I used to be mistaken concerning the super-thin Galaxy S25 Edge (it does not suck)

Abstract

I used to be initially fairly vital of Samsung’s new super-slim Galaxy S25 smartphone.
After spending the previous few days with the product, I now suppose it is likely to be nearly the proper Android machine for me.
Regardless of being a usually stable, cool-looking telephone, the Galaxy S25 Edge is much from excellent, nonetheless.

I used to be fairly vital of Samsung’s super-slim Galaxy S25 Edge in my hands-on preview. I used the telephone for a quick interval at a hands-on occasion, however I simply did not perceive the draw. Positive, it is thinner, but it surely’s additionally dear at $1,100, and the telephone options fewer cameras than the remainder of the Galaxy S25 lineup.

On the time, the Galaxy S25 Edge appeared like a extremely powerful promote.

“Who precisely is that this telephone for?,” is the important thing query that stored working by my head. However after spending the previous few days with the Galaxy S25 Edge, I feel it is likely to be nearly the proper Android machine for me.

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It is delightfully skinny and light-weight

I proceed to be stunned that it appears like I am holding nearly nothing

Galaxy S25 Edge sliding into a shorts pocket

By far the very best factor concerning the Galaxy S25 Edge is how skinny (0.23-inches or 5.8mm) and light-weight (5.7oz or 163g) it’s. The telephone is barely heavier than the bottom Galaxy S25, but it surely does not really feel prefer it because it options the identical 6.7-inch 3,120 x 1,440 pixel 120Hz show because the Galaxy S25+. I’ve actually loved sliding it into my entrance pants or shorts pocket as a result of it appears like there’s nearly nothing there, not like my weighty iPhone 16 Pro. The S25 Edge appears like a giant telephone, however with out the ample bulk I’ve come to anticipate from bigger units.

Model: Samsung
SoC: Octa-core Snapdragon 8 Elite (3nm)
Show: 6.7-inch 3120 x 1440 pixel decision QHD+ Dynamic AMOLED2X
RAM: 12GB

Samsung’s Galaxy S25 Edge contains a skinny design and a rear-facing dual-camera array with an f/1.7 200-megapixel large and f/2.2 12-megapixel ultrawide shooter.

A problem I highlighted in my hands-on is how I initially did not actually discover the Galaxy S25 Edge’s thinness, even when positioned beside my 8.25mm iPhone 16 Professional. Nevertheless, now that I’ve spent extra time with the telephone, I not solely see it however really feel it too. At occasions, it is troublesome to imagine there’s an precise smartphone that is this skinny. It is made me excited for the often-rumored iPhone 17 Air Apple is reportedly cooking up, and that we’d see this fall.

It additionally does not really feel like I am about to expertise “Bendgate 2,” because of the Galaxy S25 Edge’s Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2 again and Gorilla Glass Ceramic 2 show. Throughout my time with the super-thin smartphone, I have never been apprehensive concerning the machine bending in any respect. It is sturdy and stable, identical to the remainder of the Galaxy S25 lineup.

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The battery life is not as unhealthy as I anticipated

With common use, the Galaxy S25 Edge’s battery feels rather a lot just like the Galaxy S25 Extremely’s

On the battery life entrance, issues have not been as unhealthy as I anticipated. The Galaxy S25 Edge has the smallest battery within the Galaxy S25 lineup, however with average use — together with a little bit of social media doom-scrolling, sending a number of messages, and listening to podcasts — I have never actually felt the distinction in battery life. This has stunned me, notably as a result of the Galaxy S25 Edge options the identical Snapdragon 8 Elite chip as each different machine within the S25 collection (on that notice, it is very responsive and snappy, too).

Typically, I am nonetheless plugging within the Galaxy S25 Edge earlier than I’m going to mattress with about 25-30% cost leftover, which is analogous to my expertise with the Galaxy S25 Extremely.

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I am a sucker for distinctive telephones that look cool

It takes rather a lot for me to get excited a couple of smartphone

Telephones are boring now, and do not let anybody inform you in any other case. Each single machine is a slab that is outfitted with highly effective cameras and, for essentially the most half, the identical sensors, together with a fingerprint scanner and a few type of facial recognition. That is why folding telephones initially garnered a lot consideration from tech media. Whereas that luster has pale significantly, foldables had been thrilling and completely different a number of years in the past and actually felt like the way forward for the smartphone trade.

Though I did not expertise this pleasure straight away with the Galaxy S25 Edge, I’ve grown to essentially just like the machine over the previous few weeks, and I am excited to see how far Samsung can take this skinny design route sooner or later. If the Galaxy Z Fold line is any indication, the second-generation Edge can be a notable leap over its predecessor. I am additionally to see what Apple does within the house because the iPhone 17 Air’s rumored launch attracts nearer.

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Fewer cameras and a less-than-ideal value

Regardless of being a usually stable, cool-looking telephone, the Galaxy S25 Edge is much from excellent. It is costly at $1,100, a price that places it $100 above the arguably extra succesful Galaxy S25+ that is priced at $1,000, and simply $200 beneath the top-tier machine within the lineup, the Galaxy S25 Extremely. Whilst you can simply make the argument that the Galaxy 25+ is not concentrating on the identical telephone fanatic viewers because the Galaxy S25 Extremely, the Galaxy S25 Edge clearly falls into the camp of consumers which are in search of a high-level expertise.

That is the place my major concern with the Galaxy S25 Edge arises. Whereas the Galaxy S5 Extremely gives a quad-rear digital camera setup, together with a 200-megapixel principal, a 50-megapixel ultra-wide, a 10-megapixel telephoto, and a 50-megapixel telephoto, the Galaxy S25 Edge’s rear-facing iPhone 11-like digital camera array solely contains a 200-megapixel principal and a 12-megapixel ultra-wide. It gives 2x sensor cropping optical zoom, however that is it. Throughout my time with the S25 Edge, I’ve discovered that I’ve missed the Extremely’s 5x optical zoom fairly a bit. Getting nearer to no matter I am capturing has all the time been extra helpful to me than snapping a wide-angle photograph. In fact, this would possibly not be a difficulty for everybody, although.

Nonetheless, I really feel just like the thinness and weight trade-off is value it for rather less optical zoom, and I’ve a sense a number of different individuals in search of a singular, cool-looking smartphone will really feel the identical. That stated, it is a trade-off calculation these within the Galaxy S25 Edge must make for themselves.