The era of super-skinny smartphones has arrived with Samsung taking the lead. Beating Apple’s anticipated announcement of the “iPhone 17 Air” this fall, Samsung disclosed details of its ultra-thin Galaxy S25 Edge at a recent virtual Unpacked event.
Initially introduced during the Galaxy S25 series launch in January, the S25 Edge has attracted attention with its sleek design. Measuring 5.8mm in thickness, excluding the camera bump, it is the thinnest Android phone produced by Samsung, surpassing the previous 5.9mm Galaxy A8 released in 2018. The phone’s slim profile comes with a premium price, available from May 30, with pre-orders starting on May 12. The base model with 256GB of storage is priced at $1,099, while the 512GB model costs $1,219.
The S25 Edge includes a 120Hz 6.7-inch AMOLED display and a dual-lens camera system featuring a 200-megapixel main lens and a 12-megapixel ultra-wide lens, along with a 12-megapixel front camera. It maintains an IP68 rating for dust and water resistance.
Powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite Mobile Platform for Galaxy, the phone offers two configurations: 12GB of RAM paired with either 256GB or 512GB of storage. Despite its thin design, it contains a 3,900mAh battery, which is smaller than other models in the S25 series described as having batteries of 4,000mAh for the S25, 4,900mAh for the S25+, and 5,000mAh for the S25 Ultra. The S25 Edge supports fast wireless charging and reverse wireless charging, features that were expected to be removed for a thinner design but remain included.
Samsung’s One UI version of Android incorporates the Galaxy AI suite, offering features like “Now Brief” for scheduling notifications and “Now Bar” for live updates on the lock screen. Additional AI features include “Drawing Assist” for creating detailed illustrations from sketches and “Audio Eraser” to remove unwanted sounds in videos.
Concerns about the phone’s durability, such as potential bending, remain speculative until review units are distributed. The tradeoffs, such as a smaller battery and fewer cameras, may be considerations for potential buyers. The inclusion of two rear cameras distinguishes the S25 Edge from the rumored single lens of the iPhone 17 Air.
