Samsung’s new phone is skinny and light. That’s come with some compromises

Samsung’s Galaxy S25 Edge is undoubtedly a case of style over substance, and that’s not necessarily bad. It’s a lot like the other phones in the S25 line, and in fact it’s closest to the highest-end S25 Ultra. But it had to make several key compromises in the service of aesthetics - specifically to become as thin as possible.

The S25 Edge is not the thinnest or lightest phone that has ever been made. But it is potentially the thinnest and lightest to be made with such an enormous and brilliant screen, such robust durability claims, and so powerful a processor inside. It’s surprisingly competitive in most respects with the S25 Ultra, but it’s 2.5mm thinner and 55g lighter. Apple’s never had an iPhone this skinny (although it’s rumoured to be working on one), and the last time it had one this light was the iPhone 13 mini.

The question is whether having the thinnest and lightest phone is a worthwhile goal. If you don’t think so, you’re unlikely to want to pay $1850 for this device when there are many less expensive options with zoom lenses and long battery lives; two things the S25 Edge lacks. But on the other hand the display, performance and photo quality on the Edge are phenomenal.

And it’s not like the weight reduction serves absolutely no useful purpose. Having a device with such a large screen and such a low weight makes a big difference if you’re frequently holding it up with one hand, or balancing it on your little finger to take photos.

The S25 Edge feels extremely light, but for the most part it runs like the S25 Ultra.Credit: Tim Biggs

But before we go comparing it to other phones, let’s look at the S25 Edge on its own merits. At less than 6mm thick and around 160g, the phone looks and feels futuristic. It has durable Gorilla Glass front and back sandwiching a titanium frame, with the construction carrying a IP68 dust and water ingress protection rating, and the display comes very close to covering the entirety of the front. That display, by the way, is about as impressive as it gets; a 6.7-inch HDR OLED at QHD+ resolution and a smooth 120Hz refresh rate, with a little dot at the top for the selfie camera.

Around the back is where things are likely to get more divisive. There are two camera lenses here, one housing the same 200MP main shooter as the S25 Ultra, and one with an ultrawide that doubles as a macro thanks to its autofocus. But all that camera hardware is never going to fit into a 6mm frame, so it juts out in a two-step bump of glass and metal, making the phone around 1.5 times as thick at that one corner compared to the other three. It doesn’t look bad, but it gives the device an extreme wobble if you set it down face-up on a table.

And speaking of the cameras, they’re generally excellent. Shooting from the main unit on default settings gets practically identical results as on the S25 Ultra, which is to say photos are sharp, well-defined, taken quickly and given just a slightly hyper-real punch-up in the colours. In my opinion, it’s no better or worse than the category-leading iPhone 16 Pro. It just comes down to preference.

Portrait mode is also excellent, and macro can hand in impressive results, though I had to turn the automatic focus enhancer off because it was kicking in far too soon. Night mode has the opposite issue and I tended to need to turn it on manually, but results are great. And no complaints about the video recording either; given plenty of light you can get 4K 60fps with image stabilisation, and it looks great.

The iPhone 16 (7.8mm thick), Pixel 9a (8.9mm) and Galaxy S25 Edge (5.8mm).Credit: Tim Biggs

The main downside is the lack of a telephoto lens, as it limits you to a 2x maximum zoom before things get noticeably blurry.

Inside, the Edge is powered by the same Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite chip as the S25 Ultra, meaning far more raw power than you’re likely to need. But if you do really try to push the phone’s capabilities (for example, with resource-intensive 3D gaming or modelling), you’ll find that the performance tapers off a lot more quickly than it does on the big phone, and I assume that’s because there’s no room for cooling in that tiny chassis.

The other thing you’ll notice is that the battery does not last nearly as long. The 3900 mAh battery in the Edge is small by 2025 flagship standards, and tiny next to the 5000 mAh in the Ultra. In fairness, the battery has been lasting a lot longer than I expected, but my expectations were low. It did consistently make it through the day, but where I would expect an iPhone or S25 Ultra to still have 30 per cent or more left by bed time, the Edge would be in the red zone at around 15. Charging speed also isn’t phenomenal, at 25W max. But Samsung did manage to fit a wireless coil in there somehow so it’s easy to top up if you have Qi chargers around.

Software-wise this is the same OneUI Android as on the other S25 phones, which I personally think is the best Samsung’s operating system has been in a long time, even if it is filled to the brim with assorted AI thingamajigs.

The upshot here is that the Galaxy S25 Edge falls somewhere between the S25+ and the S25 Ultra in terms of capabilities, making it an incredible phone. And while it has a unique selling point in that very light and skinny frame, it also has the downsides of no zoom, shorter battery and fewer frames for hardcore gamers.

At $1850 it’s between those phones in price too, but it won’t be long before resellers have the Ultra for less than that, so the Edge really only makes sense if you love that svelte look.

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