I was wrong about the super-thin Galaxy S25 Edge (it doesn’t suck)

Abstract

I used to be initially fairly essential 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 virtually the proper Android machine for me.
Regardless of being a usually strong, cool-looking cellphone, the Galaxy S25 Edge is way from excellent, nevertheless.

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

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

“Who precisely is that this cellphone for?,” is the important thing query that saved operating via my head. However after spending the previous few days with the Galaxy S25 Edge, I feel it is likely to be virtually the proper Android machine for me.

Associated

Is the Galaxy S25 Edge really worth $1,100? I went hands-on and here are my thoughts

The primary skinny cellphone has arrived, however does it dwell as much as the hype?

See our course of

How we test and review products at Pocket-lint

We do not do arm-chair analysis. We purchase and take a look at our personal merchandise, and we solely publish purchaser’s guides with merchandise we have truly reviewed.

It is delightfully skinny and lightweight

I proceed to be shocked that it appears like I am holding virtually nothing

Galaxy S25 Edge sliding into a shorts pocket

By far the perfect factor concerning the Galaxy S25 Edge is how skinny (0.23-inches or 5.8mm) and lightweight (5.7oz or 163g) it’s. The cellphone is barely heavier than the bottom Galaxy S25, however it 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 virtually nothing there, in contrast to my weighty iPhone 16 Pro. The S25 Edge appears like a giant cellphone, 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 encompasses a skinny design and a rear-facing dual-camera array with an f/1.7 200-megapixel broad 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. Nonetheless, now that I’ve spent extra time with the cellphone, I not solely see it however really feel it too. At occasions, it is tough to consider 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 would see this fall.

It additionally does not really feel like I am about to expertise “Bendgate 2,” due to 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 not been frightened concerning the machine bending in any respect. It is sturdy and strong, identical to the remainder of the Galaxy S25 lineup.

Associated

I finally found the PC that made me give up console gaming

I’ve gone over to the fidelity-filled darkish aspect, and do not suppose I can return.

The battery life is not as unhealthy as I anticipated

With common use, the Galaxy S25 Edge’s battery feels so much 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 couple of messages, and listening to podcasts — I have not actually felt the distinction in battery life. This has shocked 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’s totally responsive and snappy, too).

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

Associated

If you don’t log in to your old Samsung account soon, you could lose it forever

Samsung will start deleting accounts which have been inactive for over two years beginning July 31, 2025.

I am a sucker for distinctive telephones that look cool

It takes so much 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 have been thrilling and totally different a couple of years in the past and actually felt like the way forward for the smartphone business.

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

ROG Ally X playing a game with a car on a dirt road.

Associated

I wasn’t expecting the ROG Ally X to outshine the Steam Deck quite this much

Each gaming handhelds have particular strengths and weaknesses, however usually, the ROG Ally X reigns supreme.

It does have a couple of downsides, although

Fewer cameras and a less-than-ideal worth

Regardless of being a usually strong, cool-looking cellphone, the Galaxy S25 Edge is way 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 underneath 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 cellphone fanatic viewers because the Galaxy S25 Extremely, the Galaxy S25 Edge clearly falls into the camp of patrons which might be on the lookout for a high-level expertise.

That is the place my main concern with the Galaxy S25 Edge arises. Whereas the Galaxy S5 Extremely gives a quad-rear digicam setup, together with a 200-megapixel predominant, a 50-megapixel ultra-wide, a 10-megapixel telephoto, and a 50-megapixel telephoto, the Galaxy S25 Edge’s rear-facing iPhone 11-like digicam array solely encompasses a 200-megapixel predominant 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 taking pictures has all the time been extra helpful to me than snapping a wide-angle photograph. In fact, this would possibly not be a problem for everybody, although.

Nonetheless, I really feel just like the thinness and weight trade-off is price it for rather less optical zoom, and I’ve a sense a variety of different individuals on the lookout for a singular, cool-looking smartphone will really feel the identical. That stated, this can be a trade-off calculation these within the Galaxy S25 Edge should make for themselves.