Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge Review: Thin is most positively in

Companies hope that this yr, like final yr, will probably be remembered for AI breakthroughs in smartphones. However, there’s one other pattern this yr that I anticipate we’ll not neglect: the period of the skinny telephone.

The OPPO Find N5 pushed the boundaries of thickness in folding telephones, and now Samsung has accomplished the identical in smartphones with the Galaxy S25 Edge. Ahead of the rumored iPhone 17 Air’s debut in September, Samsung’s newest flagship has already ruined thicker telephones for me.

At first look, the Galaxy S25 Edge could also be thought of a downgrade in comparison with its siblings. It has the smallest battery and one much less digital camera, however because the adage goes, seeing is believing. In this case, it might be extra apt to say that holding is believing.

There’s room for enchancment, however the Galaxy S25 Edge is a phenomenal telephone which you can solely recognize when you maintain it. When you do, it’s possible you’ll forgive its shortcomings.

Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge: Price and Availability

The Galaxy S25 Edge was first teased on the Unpacked occasion for the Galaxy S25 launch on January 22, 2025. The official launch occurred on May 13, 2025, with the telephone formally on sale as of May 30, 2025.

There are two storage choices out there, each of which include 12GB of RAM. The base mannequin comes with 256GB for $1,099.99 (UK £1,099 / AU$1,849), whereas the 512GB mannequin prices $1,219.99 (UK £1,199 / AU$2,049).

Unlike its siblings, it doesn’t are available an enormous vary of colours, and there are not any Samsung.com unique colours, however it’s out there in three hues: Silver, Jet Black, and Icy Blue.

Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge: Design & show

• The S25 Edge is extraordinarily skinny at 5.8mm.
• It weighs 25% lower than the Galaxy S25 Ultra.
• It has a titanium body, an IP68 score, and Gorilla Glass back and front.

If there’s one cause to purchase the Galaxy S25 Edge, it’s the design, and specifically, the thickness. Measuring 5.8mm thick (excluding the digital camera bump), it’s at present the thinnest flagship telephone, though it’s nonetheless a lot thicker than the OPPO Find N5, which is 4.21mm skinny when unfolded. For comparability, the Edge is between 1.4mm and a pair of.4mm thinner than the remainder of the Galaxy S25 lineup.

It’s not simply concerning the thickness, as arguably the extra impactful function is the load. At 163 grams, it’s only one gram heavier than the common Galaxy S25, however options the bigger show of the Galaxy S25 Plus and the first digital camera of the Galaxy S25 Ultra. The Galaxy S25 Plus weighs 27 grams extra, whereas the Galaxy S25 Ultra is a whopping 55 grams extra, or over a 3rd of the full weight.

These numbers could appear inconsequential, however they’re core to the Galaxy S25 Edge providing. It combines the perfect options of the Galaxy S25 collection right into a telephone that’s thinner, lighter, and way more pocket-friendly.

Once you maintain the Galaxy S25 Edge in your arms, the skinny profile and lightweight weight shortly assuaged lots of my considerations round lacking options, the smaller battery, or the dearth of a telephoto lens. I didn’t understand that telephone thickness was essential to me till I used the Galaxy S25 Edge.

Beyond the design, you get a construction that Samsung has refined over the previous few years. There’s a titanium construct that feels extraordinarily premium, and it’s paired with Gorilla Glass Victus 2 on the again. Despite some considerations concerning the thickness, particularly contemplating different telephones in historical past which were skinny and bent simply, the Galaxy S25 Edge has proven no indicators of bending simply throughout day by day utilization.

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The 6.7-inch show on the entrance is protected by Corning’s new Gorilla Glass Ceramic 2, which is nearly equivalent to the Ceramic glass used within the Galaxy S25 Ultra, however lacks the anti-glare end. The show is equivalent to the one discovered on the Galaxy S25 Plus, additional highlighting how the Galaxy S25 Edge captures lots of the greatest components of its siblings in a completely new machine.

Having used the Galaxy S25 Edge for nearly two weeks, it’s change into more and more tougher to make use of some other telephone. The design could not really feel that spectacular on paper, however when you maintain it, you’ll shortly understand that this can be a particular telephone. If telephones have been too large or heavy for you, the Galaxy S25 Edge could be the answer you’ve been in search of.

Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge: Specs & efficiency

• Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy is quick, fluid, and incredible.
• Excellent flagship specs sheet
• The battery is the smallest within the vary however nonetheless lasts a day.

For probably the most half, the Galaxy S25 Edge options the identical flagship {hardware} as the remainder of the Galaxy S25 lineup. It’s equally the perfect and the worst components of this telephone, particularly contemplating one of many greatest considerations, the battery.

First, the great components. The Galaxy S25 Edge is powered by the identical Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy processor as the remainder of the lineup, providing flagship efficiency as anticipated. I’ve used it for mild gaming, heavy multitasking, and extra, and there have been no indicators of lag or slowdown.

The result’s unbelievable efficiency, and the upper clock speeds on the Galaxy variant Snapdragon 8 Elite imply it’s the strongest Android telephone in the marketplace.

In day by day utilization, there’s not an enormous distinction between this and the Snapdragon 8 Elite utilized in different telephones, nevertheless it needs to be future-proofed for longer. Samsung is promising seven years of software program and safety updates for the Galaxy S25 Edge. With AI enjoying a big position within the present and future smartphone featureset, the Galaxy S25 Edge ought to stay extraordinarily succesful even on the finish of this era.

There’s additionally the large set of options that you just’d anticipate from a flagship telephone, together with an under-display ultrasonic fingerprint sensor that’s high quality, albeit inferior to rival flagships I’ve used. There’s additionally assist for Snapdragon Satellite, which implies the S25 Edge can ship and obtain SMS messages through satellite tv for pc when your mobile community isn’t out there.

That’s the great, nevertheless it comes at a worth: the battery. Even Samsung can’t beat physics, and the large show, flagship specs, twin digital camera, and skinny profile meant there can be a compromise. In this case, it’s the battery and charging, nevertheless it’s not as large because it sounds on paper.

Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge: Battery Life & Charging

• All-day battery life, however solely in the future.
• Slower charging than you’d anticipate.

The Galaxy S25 Edge incorporates a 3,900mAh battery, 100mAh smaller than the bottom Galaxy S25, and considerably smaller than the Galaxy S25 Plus (4,900mAh) and S25 Ultra (5,000mAh). When Samsung first revealed the battery capability, I anticipated this to be my greatest problem, however because it seems, that is solely partially true.

Like many telephone makers, Samsung has been promising all-day battery life on its telephones for a few years, and most telephones ship with some cost remaining on the finish of the day. The Galaxy S25 Edge additionally delivers all-day battery life, nevertheless it will get dangerously near needing a recharge earlier than the tip of the day.

Everyone’s utilization varies, so what does all-day battery life appear like? Charging to full at 11 a.m. (having forgotten to cost it in a single day), the Galaxy S25 Edge lasted a complete of 28 hours on a full cost with just below seven hours of display time and round seven % battery remaining. It’s pretty consultant of the utmost battery life you possibly can anticipate, and that was with mild gaming, quite a lot of streaming, net shopping, and a few calls, with half the day on Wi-Fi and half with out.

The battery life meets my expectations for average to heavy utilization in a day, and needs to be enough for many customers. However, it’s a lot tougher to excuse the slower 25W charging, which takes round 80 minutes to cost the telephone. Samsung opted in opposition to together with the 45W charging from the S25 Plus, regardless of the S25 Edge costing extra, which is tougher to simply accept contemplating the worth.

Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge: Cameras

• 200MP major digital camera from the S25 Ultra.
• 12MP ultrawide digital camera.
• No telephoto lens, high quality degrades after 2x.

The Galaxy S25 Edge has two rear cameras. The major one is 200MP and is supposedly the identical digital camera discovered within the Galaxy S25 Ultra, however gotten smaller by nearly 40%. The ultrawide is similar 12MP ultrawide discovered within the Galaxy S25 Plus.

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The Galaxy S25 Edge gives a 2x ‘zoom’ achieved by means of an in-sensor crop, in addition to 4x and 10x zoom choices, with 10x being the utmost. At 2x, the digital camera continues to be pretty succesful, however above this, the photographs don’t really feel like they have been captured by a flagship telephone.

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At larger resolutions, the OIS is considerably ineffective, and the digital camera is unable to compensate for the lack of element. Instead, you get pictures which have slight movement to them and lack the finesse of different cameras. You additionally want the bigger pixel measurement to compensate for mild in low-light situations, so the 12MP pictures are usually the perfect total.

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There is nice information: in case you take principally portraits, the Galaxy S25 Edge has the identical wonderful portrait mode, together with Color Point, my favourite portrait mode function of any telephone, as the remainder of the Galaxy S25 lineup. There’s additionally 8K video at 30fps, 4k at 120fps, and FullHD video that may seize slo-mo movies at 240fps.

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The Galaxy S25 Edge boasts principally flagship digital camera specs on paper, however whereas the principle digital camera does go away me wanting, it stays greater than succesful. If you need the perfect smartphone digital camera, you don’t have any selection however to have a look at the OPPO Find X8 Ultra or Galaxy S25 Ultra. However, if design is essential and also you don’t thoughts a digital camera that’s simply adequate, the Galaxy S25 Edge is nice.

Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge: Software and AI

• Android 15 with One UI 7 on high.
• Seven years of software program and safety updates.
• Samsung DeX, Galaxy AI, and Gemini included.

As with each firm, AI performs a big position within the Galaxy S25 Edge expertise. Unlike Samsung’s previous Edge telephones, such because the Galaxy S6 Edge and its waterfall show design, there are not any unique software program methods on this telephone. Rather, you get the identical, nice One UI 7, Galaxy AI, and Gemini expertise that you just’ll discover throughout the remainder of the lineup.

That features a easy interface with bubble-like, rounded edges; a cut up notification middle and fast settings just like iOS; an app drawer that may lastly be laid out vertically in alphabetical order; and better consistency with different Android gadgets. I’ve been a fan of One UI for a few years, however One UI 7 feels higher than ever earlier than.

Another welcome boost to the software program is the deep partnership between Samsung and Google. Instead of competing visions, the Galaxy S25 Edge — and the remainder of the Galaxy S25 lineup — use Google apps (like Messages) as default, and have been the primary telephones to get many new Google Gemini options like Circle to Search.

Paired with Galaxy AI options and Samsung’s incredible picture enhancing capabilities, you might have an completed AI suite, even when it considerably depends on you needing to take a position closely within the Galaxy ecosystem. Samsung and Google have found out learn how to work collectively, and the result’s a software program expertise that’s akin to the previous Google Play Edition in its seamless and streamlined nature.

Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge: Competition

The Galaxy S25 Edge is the primary commercially out there ultra-thin flagship candybar smartphone, though Apple can also be anticipated to launch the iPhone 17 Air later this yr.

At 5.8mm, the Galaxy S25 Edge will not be the thinnest smartphone total, nevertheless. Companies like OPPO and Honor have each launched ultra-thin folding telephones, such because the Find N5 and Honor Magic V3, measuring 4.21mm and 4.35mm, respectively. However, in the case of non-foldable telephones, the Galaxy S25 Edge is actually distinctive in its skinny construct.

Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge: Should you purchase it?

You can purchase this if…

• You are uninterested in thick or heavy telephones in your pocket
• You desire a large display and digital camera with out the load
• Design is extra essential than uncooked specs to you

You should not purchase this if…

• You need the best possible digital camera or battery life
• You desire a devoted telephoto digital camera for enhanced zoom
• You do not need to make any compromises

If the Galaxy S25 Edge weren’t the thinnest smartphone you should buy proper now, the reply to this query would possible be no; there are sufficient trade-offs that this isn’t the perfect telephone you should buy proper now. However, the thinness makes this extremely interesting, and way more so than I had anticipated.

Going into this evaluation, I had three major considerations: the battery life, the construct high quality, and the digital camera. Everything else was prone to be extraordinarily strong. Having frolicked with the Galaxy S25 Edge, it delivers on two out of the three, however the digital camera falls quick.

Yet, for some folks, this might be the best telephone. If you need the perfect of the Galaxy S25 Ultra and S25 Plus with out the thickness or weight, the Galaxy S25 Edge might be good.

Personally, the Galaxy S25 Edge has modified my ideas on slim telephones. There will all the time be trade-offs, however the Galaxy S25 Edge reveals {that a} skinny telephone may be nice. There’s room for enchancment, however this telephone has me smitten.