I tried the Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge – one thing | Tech News

Samsung has simply introduced all the UK release particulars for the model new, very skinny Galaxy S25 Edge, and I am one of the first journalists to get my fingers on it. It’s an impressively slender piece of package, however after an hour or so admiring its slimmed-down dimensions, it has left me with more questions than solutions.

The authentic Motorola Razr confirmed the world telephones could possibly be skinny in 2004. Ten years later in 2014 the iPhone 6 Plus tried the similar trick for smartphones however spawned the Bendgate saga, the place some telephones actually bent as a result of they have been so slim.

Just over one other ten years on, and Samsung is first out of the gate to make telephones skinny again with the Galaxy S25 Edge, with Apple rumoured to be cooking up a thinner iPhone 17 for later this 12 months presumably known as the iPhone 17 Air.

So, why are we back right here again? I consider this time round it factors to a lack of concepts from smartphone makers, who’re struggling to tempt people into shopping for their handsets as usually as these firm’s finance officers would really like.

You don’t need a new cellphone yearly, so cellphone firms are attempting to persuade you in any other case.

But back to the Galaxy S25 Edge. I had the probability to go fingers-on with the new £1,099 cellphone in London at a high secret occasion final week, and guess what? It is skinny!

Samsung has delivered on the promise of a a lot narrower cellphone. The Edge’s physique is simply 5.8mm thick – that’s slimmer than the common S25’s 7.2mm, the S25 Plus’s 7.3mm and the S25 Ultra’s 8.2mm.

Millimetre variations don’t sound like a lot on paper, however they make a enormous distinction to how this cellphone feels to carry. The S25 Edge is impressively skinny, and positively awoke my interior nerd. I have at all times beloved small tech, and can perpetually sing the praises of the iPhone 12 mini and 12-inch MacBook (RIP).

But what struck me more was simply how mild the S25 Edge is. It weighs 163g, simply one gram more than the S25, and fewer than the 190g S25 Plus and 218g S25 Ultra. The iPhone 16 is 7.8mm thick and weighs 190g.

The S25’s dimensions, mixed with its weight, make it really feel really feather-mild.

But with a giant QHD 6.7-inch show, similar to the one on the S25 Plus, the S25 Edge is a little exhausting to carry in one hand. Though it’s wonderful Samsung has crammed all the componentry into the shrunken physique, one thing it could’t slim down is the cameras.

The twin rear lenses (one fewer than each different S25, there’s no telephoto) poke out the high proper nook of the cellphone, inflicting it to tip the gadget a little until you’re holding on with two paws. To be truthful, Samsung is utilizing the similar 200MP most important sensor you’ll discover in the S25 Ultra, however whereas the firm says the module is eighteen p.c slimmer, these lenses protrude far more noticeably than on different telephones.

You get Android 15 with Samsung’s One UI 7 software program, an extremely-large digital camera, 12MP selfie digital camera, 120Hz screen with Gorilla Glass Ceramic 2, tons of AI options through Galaxy AI and Google Gemini and a alternative of silver, black or mild blue fashions.

What you’re left with is a cellphone with the screen of the S25 Plus with the rounded-nook design and most important digital camera of the S25 Ultra – and one massive unanswered query.

Until I and different reviewers get to check the S25 Edge longterm, we merely have no thought how the cellphone’s battery will carry out. The Edge has a depleted 3,900mAh cell, much less than all three different S25 fashions, which might end in much less than stellar battery life.

I’ve obtained very used to most smartphones lasting two days on a single charge. Samsung says, vaguely, that the S25 Edge has “all day battery life”.

The Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset, Qualcomm’s present best cellular processor used throughout the complete S25 line up, might improve effectivity on such a small battery, however we’ll have to attend and see. Likewise almost about normal efficiency, I need to see if Samsung has managed to keep thermals in test with this extremely-skinny cellphone.

The company says it has labored out how to keep the cellphone cool when taking part in high-end video games, however it’s exhausting enough in a cellphone twice the thickness with room for cooling systems.

At the finish of the day, the S25 Edge is Samsung flexing. It most likely received’t sell as many items as the relaxation of the S25 line, particularly because it prices more than the S25 and S25 Plus, however it’s a shot throughout the bow at Apple and different Android rivals that Samsung can nonetheless do one thing new.

But is it that progressive? Phones obtained thicker after the iPhone 6 Plus debacle in order that they didn’t bend in half and had room for greater batteries, ergo for much longer battery life.

Consumers are holding onto telephones longer as a result of telephones obtained higher. The S25 Edge is a very spectacular cellphone to behold, but when it’s more fragile and has worse battery life than your present cellphone, it’s not going to be the improve for you.

The S25 Edge is accessible for pre-order at present and goes on sale May 30. It prices £1,099 for 256GB or £1,199 for 512GB.

Express.co.uk hopes to have a review of the Galaxy S25 Edge in the coming weeks.