Samsung Galaxy Note Edge: Battery Life

The Note Edge relies on the same battery as the Note 3 and not the Note 4. That’s a 3,000 mAh battery instead of a 3,200mAh one, which is something of a surprise especially when you factor the ‘extra’ screen is likely to be more of a drain on the battery.

In day-to-day use, it shows. You will have to work harder to get close to two days, something the Note 4 manages easily. During a normal day, checking in on Facebook, Twitter, streaming music and browsing the web during commutes,  it can drop to around 30% at 11pm – a safe buffer.

A night out will see you initiating the ultra power saving mode, which will restrict features like the camera. That battery life showing is roughly around what we found with the Note 4 prior to a pre-release firmware update, which did improve performance.

If you stick to standard definition video you can get 11 hours of video playback with Wi-Fi off and the screen at 50 per cent brightness. That’s two hours shy of what the Note 4 managed and an hour less than the iPhone 6 Plus..

While the battery performance might not be class-leading, the Note Edge is a fast charger.  Thanks to support for Snapdragon’s Quick Charge technology, we found a 30-minute charge added 40 per cent, so an hour charge should last you most of the day.

Samsung Galaxy Note Edge: Call and Sound Quality

Call quality is good but not outstanding, but we suffered no signal dropouts and the  noise cancelling mic keeps  ambient noise to a minimum.

The internal speaker on the back is still pretty ordinary, too. While it’s not a supremely tinny affair, it lacks the warmth we crave for when watching video. This is one area we hope Samsung improves on future Note phones, especially when these ‘mini tablets’ are so good for watching films on.

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Should I buy the Samsung Galaxy Note Edge?

Probably not. The Note Edge is a strange phone to sum up. We loved the Note 4, but for all their similarities the Note Edge doesn’t deliver. We struggled to find a real use for the curved edge. Maybe one day it will have more compelling uses and we appreciate Samsung trying something different, but it’s not there yet.

There’s some minor issues that let down the Note Edge, too, like having to sacrifice battery life and button placement to accommodate the unique design. Perhaps worst of all is the price. SIM-free, the Note Edge costs £50 more than the £600 Note 4 and that’s expensive for a feature that is yet to convince.

If you have to go for a big phone, we still say the Note 4 is king here with the iPhone 6 Plus a close second. The Note Edge is an interesting idea but Samsung has a way to go before we are sold on it.

Verdict

The Note Edge ultimately fails to sell the concept of a curved screen smartphone. Maybe one day we will love it, but right now it’s well wide of the mark.

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