8.5/ 10 SCORE Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge Pros
Lightweight design
200-megapixel predominant digital camera
Durable titanium body and Gorilla Glass back and front
Powerful Snapdragon 8 Elite processor
12GB of RAM
Cons
Mediocre battery life
Only 25-watt wired charging
Steep $1,100 price ticket
Just two rear cameras
Admitting you are improper isn’t enjoyable, however I’ll swallow my delight and say it proper now: I used to be improper concerning the Galaxy S25 Edge.When Samsung unveiled the skinny cellphone again in January, I did not fairly see the enchantment. Sure, slimming down elements is an engineering marvel, however how will the battery and digital camera endure consequently? Plus, is anybody actually asking for a thin cellphone?But because the saying goes, seeing is believing. And maybe extra fittingly, holding is believing (not as catchy an adage, however undoubtedly true). Each time I decide up the S25 Edge, I’m shocked by how gentle it’s. Watch this: Galaxy S25 Edge Review: This Skinny Phone Left a Big Impression
06:24 What’s not so gentle is the value. The S25 Edge, which works on sale May 30, begins at $1,100. That’s a big value hike over the $800 vanilla model of the S25, which is more likely to put this one out of attain for lots of people. Plus, skinny telephones can come off as a gimmick to snag extra of your hard-earned {dollars}. But after spending per week with the S25 Edge, I now perceive {that a} smooth design can really assist elevate the consumer expertise and, for some, would possibly justify that increased price ticket.In reality, I’m unsure I can return. Jesse Orrall/CNETGalaxy S25 Edge appear and feelMy favourite factor concerning the S25 Edge is not how skinny it’s (5.8mm), however how gentle it’s (163 grams). I hardly really feel it in my pocket or bag, and typing on one thing so ethereal is pleasing and refreshing. Strictly talking, the Edge is one gram heavier than the baseline S25, nevertheless it has the identical 6.7-inch show because the S25 Plus, so it is remarkably gentle for its dimension. The cellphone’s titanium body provides sturdiness, but in addition provides the S25 Edge a pleasant matte end that makes it really feel safe in my hand. That satisfying texture extends to the frosted Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2 backing, which, together with the Gorilla Glass Ceramic 2 show, provides the cellphone an assuring sturdiness. It would not really feel like it is going to bend after I apply power to it, and I’m not nervous about it flexing in my pocket. That’s a aid, since I refuse to slap on a case and diminish the Edge’s slim enchantment. Sadly, the Edge would not borrow probably the greatest options on the S25 Ultra: an anti-reflective coating to attenuate display screen glare. It’s a missed alternative, however no less than the Edge’s 120Hz show is clean and brilliant, with a peak brightness of two,600 nits that makes the display screen simple to take a look at even in direct daylight. I have a tendency to love greater telephones due to their spacious shows, however I do not just like the heft that sometimes accompanies them. The S25 Edge solves that downside, nevertheless it introduces one other instead: battery life. Jesse Orrall/CNETBattery life and efficiencyThis is the important thing trade-off in order for you a skinny cellphone: Less area means a smaller battery, which interprets to shorter battery life. The S25 Edge has a 3,900-mAh battery, which is the smallest capability throughout the S25 lineup. For comparability, the S25 has a 4,000-mAh battery, the S25 Plus’ battery packs in 4,900 mAh, and the S25 Ultra has a 5,000-mAh battery.I hoped I would not actually really feel the distinction, nevertheless it seems I used to be simply being foolishly optimistic. Samsung has stated the S25 Edge helps all-day battery life, and that is just about precisely what it is best to anticipate — however not far more. I’m a fairly heavy cellphone consumer, and with a single cost, I managed to pack in quantity of social media scrolling, texting, navigating, images and streaming, plus some calls (wild use for a cellphone, I do know). That was constant over a number of days. One day, for instance, I began with a full cost at 3:40 p.m., and was right down to 31% by 12:30 a.m. On one other day, after I did not spend fairly as a lot time glued to my display screen as a result of I used to be operating round protecting Google I/O, I began with 96% at 5:45 a.m., and hit 32% by 11:30 p.m. It’s price noting that I’ve the always-on show enabled always, since shortly glancing on the time and notifications is one thing I simply can’t reside with out, even when it takes a slight toll on battery life. Jesse Orrall/CNETIn CNET’s 45-minute endurance check, which features a mixture of streaming, scrolling by means of social media, becoming a member of a video name and enjoying video games, the S25 Edge’s battery went from full to 91%. In the identical check, the baseline S25 reached 93%, and the S25 Plus completed at 94%. And in a three-hour streaming check over Wi-Fi, wherein I watched a YouTube video in full-screen mode at full brightness, the S25 Edge’s battery dropped from 100% to 83%. The baseline S25 reached 85% in the identical check, whereas the S25 Plus completed at 86%. Ultimately, you may get much less juice out of that slimmer construct, however S25 Edge presents simply sufficient battery life to make me comfortable. Normally, I like having quantity of spillover cost on the finish of the day, merely as a reassurance that my cellphone can final a bit of longer if wanted. But the S25 Edge has shifted my priorities. I’m having fun with the smooth kind issue a lot that I’m prepared to make some compromises, even when meaning I’ve to you should definitely cost my cellphone every night time, which is one thing I are likely to do anyway. The Galaxy S25 (left), subsequent to the S25 Plus (middle) and S25 Edge (proper). Jesse Orrall/CNETAnother draw back that’s sadly frequent, even for premium Samsung telephones, is that the S25 Edge would not assist super-fast charging, solely 25-watt wired charging and 15-watt wi-fi charging. That’s not nice for a cellphone in 2025. In a 30-minute charging check, the Edge went from 0% to 48%. It reached a full battery in about an hour and 15 minutes, which compares poorly to telephones just like the OnePlus 13, which might go from zero to utterly recharged in simply over half an hour, due to 100-watt charging. The incontrovertible fact that such a skinny system may even energy by means of a full day of my extravagant display screen time is admittedly spectacular. But I hope future variations scale up battery life, as a result of I’d quite not compromise if I haven’t got to. One of the S25 Edge’s strongest promoting factors is its Snapdragon 8 Elite processor, which additionally powers the remainder of the S25 sequence. Apps launch shortly and run easily, and the cellphone by no means obtained scorching after I was taking footage and movies. Transitioning from panorama to portrait mode in YouTube is instantaneous, and multitasking is equally clean and seamless. Videos transfer into and out of picture-in-picture mode with none lag. That processor means the S25 Edge may also energy all these Galaxy AI options Samsung actually needs you to make use of, like Generative Edit for Photos and Audio Eraser for cleansing up distracting sounds in your movies. You’ll additionally discover Google Gemini options onboard, like Gemini Live, which helps you to have a back-and-forth dialog with an AI assistant, and Circle to Search, which reveals you details about something in your display screen with a few faucets (it is certainly one of my favourite options ever).Benchmark checks for the CPU in Geekbench 6 place the S25 Edge properly above the total Galaxy S24 lineup. In a graphics check utilizing 3DMark’s Wild Life Extreme, the S25 Edge exceeded the efficiency of the iPhone 15 Pro, Galaxy S24 Ultra and OnePlus 12.Check out the graphs under for extra specifics.Geekbench v.6.0 Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge 2,875 9,013Samsung Galaxy S24 1,955 6,255Samsung Galaxy S24 Plus 2,057 6,571Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra 2,136 6,675Samsung Galaxy S25 2,999 9,604Samsung Galaxy S25 Plus 3,224 10,143Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra 3,053 9,707Apple iPhone 16 Pro 3,507 8,750 Note: Longer bars point out higher efficiency
3DMark Wild Life Extreme Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge 5,702Samsung Galaxy S24 4,752Samsung Galaxy S24 Plus 4,808Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra 4,415Samsung Galaxy S25 6,496Samsung Galaxy S25 Plus 6,875Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra 6,950Apple iPhone 16 Pro 4,672 Note: Longer bars point out higher efficiency
3DMark Wild Life Extreme — Average body charge Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge 34.15Samsung Galaxy S24 28.46Samsung Galaxy S24 Plus 28.79Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra 26.4Samsung Galaxy S25 38.90Samsung Galaxy S25 Plus 41.17Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra 41.62Apple iPhone 16 Pro 28 Note: Longer bars point out higher efficiency
The S25 Edge comes with 12GB of RAM and storage choices of 256GB and 512GB. I’m glad storage did not take successful, since that is one of many prime issues when folks store for a cellphone, in accordance with a CNET survey from August. The different priorities? Battery life and digital camera. Which brings us to our subsequent chapter. Jesse Orrall/CNETScaled-back cameras that also ship You’ll additionally should compromise a bit with the S25 Edge’s cameras; the thin body solely helps two rear lenses. Thankfully, Samsung has made that tradeoff a bit of simpler by making a type of cameras a 200-megapixel one for its predominant shooter, identical to you may discover on the top-of-the-line S25 Ultra. It’s paired with a 12-megapixel ultrawide digital camera. There’s additionally a 12-megapixel selfie digital camera. There’s no telephoto lens, and the preset magnification choices are restricted to .6x, 1x and 2x. But that did the job for me. I do not sometimes punch in additional than 2x when taking footage on a cellphone, although the following time I’m within the nosebleeds at a live performance, I in all probability will not be reaching for the S25 Edge to take close-up photographs of the performer. The Edge additionally helps digital zoom as much as 10x, which is an honest backup choice, although that is while you’ll begin to see some noise issue into the picture.Overall, I’m actually impressed by the images I snapped on the S25 Edge. It does an ideal job capturing sharp, vibrant photographs that are not under- or over-saturated. Portrait photographs are crisp and even-toned, selfies have a pleasant smoothing impact that maintains element, and nighttime photographs faucet into AI to brighten issues up. Let’s heat up with a pleasant cup of tea. I like how the pink design on the teacup pops, with out coming off as oversaturated. The lighting right here is even all through, and the main points are crisp and clear.
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Abrar Al-Heeti/CNETThe pink roses on this outside shot actually pop whereas sustaining a fair tone all through the picture. The vibrancy of the encircling leaves and multicolored flowers makes for an general Instagram-worthy photograph.
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Abrar Al-Heeti/CNETPortrait mode makes the shot even higher, bringing the roses into crisp focus within the foreground and actually giving them their second within the highlight. Meanwhile, the graceful and refined background blurring impact preserves the setting’s general magnificence. Abrar Al-Heeti/CNETPortrait mode additionally takes nice photographs of my buddies, and persistently is aware of what to spotlight within the foreground and subtly blur out within the background. In this image of my good friend Raneem, you may discover even the plant within the lower-left nook can also be in focus, serving to to take care of that eye-catching layered impact.
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Abrar Al-Heeti/CNETAfter the solar set, the digital camera nonetheless did job capturing vivid, brilliant pictures — with the assistance of AI, after all. My good friend Dana’s face is not as targeted on this shot as I’d like, however I’m no less than glad the general picture comes off as well-lit, and the candles on the desk have an alluring glow.
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Abrar Al-Heeti/CNETSelfies on Galaxy telephones are persistently my favourite due to how properly they clean folks’s faces with out compromising element and general sharpness. The S25 Edge is not any exception, and the colours listed below are true to life.
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Abrar Al-Heeti/CNETFinally, listed below are some examples of the preset zoom ranges. These photographs have been taken round 1 p.m., when the California solar was working its hardest. That helps to elucidate among the harsher shadows all through, however the brilliant blue sky and element within the columns nonetheless make for a worthy shot general.
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0.6x zoom. Abrar Al-Heeti/CNET
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1x zoom. Abrar Al-Heeti/CNET
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2x zoom. Abrar Al-Heeti/CNET
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4x zoom. Abrar Al-Heeti/CNET
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10x zoom. Abrar Al-Heeti/CNETBeyond the pictures, I respect that the S25 Edge’s digital camera module is not too huge or obtrusive. Sure, it stands out a bit, however not in a means that compromises the cellphone’s general slim design.Final ideas: Should you purchase the S25 Edge?The S25 Edge could also be a cellphone you by no means requested for, however that does not imply it could’t be your reply. In reality, I see the $1,100 S25 Edge as a really worthy middle-of-the-line flagship cellphone — one that provides a contemporary, elevated tackle the baseline mannequin and provides you a cause to spend a bit of extra. I do suppose it is priced a bit of too excessive, however I’ve additionally turn into desensitized by how costly most telephones are nowadays. At least it is cheaper than the $1,300 S25 Ultra, however that is not saying a lot.Alternatively, the $1,000 S25 Plus has at all times felt like a clumsy center choice that is priced too excessive for what it delivers: an even bigger display screen with a barely bigger battery than the baseline S25. In reality, rumors are already swirling that Samsung might exchange the Plus choice with the Edge in future Galaxy releases. But Samsung hasn’t stated something about this, and we’ll see how folks really reply to the slim cellphone when it hits retailer cabinets on May 30. Jesse Orrall/CNETUltimately, in the event you’re uninterested in telephones that every one look the identical (the S25 and S25 Plus share a placing resemblance to final yr’s S24 fashions, as an illustration), the S25 Edge may very well be a breath of contemporary air. I’ve grown so used to its skinny, light-weight design that holding some other cellphone appears like a drag. If, like me, you like telephones with bigger shows, the 6.7-inch Edge has you lined, with out the majority. You must address shorter battery life, however the S25 Edge will nonetheless get you thru the day. A scaled-back digital camera setup is one other key compromise, however the absence of a telephoto lens would not really feel like a lot to mourn to me. Also, in the event you merely wish to exhibit your cool new skinny cellphone at a celebration, I can verify that it will do the trick.I’m curious to see how folks reply to the S25 Edge, and whether or not extra corporations — specifically, Apple — hop on the skinny cellphone bandwagon. We actually may very well be on the fringe of the following huge cellphone pattern.Samsung’s Galaxy S25 lineup in contrast Samsung Galaxy S25 EdgeSamsung Galaxy S25Samsung Galaxy S25 PlusSamsung Galaxy S25 UltraShow dimension, tech, decision, refresh charge 6.7-inch QHD+ AMOLED show; 1,440×3,120 pixels; 120Hz refresh charge 6.2-inch AMOLED; 2,340×1,080 pixels; 1-120Hz adaptive refresh rate6.7-inch AMOLED; 3,120×1,440 pixels; 1-120Hz adaptive refresh rate6.8-inch AMOLED; 3,120×1,440 pixels; 1-120Hz adaptive refresh ratePixel density 513 ppi416 ppi509 ppi501 ppiDimensions (inches) 2.98 x 6.23 x 0.23 in.5.78 x 2.78 x 0.28 in.6.24 x 2.98 x 0.29 in.6.41 x 3.06 x 0.32 in.Dimensions (millimeters) 75.6 X 158.2 X 5.8 mm146.9 x 70.5 x 7.2 mm158.4 x 75.8 x 7.3 mm162.8 x 77.6 x 8.2 mmWeight (grams, ounces) 163g (5.75 oz.)162g (5.71 oz.)190g (6.70 oz.)218g (7.69 oz.)Mobile software program Android 15Android 15Android 15Android 15Digicam 200-megapixel (huge), 12-megapixel (ultrawide)50-megapixel (huge), 12-megapixel (ultrawide), 10-megapixel (3x telephoto)50-megapixel (huge), 12-megapixel (ultrawide), 10-megapixel (3x telephoto)200-megapixel (huge), 50-megapixel (ultrawide), 10-megapixel (3x telephoto), 50-megapixel (5x telephoto)Front-facing digital camera 12-megapixel12-megapixel 12-megapixel 12-megapixel Video seize 8K8K8K8KProcessor Snapdragon 8 EliteQualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite for GalaxyQualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite for GalaxyQualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite for GalaxyRAM + storage 12GB RAM + 256GB, 512GB12GB RAM + 128GB, 256GB12GB RAM + 256GB, 512GB12GB RAM + 256GB, 512GB, 1TBExpandable storage NoNoneNoneNoneBattery 3,900 mAh4,000 mAh4,900 mAh5,000 mAhFingerprint sensor Under showUnder showUnder showUnder displayConnector USB-CUSB-CUSB-CUSB-CHeadphone jack NoneNoneNoneNoneSpecial options IP88 ranking, 5G, One UI 7, 25-watt wired charging, 15-watt wi-fi charging, Galaxy AI, Gemini, Circle to Search, Wi-Fi 72,600-nit peak brightness; 7 years of OS and safety updates; 5G (mmWave); IP68 water and mud resistance; wi-fi PowerShare to cost different gadgets; 25W wired charging (charger not included); Galaxy AI; Wi-Fi 72,600-nit peak brightness; 7 years of OS and safety updates; 5G (mmWave); IP68 water and mud resistance; wi-fi PowerShare to cost different gadgets; 25W wired charging (charger not included); Galaxy AI; Wi-Fi 7; ultrawidebandTitanium body, 2,600-nit peak brightness; 7 years of OS and safety updates; 5G (mmWave); IP68 water and mud resistance; wi-fi PowerShare to cost different gadgets; built-in S Pen; UWB for locating different gadgets; 45W wired charging (charger not included); Galaxy AI; Wi-Fi 7; Gorilla Glass Armor cowl glass; ultrawidebandUS value begins at $1,100$800 (128GB)$1,000 (256GB)$1,300 (256GB) How we check phonesEvery cellphone CNET’s opinions crew checks is utilized in the true world. We check a cellphone’s options, play video games and take pictures. We look at the show to see if it is brilliant, sharp and vibrant. We analyze the design and construct to see how it’s to carry and whether or not it has an IP ranking for water resistance. We push the processor’s efficiency to the extremes utilizing standardized benchmark instruments like GeekBench and 3DMark, together with our personal anecdotal observations navigating the interface, recording high-resolution movies and enjoying graphically intense video games at excessive refresh charges.All the cameras are examined in a wide range of situations, from brilliant daylight to darkish indoor scenes. We check out particular options like night time mode and portrait mode, and evaluate our findings in opposition to equally priced competing telephones. We additionally try the battery life through the use of it every day, in addition to operating a sequence of battery drain checks.We take note of further options like assist for 5G, satellite tv for pc connectivity, fingerprint and face sensors, stylus assist, quick charging speeds and foldable shows, amongst others that may be helpful. We steadiness all of this in opposition to the value to provide the verdict on whether or not that cellphone, no matter value it’s, really represents good worth. While these checks might not at all times be mirrored in CNET’s preliminary overview, we conduct follow-up and long-term testing in most circumstances.