Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge Review: A beautifully designed phone with a bold new identity

The Hindu

6 days ago

After months of leaks and speculation, the Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge has officially joined the S25 family. This is not just another variant—it's a bold reimagination of Samsung's design direction. With the slimmest profile in Galaxy S series history, a pill-shaped camera module, and a titanium body, the S25 Edge clearly aims to turn heads.
Sitting between the S25 and the S25+ in terms of pricing and feature set, it brings a new form factor without compromising much on power or performance. But can it stand tall in a family that already includes two stellar siblings? Let's find out.
Design
As the name suggests, the Galaxy S25 Edge is all about edges and elegance. At just 5.8mm thick and weighing 163 grams, it's a marvel of engineering. The in-hand feel is surreal—it's light, thin, and yet remarkably solid thanks to the titanium frame and the use of Corning Gorilla Glass Ceramic 2 on the front and Gorilla Glass Victus 2 on the back. The glass is not just tough, it feels premium and helps maintain a slim, seamless look.
Where the Edge truly separates itself from the S25 family tree is the design of the camera module. Instead of the individual floating lenses we've seen on other S25 models, the Edge uses a pill-shaped raised frame to house the rear camera sensors. It's a subtle but significant design shift that gives it a distinct identity. Meanwhile, the curved edges and minimal bezels help the phone feel even more immersive and modern.
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Button and port placements are clean and familiar: the power button and volume rockers rest comfortably on the right side, while the USB Type-C port, SIM tray, and speaker grille occupy the bottom. The phone is IP68 certified, offering protection against dust and water—making it as durable as it is sleek. Overall, the Edge is perhaps Samsung's best-looking phone this year—refined, futuristic, and refreshingly slim.
Display
The Galaxy S25 Edge features a 6.7-inch QHD+ Dynamic AMOLED 2X display, the same size and resolution as the S25+. It supports a 120 Hz adaptive refresh rate, Vision Booster, and adaptive colour tone, making it one of the most visually pleasing panels you can find on a smartphone today. The brightness peaks at 2,600 nits, which means using it outdoors, even under harsh sunlight, is no problem.
What's new here is the ProScaler technology and Samsung's mobile Digital Natural Image engine (mDNIe), which enhance the clarity of low-res content and optimize power efficiency. Whether you're watching videos, gaming, or just scrolling through apps, the display feels like flowing water—fluid, sharp, and immersive.
OS & AI
The Galaxy S25 Edge runs on Android 15 with One UI 7, the same clean and functional software experience found across the S25 lineup. Samsung has gone all in on Galaxy AI this year, and the Edge gets the full package. From Circle to Search to Cross-App Actions, the Edge delivers a smart, intuitive experience.
What stands out is the deep Google Gemini integration, now enhanced with Gemini Live—a feature that allows you to see what's on your screen or use your camera to interact in real time with the AI assistant. Samsung has also introduced Now Brief and Now Bar, which syncs with third-party apps to give users helpful nudges throughout the day. These features are more than gimmicks—they're context-aware, genuinely useful, and tightly woven into daily use.
Performance
Powering the S25 Edge is the Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy, the same custom-tuned 3nm chipset found in the S25 and S25+. With 12 GB RAM and 256 GB UFS 4.0 storage, it's more than capable of handling whatever you throw at it—from multitasking to heavy gaming. Apps open instantly, animations are buttery smooth, and switching between tasks feels effortless.
Benchmark results back this up: the Edge scores 2757 (single-core) and 9824 (multi-core) on Geekbench, with a GPU score of 18,420 and a whopping AnTuTu score of 2,123,100. It's clearly built for performance, but it's not without trade-offs.
Gaming on the Edge is a treat in terms of visuals. Titles like Genshin Impact, PUBG Mobile, and Call of Duty Mobile run at max settings with no noticeable stutter or lag. Ray tracing and Vulkan optimization deliver a console-grade experience. However, the thinner body and reduced vapour chamber size do mean it heats up more easily than the other S25 members, especially during extended sessions or in warmer climates like Delhi.
Camera
The Galaxy S25 Edge continues Samsung's commitment to mobile photography with a 200 MP wide-angle sensor (f/1.7), a 12 MP ultra-wide lens (f/2.2), and a 12 MP front camera. While the hardware remains consistent with the S25+, it's the ProVisual Engine and AI enhancements that elevate the experience.
Daylight shots are simply excellent—images come out sharp, detailed, and colour-accurate. The massive 200 MP sensor means you can zoom in and crop photos without losing quality. The AI Zoom solution lets you go up to 2x optical quality and 10x digital with respectable clarity.
Portraits are a strong suit. Whether it's edge detection, depth mapping, or skin tones, the Edge nails it. The background blur looks natural, and there's very little noise or haloing around the subject.
Night mode is where Samsung's processing shines. Shots taken in low light retain good dynamic range and brightness, with noticeable improvements over last year's models. Thanks to the larger pixel size and smarter processing, noise is kept in check, and details are preserved.
Selfies from the 12 MP front camera are impressive too. Skin tones are rendered accurately, HDR performance is reliable, and even indoor or low-light selfies come out sharp. Whether you're video calling or snapping a quick photo, this front camera won't let you down.
Battery
The Galaxy S25 Edge packs a 3,900 mAh battery, which is noticeably smaller than what we've seen on other Galaxy S25 series phones. That slim frame has its cost. While the Snapdragon 8 Elite's efficiency helps it last through the day with moderate usage, power users might need a top-up by evening.
Charging is handled by 25 W wired charging, reaching about 55% in 30 minutes, along with Fast Wireless Charging and Wireless PowerShare support. It's convenient, but not industry-leading. In a world of 65 W and 100 W charging, Samsung's charging speed feels just a step behind.
Verdict
The Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge is a beautifully designed phone with a bold new identity. It's slimmer, sleeker, and unlike any Galaxy S phone before it. But its compactness comes at a price, most notably in battery capacity and thermal management. That said, the phone still delivers top-tier performance, exceptional cameras, and class-leading AI features, all in a form factor that's genuinely refreshing.
Against its siblings, the S25 Edge finds its place somewhere between the compact Galaxy S25 and Galaxy S25+. If you're looking for something different—but still distinctly Galaxy—the S25 Edge just might be the phone you've been waiting for.
Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge starts at ₹1,09,999.