Finally, Samsung has been forced to do something different with the physical design of one of its phones. The gently tapered right edge is certainly interesting, but you might not really see what’s going on at first glance. Most of all, it’s the asymmetry that really catches the eye. A metal rim frames the screen as it curves around, but it protrudes a bit on the right to protect the screen and therefore also digs into your palm. Phones usually have gentle curves on the back so that they fit comfortably in a hand, but there’s no way to do that on the screen side of the Galaxy Note Edge.
The rest of the design is typical Samsung - an oblong Home button ringed with silver beneath the screen, a silver earpiece with the sensors and front cameras clustered nearby, and patterned plastic all around. The rear also has the faux leather texture that has been a staple of Note devices for ages now. A heart rate monitor is integrated into the flash cutout right beneath the rear camera lens, and the Home button’s surface doubles as a fingerprint reader. If not for the screen, this phone would have been utterly boring to look at - in fact, Samsung might not have done its new showpiece justice by giving it such uninspired surroundings.