Finally, a Samsung phone that I will put my S25 Ultra Away (especially at this price)

Key takeaways of zdnet

• The Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge currently sells for $ 699 for 12GB RAM and 256GB storage configuration.
• With its smooth profile and solid hardware, this phone sets a new standard for mobile devices.
• You have to compromise with the absence of battery life and telephoto lens on sub -size.

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The moment i did unbox Samsung Galaxy S25 EdgeI knew that I was in trouble. While I had already spent a few hours with the phone in May, passing through a daily routine with a device that is quite thin, and more importantly, I have revolutionized compared to any other recently tested phones.

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With the S25 Edge, these are small things: how the phone’s flames accidentally make the magnetic matters difficult to separate from the mount, when my other hand is hanging on the subway railing, how low does it feel less to catch a 6.8 -inch screen, and when I drop it on my face on the bed, the phone is slightly less.

If there is a big techway from testing the S25 edge since the launch, it is that thin and light phones have spoiled me in every way. Unfortunately for Samsung, that a defect is enough to persuade any user to see elsewhere. Let me explain

Your first impression of S25 Edge will probably be similar to me and many others, who experience an ultra-thunder phone in 2025. It is an engineering marvel, engaging in the same titanium content with a light (163 g) that protects the more expensive S25 ultra model from blasts and scratches.

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While the 6.8-inch display shares the same specifications as the S25 plus model, the hand experience is completely different. It almost seems wrong that a large screen phone should not be burdened by holding the phone, but it is an ultra-split phone experience, and I have been sold on that aspect from day 1.

Samsung said that it pulled a lot of design signals from its Z -fold line while designing the S25 age, and I believe. I have used every Samsung foldable phone since the first generation in 2019 and always thinks how good it would be to divide the foldable screen into half, but the slimness will have to be maintained. The S25 Edge is effectively that, after creating almost every other phone, I have tried to take it since I feel old.

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I am a less enthusiastic about an anti-glare screen deficiency, one of the most undefied features on the S25 Ultra model. Of course, the peak glow of S25 Edge of 2,600 Nits makes it Now! The presence of usable, but dazzling and reflections is felt in a broad daylight, especially when the sun begins to defeat more often in summer.

This is unfortunate because the S25 age is a phone that is set to be agile and move around. Instead, I often find myself less when reduced the use of the phone.

Fortunately, whenever I use the phone, it operates with grace. I can’t indicate one thing for solid performance, so I will credits Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Chipset, Smooth Animation of a UI7 and 12 GB RAM, which is sufficient to load hybrid AI functions, mobile gaming and various social media feeds.

At the end of this week, I used Gemini Live camera-sharing feature to inquire about dealing with a wall of poison ivy on my backyard fence, stream a Bluetooth speaker, and read about dinner plans to my wife. All this was on LTE data, by the way, and the S25 Edge handled all this without many hiccups. I noticed the back of the phone, where the processor is placed near the camera module, often heated to the touch.

It assures me that when Samsung made some attempts to create a functional thermal-cooling system in the S25 age, there is still very little real estate to make something effective for the use of modern day. Any power user can easily reel this device.

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On the camera front, the S25 Edge comes with 200 MP wide-angle lens and 12 MP ultra-wide. I was originally disappointed that Samsung could not throw into a dedicated telephoto lens-even in the standard S25 model-but in behavior, I did not miss myself far and wide. In most cases, 200 MP to 2x optical-level crop (until you turn on the resolution in the visualization) gave the right amount of expansion, color reproduction and the correct amount of range, which I need something else.

Samsung says that the 200 MP camera on the S25 age is ultra-level, but not at all as found on more expensive flagships. He said, I did not see a dramatic difference in image and video quality when comparing two phones. In fact, there were moments when I preferred the output from the S25 age, which does not look after the colors as much as I am used by the Samsung phone.

The biggest question mark is going into the S25 edge test, and actually moving for every other thin phone, how its battery fare is. With my three -week testing, the battery life on the S25 age is on the sub, although it should not be surprised to anyone. The writing was on the wall; It is a large-screen phone (6.8-inch AMOLED) with a powerful processor (Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite) and a battery capacity (3,900 mAh) that is smaller than the smallest S25 model (4,000 mAh).

It is enough to say that the S25 Edge again made the battery concern one thing, with my review unit continuously fell to 10-20% of the electricity by noon. In 2025, by coming about any other phone, the dip in endurance was immediately noticeable when I started using the device in May.

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Even after going through some cycles of my use pattern learning, and after moments when I have to male the settings for 60 Hz refresh rates and turn on power-saving mode, I am still nowhere to the whole day’s battery life. This is a deal-breaker for me, and will possibly be for someone else who is often away from an outlet or they do not want to carry a portable battery everywhere. It does not help S25 wired wired S25 Edge Caps fall less than 45 W rating on S25 Plus.

If Samsung is more inclined to flex the muscles of its simplicity and embed a silicon-carbon battery-You can see one of the best phones of 2025 popular for your increased energy density among-Asian smartphone manufacturers. Instead, it is a big case of “what if,”, which is Samsung with the largest winner, which now tells the apple that they tell the ultra-thin phone. Take that for what you will.

ZDNET purchase advice

I will repeat that Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge Is this close to being my dream phone, design and hardware is almost as good as anyone can expect $ 1,099. But the lack of battery life is the heel of life ultra-skinned phone. Samsung should have been aware of going into the manufacturing process, and at least the most obvious solution (silicone-carbon battery) is present in the market for the least previous year.

As a result, you are looking back to a futuristic phone that is held back from the problem of an old school.

Of course, if you find a worthy business for a light-and-a-high battery life yet a mildly powerful handset, the S25 edge is as good as it is now. I have lost the number of iPhone users who bought them in the idea of ​​a thin phone after a few seconds of handing them to the S25 Edge. But if you want something safe, long lasting, and somehow more capable, then consider S25 plus And you will not regret it.

The article was originally published on 2 June 2025, and updated on September 2, 2025 to reflect the latest Amazon deal, which brings the phone price to $ 699.