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The latest Galaxy S25 Edge is Samsung’s thinnest phone yet, designed for users who prioritize ergonomics. However, it’s priced close to the S25 Ultra, which delivers the absolute best that Samsung has to offer. If you’re considering getting the Edge, it’s wise to compare it with the Ultra to know all of what you’re gaining and what you’d miss out on.
Price and Availability
TheGalaxy S25 Edgewill be available starting July 08, 2025, at $1,099 for the base model with 12GB RAM and 256GB storage, but Samsung is offering the 512GB variant at no extra cost for a limited time.
TheGalaxy S25 Ultralaunched at $1,299 for the base model with the same amount of memory and storage, but can go up to 1TB while the S25 Edge caps at 512GB.
Since the Ultra has been out for a little while now, you can get it at nearly the same price as the Edge. Both devices are available to buy at the official Samsung store or via retail outlets.
256GB
$1,099.99
$1,299.99
512GB
$1,219.99
$1,419.99
1TB
-
$1,659.99
The Galaxy S25 Edge Is More Comfortable to Hold
Admittedly, not everyone cares about having a thinner phone just for the sake of having a thinner phone, but you may’t deny that the S25 Ultra is not the most comfortable device to hold, especially if you have smaller hands.
For one, its massive 6.9-inch display pretty much forbids one-handed use, so you have to do those weird hand shuffles every time you want to reach the UI elements at the top of the screen, like opening the notifications panel.
Its 8.2mm thickness doesn’t sound bad on paper and is much better than the 8.6mm S24 Ultra, but those flat sides certainly aren’t as comfortable as the more rounded ones found on phones a couple of years ago. Yes, the 6.7-inch S25 Edge has flat sides too, but it doesn’tfeelas obtrusive given the super-thin 5.8mm frame.
In other words, flat sides are fine as long as the frame is thin enough, but larger and thicker phones greatly benefit from more rounded sides and corners to somewhat offset their heft.
The Galaxy S25 Edge is also significantly lighter at just 163 grams—that’s almost identical to the weight of the much smaller 6.2-inch Galaxy S25. The S25 Ultra is 218 grams, making it nearly 34% heavier than the Edge.
Keep in mind that a phone case adds to the overall weight and thickness. For a phone already as bulky as the S25 Ultra, this added heft is quite bothersome, but it’s not as noticeable on something as slim as the S25 Edge. The latter also won’t form a giant bump when stowed in your jean pocket, if that’s something you care about.
The Galaxy S25 Ultra Has an Anti-Reflective Screen
The Ultra is the only phone in the S25 lineup to have an anti-reflective coating on the screen, minimizing glare. This sounds minor, but makes a big difference in everyday use.
For one, reduced screen glare makes your phone more suited to use in various lighting conditions. Two, you won’t have to increase the brightness to see past the reflections, saving battery life. And three, if you’re indoors, you won’t have to take the time to change your seating position to avoid the glare. All of these things affect how versatile your phone feels day-to-day.
I can vouch for this anti-reflective coating because one of the first accessories I buy when I get a new phone is a matte screen protector which does the same thing, alongside making the screen easier to glide your finger on, as an added perk.
The good news is that you canbuy an anti-reflective film for the S25 Edgedirectly from Samsung; it costs just $25 and delivers the same experience.
Ultrawide Shots Are Better on the Galaxy S25 Ultra
Both the S25 Edge and the S25 Ultra have the same 200MP main camera, but the former has an inferior 12MP f/2.2 ultrawide lens, identical to the one found on the base S25 and the S25+. The Ultra has a higher resolution and wider aperture 50MP f/1.9 ultrawide lens.
The wider aperture means the Ultra’s ultrawide lens captures more ambient light, and hence delivers better overall image quality, especially indoors or at nighttime.
The higher resolution means the sensor can capture more information, so you can zoom or crop your photo without losing detail at the cost of a bigger file size. However, using high-res mode is not recommended in low-light environments as it can introduce image noise.
The Galaxy S25 Edge Lacks a Telephoto Camera
The S25 Edge lacks a dedicated telephoto lens because adding one requires a lot of room in the phone’s chassis to deliver optical zoom, something the S25 Ultra has no problem with as it proudly flaunts its 3x and 5x telephoto cameras. Now, there are two ways you can look at this.
The first way is to be an enthusiast like me and complain about the decision to pick form over function, and how the lack of a proper telephoto lens at this price is mildly infuriating, given how big an improvement it can deliver for portrait shots and reading text from far away.
The second, arguably more objective way is to think of the less tech-savvy person this phone is intended for and realize how they probably don’t find telephoto lenses that useful, if at all.
Paying extra for a third camera they know they’re never going to use (when they could’ve gotten a more slender device) is as wasteful for them as it is for us to pay extra for a phone that sacrifices features for ergonomics.
The Galaxy S25 Ultra Lasts Longer and Charges Faster
The thinness of the S25 Edge comes with a major caveat: the inferior battery life. While the Ultra has a standard 5000mAh cell which can easily last you an entire day on normal use with roughly 30% juice left, the Edge has to make do with a 3900mAh one to allow for its slim form. That’s less than the base S25, which has a 4000mAh cell powering a much smaller panel.
Samsung promises the S25 Edge has an “all-day battery,” but I doubt you won’t be forced to reach for your charger by the evening, especially if you multitask on your phone as much as I do—and that’s without any degradation, mind you.
I’m willing to bet that after just a year, the reduced battery life will start to feel annoying enough that the spectacle of owning such a slim phone won’t matter to most buyers.
The vast majority of people care about battery life far more than they care about ergonomics for obvious reasons, so the Edge faces a major drawback in this department.
Of course, Samsung could’ve mitigated this by using newsilicon-carbon batteriesthat are more energy-dense and can hence pack more power in the same footprint, but it seems the company is not yet ready to experiment with the same. If the Edge had at least 4500mAh, recommending it would be a lot easier.
The S25 Edge also lags behind in charging speed, going only up to 25W. The S25 Ultra goes up to 45W, which isn’t great but good enough to avoid excessive waiting. Samsung says the Edge can charge up to 55% in 30 minutes, while the Ultra can go up to 65% in the same time.
To put this into perspective, the former gets you 2145mAh of power in half an hour while the latter gets you 3250mAh—over 50% more. Of course, this difference doesn’t matter if you charge your phone overnight. Both phones support wireless and reverse wireless charging.
The Galaxy S25 Edge Sports Gorilla Glass Ceramic 2
The S25 Edge is the first Samsung phone to get the Gorilla Glass Ceramic 2 protection on the front, which Corning (the company that makes Gorilla Glass) claims has significantly improved crack resistance over the Gorilla Armor 2 found on the S25 Ultra.
That sounds great, but I’m curious whether this improved crack resistance came at the cost of slightly worse scratch resistance. In fact, Corning’s official product information sheet for theGorilla Glass Ceramic 2doesn’t mention scratch test performance at all, which adds to my suspicion because all other product sheets I’ve read from the company do mention it.
I suggest taking a look at durability tests done by independent creators to get a better idea.
The Galaxy S25 Edge is made for a very particular type of user, one who greatly prioritizes ergonomics and in-hand feel but still wants a big screen, and doesn’t mind the sacrifices that such a design comes with—except maybe the inferior battery life that everyone cares about.
For the vast majority, the S25 Ultra is undoubtedly a better device given how much more tech you get inside it, including the two telephoto lenses, superior ultrawide lens, longer battery life, faster charging, anti-reflective display, and built-in S Pen support.
Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra
The Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra is a top-of-the-line smartphone with a 6.9-inch QHD+ Dynamic AMOLED 2X display and a 120Hz refresh rate. It boasts the Snapdragon 8 Elite processor, 12GB of RAM, and a 5,000mAh battery with 45W Super Fast Charging 2.0.
Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge
Samsung’s latest flagship phone provides the company’s bleeding-edge technology in a slim form factor. If you pre-order the Galaxy S25 Edge directly from Samsung, you’ll get $50 in credit and a free upgrade to the 512GB model.
