Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge review: It's time up for a change

Indian Express

25-05-2025

Over the weekend, I watched a documentary on Coco Chanel, and one of the most interesting aspects of her life was her return to the runway in the mid-1950s. At the age of 71—when most people either retire or give up—Chanel made a remarkable comeback. Despite initial skepticism, her return collection reintroduced the now-iconic tweed suit and restored her to the top ranks of haute couture. I felt something similar when I used Samsung's Galaxy S25 Edge—a familiar phone that feels progressive, bold, and trailblazing at the same time. The Galaxy S25 Edge is more than just a thin and lightweight phone; it reflects how smartphones may evolve in the future, becoming its own brand ambassador—just as Coco Chanel was to her creations. Here's my review of the Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge.
What: Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge | Price: Rs 1,09,999 onwards
At just 5.8mm thick, the Galaxy S25 Edge is hyped as the thinnest Samsung smartphone ever made.But I have tried to set the marketing hype aside and focus on my actual experience.
Beyond its ultra-thin design, what really caught my attention about the Galaxy S25 Edge is how it feels almost weightless in my pocket—especially during my brisk morning walks. I am someone who keeps their phone in their pocket and spends a good hour and a half in the park, listening to my favourite music. I also have a habit of holding my phone in my hand. Everyone's hands are different, of course, but the Galaxy S25 Edge is designed in such a way that it's surprisingly comfortable and easy to hold.
Frankly, after a week of using the Galaxy S25 Edge, its thinness faded into the background—but what stayed with me was its lightweight feel. Whether I am reading eBooks at night, holding the phone while watching videos on the Delhi Metro, writing a copy on the go before a deadline, or taking pictures, that lightness really makes a difference. It has a noticeable impact on everyday use—and as a heavy phone user, I feel the benefits of that lightness even more than the average user. Of course, this is a personal experience, and how I use my phone may differ from others. For me, though, the Galaxy S25 Edge represents a dramatic design shift. It's not just the slim design that stands out, but the overall form factor—something that slowly grows on you over time.
The Galaxy S25 Edge has a great look and is reminiscent of the recently released Galaxy S smartphones, featuring slimmer bezels. The phone has a nice matte finish that makes it feel secure in my hand—although, admittedly, it has accidentally slipped off the sofa a few times.
But the phone's titanium frame adds durability, and the Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2 back, combined with the Gorilla Glass Ceramic 2 display, gives the Galaxy S25 Edge a rugged feel. Like most people, I usually carry the phone in the front pocket of my jeans—and sometimes in the back pocket—since I often have one or two phones on me at all times (tech reviewers, please raise your hands). I didn't notice any bending, even when applying pressure, nor did I see any flexing while it was in my pocket. I was initially worried that a phone this slim might bend, but thankfully, it's holding up just fine so far.
The 6.7-inch screen is bright, sharp, smooth, and vibrant—putting it on par with some of the best displays out there. However, it lacks the anti-reflective coating found on Samsung's highest-end smartphones, which would help minimise glare. The Galaxy S25 Edge is well-built, featuring IP68 water resistance for protection against immersion, comparable to most competitors. It also boasts excellent speakers, which enhance the overall experience when watching video content.
The Galaxy S25 Edge (12GB RAM, 256GB/512GB storage) features the same Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite chip found in most high-end Android smartphones. I have experienced similar performance on the Galaxy S25 Edge as on other devices with the same chipset. However, if you are coming from an older Galaxy S smartphone—say, one launched between 2020 and 2021—you'll notice a performance improvement, though not a dramatic one compared to the last two generations.
That said, the Galaxy S25 Edge feels noticeably faster in day-to-day use. Games like Alto's Odyssey and The Bonfire run smoothly and responsively. Even the ultrasonic fingerprint scanner embedded in the screen is impressively quick at unlocking the phone.
All of the Galaxy AI features are present on the Galaxy S25 Edge—tools like Audio Eraser, Circle to Search, and Generative Edit for photos. Gemini Live, the next generation of Google's Gemini assistant, also comes pre-installed. It's capable of performing multiple tasks at once using apps on your phone and data from the web. For example, it can pull times and dates from websites to set reminders for you or share that information with your friends.
New to the Galaxy AI experience is the 'Now' bar at the bottom of the lock screen, which displays a stack of widgets such as live sports scores, currently playing music, timers, flight reminders, and more. It's very similar to Apple's Dynamic Island on the iPhone—and I find it quite useful.
The user interface has been refreshed as part of the One UI 7 software experience, the latest version of Samsung's operating system. It's pretty slick, I must say. There are plenty of customisation options, and I always appreciate a UI that can be personalised. Samsung will support the S25 Edge with software and security updates for seven years from its release.
Samsung ships the Galaxy S25 Edge with a smaller 3,900mAh battery—the smallest capacity across the S25 lineup. For comparison, the standard S25 has a 4,000mAh battery, the S25 Plus packs a 4,900mAh battery, and the S25 Ultra comes with a 5,000mAh battery. Pleasingly, the Galaxy S25 Edge's battery life lasts all day. On average, my day starts at 8 am. and winds down around 9 pm. And it's worth noting—I am a heavy phone user and have had the Always-On Display enabled since day one.
That said, I must be clear: the Galaxy S25 Edge's battery life likely won't extend beyond a single day, meaning daily charging is necessary. If I compare the battery life of the Galaxy S25 Edge to the Galaxy S25 Ultra, the Ultra wins hands down. But then again, the Galaxy S25 Edge is also the slimmest mainstream smartphone on the market.
Whenever I look at the Galaxy S25 Edge, I always wonder how Samsung managed to cram camera lenses into it—it's ridiculously thin. Although the Galaxy S25 Edge features the same 200-megapixel main camera as the Ultra, it's limited to just two rear lenses: a 200-megapixel main sensor and a 12-megapixel ultrawide camera. It lacks a dedicated telephoto lens.
As someone who frequently uses telephoto cameras, I was disappointed to see its absence on a phone that costs around a lakh. That said, it's also true that not everyone wants or regularly uses a telephoto lens on a smartphone. At least, based on feedback from a few of my friends, it doesn't seem to be a major concern for most users.
Even without the telephoto lens, the Galaxy S25 Edge's cameras are solid. The 200-megapixel main camera captures sharp, vibrant images that aren't overly saturated. Samsung has a tendency to overbrighten and over-sharpen photos, but this time, the images I took looked much more natural.
The phone also does a great job with colour accuracy and handles low-light conditions impressively well. Portrait shots also came out well. Overall, average users will likely be impressed with the camera performance.
The Galaxy S25 Edge is one of those smartphones that feels experimental while still aiming for mainstream appeal. It's rare for Samsung—at least in recent times—to release a device that could either be a commercial success or struggle to win over the masses.
I don't know how the Galaxy S25 Edge will be received when it hits retail shelves, but I do know this: the device is trying to create a new smartphone tier—thin and lightweight—which is a bold move. Nobody was exactly asking for an ultra-slim smartphone (certainly not me), but everything now depends on whether consumers actually want a phone like this.
It's hard to predict, but I do feel the Galaxy S25 Edge isn't a predictable smartphone—there's an X factor to it. You have to judge a product for what it is. The Galaxy S25 Edge is a spectacularly impressive piece of hardware and software, but its fate ultimately depends on how well the idea of a thin, ultra-lightweight smartphone resonates with consumers.