Big, beautiful photos of Samsung's newest phones

Samsung announced its newest flagship devices, the Galaxy S6 Edge Plus and Galaxy Note 5, on Thursday.

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If the popularity of Samsung's Galaxy S6 Edge is anything to go by, it makes sense that it was going to offer a larger-screened device with curved edges. But instead of making a Note 5 with curved edges, Samsung decided to make a larger version of the popular Galaxy S6 Edge. 

Galaxy Note 5 and S6 Edge Plus v1
The Galaxy S6 Edge+ (left) and Galaxy Note 5.
Antonio Villas-Boas/Tech Insider

Both phones have large, sharp 5.7-inch displays, and they both feel positively premium. Samsung has ditched any trace of plastic on the exteriors of both phones. 

Samsung also showcased its answer to Apple Pay, aptly named Samsung Pay. It uses MST (Magnetic Secure Transmission), which is the same technology that reads the magnetic strip on the back of your credit cards.

You can check out photos and more features of the new phones below.

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Here they are: The Galaxy S6 Edge+ and Galaxy Note 5, Samsung's newest flagship devices.

Galaxy Note 5 and S6 Edge Plus v1
Antonio Villas-Boas/Tech Insider

Let's start with the new Galaxy Note 5.

Galaxy Note 5
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It takes a lot of cues from the Galaxy S6, like a shiny pearl sheen effect on the front and back.

Samsung Galaxy Note 5 front
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It looks a lot like the Galaxy S6, but just a little less round around the corners. Samsung managed to squeeze in its large 5.7-inch screen so that it's not that much bigger than the S6.

Galaxy Note 5 vs S6
Antonio Villas-Boas/Tech Insider
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This is the Note 5's back. It's non-removable, which means you can't switch out the battery or add extra storage with a microSD card like you could with previous generations of Galaxy Note devices.

Galaxy Note 5 back
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The Note 5's back has curved edges.

Galaxy Note 5 side profile
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The curved back helps make the Note 5 comfortable to hold and use.

Galaxy Note 5 side corner
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Here's a gold-colored Note 5 with the curved back.

Galaxy Note 5 back
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The Note 5's S Pen stylus pops out when you press it like a button, and it locks back in when you put it back.

Galaxy Note 5 S Pen Stylus
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The S Pen in front of the Note 5.

Galaxy Note 5 S Pen stylus
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You can now write notes quickly by simply removing the S Pen stylus. Before, you had to unlock the Note 5 and open the S Memo app .

Galaxy Note 5 S Pen stylus note taking
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You still get Air Command when you press the button on the S Pen stylus, which gives you access to some of the Note 5's features, like Action Memo, Smart Select, Screen Write, and S Note. And you can add shortcuts to things like apps and contacts.

Galaxy Note 5 air command S Pen stylus
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Another great new feature Samsung introduced in the Note 5 is Scroll Capture, which lets you capture an entire web page in one screenshot.

Galaxy Note 5 scrolling screenshot
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And it results in something like this. You can zoom in and add notes with the S Pen stylus.

Galaxy Note 5 scrolling screenshot
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For comparison, the Note 5 is on the left, and the Note 4 is on the right.

Galaxy Note 5 vs Note 4
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The Note 5's edges appear a lot thinner because of its curves.

Galaxy Note 5 vs Note 4 profile side
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And the Note 5 (bottom) has straighter, more uniform edges compared to the wavy lines of the Note 4's top edge.

Galaxy Note 5 vs Note 4 top profile
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Now let's check out the Galaxy S6 Edge+.

Galaxy S6 Edge Plus front
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It's essentially a larger version of the original S6 Edge.

Galaxy S6 Edge Plus corner
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The Galaxy S6 Edge+'s.

Galaxy S6 Edge Plus back
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The curved screen is mostly for looks, but you can swipe over to see a list of your favorite contacts.

Galaxy S6 Edge contacts shortcut
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You can also store apps in the slide-over menu.

Galaxy S6 Edge app shortcut
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Here's a black Galaxy S6 Edge+.

Galaxy S6 Edge Plus
The Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge Plus (pictured) is not water-resistant.
Antonio Villas-Boas/Tech Insider

Both phones come with Samsung Pay, which uses the NFC technology that's also found in the iPhones. One of Samsung Pay's main selling points is that it also runs MST technology, which is used by almost every single payment terminal that reads a credit card's magnetic strip. In theory, you can use Samsung Pay anywhere credit cards are accepted.

Samsung pay
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The phones have a new live broadcast feature, which is built into the camera app. It lets you stream live video to your YouTube account.

Samsung Live broadcast
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Here's a curious keyboard case that gives the S6 Edge Plus a BlackBerry-style keyboard. It cuts off the bottom of the Edge+'s screen, but it automatically raises above the keyboard. The Note 5 has a similar accessory.

galaxy s6 edge plus keyboard case
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The Note 5 and S6 Edge Plus both have a new feature called UHQ Upscaler that improves the quality of sound coming from your phone.

Samsung UHQA sound
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Now check out this video of the Galaxy Note 5 and S6 Edge+

 

 

Samsung
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