Review: Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge

There is nothing inherently wrong with the Galaxy S25 Edge, Samsung's ultrathin Android phone. By that, I mean the Edge has a stunning display, excellent performance, and nice cameras. The software experience is rich in features, and it'll get seven years of updates. I'm not going to delve deep into many of these specs because much of it remains the same as the Galaxy S25 series, which I reviewed early this year.

But it's impossible to review this smartphone without looking at the full picture and what the $1,100 asking price can get you these days. The S25 Edge's pitch is that it's a supremely thin and lightweight phone with a big screen—hardly the first time a company has attempted this feat. But it makes a crucial sacrifice to get there, one that I think most people will find baffling.

Thin Edge

At 5.8 mm thick, it's 2 mm thinner than the iPhone 16 Plus and weighs 36 grams less, despite both screens sitting at 6.7 inches. Compared to Samsung's own Galaxy S25+, which shares the same screen size, the Edge is 1.5 mm thinner and 30 grams lighter. Those are some real savings, and it's hard not to feel impressed when you first pick up the phone. Such a big phone with such a light weight—it feels strange, and perhaps surprisingly, not cheap.

While I appreciate the lighter package, my fingers seem to want a little more substance to hold onto. I have large hands, so the edges of this phone feel a little too thin, whereas the Galaxy S25 Ultra feels a little more natural. One thing is for sure: If you frequently put a case on your phone for protection, the S25 Edge will feel even thinner. That's because you expect a case to make your phone feel bulky, but the few cases for the Edge I've tried oddly emphasize its thinness.

I need to point out that while 5.8 millimeters is impressively thin, Samsung isn't shattering any records here. Nearly a decade ago, Motorola made the 5.2-mm Moto Z phone. The upcoming iPhone 17 Air is expected to be roughly 5.5 mm. Even earlier this year, I saw Tecno's 5.75-mm concept phone, which stuffed a massive 5,000-mAh battery inside.

That last part is the problem with the Edge: It has a paltry 3,900-mAh battery capacity. That's the smallest of the Galaxy S25 series, 100 mAh smaller than the compact Galaxy S25. Samsung has made some smart optimizations to maximize the battery life of this small cell, but there's only so much it can do. The Galaxy S25 Edge's battery life is not good enough for a $1,100 phone.

Over the last week, I've been traveling with the Edge to cover Google I/O, and I've had to remember to charge it in the afternoon on most days. When I was away from a charger, I consciously decided to avoid using the phone so as not to drain the battery. I've often only had 4 hours of screen-on time by the end of the day before the device hits 15 percent. Mind you, with light to average use, this handset can last just about a day. Then again, if your needs are light, you hardly need to spend $1,100 to get a great phone.

In my 10 years of reviewing phones, I've frequently heard grumbles from the people around me when companies introduce thinner phones with smaller batteries. I have also heard complaints that phones are getting too big. The S25 Edge is still big—folks with smaller paws than me will still find it hard to reach the top of the screen—but the bigger size doesn't bring the benefit of a bigger battery. It begs the question, who is this for?

If you've bemoaned the same things, the clear winner for you is a folding flip phone. Devices like the Motorola Razr Ultra and the Galaxy Z Flip6 will match, if not offer slightly better battery life than the Edge, but you can fold them up and stow them in a pocket or purse even more nicely. No need to sacrifice screen size. Or just get the nice and compact Galaxy S25, which will last a smidge longer than the Edge.

Fringe Price

Samsung is positioning the Galaxy S25 Edge as a phone for power users who want many of the capabilities of the Galaxy S25 Ultra without the massive screen and weight. But the Edge has more compromises than just having the worst battery life: it charges more slowly, there's no S Pen stylus, and there's no telephoto zoom camera. It does have a few perks over the cheaper S25 and S25+, though, such as the ability to capture 4K video at 120 frames per second.

The results from the 200-MP primary camera and 12-MP ultrawide cameras are sharp and colorful. You won't find too much to complain about. However, I kept trying to zoom in on a lot of shots, and while the 2X digital zoom has decent quality, things deteriorate quite quickly at further zoom options. It's rare to find a $1,000-plus smartphone today without a 3X or 5X optical zoom camera, and it's sorely missed here.

I can't imagine many smartphone shutterbugs being happy with this (I'm not). It's not just about taking pretty photos! You'll have a worse time trying to get a nice shot of your kid on a soccer pitch or receiving their diploma due to the missing zoom lens.

More annoying is the fact that this phone rocks a lot on a table due to the camera bump. You might say it's the same with most phones these days (except Google Pixel phones, where the long camera bar keeps it stable), but even with a case, the Edge won't stop rocking because case-makers want to maintain as much of that thinness as possible.

My other concern was thermal performance, but this didn't turn out to be a big deal. A smaller phone means you likely won't have the same kind of cooling, right? Well, Samsung says the vapor chamber that dissipates heat is thinner but broader, and after an hour in Zenless Zone Zero, I didn't notice any abnormal thermal throttling on the phone. (My benchmark scores also turned out higher than the S25 Ultra.)

It boils down to what you're looking for in a phone, and I recommend heading to a retail store near you to get a feel for the Edge before making a decision. You might find the extra few millimeters of the Ultra or S25+ are manageable if it means a day and a half of battery life. Not to mention, you can find the Galaxy S25 Ultra on sale for as little as $1,050, cheaper than the Edge.

The lackluster run time may not worry you if you spend 99 percent of your day near an outlet. In my eyes, we shouldn't accept a phone with this kind of battery life today. Make a thin phone with a big battery. Or do something interesting, like a phone with a wooden back. Or bring back the 10X optical zoom camera from older Samsung phones. The Edge just doesn't live up to the hype.