Samsung has never been afraid to experiment, and the Galaxy Edge series proves it. When it was first announced years ago, with its curved displays, the Edge brand was innovative and revolutionary. Now in 2025, Samsung has changed “Edge” to mean something entirely different in the Galaxy S25 Edge, effectively calling it the slimmest phone in my “premium” class — the S25 Edge is only 5.8 mm thick, despite offering flagship internals and a great design.
On first impressions, the S25 Edge feels like the ultimate device for anyone who enjoys being classy and discreetly portable. However, like all engineering feats, compromise comes into play. In this diagnostic review, we will break down everything: design, performance, cameras, battery, and of course, real life use cases — to assess if this ultra-thin device lives up to its billing.
Design & Build
The most noticeable aspect of the S25 Edge is, without a doubt, its design.
- Thinness & Weight: If there is one factor in which the S25 Edge stands out against almost all other flagship smartphones today, it is its thickness. At just 5.8 mm thin, the S25 Edge is thinner than all other flagships currently available. The S25 Edge weighs around 163 grams, meaning it is incredibly lightweight in the hand.
- Materials: Samsung has gone with a Grade 5 titanium frame and Gorilla Glass Ceramic 2 for the front & back of the phone. This collection of materials keeps the phone feeling structured, despite its thinness.
- Colors: There are four sophisticated finishes: Titanium Silver, Midnight Black, Ocean Blue, and Blush Gold. All four options offer a polished, yet minimal feel.
- In Hand Feel: The S25 Edge feels wonderful in the hand. Instead of being bulky — like several flagship smartphones — the S25 Edge is sleek and easy to place in the pocket. This also contributes to a more comfortable usage experience over long periods. That said, being thin does make the significant camera bump more obvious, which can lead to the phone wobbling around when placed on a flat surface.
- Durability: The phone has an IP68 water & dust resistant rating, so everyday risks are unlikely to pose much danger to the S25 Edge. That said, if you were to drop the phone, it may be riskier than other thicker phones.
The design of this phone is luxury personified. The titanium edges have a cool, metallic feel and the thickness of the phone makes it feel futuristic. There are very few phones that can come remotely close to the S25 Edge when it comes to design.
Display
Samsung is known for its displays, and the incredible display on the Citron (aka S25 Edge) is 6.7 inches of Dynamic AMOLED 2X excitement.
- Resolution & Refresh Rate: a variable QHD+ resolution (≈ 3120 × 1440) display with refresh rates ranging from 1 Hz to 120 Hz. All the scrolling feels like butter, and videos are ultra smooth.
- Peak Brightness: the display peaks at approximately 3000 nits and is clearly visible under direct sunlight. It’s one of the best, if not the best, sunshine display with readability in the space.
- Anti-Reflective Coating: New advancements reduced glare quite a bit and enjoyably improved reading/video watching sessions.
- HDR & Color Precision: HDR10+ compatibility provides vivid, true-to-life images. The Vision Booster can also adjust brightness and contrast dynamically based on your conditions.
- Protection: The display is made from Gorilla Glass Ceramic 2, which provides improved scratch and impact resistance over the previous generation.
In short, the S25 Edge has one of the best displays of 2025. It’s ideal for media enthusiasts, binge-watchers, and gamers looking for mesmerizing visuals.
Performance
The Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy, which is uniquely designed by Samsung, powers the S25 Edge.
- CPU & GPU: Featuring an octa-core CPU with a strong GPU, the S25 Edge truly excels when gaming or multitasking. The reality is that you are always two steps ahead of your average experience since apps wake up almost instantly.
- RAM & Storage: You will receive 12 GB RAM and either 256 GB, or 512 GB of internal storage, but there is no option for microSD storage, so you’ll want to make a purchasing decision about your storage capacity at the onset.
- Thermal Management: To help manage heat production, Samsung has incorporated a vapor cooling chamber into the phone. And while this innovation does function adequately, the body does run warm during heavy gaming or video rendering. After 20 to 30 minutes of gaming and video rendering, performance will throttle back a touch.
- Software Experience: The phone comes pre-loaded with One UI 7.1 running on Android 15 that incorporates intelligent customizations. Samsung continues its commitment over 7 years of OS and security updates, providing reassurance this device is not going to arrive obsolete shortly after purchase.
Overall, this device provides flagship performance and may offer slightly less performance for sustained workloads; however, a casual user or heavy multitasker will not have problems. If your intent is performance from an avid gamer, then please consider you will experience some limitations regarding heat production.
Camera
Samsung has taken a chance with the S25 Edge camera, but this is also where some trade-offs are evident.
Rear Cameras:
200 MP Wide (f/1.7, OIS) — Takes beautiful, highly detailed photos in daylight with lots of sharpness and color.
12 MP Ultrawide — Takes acceptable photos, particularly in the daytime, but gets much worse in low lighting.
No telephoto lens — The 200 MP sensor will allow you to take a 2x “optical-quality” zoom through a crop of the sensor. It’s fine, but no comparison to a proper telephoto camera lens.
Front Camera: 12 MP selfie camera, slightly better with regards to skin tone and very good for video calls.
Video Ability: Shoots up to 8K video at 30fps and 4K at 60 fps with decent stabilization. Samsung’s Super HDR is also nice for video as it captures crisp video even in mixed light.
Overall, as impressive as the 200 MP sounds, and it does perform well enough when conditions are good, the S25 Edge doesn’t have the flexibility as the Ultra models offer with the dual 3x or 10x telephoto lenses. It does produce good low-light photo results, but the S25 is not a telephoto or professional photo camera.
Battery and Charging
The disappointing part about the slimness is with this phone’s battery.
Capacity: Just 3,900 mAh, which is smaller than the more mainstream 5,000 mAh batteries built into most flagship phones on the market.
Charging:
- 25 W wired charging, which is slower than what’s becoming the standard of 45 W or, in some cases, 100+ W.
- Wireless charging is available but is also slow compared to today’s standards.
Real-World Use:
- In my daytime use, it lasted around 12–13 hours on-screen under typical light/moderate usage patterns.
- In heavy usage or gaming, if I watched a video for an extended period, or used the GPS to navigate, I often found myself having to charge the phone in the early-to-middle part of my day.
Again, this phone will be fine for someone who isn’t a heavy user, but someone who uses their phone a lot will find themselves charging their phone two times in a day. This is very much the sacrifice you make with having a phone that is ultra slim.
Connectivity & Extras
Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6 subject to availability provide incredibly fast wireless connectivity.
eSIM + physical SIM support, although eSIM models will only be sold in some markets.
Stereo Speakers: Loud and clear, dialed in by AKG, but lack the bass appeal of chunkier phones.
Haptics: Crisp and careful, make the phone feel luxurious.
Final thoughts:
Samsung have designed the Galaxy S25 Edge for a very particular audience; people who want an ultimately slim premium flagship look and feel, paired with a visually stunning display. It isn’t designed to be the fastest, nor last the longest; it’s about achieving a certain aesthetic without compromising flagship performance in a uniquely slim body.
If you are a casual/moderate user, you will love all of the design features, the feel in the hand and the amazing display. In contrast, if you qualify as a power user, who worries about battery life, charging time and pro level camera outcomes, then you might be better served with the Galaxy S25 Ultra or future competing releases.
Samsung is a pioneer in the design space. The S25 Edge is an example of how a thin body can still be within a flagship category, even if you need to compromise on some items.
Quick Spec Snapshot
| Category | Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge Specs |
|---|---|
| Thickness | 5.8 mm |
| Weight | ~163 g |
| Display | 6.7-inch QHD+ AMOLED, 1–120 Hz, 3000 nits peak brightness, HDR10+ |
| Processor | Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy |
| RAM & Storage | 12 GB RAM; 256 GB / 512 GB storage options |
| Rear Cameras | 200 MP wide + 12 MP ultra-wide |
| Front Camera | 12 MP |
| Battery | 3900 mAh, 25 W wired + wireless charging |
| Build | Grade 5 Titanium + Gorilla Glass Ceramic 2; IP68 water & dust resistance |
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