“The Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge’s trend-setting thin design is wonderfully ergonomic and makes it very special to hold and use, plus it contains all the excellent fundamentals that make the rest of the Galaxy S25 range so enticing.”
- Thin, ergonomic design
- Big screen
- Fun camera
- One UI 7 is fast and responsive
- One-day battery life
- Slow wired charging
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The Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge is the thinnest smartphone we’ve seen released in a while, and the shape is what makes the device special, but is it special enough to buy over another Galaxy S series phone? I’ve lived with it for the last few weeks to find out.
Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge: specs
| Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge | |
| Size | 158.2 x 75.6 x 5.8mm |
| Weight | 163 grams |
| Screen | 6.7-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X, 3120 x 1440 pixels, 120Hz |
| Processor | Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite |
| RAM and storage | 12GB, 256GB/512GB |
| Software | Android 15 with One UI 7, seven years of OS and security updates |
| Cameras | 200MP with 2x optical quality zoom, 12MP wide-angle, 12MP selfie camera |
| Durability | IP68 |
| Battery and charging | 3,900mAh, 25W wired, 15W wireless |
| Colors | Titanium Silver, Jet Black, Icy Blue |
| Price | $1,099/$1,199 |
Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge: design
The Galaxy S25 Edge is body shaming just about every other modern smartphone. It’s 5.8mm thin and 163 grams, and if you’re wondering if it makes a difference day-to-day, the answer is a resounding yes. I deliberately kept the phone in my pocketrather than in my bag when it wasn’t in use while out-and-about, and it just disappears. I’ve been doing this for 10 days now, and I wonder how I’ll go back to a “normal” phone.
It feels durable. The screen has Corning Gorilla Glass Ceramic 2 covering it, the back has Gorilla Glass Victus 2, and the chassis is made of titanium which extends to the sub frame inside the phone. If you really wanted to bend and break it, I’m sure you’d succeed, but you’d have to make the effort. It doesn’t feel fragile and crucially, it’s not so featherweight you’re always worried it’s going to slip out of your hand, plus it has an IP68 dust and water resistance rating.
Once you’re past being amazed by how thin the S25 Edge is, you’ll realize the real benefit is its 6.7-inch screen. It’s not only a fantastic-looking display, just like on the other S25 series phones, but you’re staring at it on a device that’s the same weight as the regular 6.2-inch S25, and way thinner than an Ultra. This is what’s really transformative about the S25 Edge’s thinness. One nit-picking point is it would really benefit from the S25 Ultra’s anti-reflective coating though.
This is a big screen, low weight, pocket friendly, and as we’ll get to shortly, high performance smartphone which makes design a selling point. I can even forgive the slightly sharp edges which can make it fatiguing to hold after a while, because it’s otherwise such a joy.
Galaxy S25 Edge: camera
The S25 Edge takes the Galaxy S25 Ultra’s 200-megapixel main camera, which the engineers at Samsung have reduced in size by 18% to fit inside, and paired it with a 12MP wide-angle camera. There’s no telephoto camera, but the main camera makes use of its massive megapixel count to provide a 2x optical quality zoom. On the front is an auto-focus 12MP selfie camera.
It’s obviously not as versatile as the S25 Ultra’s camera, but the S25 Edge is still a brilliant every day camera phone and there’s surprisingly few downsides to not having a telephoto camera. I’ve explored the 2x optical quality zoom feature in more detail already as part of my OuttaFocus column, but I was very pleased with the overall quality, detail, color accuracy, and white balance of this “lesser” zoom mode. Don’t be put off by the lack of optical zoom.
The main camera takes strong, colorful photos with some effective use of HDR, but it still suffers from the disappointing lack of sharpness that affects the same camera inside the Galaxy S25 Ultra. It’s not a huge problem unless you crop down and look closely, but it’s bothersome once you’ve noticed. Samsung’s effective editing features are available, and its new custom filter system is fun and surprisingly useful.
I’ve really enjoyed the Galaxy S25 Edge’s camera. It’s just as good as the Galaxy S25 Plus’s, and if you don’t think you’ll make regular use of the Ultra’s telephoto cameras, you’ll be really happy with it.
Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge: performance
There’s no performance deficit compared to other S25 phones here, despite the thin profile. The Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy comes with 12GB of RAM, plus there’s either 256GB or 512GB of internal storage space, putting the S25 Edge up there with the most powerful phones you can get including the OnePlus 13 and Xiaomi 15 Ultra.
Concerned the powerful chip will generate a lot of heat in such a thin phone? There’s some clever cooling tech and a vapor chamber inside the S25 Edge and it effectively keeps the temperature down, unless you’re playing hardcore mobile games for at least 30 minutes, when the center of the rear panel and the chassis sides get hot to the touch. I’ve also noticed the phone gets warm when ambient temperatures increase, but it has never come close to overheating or being too hot to hold.
| Geekbench 6 Single Core CPU | Geekbench 6 Multi Core CPU | Geekbench 6 GPU | |
| Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge | 2728 | 9095 | 18174 |
| OnePlus 13 | 3016 | 9218 | 17607 |
| Google Pixel 9 Pro | 1052 | 3239 | 6474 |
Calls sound excellent, although it is a bit of a fiddle getting the speaker in its sweet spot against your ear, and both cellular and Wi-Fi connectivity has been rock solid. When manufacturers try something new with the shape, build, and design of a phone, there’s always a concern the fundamentals may take a hit, but the S25 Edge’s all-round performance has been excellent.
Galaxy S25 Edge: software and AI
The Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge is the fifth smartphone with One UI 7 onboard I’ve used, and it continues to be one of my favorite Android 15 interfaces. It’s responsive, smooth, and sensibly designed, plus it’s easily customizable. This is important as there are a few annoyances. The always-on screen is off by default, the notification alerts on the lock screen are impossible to see unless you change the setting, and Google’s Gboard is better to use than Samsung’s keyboard.
One UI 7 is a high point of every 2025 Samsung phone and the S25 Edge is no exception. It’s also fully equipped with all the Galaxy AI features, unlike the stripped back affair installed on the Galaxy A56, including Now Brief and the Now Bar. Is this a good thing? I simply don’t have the lifestyle to make the most out of Now Brief’s organizational ability, I haven’t needed any summarization or translation services, and I’m fine writing my own messages.
All Galaxy AI’s features are there if you want them, but I do question how many people will want them on a regular basis, and struggle to call them a reason to buy the phone. Leave Galaxy AI aside, and the software experience on the S25 Edge is excellent. Google Gemini is there and so is Circle to Search (AI that’s useful, in other words), Samsung’s Modes and Routines are useful if you take your time to set them up, and if you buy a Galaxy Watch 7 or Galaxy Ring, Samsung Health is one of the better fitness tracking apps.
Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge: Battery and charging
Now we get to the compromise you’re going to need to make if you want a thin, light, big-screen smartphone: the battery life. Samsung says to expect a day of use from the 3,900mAh battery, and I’ve found this is accurate if your screen time reaches about five hours with general use. The problem arises when you add in some games, multi-tasking, GPS, and video.
Use the phone hard for two hours doing all these things, and it’ll easily eat up 40% of the battery. It’s not an efficiency issue — a 40 minute YouTube video takes 4% — but a cell capacity and heat dissipation problem. There’s only so much use you’ll get out of a smaller-than-usual cell inside a thin phone. If you can live with a single day’s worth of battery life, the S25 Edge’s ability won’t be a problem though.
Samsung has only added 25W charging to the S25 Edge, so it’s slower than the S25 Plus and S25 Ultra, and the Galaxy A56 too. It takes about 80 to 90 minutes to fully charge the battery, with 50% coming up in in about 25 minutes. This is slow compared to the other S25 series phones and the OnePlus 13, but similar to the Google Pixel 9 Pro. There’s wireless charging, but for the price Samsung really should have included 45W fast charging on the S25 Edge
Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge: price and availability
The Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge starts at $1,099 for the 12GB/256GB model, or $1,199 for the 12GB/512GB version. In the U.K. it starts at 1,099 British pounds and increases to 1,199 for the higher capacity model. The phone is available to buy now from Samsung, carriers, and other retainers.
There are only three colors to choose from: Titanium Silver, Icy Blue, and Jet Black. The only one that makes a statement is the Icy Blue, with the other two representing very safe choices. Considering this is a fashion statement phone, it’s disappointing Samsung hasn’t jazzed the S25 Edge uo with some fancier colors, even if they were online exclusives.
Samsung has slotted the S25 Edge, price-wise, in-between the S25 Plus and the S25 Ultra. It’s similarly priced to the Pixel 9 Pro and the Apple iPhone 16 Pro, but a lot more expensive than the OnePlus 13. Like many fashion-forward products, the price gets justified because it’s unique. Every other phone listed above as an alternative is thicker and heavier, and if you don’t want that, the S25 Edge is your only real choice.
Should you buy the Galaxy S25 Edge?
I love that the Galaxy S25 Edge has been made. No-one really asked for it, the short battery life makes it less useful than its sibling S25 phones, and the race to make “the thinnest” anything is dull and played out. Yet, it’s the Galaxy S25 series phone I’ve enjoyed the most, and the one I’d want to use long-term.
The performance, camera, and screen are among the best you can get today, but what makes the S25 Edge special and so desirable is that it’s all wrapped up in one of the most tactile, ergonomic, and downright cool designs we’ve seen yet. The Galaxy S25 Edge is more than just a thin phone, it’s the exciting start of a new trend, and after spending just a short time with the phone I’m absolutely onboard. Once you’ve held the S25 Edge for just a few moments, I think you will be too.
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