Samsung releases Galaxy S6 Edge+

NEW YORK, Aug. 13 (UPI) -- Samsung's newest phone, an update to their popular Galaxy Edge, was debuted Thursday at the Alice Tully Hall in New York City.

In March, Samsung released both the Galaxy S6 and the Galaxy S6 Edge. The two phones are competing with Apple's iPhone 6, but the Edge has a curved glass feature on the right hand side that offers specific functionality. Now, Samsung's new Galaxy S6 Edge Plus brings a bigger, 5.7-inch version its predecessor HD AMOLED screen without dramatically increasing the devices physical size. The new phone is 12mm longer and 5mm wider than S6 Edge, with a .1mm reduction in thickness.

The construction and internal specs of the new phone are nearly identical to its predecessor. New this time around is 4GB of RAM, a slightly altered version of Android 5.1 Lollipop, and a slightly bigger 3,000 mAh battery that is still not removable. A new feature called "Apps Edge" is also included; this allows the user to quick-launch apps from the phone's glass edge which compensates for the phablet dimensions of the phone.

Gizmodo points out that the functionality provided by the phone's edge feature is already provided on more conventional phones by downloadable software, adding that "Samsung has yet to deliver anything that makes that weird screen on the S6 Edge Plus any more useful than its predecessor."

Preorders for the phone start today, with 32GB and 64GB to be available at a slightly higher price than the current S6 Edge.