Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge

At 5.8mm and 163 grams the S25 Edge is the thinnest and lightest Galaxy flagship ever, and nearly every reviewer concedes that picking it up changes their opinion of thin phones — even those who came in skeptical. The frame is grade-5 titanium with Gorilla Glass Ceramic 2 (a smartphone first) on the front and Victus 2 on the back, IP68 rating preserved. The camera bump protrudes enough that the phone wobbles noticeably on a flat surface, and several reviewers point out a case immediately negates the thin-phone benefit.

• After living with the Edge for two weeks, the lighter weight repeatedly tricked the reviewer into thinking she'd left her phone at home — the slimmer dimensions make a tangible difference in pockets and small bags the way no other modern big phone does.— The Verge
• At 5.8mm it is 2mm thinner than the iPhone 16 Plus and weighs 36 grams less despite the same 6.7-inch screen — picking it up genuinely feels strange and, surprisingly, not cheap.— Wired
• Samsung kept the titanium frame and IP68 rating, and the Gorilla Glass Ceramic 2 panel is a smartphone first — the Edge is undeniably enchanting in sheer feel and aesthetics.— Engadget
• The titanium frame meets the glass at a minutely chamfered edge that banishes the sharp digging-into-the-palm sensation of the S25 Ultra — for an hour straight it never once felt fatiguing.— Digital Trends
• The Edge ruined the reviewer's previously positive experience with the S25 Ultra in 24 hours — the Ultra suddenly feels thick and noticeably heavy by comparison.— Trusted Reviews
• Even on video of his own hands holding it the difference looks subtle, but it is very noticeably thinner to hold — the kind of feel-it-to-believe-it engineering you don't get from a spec sheet.— MKBHD
• Picking up the Edge was very reminiscent of his first time picking up a MacBook Air or a new iPad — 30% thinner and 25% lighter doesn't sound transformative on paper but absolutely feels it.— Mrwhosetheboss
• Just under 4mm thick, the camera bump on the back is quite prominent — including the lenses the Edge is almost as thick as the S25+, and on a table it wobbles back and forth considerably.— Notebookcheck
• The phone rocks a lot on a table due to the camera bump and even with a case the Edge won't stop wobbling because case-makers want to preserve as much thinness as possible.— Wired

The 6.7-inch QHD+ LTPO AMOLED is essentially the same panel as the S25+ — 120Hz, sharp, very bright. Samsung says it skipped the S25 Ultra's anti-reflective Gorilla Armor 2 coating because the coating itself would have added thickness, so the Edge gets the glossier finish back. PWM dimming only reaches 480Hz which Notebookcheck flags as a potential issue for sensitive eyes.

• The 6.7-inch panel is just as vibrant and wonderfully colourful as the S25+ — same OLED, same 120Hz refresh rate, no compromise on screen quality.— Engadget
• With auto-brightness enabled the panel exceeded 2,600 nits in HDR content and regularly cleared 1,000 nits, with even the manual SDR brightness boost hitting 700–800 nits in real testing.— Linus Tech Tips
• Slimmer bezels on an absolutely gorgeous display make the Edge feel like holding a portal — and the 2,600 nit peak brightness is right in line with the S25 Ultra's spec.— Linus Tech Tips
• The display is also fantastic, and the QHD+ AMOLED is one of the highlights of using the phone — battery aside, the screen alone makes the Edge a treat.— Trusted Reviews
• Samsung skipped the Ultra's anti-reflective coating because — and this is on the record — Samsung says the coating itself would have increased the phone's thickness.— Engadget
• The Ultra's anti-reflective glass is missing on the Edge — losing that anti-glare property is genuinely a downgrade if you've used the S25 Ultra outdoors.— JerryRigEverything
• The AMOLED flickers at a comparatively low 240Hz at minimum brightness rising to 480Hz at higher levels, and the amplitude isn't particularly flat — PWM-sensitive viewers may notice eye strain.— Notebookcheck

Short-burst performance is identical to the S25 Ultra — Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy, 12GB RAM, top-of-class Geekbench numbers, and Wired even reported some benchmark scores higher than the Ultra. Sustained performance is the real question. Notebookcheck's lab-measured 3DMark Wild Life stress test stability dropped to 46.3% (versus 54.9% on the S25 Ultra), and LTT documented benchmark scores 'dropping off substantially' as soon as the phone ran 3DMark Wild Life on a loop. The Verge and Engadget say everyday gaming runs fine, GSMArena lists thermal throttling under sustained load as an outright con.

• Despite the compact dimensions Samsung still found room for a vapor chamber inside, and the back rarely got more than lukewarm while gaming, multitasking, or doing anything else demanding.— Engadget
• Samsung's broader-but-thinner vapor chamber held up after an hour in Zenless Zone Zero with no abnormal thermal throttling — benchmark scores even came out higher than the S25 Ultra.— Wired
• A 20-minute Diablo Immortal session at maxed settings ran fine — the phone got toasty by the end but showed no performance drop, and everyday tasks rarely warmed it up at all.— The Verge
• Surprised to find a vapor chamber inside such a thin device, the Edge handled thermal load 'surprisingly good for a device that is so thin' across the tests run.— Dave2D
• As soon as 3DMark Wild Life ran on a loop, performance dropped off substantially — there simply isn't enough room for cooling in a phone this thin, and Samsung perhaps should have considered a lower-tier chipset for better balance.— Linus Tech Tips
• In 3DMark stress tests the SoC's performance dropped to about half of its original benchmark score, and Wild Life stability came in at 46.3% — lower than the S25 Ultra, Pixel 9 Pro XL or iPhone 16 Pro Max.— Notebookcheck
• Sustained performance isn't great due to thermal throttling — listed as an outright con in the verdict alongside the small battery and missing telephoto.— GSMArena
• Surface temperatures hit 44.9°C under continuous load — thermally safe, but the slim chassis clearly can't dissipate enough heat to keep the SoC at peak performance for long.— Notebookcheck

Two cameras only — the 200MP main from the S25 Ultra (slightly flattened to fit the chassis) and a 12MP ultrawide. There is no telephoto lens, optical zoom is gone, and the 2x and beyond are pure digital crops from the 200MP sensor. The Verge and Engadget defend the trade and say the high-res crop works at 2x; Wired, Digital Trends and GSMArena call missing zoom the camera's biggest disqualifier on a $1,099 phone.

• The Edge inherits the same top-of-the-line 200MP main camera that previously only the Ultra phones got — a real win for image quality on a non-Ultra Galaxy.— Mrwhosetheboss
• Samsung included a top-shelf 200MP main camera to make up for the missing telephoto, and the 2x crop zoom works fine for a little extra reach — colors are punchy as always.— The Verge
• Despite the slim body the Edge still uses a large 1/1.3-inch sensor on the main camera and a 12MP ultrawide — pictures up to 2x crop are sharp and image quality is solid in good light.— Notebookcheck
• There is no telephoto zoom camera at all — rare for a $1,000-plus phone today, and zoom quality deteriorates quickly past 2x digital, making this an uncomfortable choice for anyone who shoots distance.— Wired
• Missing telephoto is a serious downside even mid-range phones now include — the Edge is essentially banking on its thinness to drag buyers away from rivals that all have one.— Digital Trends
• The Edge lacks a telephoto camera and low-light photography is suboptimal — listed as a con in the final verdict despite the 200MP headline number.— GSMArena
• Samsung flattened the main camera lens structure to keep the phone slim, which makes the output slightly softer than the S25 Ultra — the same shot taken multiple times consistently came out a touch less sharp.— Mrwhosetheboss
• Coming from the S25 Ultra he genuinely missed the periscope zoom while travelling at Computex — for trip photography the missing telephoto is a real loss.— SuperSaf

The 3,900 mAh cell is the smallest in the entire S25 family — even smaller than the base S25's 4,000 mAh battery. Engadget's local video rundown clocked 25 hours 59 minutes (about 3.5 hours less than the Ultra and two hours less than the standard S25); Notebookcheck reached almost 18 hours of simulated web browsing. Real-world experience is split: The Verge survived a heavy Google I/O day with 20% left; Wired needed mid-day top-ups; Trusted Reviews hit 5% by midday after only two hours of screen-on time. Wired charging caps at 25W. The single most-flagged complaint is Samsung's decision not to use silicon-carbon battery tech that competitors already ship.

• A full day covering Google I/O with three hours of screen time and an hour-ish of hotspot use ended with 20 percent left — not amazing, but fine for a heavy use day if you can plug in by evening.— The Verge
• Engadget's local video rundown lasted 25 hours 59 minutes — about three and a half hours less than the S25 Ultra and two hours less than the base S25.— Engadget
• Almost 18 hours of simulated web browsing and over 25 hours of HD video playback in lab testing — sufficient for a day of intensive use even if it doesn't quite beat similarly priced rivals.— Notebookcheck
• After only four hours of screen-on time the phone hit 15% — only light-to-average use will get you a full day, and travelling I/O coverage required mid-afternoon charging anxiety.— Wired
• Off a full charge at 3pm, the phone hit 30% by morning and 5% by midday with only two hours of total screen time — Trusted Reviews calls this 'the phone that reintroduces battery anxiety' for the modern era.— Trusted Reviews
• Wired charging tops out at 25W and a full charge takes 1 hour 20 minutes — pedestrian numbers for a smartphone in this price category.— Notebookcheck
• The Edge sticks with regular lithium-ion battery tech, not the silicon-carbon anode chemistry rivals like the OnePlus 13, Xiaomi 15, Vivo X200 and several Honor phones already ship — a 15–20% battery boost left on the table.— Dave2D
• Skipping silicon-carbon was 'a big miss' — if Samsung had used it, the same thin chassis could have held meaningfully more capacity and the battery debate would have evaporated.— MKBHD
• If this were a more energy-dense silicon-carbon battery the conversation would be entirely different — but it isn't, and within a few years as the cell degrades buyers may regret prioritising thinness over capacity.— Mrwhosetheboss
• Wireless charging is 'Qi2 Ready' rather than fully Qi2 compatible — there are no magnets inside the phone, so MagSafe-style accessories require a separate magnetic case or adhesive ring.— Engadget

Same One UI 7 on Android 15 as the rest of the S25 lineup, same Galaxy AI feature suite (Now Brief, generative photo editing, Gemini integration), same seven-year OS and security update commitment. No platform differentiator over the cheaper S25 or S25+ — software is identical, so the Edge's pitch lives entirely on hardware design.

• Same One UI 7 on Android 15 as the rest of the S25 lineup, with the full Galaxy AI feature set including Now Brief, generative editing and Gemini as the default assistant.— Digital Trends
• Seven years of major Android upgrades and monthly security patches until 2031 — matches the best long-term support in the industry.— Notebookcheck
• Very pleasing and fluid One UI experience, DeX support, seven major OS updates — listed as a pro across the verdict even by reviewers cool on the hardware.— GSMArena
• Shout-out to the realtime visual Gemini Live feature — you can be on a video call with the AI and point at an object and have it answer contextual questions, real-world impressive AI even if execution isn't perfect.— Mrwhosetheboss
• Selfie camera supports log video recording — a small but real software differentiator the rest of the S25 series doesn't currently have.— Reddit r/Android

The titanium frame is part of the subframe (not just decorative), the front uses Gorilla Glass Ceramic 2 (a smartphone first), the back uses Victus 2, and IP68 dust/water rating is preserved. Notebookcheck's pressure and torsion tests showed no harm. Reviewers concede that anyone genuinely worried about bend risk has the option of a case, but doing so negates the entire reason to buy the Edge over an S25+.

• The titanium frame is part of the subframe — not just looks — and the front glass is Corning Gorilla Glass Ceramic 2, the first time it's been used on a smartphone, with Victus 2 on the back.— Digital Trends
• Pressure and torsion tests caused no harm to the review device — the IP68-certified titanium chassis is genuinely robust despite the thinness.— Notebookcheck
• Premium build with titanium frame and IP68 rating listed as a pro in the final verdict — Samsung hasn't sacrificed durability to hit 5.8mm.— GSMArena
• The 'great case dilemma' is the Edge's central paradox — buyers of an ultra-thin phone want a hardback case more than ever for protection, but putting one on negates the entire reason to sacrifice features for thinness.— Mrwhosetheboss
• It's only a 'basic' IP68 rating — other Android flagships now ship with IP69, and iPhones can be submerged deeper — so even the Edge's headline durability spec is slightly behind 2025 best-in-class.— GSMArena
• Although Samsung will have stress-tested it heavily to avoid a 'Bendgate 2,' a phone this thin still feels like jewellery you should be mindful of — not a workhorse device for back-pocket abuse.— Digital Trends

At $1,099 the Edge sits $100 above the S25+ ($999) and $200 below the S25 Ultra ($1,299) — but the Ultra is frequently discounted to within $50–100 of the Edge, which collapses the value pitch. Reviewers across The Verge, Wired, GSMArena, Ars Technica and 9to5Google ask the same question: who is this for? Reddit user sentiment on r/gadgets and r/Android is outright hostile — the dominant view is that the phone trades capability for fashion and that nobody asked for it. The optimistic case: an alternate flagship for fashion-led, non-techy buyers who want luxury hardware without S Pen, telephoto or thickness.

• The S25 Edge makes sense for someone who prizes a large screen without the bulk and weight of a typical big phone — and is easy on a battery and lives near outlets. Those are some pretty serious caveats.— The Verge
• As an alternative to the humdrum S25+, the Edge gets interesting — same $1,100 starting price as the Plus but with the titanium frame and 200MP main from the Ultra plus a thinner stylish chassis, and a real identity that stands on its own.— Engadget
• We shouldn't accept a phone with this kind of battery life today — instead of a thin phone with a small battery, the industry should be making a thin phone with a big battery, and the Edge just doesn't live up to the hype.— Wired
• Steep pricing at launch — the Edge starts at €1,250/$1,100/INR 110,000 and third-party resellers will sell you both the S25+ and the S25 Ultra for less, so for most users it may not be a sensible choice.— GSMArena
• This $1,099 smartphone is incredibly slim at just 5.8mm but also steps down in the camera department and packs an anaemic battery that may struggle to last all day — most manufacturers could never justify making such a strange, niche device.— Ars Technica
• Even though price-wise the Edge is closer to an Ultra, feature-wise it's way closer to the Plus — you're paying more for an aesthetic and a vibe rather than getting more tech, similar to Samsung's Z Flip pricing logic.— Mrwhosetheboss
• The Verge link to a sale showed the Galaxy S25 Ultra discounted to around $1,050 — cheaper than the Edge, which collapses any 'price-vs-Ultra' value pitch the Edge had at launch.— Wired
• It's more than just super thin, it's also a Galaxy phone that no one asked for — top r/gadgets comment with 283 upvotes captures the dominant user-voice take: gladly trade thinness for a beefy battery.— Reddit r/gadgets
• 'What a dumb device. Compared to the Ultra you get a smaller battery, no telephoto cameras, no anti-reflective screen, and a price that isn't much lower. Just spend the $150 extra and go with the ultra.' — 133-upvote r/Android summary of community sentiment.— Reddit r/Android
• The Edge is form over function — at the moment a slim Xiaomi, Oppo or Vivo with silicon-carbon battery is the more sensible thin-phone option; Samsung shouldn't try to lead the category until the battery tech is ready at its scale.— Reddit r/Android