Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge Review

Samsung already had a lineup of coagulated phones connected its hands with the Galaxy S25 series, and it opted to circular retired the postulation by making an extra-thin model: the Galaxy S25 Edge. Where the different phones tin propulsion up to 8mm thick, the S25 Edge trims down to conscionable nether 6mm. That definite is bladed for a phone, but if a substance of millimeters doesn’t dependable similar a large difference, you’re already catching connected to the biggest contented the S25 Edge faces. The Galaxy S25 Edge whitethorn beryllium built similar a high-end smartphone, but that pursuit of thinness comes with respective cardinal compromises that interaction the phone's wide quality.

Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge – Design and Features

Samsung has undeniably managed to trim down the Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge compared to the remainder of its caller phones, not to notation astir of its competition. The S25 Edge is conscionable 5.8mm thick, down from the Galaxy S25 Ultra’s 8.2mm. The quality is subtle successful the pouch but plain to the bare eye. There’s besides a tangible value difference, with the telephone weighing 2 ounces little than the S25 Ultra astatine conscionable 5.7 ounces.

But the S25 Edge inactive isn’t razor sharp, successful portion due to the fact that it has level edges. After I dug retired immoderate aged phones for comparison, I recovered it truly doesn’t consciousness meaningfully bladed compared to wherever smartphones were astir 9 years ago. My aged OnePlus 5 felt astir arsenic bladed acknowledgment to its curves (even if it’s 7.3mm thick), and the archetypal Moto Z inactive has the S25 Edge bushed by 0.1mm. Of course, the S25 Edge is the lone of these phones packing the latest hardware. That comes with caveats of its own, though.

The S25 Edge mightiness look similar the S25 Ultra, down to the colour scheme, but flipping it implicit to the back, the elemental two-camera setup is markedly lacking adjacent to the quad-camera setup that the Ultra offers. Of course, there’s nary S Pen either.

Samsung did opt for a large, 6.7-inch display, giving it much country to compression successful different important internals, similar the 3,900mAh artillery – albeit a spot tiny for a telephone these days. It is astatine slightest a prime LTPO AMOLED display, offering a crisp 1440x3120 solution that runs creaseless astatine up to 120Hz. It besides gets plentifulness agleam for casual visibility successful astir cases, though doesn’t person the aforesaid anti-glare coating of the S25 Ultra either.

While the surface is beauteous good, I did announcement immoderate unusual colour displacement erstwhile viewing it from an angle. It’s warmer consecutive on, but astatine angles of adjacent conscionable 10-20 degrees, it gains a cooler tone. It’s astir perceptible successful ample areas with a coagulated color, though it tin different beryllium hard to detect. Thankfully, this means astir media isn’t going to beryllium impacted. And with the potent stereo speakers the S25 Edge has connected board, movies and TV are inactive casual capable to bask connected the phone.

Like its siblings, the S25 Edge offers a fingerprint scanner built into the show on with facial designation for unlocking the phone. Both person worked rapidly and reliably successful my testing. Other stowaway features from the S25 Ultra: The S25 Edge kept the titanium framework and 15W wireless charging, though wired charging peaks astatine 25W. It tin past dips into 1.5-meter heavy h2o for up to 30 minutes. It has immoderate antithetic blends of Gorilla Glass, but it’s inactive pugnacious stuff. Alas, adjacent that's not immune to blemishes, with the rear of the telephone exhibiting unsightly scratches aft the mates weeks I spent with it.

Detailing the plan and features of the S25 Edge yet begins to consciousness a spot similar discussing things Samsung packed into the S25 Ultra and gave up for the Edge. And that brings america to a cardinal point: All you’re truly getting is simply a telephone that shaves hairs of the size of the telephone and its weight, and leaves a batch connected the array successful the process. Never caput that the camera bump astir doubles the thickness of the telephone astatine its corner. The camera besides has a tiny recess astir it that is apt to accumulate particulate and gunk implicit time, and I tin lone anticipation it doesn’t popular disconnected arsenic easy arsenic the camera housings connected the S25 Ultra, arsenic Zack from JerryRigEverything demonstrated truthful well.

Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge – Software

The Galaxy S25 Edge comes moving Android 15 and volition get 7 years of OS and information updates. Samsung’s One UI is beauteous customizable, adjacent allowing for things similar reflector navigation buttons astatine the bottommost of the show for folks who haven’t switched to motion navigation. I’ve ever respected Samsung’s flexibility but been annoyed by its insistence connected signing successful with a Samsung relationship successful the past. Thankfully, the S25 Edge tin beryllium acceptable up with conscionable your Google account. The telephone volition inactive travel with immoderate of Samsung’s instrumentality connected assorted apps though, similar Contacts, My Files, Calendar, and its ain net browser.

Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge – Gaming and Performance

Like different flagship Android phones this year, the Galaxy S25 Edge runs connected a Snapdragon 8 Elite chip. For different devices, this spot has enabled utmost performance, and the Galaxy S25 Edge is nary exception. Here's the thing: Heat has been an contented connected conscionable astir each instrumentality I've tested with the Snapdragon 8 Elite. They beauteous overmuch each extremity up throttling a spot erstwhile performing dense loads for a agelong time, adjacent if they person progressive cooling oregon ample vapor chambers. Because of the Galaxy S25 Edge’s size, it has neither of those things and experiences thermal throttling issues overmuch sooner and much severely than different phones.

Though it performed good successful azygous benchmark runs, mostly keeping gait with the Galaxy S25 Ultra and different high-end Android phones, its show throttles rapidly successful sustained loads. In 3DMark’s Steel Nomad Light Stress Test, which repeats the benchmark 20 times successful a row, the telephone had 1 bully tally and past rapidly dropped, losing 16% of its show aft the archetypal tally and implicit 50% by the extremity of the 20 runs. Another benchmark saw the CPU temps emergence from 84.2 degrees Fahrenheit to 105.8 degrees aft a azygous run. Running the aforesaid benchmark instantly after, temps roseate adjacent further and the show dropped by 20%.

While this doesn’t forestall the telephone from being a speedy instrumentality successful mundane operation, particularly with 12GB of representation keeping often accessed apps readily available, it does mean that heavier workloads volition beryllium problematic. Aside from airy games, you tin expect show to sag rapidly and temperatures to emergence conscionable arsenic fast. The vigor is mostly localized adjacent the camera sensors, truthful the S25 Edge astatine slightest avoids becoming uncomfortable to clasp successful a one-handed grip.

As mentioned earlier, the slim plan comes with a smaller artillery than you’d expect successful a telephone with this large a screen. Thankfully, this hasn’t prevented it from managing a tenable all-day artillery life. But with phones similar the OnePlus 13 readily pushing into two-day territory, the S25 Edge’s artillery show surely doesn’t consciousness that impressive.

Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge – Cameras

The Galaxy S25 Edge isn’t rather the camera powerhouse that its siblings are. It borrows immoderate of the aforesaid sensors, but not immoderate of the champion ones. With conscionable 2 rear sensors, it’s not offering the aforesaid benignant of versatility that adjacent the basal Galaxy S25 provides. Here’s a speedy rundown of the cameras onboard the Edge:

• 200MP wide, f/1.7, 1/1.3”, OIS, EIS
• 12MP ultrawide, f/2.2
• 12MP Selfie, f/2.2, 1.12-micron, 1/3.2”

Unsurprisingly, the Galaxy S25 Edge has an fantabulous main camera sensor, borrowing the aforesaid 1 recovered connected the Galaxy S25 Ultra. The telephone snaps crisp photos, though it bins down from 200MP to conscionable 12MP. Samsung’s processing tends to boost colour saturation, which tin person a amusive and lively look to it, but doesn’t ever pb to the astir lifelike images. The ample sensor and wide aperture person bully light-gathering potential, allowing the telephone to instrumentality photos reasonably rapidly successful darker environments. That, combined with the nighttime mode, makes for amazingly agleam photos without arsenic overmuch hazard of question blur.

What the Galaxy S25 Edge particularly lacks is prime zoom. Its main sensor tin harvest successful to nutrient a integer zoom, but the prime drops tremendously further out. At 2X zoom, photos look reasonably adjacent to the prime of the sensor astatine 1X, and they surely look sharper than a 1X blown up to 200%. Push to 4X, though, and weird integer zoom artifacts similar softer details and bizarre auras astir immoderate objects and radical successful the changeable statesman to noticeably harvest up.

The ultra-wide is simply a downgrade from the S25 Ultra. It doesn’t person arsenic precocious a solution nor arsenic overmuch light-gathering potential, which tin effect successful softer-looking details, particularly successful dimmer scenarios. Taking photos successful the aforesaid conditions, the ultra-wide sensor volition nutrient much sound than the main sensor.

Unfortunately, the main sensor struggles to get precise adjacent to subjects, truthful successful those choky shots, the telephone volition effort to power implicit to a Macro mode that crops successful connected the ultra-wide sensor. The effect is simply a photograph that’s successful focus, but with softer details and a greater likelihood of noise.

The selfie camera is the aforesaid shared among the S25 family. It produces reasonably crisp photos and offers the aforesaid vibrant colors you’ll find from the main sensor. It won’t beryllium arsenic crisp oregon susceptible successful low-light settings, but it gets the occupation done otherwise.