest that the overall design is similar to the Edge.
Surprisingly rather than an Exynos processor most rumours suggest the Samsung Galaxy S6 Plus will have a hexa-core Snapdragon 808 chip which oddly could actually leave it slightly less powerful than the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge.
It would still very much be a flagship though, as the LG G4 for example uses the Snapdragon 808. Alongside that it’s expected to have 3GB of RAM, the same as most current flagship smartphones.
Other rumoured specs include 32GB of built in storage and it’s expected to run Android 5.1.1.
The Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge Plus is thought to have a 16 megapixel rear camera and a 5 megapixel front-facing one just like the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge. It’s not known whether it will have the same features, such as optical image stabilisation, but it seems likely.
It’s very likely that the Samsung Galaxy S6 Plus will have a fingerprint scanner, just like the Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge.
One other rumour that was floating around was the possibility that it could include an S Pen stylus like the Galaxy Note range, but the latest leaks suggest it probably won’t.
