Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge review: It’s impressively thin, with some major compromises
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24 May 2025 03:20:45 am.
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Early Verdict
The Galaxy S25 Edge is remarkably thinner and lighter than your average flagship model, complete with the same One UI 7 experience and Galaxy AI features found on the S25 Ultra. But despite its impressive design, the S25 Edge's biggest shortcoming is its battery life performance.
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Pros
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Sleek construction
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Outstanding build quality for being lightweight
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Bright screen
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Same Galaxy AI features as Ultra
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Top-notch camera performance
Cons
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Relatively short battery life
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The second most-expensive Galaxy S model
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Slower charging speed
Apart fromfoldable phones, the designs of today’sbest phoneshaven’t really changed all that much over the last decade I’ve been reviewing them. Each iteration has continually produced bigger phones, which seems to satisfy the appetite of what people crave. Samsung’s taking a slightly different approach with theGalaxy S25 Edge— and I’m still not sure it’s the right strategy.
Although the S25 Edge looks very much like any other ordinary slate from the front and back, Samsung’s focusing on its thin construction as a big selling point — all while including similar hardware as theGalaxy S25 Ultraand other flagship models.
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But at the same time, the $1,099 starting cost of the Galaxy S25 Edge with makes me wonder if the cost isreallyworth it, especially when the Galaxy S25 Ultra isn’t too far off at $1,299. There’s also theGalaxy S25 Plusto consider at $999, which offers nearly the same exact hardware.
In my Galaxy S25 Edge review, I’ll detail how this thin phone compares to Samsung's other models and who it’s for exactly. It’s hard to overlook how the S25 Edge is a surefire best Android phone contender, but the bigger question is if you’re willing to cough up the extra dough for a sleek and slender design.
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Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge review: Specifications
Galaxy S25 Edge | |
Starting price | $1,099 / £1,099 / AU$1,849 |
Display | 6.7-inch AMOLED, QHD+ resolution |
Refresh rate | 120Hz adaptive |
Rear cameras | 200MP main (f/1.7) with 10x digital zoom, 12MP ultrawide (f/2.2) |
Front cameras | 12MP (f/2.2) with 85-degree FOV |
Chipset | Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy |
RAM | 12GB |
Storage | 256GB, 512GB |
Battery | 3,900 mAh |
Charging | 25W wired, fast wireless charging |
Operating system | Android 15 with One UI 7 |
Water/dust resistance | IP68 |
Size | 75.6 X 158.2 X 5.8mm / 6.23 x 2.98 x 0.23 inches |
Weight | 163 grams / 5.75 ounces |
Colors | Titanium Silver, Titanium Jetblack, Titanium Icyblue |
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Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge review: Price and availability
Samsung certainly does make it hard on me to decide if the Galaxy S25 Edge is worth its cost. A phone this sleek is an engineeringmarvelon its own and surely deserves a premium cost attached to it, but there are trade-offs that I’ll go into detail in the other categories.
For $1,099, you get a phone with 256GB of storage. Upgrading to 512GB raises the price to $1,219.
There are three color options to choose from: Titanium Silver, Titanium Jetblack, and Titanium Icyblue. There’s a part of me that wishes for a couple of extra choices, especially considering how a phone of this caliber begs to be naked to show off its best asset. Samsung does make an ultra thin case that doesn’t add a whole lot of bulk, but it would’ve been nice just to have a couple of extra colors to choose from.
Though the phone is now available in Korea, Galaxy S25 Edge preorders are still happening in other parts of the world, including up to $630 off with a qualifying credit. Another incentive to preordering it now, rather than waiting for the phone's official release on May 30, is that Samsung automatically upgrades you to the 512GB for the price of the 256GB one.
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Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge review: Design
Galaxy Z Fold 6 (L) vs Galaxy S25 Edge (R)
Despite this engineering achievement, there’s a part of me that wishes the S25 Edge was thinner
I’m not entirely blown away by this design, but Samsung still deserves some credit on how the Galaxy S25 Edge is significantly thinner and lighter than any phone on the market right now. It’s hard to appreciate the Edge's 5.8mm frame unless I put it side-by-side against a Galaxy S25 Ultra or iPhone 16 Pro Max.
Despite this engineering achievement, there’s a part of me that wishes the S25 Edge were thinner. I know it may seem like I’m picky, but I just don’t get the sense that its thin construction rivals that of the original Motorola Razr from 2004, or how the iPod Nano showed a tremendous size difference compared to the standard iPod — I just don’t have the same impression with the Galaxy S25 Edge over other phones today.
Just look at the side-by-shots above against theGalaxy S25andGalaxy Z Fold 6to see how they're a tad thicker than the Edge.
The underrated part about the S25 Edge's design relates to its lightweight feel, which I think is much more impressive than its thinness. Tipping the scales at 5.75 ounces, it’s much more palpable in my opinion especially when the Galaxy S25 Ultra weighs in at 7.69 ounces. That’s almost a 29% weight difference between the two, which is pretty remarkable. However, the Edge is only 15% lighter and 22% thinner than theGalaxy S25 Plus.
For a phone this thin and light, I have to admit that the Galaxy S25 Edge still manages to feel incredibly solid — which is attributed to its titanium frame and Gorilla Glass Ceramic 2 covering its display. Whenever devices get shrunken in size, they can sometimes feel fragile, but not this. It also helps that this model features the same IP68 rating as the Galaxy S25 Ultra.
After I reviewed theMotorola Razr Ultra 2025, I’m less convinced by the Galaxy S25 Edge’s design because Motorola's device is almost the same size, weight, and thinness — but it’s a foldable phone. The specs show that the Galaxy S25 Edge beats the Razr Ultra, but they’re a lot similar in reality. And this is exactly why I’m not as enthralled by the S25 Edge design.
Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge review: Display
One reason why the Galaxy S25 Edge draws a lot of comparison to the Galaxy S25 Plus is that it features a similar 6.7-inch AMOLED display with QHD+ resolution. I personally feel this size is still too big for one-handed use, but it’s much easier to handle than the 6.9-inch Galaxy S25 Ultra — plus, it helps that Samsung has kept the bezels as slim as possible.
I will say that this panel looks really sharp and I’d argue it’s better than the one in the Galaxy S25 Ultra. Colors look rich, while it maintains its clarity at wide angles better than the Ultra.
But what’s even more impressive is how the Galaxy s25 Edge sports a much brighter panel, reaching a peak brightness of 1,997 nits — which is a smidge brighter than the Galaxy S25 Ultra. In fact, this is the Samsung phone with the brightest screen that Tom’s Guide has tested.
Galaxy S25 Edge | Galaxy S25 Ultra | Galaxy S25 Plus | |
Screen size | 6.7 inches | 6.9 inches | 6.7 inches |
Brightness (nits) | 1,997 | 1,860 | 1,350 |
sRGB % | 151.3 (Vivid), 131.6 (Natural) | 151.5 (Vivid) / 128.1 (Natural) | 152.1 (Vivid) / 124.1 (Natural) |
DCI-P3 % | 107.2 (Vivid) / 93.2 (Natural) | 107.3 (Vivid) / 90.8 (Natural) | 107.8 (Vivid) / 87.9 (Natural) |
Delta-E score (closer to zero is better) | 0.30 (Vivid) / 0.25 (Natural) | 0.25 (Vivid) / 0.24 (Natural) | 0.23 (Vivid) / 0.22 (Natural) |
Apart from that, it’s worth mentioning that the Galaxy S25 Edge features an adaptive 120Hz refresh rate that makes animations and scrolling with the interface so buttery smooth. All in all, it’s a superb display that’s perfect for me to squeeze in a TV show or movie.
Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge review: Cameras
The first compromise the Galaxy S25 Edge makes to reach its thin construction is the sacrifice to its camera arsenal. The rest of Sammy’s flagship line gets a triple camera array at the very least, but the Galaxy S25 Edge gets a dual-camera setup instead — which consists of a 200MP main shooter paired with a 12MP ultrawide. The trade-off here is that the Edge lacks a dedicated telephoto camera, which leaves all the zooming to its main camera.
Even though the camera and lenses protrude much farther out from the rest of the phone, I’m not terribly bothered by that, but there’s a fair amount of wobble if you lay the S25 Edge flat and try to type. Samsung doesn’t explicitly say it’s the same identical 200MP main camera as the Galaxy S25 Ultra, but the Edge is inherently at a disadvantage because all the other S25 models are backed by optical zoom cameras.
Around the front, there’s a 12MP selfie camera with a pinhole cutout for it.
Just like the rest of the S25 series, I really like the S25 Edge camera interface because of how robust it is over other phones. Enthusiasts like myself appreciate the manual photo and video modes it offers, which gives me more control of the camera settings. I also like the other modes as well, like panorama, dual recording, and expert RAW.
It’s equally suited for video as well with up to 8K 30 fps recording, LOG support, slow motion up to 1080p 240fps, and portrait video for that cinematic look.
Starting off with its 200MP main camera, I’m happy to report that the Galaxy S25 Edge holds up with this busy sidewalk shot in New York City. Both photos are evenly exposed and capture the same amount of detail throughout the shot — including the palm reading sign on the right side.
At first glance, I prefer the ultrawide shot from the Razr Ultra 2025 above because of its slightly wider capture and better contrast. However, the S25 Edge has better and sharper definition all around the tree.
With a dedicated macro mode, I can get really close to subjects with the Galaxy S25 Edge. There’s not a big difference to how it performs against the S25 Ultra with this closeup of a stick of RAM, which captures a lot of the same details throughout the circuit.
Not surprisingly, the Galaxy S25 Edge is at a disadvantage against the S25 Ultra when it comes to zooming — leaving all of that task to the main camera. In contrast, the S25 Ultra has two dedicated telephotos cameras.
In the first shot at 10x zoom above, I can see that the S25 Ultra draws out more definition and detail. From the fine details of the pigeon’s feathers, to the textures of stone, this shows the optical advantage of the S25 Ultra’s telephoto camera.
I pointed the S25 Edge and S25 Ultra to a statue right perched on the side of a building, and again the S25 Ultra shows how it captures better detail and definition. Those finer details appear non-existent with the S25 Edge’s shot, looking a bit smudgy overall.
Just like the S25 Edge, the Motorola Razr Ultra 2025 leans on its 50MP main camera for all of its zooming. I captured the sign above at 4x zoom to see the entire sign in the frame. The Razr Ultra 2025 holds up well when I look at the overall shot, capturing the same amount of definition around the wooden posts on the sides of the sign.
Low light is one of the more satisfying parts about the S25 Edge’s camera performance, as taking photos in the dark shows the substantial difference between Samsung's phone and the Razr Ultra 2025.
From how it brightens up the scene tremendously, to how it exposes details in the tree and leaves, low light is an absolute specialty with the S25 Edge.
Going through all the camera samples I’ve captured with the Galaxy S25 Edge, I can say it’s a confident shooter that can handle just about everything. The main camera thankfully holds up well to the S25 Ultra, along with its low light performance.
However, the Galaxy S25 Edge is undoubtedly at a disadvantage when it comes to zooming. I wouldn’t say it’s a total wash, but don’t expect as sharp images as a phone with an optical zoom telephoto shooter.
I captured video in 4K 30fps with both the Galaxy S25 Edge and S25 Ultra, both in HDR to better illustrate how they handle the scene above. There’s a lot the two Samsung phones have in common, like their details, stabilization, and audio recording. But the S25 Edge’s HDR mode better exposes the shadows throughout the scene.
Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge review: Performance
Not only is the Galaxy S25 Edge the thinnest Galaxy S phone to date, it’s also one of the most powerful as well, courtesy of its Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset and generous 12GB of RAM. This combo effortlessly handles just about anything you can run on the phone, while also juggling multiple apps without having to refresh them.
Galaxy S25 Edge | Galaxy S25 Ultra | Galaxy S25 Plus | Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6 | |
Chipset | Snapdragon 8 Elite | Snapdragon 8 Elite | Snapdragon 8 Elite | Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 |
Geekbench 6 (single/multicore) | 3,129 / 9,916 | 3,031 / 9,829 | 3,141 / 10,153 | 2091 / 7022 |
3DMark Wild Life Unlimited (fps) | 149.18 | 161.66 | 157.07 | 113.4 |
Adobe Premiere Rush video transcode (Miins:Secs) | 0:53 | 0:52 | 0:52 | 0:46 |
Benchmark scores also validate processing power, with average GeekBench 6 single and multi-core scores of 3,129 and 9,916 respectively, for the S25 Edge. Interestingly, these scores are better than the S25 Ultra, but behind the S25 Plus ever so slightly. I don’t notice any difference in terms of its real world performance, as the S25 Edge delivers the same zippy response with everyday actions such as opening apps, surfing the web, watching videos, and more.
Due to how Samsung shaves off a lot of space inside of the phone, the Galaxy S25 Edge features a newly configured vapor chamber to mitigate heat building. Although I don’t see a tremendous difference in how games I play religiously run on the Galaxy S25 Edge, 3DMark benchmark scores reveal it’s not as good as the S25 Plus or S25 Ultra.
The S25 Edge's 149.18 fps average frame rate with 3DMark’s Wildlife Unlimited test isn’t as fast as the other two phones, though this frame rate is still incredibly smooth.
Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge review: Battery life
Clearly the biggest compromise in engineering a phone this thin is that the battery isn’t going to be as big, and as a result, exposes the Galaxy S25 Edge’s biggest weakness. The 3,900 mAh battery inside is quaint by flagship standards, as the S25 Plus and S25 Ultra offer larger 4,900 mAh and 5,00 mAh batteries, respectively.
With the S25 Edge set to adaptive refresh rate, the phone posted an average battery life of 12 hours and 24 minutes in our benchmark test — far less than the other two S25 models. I also think it’s worth including the Razr Ultra 2025 in this conversation, too, just because it has a 4,700 mAh battery and similar size. Yet, the Razr still beat the S25 Edge with its time of 15 hours and 42 minutes.
Average Battery life (Hrs:Mins) | Charging % in 15 minutes | Charging % in 30 minutes | |
Galaxy S25 Edge | 12:24 | 27% | 54% |
Galaxy S25 Ultra | 17:14 | 37% | 71% |
Galaxy S25 Plus | 16:55 | 38% | 70% |
Razr Ultra 2025 | 15:42 | 40% | 72% |
In my day-to-day use, I notice the S25 Edge draining its battery faster than other phones, to the degree that I have to charge it at some point during my work day. Despite the power efficiency of the Snapdragon 8 Elite, it’s evident here that it’s not enough to offset the small battery of the Galaxy S25 Edge.
Now, I wouldn’t be as critical if the Galaxy s25 Edge could charge really fast in a short time, but Samsung caps the S25 Edge’s wired charging speed at 25W. It would’ve been nice to get 45W charging instead to match up better with the S25 Plus and S25 Ultra.
After 15 and 30 minutes of charging, the S25 Edge’s battery capacity gets to 27% and 54%. The Ultra, with its larger battery, reached 37% and 71% in those times.
Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge review: Software and AI
Luckily, there’s no compromise with the software in the Galaxy S25 Edge. That’s because it packs the latestOne UI 7experience on top of Android 15, along with the latest set of Galaxy AI features that arrived with the rest of the S25 series.
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This consists of newer additions like theNow Brief and Now Bar, with the latter acting very much like Apple’s Dynamic Island and Live Tiles to give me previews and mini players of certain apps.Cross-app actionsis here as well, and the AI agents it uses play nicely with the native apps, like being able to search for the next Yankees game and adding it to my calendar. Like the other S25 models, though, the S25 Edge suffers from a lack of deeper third party apps support for greater functionality.
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In terms of generative AI, the Galaxy S25 Edge has the same editing tools I’ve leaned on with the rest of the Galaxy S25 series — likeGenerative Editto erase objects with AI assistance,Sketch to Imagefor taking my crude drawings and making them photo realistic,Audio Eraserto take out background noise from my videos, andPortrait Studiothat applies an artistic touch to my selfies.
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When it comes to productivity, the S25 Edge is just as superb in the area with key features such as Multi Window that allows for up to three apps to run simultaneously on its large screen. It’s not as intuitive as the Galaxy Z Fold 6, but it still gets the job done.
The Galaxy S25 Edge also has my favorite Samsung feature,DeX, which allows me to connect it to a monitor for that desktop-like experience. I can’t tell you how this has saved me a number of timeswhen I left my laptop at home, so being able to tap into this adds more value to the S25 Edge.
There’s no arguing that the software is just as rich and deep as the rest of the S25 series, so I’m happy there's no compromise here. In fact, the Edge gets the same seven years of major Android and security updates that’ll keep on adding new tools and features.
Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge review: Verdict
I really want to like the Galaxy S25 Edge, but it’s difficult because I was hoping for much more out of this thin phone. First and foremost, the biggest trade-off in making a phone this thin and light is that the battery life is compromised in a big way. I wouldn’t be as critical about that if the charging speed were faster, but it isn’t.
The Edge's svelte construction serves as a precedent for all phones going forward, but it does pose a conundrum in the sense of how much value it offers by doing this. Again, I have to point out the Galaxy S25 Plus and its $999 cost. That’s $100 less than the S25 Edge, but the S25 Plus still offers a thin and light design of its own, along with a dedicated telephoto camera, a larger battery that lasts much longer, and a faster 45W charging speed.
At the same time, I have to include flip-style phones like the Motorola Razr Ultra 2025 into this conversation because it too has a thin design. Sure, it’s more expensive at $1,299, but it has double the storage capacity, longer battery life, and a distinct advantage of being a foldable phone. For me, it offers more utility than the S25 Edge thanks to its foldable design and outer screen.
And finally, there’s the Galaxy S25 Ultra at $200 more than the S25 Edge. You’ll have to deal with a thicker and heavier phone, but I think those concessions are well worth it because of how the Ultra has better zooming capabilities with its cameras, outstanding battery life, faster charging, and the extra utility of the S Pen. Plus, it has a larger screen to round it out.
I think I would be more impressed in the Galaxy S25 Edge if Samsung made it even thinner, while also shrinking down the size of the phone — but still packing the same chipset and cameras. Samsung’s lineup is already dominated by several phones with 6-inch displays, but it would’ve been different if there was another small phone option. The Galaxy S25 Edge is an okay start to this trend, but its successor is going to need to do a lot more to really differentiate itself from the pack.
Tags: Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge
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