I Was Wrong About the Galaxy S25 Edge. The Thin Phone Hype Might Be Legit

Admitting you’re wrong is never fun, but I’ll swallow my pride and say it right now: I was wrong about the Galaxy S25 Edge.

When Samsung unveiled the thin phone back in January, I didn’t quite see the appeal. Sure, slimming down components is an engineering marvel, but how will the battery and camera suffer as a result? Plus, is anyone really asking for a skinny phone?

But as the saying goes, seeing is believing. And perhaps more fittingly, holding is believing (not as catchy an adage, but undoubtedly true). Each time I pick up the S25 Edge, I’m surprised by how light it is. 

What’s not so light is the price. The S25 Edge, which goes on sale May 30, starts at $1,100. That’s a significant price hike over the $800 vanilla version of the S25, which is likely to put this one out of reach for a lot of people. Plus, thin phones can come off as a gimmick to snag more of your hard-earned dollars. But after spending a week with the S25 Edge, I now understand that a sleek design can actually help elevate the user experience and, for some, might justify that higher price tag.

In fact, I’m not sure I can go back.

Galaxy S25 Edge look and feel

My favorite thing about the S25 Edge isn’t how thin it is (5.8mm), but how light it is (163 grams). I hardly feel it in my pocket or bag, and typing on something so airy is enjoyable and refreshing. Strictly speaking, the Edge is one gram heavier than the baseline S25, but it has the same 6.7-inch display as the S25 Plus, so it’s remarkably light for its size. 

The phone’s titanium frame adds durability, but also gives the S25 Edge a nice matte finish that makes it feel secure in my hand. That satisfying texture extends to the frosted Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2 backing, which, along with the Gorilla Glass Ceramic 2 display, gives the phone an assuring sturdiness. It doesn’t feel like it’s going to bend when I apply force to it, and I’m not worried about it flexing in my pocket. That’s a relief, since I refuse to slap on a case and diminish the Edge’s slim appeal. 

Sadly, the Edge doesn’t borrow one of the best features on the S25 Ultra: an anti-reflective coating to minimize screen glare. It’s a missed opportunity, but at least the Edge’s 120Hz display is smooth and bright, with a peak brightness of 2,600 nits that makes the screen easy to look at even in direct sunlight. 

I tend to like bigger phones because of their spacious displays, but I don’t like the heft that typically accompanies them. The S25 Edge solves that problem, but it introduces another in its place: battery life. 

Battery life and performance

This is the key trade-off if you want a thin phone: Less space means a smaller battery, which translates to shorter battery life. The S25 Edge has a 3,900-mAh battery, which is the smallest capacity across the S25 lineup. For comparison, the S25 has a 4,000-mAh battery, the S25 Plus’ battery packs in 4,900 mAh, and the S25 Ultra has a 5,000-mAh battery.

I was hoping I wouldn’t really feel the difference, but it turns out I was just being foolishly optimistic. Samsung has said the S25 Edge supports all-day battery life, and that’s pretty much exactly what you should expect — but not much more. 

I’m a pretty heavy phone user, and with a single charge, I managed to pack in a good amount of social media scrolling, texting, navigating, photography and streaming, plus some calls (wild use for a phone, I know). That was consistent over several days. 

One day, for example, I started with a full charge at 3:40 p.m., and was down to 31% by 12:30 a.m. On another day, when I didn’t spend quite as much time glued to my screen because I was running around covering Google I/O, I started with 96% at 5:45 a.m., and hit 32% by 11:30 p.m. It’s worth noting that I have the always-on display enabled at all times, since quickly glancing at the time and notifications is something I just can’t live without, even if it takes a slight toll on battery life. 

In CNET’s 45-minute endurance test, which includes a combination of streaming, scrolling through social media, joining a video call and playing games, the S25 Edge’s battery went from full to 91%. In the same test, the baseline S25 reached 93%, and the S25 Plus finished at 94%. 

And in a three-hour streaming test over Wi-Fi, in which I watched a YouTube video in full-screen mode at full brightness, the S25 Edge’s battery dropped from 100% to 83%. The baseline S25 reached 85% in the same test, while the S25 Plus finished at 86%. 

Ultimately, you’ll get less juice out of that slimmer build, but S25 Edge offers just enough battery life to make me happy. Normally, I like having a good amount of spillover charge at the end of the day, simply as a reassurance that my phone can last a little longer if needed. But the S25 Edge has shifted my priorities. I’m enjoying the sleek form factor so much that I’m willing to make some compromises, even if that means I have to be sure to charge my phone each night, which is something I tend to do anyway. 

Another downside that is sadly common, even for premium Samsung phones, is that the S25 Edge doesn’t support super-fast charging, only 25-watt wired charging and 15-watt wireless charging. That’s not great for a phone in 2025. In a 30-minute charging test, the Edge went from 0% to 48%. It reached a full battery in about an hour and 15 minutes, which compares poorly to phones like the OnePlus 13, which can go from zero to completely recharged in just over half an hour, thanks to 100-watt charging. 

The fact that such a thin device can even power through a full day of my extravagant screen time is admittedly impressive. But I hope future versions scale up battery life, because I’d rather not compromise if I don’t have to. 

One of the S25 Edge’s strongest selling points is its Snapdragon 8 Elite processor, which also powers the rest of the S25 series. Apps launch quickly and run smoothly, and the phone never got hot when I was taking pictures and videos. Transitioning from landscape to portrait mode in YouTube is instantaneous, and multitasking is similarly smooth and seamless. Videos move into and out of picture-in-picture mode without any lag. 

That processor means the S25 Edge can also power all those Galaxy AI features Samsung really wants you to use, like Generative Edit for Photos and Audio Eraser for cleaning up distracting sounds in your videos. You’ll also find Google Gemini features onboard, like Gemini Live, which lets you have a back-and-forth conversation with an AI assistant, and Circle to Search, which shows you information about anything on your screen with a couple of taps (it’s one of my favorite features ever).

Benchmark tests for the CPU in Geekbench 6 place the S25 Edge well above the full Galaxy S24 lineup. In a graphics test using 3DMark’s Wild Life Extreme, the S25 Edge exceeded the performance of the iPhone 15 Pro, Galaxy S24 Ultra and OnePlus 12.

Check out the graphs below for more specifics.

Geekbench v.6.0

Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge 2,875 9,013Samsung Galaxy S24 1,955 6,255Samsung Galaxy S24 Plus 2,057 6,571Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra 2,136 6,675Samsung Galaxy S25 2,999 9,604Samsung Galaxy S25 Plus 3,224 10,143Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra 3,053 9,707Apple iPhone 16 Pro 3,507 8,750

3DMark Wild Life Extreme

Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge 5,702Samsung Galaxy S24 4,752Samsung Galaxy S24 Plus 4,808Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra 4,415Samsung Galaxy S25 6,496Samsung Galaxy S25 Plus 6,875Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra 6,950Apple iPhone 16 Pro 4,672

3DMark Wild Life Extreme — Average frame rate

Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge 34.15Samsung Galaxy S24 28.46Samsung Galaxy S24 Plus 28.79Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra 26.4Samsung Galaxy S25 38.90Samsung Galaxy S25 Plus 41.17Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra 41.62Apple iPhone 16 Pro 28

The S25 Edge comes with 12GB of RAM and storage options of 256GB and 512GB. I’m glad storage didn’t take a hit, since that’s one of the top considerations when people shop for a phone, according to a CNET survey from August. The other priorities? Battery life and camera. Which brings us to our next chapter. 

Scaled-back cameras that still deliver 

You’ll also have to compromise a bit with the S25 Edge’s cameras; the skinny frame only supports two rear lenses. Thankfully, Samsung has made that tradeoff a little easier by making one of those cameras a 200-megapixel one for its main shooter, just like you’ll find on the top-of-the-line S25 Ultra. It’s paired with a 12-megapixel ultrawide camera. There’s also a 12-megapixel selfie camera. 

There’s no telephoto lens, and the preset magnification options are limited to .6x, 1x and 2x. But that did the job for me. I don’t typically punch in more than 2x when taking pictures on a phone, though the next time I’m in the nosebleeds at a concert, I probably won’t be reaching for the S25 Edge to take close-up shots of the performer. The Edge also supports digital zoom up to 10x, which is a decent backup option, though that’s when you’ll start to see some noise factor into the image.

Overall, I’m really impressed by the pictures I snapped on the S25 Edge. It does a great job capturing sharp, vibrant images that aren’t under- or over-saturated. Portrait shots are crisp and even-toned, selfies have a nice smoothing effect that maintains detail, and nighttime shots tap into AI to brighten things up. 

Let’s warm up with a nice cup of tea. I like how the pink design on the teacup pops, without coming off as oversaturated. The lighting here is even throughout, and the details are crisp and clean.

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The pink roses in this outdoor shot really pop while maintaining an even tone throughout the image. The vibrancy of the surrounding leaves and multicolored flowers makes for an overall Instagram-worthy photo. 

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Portrait mode makes the shot even better, bringing the roses into crisp focus in the foreground and really giving them their moment in the spotlight. Meanwhile, the smooth and subtle background blurring effect preserves the setting’s overall beauty. 

Portrait mode also takes great shots of my friends, and consistently knows what to highlight in the foreground and subtly blur out in the background. In this picture of my friend Raneem, you’ll notice even the plant in the lower-left corner is also in focus, helping to maintain that eye-catching layered effect. 

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After the sun set, the camera still did a good job capturing vivid, bright photos — with the help of AI, of course. My friend Dana’s face isn’t as focused in this shot as I’d like, but I’m at least glad the overall image comes off as well-lit, and the candles on the table have an alluring glow.

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Selfies on Galaxy phones are consistently my favorite because of how nicely they smooth people’s faces without compromising detail and overall sharpness. The S25 Edge is no exception, and the colors here are true to life. 

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Finally, here are some examples of the preset zoom levels. These images were taken around 1 p.m., when the California sun was working its hardest. That helps to explain some of the harsher shadows throughout, but the bright blue sky and detail in the columns still make for a worthy shot overall. 

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Beyond the photos, I appreciate that the S25 Edge’s camera module isn’t too big or obtrusive. Sure, it sticks out a bit, but not in a way that compromises the phone’s overall slim design.

Final thoughts: Should you buy the S25 Edge?

The S25 Edge may be a phone you never asked for, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be your answer. 

In fact, I see the $1,100 S25 Edge as a truly worthy middle-of-the-line flagship phone — one that offers a fresh, elevated take on the baseline model and gives you a reason to spend a little more. I do think it’s priced a little too high, but I’ve also become desensitized by how expensive most phones are these days. At least it’s cheaper than the $1,300 S25 Ultra, but that’s not saying much.

Alternatively, the $1,000 S25 Plus has always felt like an awkward middle option that’s priced too high for what it delivers: a bigger screen with a slightly larger battery than the baseline S25. In fact, rumors are already swirling that Samsung may replace the Plus option with the Edge in future Galaxy releases. But Samsung hasn’t said anything about this, and we’ll see how people actually respond to the slim phone when it hits store shelves on May 30. 

Ultimately, if you’re bored with phones that all look the same (the S25 and S25 Plus share a striking resemblance to last year’s S24 models, for instance), the S25 Edge could be a breath of fresh air. I’ve grown so used to its thin, lightweight design that holding any other phone feels like a drag. If, like me, you prefer phones with larger displays, the 6.7-inch Edge has you covered, without the bulk. 

You will have to cope with shorter battery life, but the S25 Edge will still get you through the day. A scaled-back camera setup is another key compromise, but the absence of a telephoto lens doesn’t feel like much to mourn to me. 

Also, if you simply want to show off your cool new skinny phone at a party, I can confirm that this will do the trick.

I’m curious to see how people respond to the S25 Edge, and whether more companies — namely, Apple — hop on the thin phone bandwagon. We really could be at the edge of the next big phone trend.

Samsung’s Galaxy S25 lineup compared

	Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge	Samsung Galaxy S25	Samsung Galaxy S25 Plus	Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra
Display size, tech, resolution, refresh rate	6.7-inch QHD+ AMOLED display; 1,440×3,120 pixels; 120Hz refresh rate	6.2-inch AMOLED; 2,340×1,080 pixels; 1-120Hz adaptive refresh rate	6.7-inch AMOLED; 3,120×1,440 pixels; 1-120Hz adaptive refresh rate	6.8-inch AMOLED; 3,120×1,440 pixels; 1-120Hz adaptive refresh rate
Pixel density	513 ppi	416 ppi	509 ppi	501 ppi
Dimensions (inches)	2.98 x 6.23 x 0.23 in.	5.78 x 2.78 x 0.28 in.	6.24 x 2.98 x 0.29 in.	6.41 x 3.06 x 0.32 in.
Dimensions (millimeters)	75.6 X 158.2 X 5.8 mm	146.9 x 70.5 x 7.2 mm	158.4 x 75.8 x 7.3 mm	162.8 x 77.6 x 8.2 mm
Weight (grams, ounces)	163g (5.75 oz.)	162g (5.71 oz.)	190g (6.70 oz.)	218g (7.69 oz.)
Mobile software	Android 15	Android 15	Android 15	Android 15
Camera	200-megapixel (wide), 12-megapixel (ultrawide)	50-megapixel (wide), 12-megapixel (ultrawide), 10-megapixel (3x telephoto)	50-megapixel (wide), 12-megapixel (ultrawide), 10-megapixel (3x telephoto)	200-megapixel (wide), 50-megapixel (ultrawide), 10-megapixel (3x telephoto), 50-megapixel (5x telephoto)
Front-facing camera	12-megapixel	12-megapixel	12-megapixel	12-megapixel
Video capture	8K	8K	8K	8K
Processor	Snapdragon 8 Elite	Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy	Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy	Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy
RAM + storage	12GB RAM + 256GB, 512GB	12GB RAM + 128GB, 256GB	12GB RAM + 256GB, 512GB	12GB RAM + 256GB, 512GB, 1TB
Expandable storage	No	None	None	None
Battery	3,900 mAh	4,000 mAh	4,900 mAh	5,000 mAh
Fingerprint sensor	Under display	Under display	Under display	Under display
Connector	USB-C	USB-C	USB-C	USB-C
Headphone jack	None	None	None	None
Special features	IP88 rating, 5G, One UI 7, 25-watt wired charging, 15-watt wireless charging, Galaxy AI, Gemini, Circle to Search, Wi-Fi 7	2,600-nit peak brightness; 7 years of OS and security updates; 5G (mmWave); IP68 water and dust resistance; wireless PowerShare to charge other devices; 25W wired charging (charger not included); Galaxy AI; Wi-Fi 7	2,600-nit peak brightness; 7 years of OS and security updates; 5G (mmWave); IP68 water and dust resistance; wireless PowerShare to charge other devices; 25W wired charging (charger not included); Galaxy AI; Wi-Fi 7; ultrawideband	Titanium frame, 2,600-nit peak brightness; 7 years of OS and security updates; 5G (mmWave); IP68 water and dust resistance; wireless PowerShare to charge other devices; integrated S Pen; UWB for finding other devices; 45W wired charging (charger not included); Galaxy AI; Wi-Fi 7; Gorilla Glass Armor cover glass; ultrawideband
US price starts at	$1,100	$800 (128GB)	$1,000 (256GB)	$1,300 (256GB)

How we test phones

Every phone CNET’s reviews team tests is used in the real world. We test a phone’s features, play games and take photos. We examine the display to see if it’s bright, sharp and vibrant. We analyze the design and build to see how it is to hold and whether it has an IP rating for water resistance. We push the processor’s performance to the extremes using standardized benchmark tools like GeekBench and 3DMark, along with our own anecdotal observations navigating the interface, recording high-resolution videos and playing graphically intense games at high refresh rates.

All the cameras are tested in a variety of conditions, from bright sunlight to dark indoor scenes. We try out special features like night mode and portrait mode, and compare our findings against similarly priced competing phones. We also check out the battery life by using it daily, as well as running a series of battery drain tests.

We take into account additional features like support for 5G, satellite connectivity, fingerprint and face sensors, stylus support, fast charging speeds and foldable displays, among others that can be useful. We balance all of this against the price to give you the verdict on whether that phone, whatever price it is, actually represents good value. While these tests may not always be reflected in CNET’s initial review, we conduct follow-up and long-term testing in most circumstances.