I held Samsung's super-thin Galaxy S25 Edge, and it made my Ultra model feel outdated

It finally happened. After months of anticipation, I held the phone that may just kick off a new wave of ultra-thin handsets, the Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge. The vibes remind me of when Samsung launched the first mass-market foldable phone in 2019 — I don’t remember the last time I was this excited to check out a new phone at 8 a.m. in the morning — but this time, things are a little more timid, safe, and polished.

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The $1,099 Galaxy S25 Edge doesn’t bend, have a rollable display, or shape-shift in any way. Instead, Samsung is banking on its thin and light form factor to appeal to the masses, flexing the company’s hardware design experience to bring its next big vision of mobile computing to market. Whether it succeeds or not depends solely on how badly you want to lose a few grams from your pocket — and how much battery life you’re willing to sacrifice for it.

Ahead of today’s virtual Unpacked event, I spent a good hour testing the Galaxy S25 Edge, comparing its hand-feel with other mainstream phones, testing the 200MP-led camera system, and getting as many of my most curious questions answered. Here are my takeaways for now.

The Galaxy S25 Edge measures just 5.8mm thick and weighs 163 grams, making it the thinnest and lightest Galaxy S phone on the market. Notably, Samsung doesn’t call this its thinnest phone in general because the brand’s Z Flip and Fold models still hold that honor when they’re unfolded. 

Nevertheless, achieving such a burdenless form factor is worthy of applause, especially when the company has kept mostly everything else from its flagship S series phones intact, including 15W wireless charging, mmWave 5G support, the 200MP main camera, and a titanium frame that helps lessen the weight while improving durability.

Also: I’ve tested every Samsung Galaxy S25 model – and my favorite isn’t the Ultra

When held in hand, the Galaxy S25 Edge almost feels like an illusion. I’ve been so hardwired to a certain heft when holding phones with 6.5-inch+ displays that the Galaxy S25 Edge just doesn’t feel real. Comparatively, my Galaxy S25 Ultra, which clocks in at 218 grams, is much more unwieldy, with sharper corners that dig into my palms and the ergonomics of a calculator.

The other durability upgrade is a Corning Gorilla Glass Ceramic 2 that covers the 6.7-inch display, which Samsung describes as featuring “crystals intricately embedded within its glass matrix, enhancing the durability and crack deflection capabilities of the display cover.” 

While on paper, it’s a step-up from the Galaxy S25 Ultra’s Gorilla Armor 2, the S25 Edge lacks the useful anti-reflective coating, which feels like a missed opportunity considering how mobile this phone is.

One of the biggest limitations with building an ultra-slim phone is internal real estate — the amount of space manufacturers have to fit in all the necessary components to power the system, without making the experience feel compromised.

With the Galaxy S25 Edge, you’re looking at a 3,900mAh battery (100mAh less than the smallest Galaxy S25), a dual-camera system (instead of three) that includes a 12MP ultrawide sensor, a larger vapor cooling chamber for improved thermal management, and 25W wired charging. It’s very clear where Samsung cut corners with this model, but the question is, how much will they impact real-world experience?

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To alleviate the battery situation, Samsung is calling on the flagship Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy chipset, the same processor that powers the rest of the Galaxy S25 lineup. Sure, the graphics performance and NPU boost are nice to have, but it’s the chipset’s power efficiency that will really be put to the test with this phone.

I’ll leave you with a bit of a hot take: the biggest competitor to the Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge may not actually be Apple’s rumored iPhone 17 Air. Instead, shoppers will be most split between the Galaxy S25 Edge and the Galaxy S25 Plus, which features a larger battery (4,900mAh versus 3,900mAh), an extra telephoto camera sensor, a faster wired charging speed (45W versus 25W), and a more accessible price ($999 versus $1,099).

Like the very first Galaxy Fold that came out years ago, the new Galaxy S25 Edge demands a premium for innovation. But the crucial question for consumers, however, is the true value they assign to the phone’s defining feature: thinness. Samsung certainly thinks that it’s high on most people’s list.