Only 5.8 mm thick and weighing just 163 grams, the Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge is a smartphone that truly attempts to redefine the concept of portability. And I can confirm that during these past weeks of use, it’s drawn plenty of attention: friends and acquaintances were amazed by what Samsung has achieved, especially considering the display size, which is large, beautiful, and striking.
In short, the wow effect is definitely there. A bold bet from Samsung—one that’s paid off, at least from an engineering and user experience perspective. It’s a well-built smartphone, enjoyable to use, with a noticeably high perceived quality.
Galaxy S25 Edge: our tops & flops
The Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge puts pretty much everyone else in a tough spot. If you’re looking for a powerful smartphone that takes great photos (with a few caveats, more on that below), but is also beautiful, thin, and practical—there’s virtually no competition. It’s truly a product crafted with meticulous attention to detail: from its build quality and choice of materials to its graphic interface. As I mentioned in my Fold review, the new One UI is very pleasant, packed with AI-powered features, and well-suited to the business world—which, for me, is a big plus.
It’s not a top-tier cameraphone—S25 Ultra still holds that title —and its slimness comes at the cost of battery life, since the battery is relatively small. But overall, it marks a welcome return to lightness in a world of increasingly bulky smartphones.
What we like:
- Extremely light and pleasant to the touch;
- Excellent video quality;
- Among the best for productivity;
Cosa non ci piace:
- Battery life isn’t among the best;
- The ultra-wide camera doesn’t perform as well as the others;The price is very premium;
Prices in Scandinavia
The Galaxy S25 Edge is as thin as a Type-C connector.
As mentioned, with its mere 5.8 mm thickness, it’s one of the thinnest smartphones in the world — not the absolute thinnest, but likely the slimmest you can currently buy in Scandinavia. And this has a real impact: it practically disappears in your pocket. More than once I thought I had forgotten it somewhere, only to realize it was there all along.
Its weight, just 163 grams, further enhances this feeling of extreme lightness. It’s a smartphone that fits in a jacket pocket without causing any discomfort. Perfect for those who prioritize maximum portability without sacrificing a large display. Speaking of which: it’s actually thinner than a Type-C connector itself, which slightly protrudes from the bottom.
I must admit, I was initially a bit concerned: could such a thin smartphone also be fragile? But actually, no. Samsung made a very smart (perhaps intentional, perhaps lucky) choice: flat edges and a squared-off design, with no unnecessary curves on the front or back — a radical shift from the older Edge series, which used to feature curved screens. This helps ergonomics a lot: it grips well, feels even better in hand, and gives a solid impression. Personally, I’ve changed my mind — I used to think thinness and lightness weren’t real advantages, but in daily use, they’re definitely a plus. Especially considering the generous display size, which remains perfectly functional for any task.
On the front, there’s a 6.7-inch Dynamic AMOLED display — very bright, with peak brightness up to 2600 nits. The resolution is Quad HD+, with HDR10+ support and an adaptive refresh rate from 1 to 120 Hz. The bezels aren’t quite as thin as those on the S25 Ultra, but they’re still very slim. The result? An excellent panel, with vibrant colors, strong contrast, and great visibility even outdoors. In short, the standard we’ve come to expect from Samsung — and that’s confirmed once again here. The audio is also surprisingly good: rich and high-quality, on par with other S25 series models. Not something to be taken for granted, given the device’s thinness.
Under the hood is the new Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 for Galaxy — a reliable performance powerhouse. But I won’t dwell on this too much, since at this level, high performance is a given.
As for materials, it uses the same ones found in the Galaxy S25 Ultra. The frame is made of titanium — solid yet lightweight. The front is protected by the new Gorilla Glass Ceramic 2, used here for the first time, while the back features Gorilla Glass Invictus 2. After several days of use, the phone is still spotless — a sign of excellent durability. The only drawback? There’s no anti-reflective coating on the front glass — but that can be fixed with a screen protector.
Build quality is impeccable: there’s no flexing or fragile feel. Of course, it’s also dust- and water-resistant, thanks to its IP certifications.
Forget about bugs
During the entire week of use, I did not notice any overheating issues. Only in very rare cases, when running multiple tasks simultaneously — for example during benchmarks, which anyway don’t represent a real-world use case — I noticed a slight warmth. Even during gaming sessions, the smartphone generally stays cool, or at most lukewarm.
The processor is the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 for Galaxy, paired with 12 GB of LPDDR5X RAM and UFS 4.0 storage options of 256 or 512 GB. There’s no microSD slot, but connectivity-wise it’s comprehensive: 5G, Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.4, NFC, Ultra Wide Band, and USB 3.2 Type-C. Reception is good, although not outstanding: it’s on par with the other S25 models, Plus and Ultra included. If this aspect improved a bit, it wouldn’t be bad.
Under the display, there’s an ultrasonic fingerprint sensor that works very well. A tip: if you install a glass screen protector, delete the registered fingerprint and redo it — you’ll notice significant improvements.
As for the software, I’ll be brief since I’ve already covered it in a dedicated article. The phone comes with Android 15 and One UI 7 but will soon receive One UI 8 with Android 16. Most importantly, it will get 7 years of software updates and 7 years of security patches. The software is very complete — nothing is missing either among classic features or exclusive ones from the Galaxy S series, because this is, after all, a full-fledged S25 with all the associated benefits.
In terms of smoothness, nothing to complain about: it’s on par with the S25, S25 Plus, and S25 Ultra. If you’ve tried them, you already know what to expect: perfect animations, always responsive system, excellent stability. Absolutely approved.
What photos, what videos!
The main sensor is 200 megapixels, the same as Samsung declared for the Galaxy S25 Ultra. The camera setup is completed by a 12-megapixel ultra-wide sensor and a 12-megapixel selfie camera. However, it lacks a telephoto lens, which I personally missed a lot: I use it extensively. Here you can zoom well up to 3x or 4x, but beyond that — already at 5x — the image starts to pixelate. The maximum zoom is only 10x.
As for photo quality, it’s on par with the other S25 models on the main sensor. Sometimes it performs slightly better, sometimes slightly worse, perhaps due to a slightly less effective optical stabilization. But overall, 80% of the photos are really excellent, even in low light. Here, artificial intelligence also plays a role, greatly improving results in poor lighting conditions.
It’s a shame about the ultra-wide: it’s not the same improved sensor from the S25 Ultra (which was a nice innovation), but the usual 12 MP sensor already seen on the base S25 and Plus. The results are similar: good, but nothing exceptional. However, when needed, it does its job.
In video, it can record in 4K at 60 fps with sensor switching and also in 8K at 30 fps. It supports Log recording and advanced video profiles. In short, it’s very complete from this point of view as well.
It’s not a champion in battery life.
Here comes the criticism. The battery is 3900 mAh, and yes, it’s similar to the 4000 mAh in the base Galaxy S25. But in my opinion, Samsung missed a golden opportunity. They could have brought to market a slim smartphone with a more innovative battery, perhaps silicon-carbon, of 4500 or even 5000 mAh.
That would have given the product a whole different (metaphorical) weight, making it truly revolutionary: a thin smartphone with flagship-level battery life. Instead, we end up with average battery life and a Quad HD+ display that consumes a bit more than the base models. It’s a real shame because the rest of the project is genuinely interesting and bold. A small leap forward in battery capacity would have made the Galaxy S25 Edge not only a marvel of design and engineering but also a true icon of portability and endurance.
In fact, the Galaxy S25 performs well on battery life, but the S25 Edge reaches at most about 4 and a half hours of screen-on time, depending on usage. If you’re often outdoors, frequently switching cells and on the move—say, on a sunny day—you might get down to 3 and a half or at most 4 hours of active use, which for some can still correspond to a standard workday.
The problem arises on those particular days when you face an unexpected event or emergency and can’t charge your phone at 9 PM, needing to push on until 11 PM or midnight. In those cases, the S25 Edge might not guarantee the necessary battery life. I don’t completely dismiss it, but the criticism seems fair: Samsung missed an important chance to bring to market, for the first time, a smartphone this thin without compromises on the battery. And battery is precisely the component that usually gets sacrificed the most in ultra-thin devices because there’s no space for a large cell.
Charging is 25W wired and 15W wireless.
