When we search for new telephones to switch our present ones, we’re often evaluating cameras, display screen measurement and battery life. However, this yr, design has change into a significant characteristic. Phone producers are boosting slim aesthetics that individuals fall in love with once they get their arms on them. The Apple iPhone Air and Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge are two of the highest decisions.So how do these two skinny telephones evaluate? If you press them collectively, are they a lot thicker mixed than an everyday iPhone 17 or Galaxy S25? I’m right here to do the mathematics and evaluate options for you.Looking to order the iPhone Air? Check out our order information to be taught if you may get it free and different nice offers.  Want to purchase the Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge? Find out which carriers and retailers are providing one of the best offers on Samsung’s slim telephone.  Don’t miss any of our unbiased tech content material and lab-based critiques. Add CNET as a most well-liked Google supply.     The iPhone Air begins at $999. Apple  iPhone Air vs. S25 Edge worth comparability  iPhone Air: $999. The iPhone Air takes the place previously held by the iPhone 16 Plus, making it the one mannequin with a display screen bigger than the iPhone 17 that is not an iPhone 17 Pro. 		 		Galaxy S25 Edge: $1,100. The S25 Edge joins the S25 and S25 Ultra on this yr’s Galaxy lineup. 		 		The iPhone Air contains fewer options than the iPhone 17, such because the variety of cameras. However, it incorporates a bigger show, an A19 Pro processor, and is supplied with 256GB of storage to start with. Additionally, Apple has persistently utilized premium pricing for minor design modifications. The authentic MacBook Air match into an inter-office envelope and price $1,799, regardless of being underpowered in comparison with the remainder of the MacBook line. (Over a couple of generations, it could finally change into Apple’s entry-level reasonably priced laptop computer at $999, the place it nonetheless resides.)  The Galaxy S25 Edge’s increased worth ($101) might be an try to seize extra {dollars} from clients searching for a telephone that units them aside, however we’re already seeing occasional steep reductions on it, resembling this $400 drop.In each instances, it is value noting that the pricing has held up towards the Trump administration tariffs to this point.       The three colours of the Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge. Carly Marsh/CNET  iPhone Air vs. S25 Edge dimensions and weight  Now it is time to go deep — as in, simply how skinny is the depth of every telephone?  No telephone producer describes its telephones as cumbersome or chunky, even for extra-large fashions just like the iPhone Pro Max. Yet, the distinction between the depths of the iPhone Air and the S25 Edge, in addition to the usual telephones of every respective household, is stark.  Not counting the digicam meeting, which Apple refers to because the “plateau,” many of the iPhone Air’s physique is 5.64mm thick. The S25 Edge, at its narrowest level, is a hair thicker at 5.8mm. (Both firms checklist solely the thinnest measurement, not together with the cameras.) Compare that to 7.9mm for the iPhone 17 and 7.2mm for the Galaxy S25.       The iPhone Air Celso Bulgatti/Zooey Liao/CNETThe Galaxy Z Fold 7 is definitely thinner when open, at 4.2mm, however it additionally has a bigger floor space to accommodate its battery and different elements. Other foldables from Chinese firms, resembling Huawei, Oppo and Honor, additionally boast thinner our bodies than the iPhone Air or S25 Edge, however solely when opened.  And while you press the 2 skinny telephones collectively, do they actually match as much as the standard telephone slab you are carrying now? Combined (and once more, excluding the digicam bumps), the iPhone Air and S25 Ultra are 11.44mm thick, which is thicker than both the iPhone 17 or Galaxy S25, and even the iPhone 17 Pro Max at 8.75mm. However, if you wish to obtain a extra classic really feel, the unique first-generation iPhone, launched in 2007, measured 11.6mm.       Stacking the iPhone Air (high) and the S25 Edge (backside) provides you a similar thickness as the unique first-generation iPhone (in the event you ignore the digicam bumps, and the awkwardness of not seeing both display screen). Abrar Al-Heeti/CNETSurprisingly, the much less depth interprets to solely a slight lower in weight in comparison with the opposite fashions in every lineup. The iPhone Air weighs 165 grams versus 177 grams for the iPhone 17, whereas the S25 Edge pips in at simply 163 grams however will get barely undercut by the Galaxy S25 at 162 grams.  How massive is every telephone within the hand? While each are comparable, the iPhone Air is barely shorter and narrower, measuring 156.2mm tall and 74.7mm vast, in comparison with the S25 Edge’s dimensions of 158.2mm tall and 75.6mm vast.    iPhone Air vs. S25 Edge shows  Apple calls the iPhone Air’s 6.5-inch OLED display screen a Super Retina XDR show. It incorporates a excessive decision of two,736×1,260 pixels at a density of 460 ppi (pixels per inch) and might output a most of 3,000 nits of brightness outside, in addition to a minimal of 1 nit at midnight.       The iPhone Air’s show can output 3,000 nits of brightness on a sunny day. Jesse Orrall/CNETSamsung packed a bigger 6.7-inch QHD+ Dynamic AMOLED 2X display screen into the S25 Edge, which interprets to a high-resolution show measuring 3,120×1,440 pixels at 513 ppi. Its brightness goes as much as 2,600 nits.  Both telephones’ screens characteristic adaptive 120Hz refresh charges for smoother efficiency.       The Galaxy S25 Edge show has a extra dense decision. Jesse Orrall/CNET  Comparing the iPhone Air and S25 Edge cameras  So far, most of the specs have been shut sufficient to weigh every telephone pretty evenly. Then, we get to the cameras.  The iPhone Air features a single rear-facing 48-megapixel vast digicam with a 26mm-equivalent subject of view and a relentless f/1.6 aperture. In its default mode, the digicam outputs 24-megapixel “fusion” images that end result from an imaging course of the place the digicam captures a 12-megapixel picture (utilizing teams of 4 pixels performing as one bigger pixel for improved gentle gathering, often called “binning”) and a 48-megapixel reference for extra element.       The iPhone Air contains only a single 48-megapixel rear digicam. Jesse Orrall/Zooey Liao/CNETApple additionally claims the iPhone Air can seize 2x-zoomed (52mm-equivalent) telephoto photos which might be 12 megapixels in dimension and characterize a crop of the middle of the picture sensor.  The S25 Edge options two built-in rear cameras: a 200-megapixel wide-angle lens and a 12-megapixel ultrawide lens. There’s no devoted telephoto digicam, so the S25 Edge additionally provides a 2x-zoomed crop that shoots images at 12 megapixels in measurement.     The Galaxy S25 Edge’s twin cameras. Jesse Orrall/CNETThe front-facing selfie cameras on every telephone differ considerably. The iPhone Air introduces a brand new 18-megapixel digicam with an f/1.9 aperture. But the elevated decision over the S25 Edge’s 12-megapixel selfie digicam is not what’s notable. Apple calls it a Center Stage digicam as a result of it incorporates a sq. sensor that may seize tall or vast photographs with out requiring the consumer to bodily flip the telephone, in contrast to the 4:3 ratio sensors present in typical selfie cameras. It can adapt the facet ratio based mostly on the variety of folks it detects in entrance of the digicam: a conventional portrait orientation while you’re snapping a photograph of your self, for instance, or change to a panorama orientation when two buddies stand subsequent to you within the body.    iPhone Air vs. S25 Edge batteries  When it involves issues, the battery lifetime of skinny telephones is on the high of the checklist. The insides of most telephones are full of as a lot battery as will match, so making a telephone slimmer naturally means eradicating area for the battery. With both mannequin, you find yourself sacrificing battery energy for design. But how a lot?  Apple would not checklist the iPhone Air’s battery capability, however claims “all-day battery life” and as much as 27 hours of video playback. It additionally sells a particular iPhone Air MagSafe Battery add-on that magnetically snaps to the again of the telephone and works solely with the iPhone Air. In her assessment, CNET’s Senior Tech Reporter Abrar Al-Heeti drained the battery in 12 hours over a phone-intensive day, however did finish a extra typical day with 20% remaining.       The Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge vs. iPhone Air.  Jesse Orrall/Zooey Liao/CNETThe S25 Edge incorporates a 3,900-mAh battery, which Samsung claims will assist as much as 24 hours of video playback. (Come on, telephone producers, our telephones aren’t televisions left operating within the background.) In her S25 Edge assessment, Al-Heeti famous that the telephone additionally usually lived as much as Samsung’s personal “all-day battery life” boast, saying, “Ultimately, you’ll get less juice out of that slimmer build, but S25 Edge offers just enough battery life to make me happy…But the S25 Edge has shifted my priorities. I’m enjoying the sleek form factor so much that I’m willing to make some compromises, even if that means I have to be sure to charge my phone each night, which is something I tend to do anyway.”  It’s value noting that each telephones assist quick charging when used with a 20-watt or increased wired energy adapter, permitting them to achieve round 50% cost in 30 minutes from a very discharged state.    iPhone Air vs. S25 Edge processor, storage and working system  The iPhone Air is powered by Apple’s newest A19 Pro processor, the identical one discovered within the iPhone 17 Pro fashions (in comparison with the A19 within the inventory iPhone 17). Apple would not checklist the built-in reminiscence, however we suspect it contains 8GB of RAM (which is acknowledged because the minimal quantity to run AI options resembling Apple Intelligence). The base storage configuration is 256GB, with choices to order the iPhone Air with 512GB or 1TB capability. It ships with iOS 26, the newest model of the working system that Apple launched broadly this week.  The S25 Edge is powered by a Snapdragon 8 Elite processor, the identical one which powers the opposite S25 fashions. It contains 12GB of RAM and is offered in storage capacities of 256GB and 512GB. The telephone comes preinstalled with Android 15.    iPhone Air vs. S25 Edge all specs  Apple iPhone Air vs. Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge    Apple iPhone AirSamsung Galaxy S25 EdgeShow measurement, tech, decision, refresh charge 6.5-inch OLED; 2,736 x 1,260 pixel decision; 1-120Hz variable refresh rate6.7-inch QHD+  AMOLED show; 120Hz refresh charge Pixel density 460ppi513 ppiDimensions (inches) 6.15 x 2.94 x 0.22 in2.98 x 6.23 x 0.23 inchesDimensions (millimeters) 156.2 x 74.7 x 5.64 mm75.6 X 158.2 X 5.8mmWeight (grams, ounces) 165 g (5.82 oz)163g (5.75 oz)Mobile software program iOS 26Android 15Camera 48-megapixel (vast)200-megapixel (vast), 12-megapixel (ultrawide)Front-facing digicam 18-megapixel12-megapixelVideo seize 4K8KProcessor Apple A19 ProSnapdragon 8 EliteRAM + storage RAM N/A + 256GB, 512GB, 1TB12GB RAM + 256GB, 512GBExpandable storage NoneNoBattery Up to 27 hours video playback; as much as 22 hours video playback (streamed).  Up to 40 hours video playback, as much as 35 hours video playback (streamed) with iPhone Air MagSafe Battery3,900 mAhFingerprint sensor None (Face ID)Under displayConnector USB-CUSB-CHeadphone jack NoneNoneParticular options Apple N1 wi-fi networking chip (Wi-Fi 7 (802.11be) with 2×2 MIMO), Bluetooth 6, Thread. Action button. Apple C1X mobile modem. Camera Control button. Dynamic Island. Apple Intelligence. Visual Intelligence. Dual eSIM. 1 to 3,000 nits brightness show vary. IP68 resistance. Colors: area black, cloud white, gentle gold, sky blue. Fast cost as much as 50% in 30 minutes utilizing 20W adapter or increased through charging cable. Fast cost as much as 50% in 30 minutes utilizing 30W adapter or increased through MagSafe Charger.IP88 ranking, 5G, One UI 7, 25-watt wired charging, 15-watt wi-fi charging, Galaxy AI, Gemini, Circle to Search, Wi-Fi 7.US worth begins at $999 (256GB)$1,100 (256GB)        Watch this: iPhone Air, One Month Later: Camera and Battery Worries Put to Rest
        05:55  

