Samsung’s skinny telephone is right here. The Galaxy S25 Edge — first teased again in January — is basically a slimmed-down S25 Plus, with the identical 6.7-inch OLED show, Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy chipset, and AI options. The compact design comes at a worth although, and also you’ll should do with out the telephoto lens or beefy battery.
At 163g (about 5.7 ounces), the Edge is only a gram heavier than the common S25, with its dinky little 6.2-inch display, and at 5.8mm thick it’s comfortably thinner than any Samsung slab telephone in years. It’s nonetheless barely thicker than Samsung’s Tab S10 tablets or Z Fold 6 foldable, which have sufficient house to get thinner by spreading their batteries out slightly extra, however should you want conventional telephone type elements then that is among the many thinnest you should buy proper now — at the least till the rumored iPhone 17 Air comes alongside.
Photographs appear to undersell the impact, which I believe shall be Samsung’s problem advertising and marketing the Edge: it principally simply appears like a daily telephone till you choose it up, which is when everybody appears to ooooh involuntarily.
The “Edge” title means that Samsung goes to lean on how skinny the telephone is, however for me the load is extra spectacular. It solves at the least half the issue folks have with massive telephones, and is way extra noticeable than a barely slimmer physique. Moreover, the second you place a case on this it received’t really feel very skinny any extra, nevertheless it ought to nonetheless be fairly gentle.
Samsung hasn’t taken the excuse to make the Edge any extra frail than the opposite S25 telephones, and actually has leaned the opposite method. It makes use of the identical titanium body because the S25 Extremely — more durable than the aluminum of the opposite fashions — together with the newly introduced Gorilla Glass Ceramic 2 on the display, and an IP68 score for mud and water-resistance. Merely put, this needs to be fairly sturdy.
Nonetheless, there are two massive sacrifices you need to make. The primary is the digital camera: you solely get two rear lenses, with no telephoto in any respect. Once more although, Samsung has borrowed from the Extremely to make up for issues — the 200-megapixel important shooter right here makes use of the very same sensor as that telephone, however crammed right into a smaller digital camera housing. On paper that ought to imply a important digital camera that’s about nearly as good because the Extremely’s — and higher than the Plus’ — however with much less versatility than both of these telephones.
The larger fear for many would be the battery. The three,900mAh cell right here is the smallest throughout the S25 vary — in comparison with 4,000mAh within the S25 and 4,900mAh within the Plus — and with an enormous display to energy too, there’s no method this received’t have the worst battery lifetime of the lot.
Samsung insists that that is nonetheless a full-day telephone, estimating that it might probably ship 24 hours of nonstop video playback, although that’s 5 fewer than the S25’s quoted 29 hours or the Plus’ 30. When my colleague Allison Johnson reviewed the common S25, she mentioned it obtained by “a full day of reasonable use,” and the Edge shouldn’t be an excessive amount of worse. Chipset and software program optimizations imply most fashionable telephones have battery to spare, making a smaller cell like this possible once more.
However that’s on day one. Batteries don’t final ceaselessly, and I don’t belief that the Edge shall be a full-day telephone ceaselessly. Samsung is committing to seven years of OS and safety updates, in keeping with the opposite S25 telephones, however I’d be slightly anxious in regards to the Edge’s battery life properly earlier than that.
Regardless of these downsides, you’ll truly should pay extra for the S25 Edge than you’d for a Plus. Preorders are open now forward of an official launch on Could thirtieth, and the telephone prices $1,099.99 for a mannequin with 256GB storage, and $1,219.99 for 512GB, which places this midway between the Plus and the Extremely in Samsung’s pricing.
So no, this in all probability isn’t essentially the most sensible telephone buy you can also make proper now — nevertheless it was by no means meant to be. As with Samsung’s foldable telephones, there’s greater than a touch of type over operate to the Edge. I’m impressed that Samsung has managed to maintain a lot of the telephone on par with the opposite S25 fashions, however the digital camera and battery are hardly small concerns. They’re massive compromises to make for the sake of getting slightly pocket house again, however till I’ve had the prospect to check the digital camera absolutely and push the battery for just a few days, it’s not possible to say if it’s a commerce value making.
That is one telephone the place it’s best to undoubtedly anticipate the opinions.
Pictures by Dominic Preston / The Verge