The Galaxy S6 edge+. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard someone make fun of the name. If you think I’m joking, take the time to watch yet another unboxing video on Samsung’s larger Galaxy S6 edge and you’ll understand.
One of the most often-read complaints from website commenters about the Galaxy S6 edge+, apart from the name, is the following: “Why create the Galaxy S6 edge+ in the first place? Why not just stick with the Galaxy S6 and S6 edge? The Galaxy S6 edge+ contributes nothing new to Samsung’s lineup (except for a larger screen), so why create yet another phone that looks like a clone of the Galaxy S6 edge just to provide a larger screen?” This complaint sounds valid until you examine it closely.
First, it’s not necessarily the case that the larger screen is the only reason behind the Galaxy S6 edge+; battery life is another. The Galaxy S6 edge had a 2,600mAh battery that hasn’t gotten the best stats in terms of battery life, depending on whom you talk to about it. The new Galaxy S6 edge+ provides a 3,000mAh battery that has been said to improve the battery life of the “edge”smartphone line. The edge itself must be powered along with the usual “square” display, and powering the larger screen and the “edge” screen slither mandates a bigger battery. Of course, Samsung said at the event last month that it is “betting on big” with larger screens or wider screens, but battery life takes a hit with larger screens; when larger screens include a Quad HD screen resolution, a bigger battery is never too much of a good thing.
The edge can also work at night while the majority of the display goes black, which makes the edge a second screen (although a minor one) that drains battery life. Users have an insatiable desire for increasingly better battery life, but there’s another reason that ties into the larger display: the Goldilocks Philosophy.
What is the Goldilocks Philosophy? The Goldilocks Philosophy says that there are things in life that are too big or too much, too small or too little, or “just right.” The name “Goldilocks” stretches back to an old childhood story called “Goldilocks and the Three Bears,” where Goldilocks is a little girl who stumbles onto a cottage while in the woods that belonged to a family of three bears (Mama, Papa, and Baby Bear). While the bears are out in the woods, she taste-tests Mama and Papa’s porridge but finds the baby bear’s porridge to be “just right” and eats it. She tests out each bear’s bed but, once again, finds the baby bear’s bed to be “just right.”
Most consumers are like this, too. When they go to a store to buy shoes, for example, they usually try on a pair of shoes they like while searching for the perfect size. Sometimes, they find the first size of their favorite shoe to be “too large,” the second pair to be “too small,” or vice versa. Then, finally, they stumble upon an in-between size that proves to be “just right.”
When it comes to Samsung, the Galaxy S6 edge+ is meant to be that “just right” smartphone for consumers who would rather have a larger Galaxy S6 edge. Many a Samsung customer over the years has purchased a Galaxy Note but rarely if ever touches the S Pen. Others purchase the Galaxy S line each year but long for the display size of the Note line. And now, thanks to Samsung’s innovation, the Galaxy S6 edge provides just one more factor that they want in the smartphone experience. With the Galaxy S6 edge+, these customers, like Goldilocks, find their “sweet spot” for smartphones: the Galaxy S6 edge+ gives them 1) the edge, 2) the larger screen, and 3) a more streamlined experience that doesn’t mandate they keep up with a stylus they don’t want. The S Pen and the Galaxy Note 5 work wonderfully together, but why purchase a device if you don’t seek to get the most out of the experience?
Thus, the Galaxy S6 edge+ gives smartphone users a chance to enjoy a big beautiful screen, the company’s new flexible “edge,” alongside of mastery of their phone experience without feeling overwhelmed. I love the Galaxy Note line, but I still purchase Galaxy S devices. In my hands-on time with the Galaxy S6 edge, the original edge device feels too small for my mammoth hands. If I were a heavy Galaxy S user, I would prefer the screen size of the Galaxy S6 edge+ over that of the original Galaxy S6 edge. And it’s the Goldilocks Philosophy, the “just right” idea, that Samsung is chasing after. The company may or may not reach it, depending on whom you ask, but you have to give the Korean manufacturer credit for trying.
