A Price That Hits Hard
When Samsung unveiled the Galaxy S25 Edge, jaws dropped at that ultra-thin 5.8 mm profile—and not always in a good way. Sure, it’s a head-turner, but the moment you see the €1249 price tag for the 256 GB model, the excitement starts to fizzle. Think about it: you could snag the standard S25 for around €862, pocket an extra €387, and still have enough left over for a decent pair of noise-cancelling headphones or even a budget tablet.
At over €1200, this phone stakes its claim as a premium device. Yet, when you factor in features that have been trimmed to achieve that slim frame, it feels more like a marketing stunt than a value-packed flagship. In a market where consumers expect killer performance and solid battery life along with sleek design, dropping hundreds more just for a thinner silhouette seems like a hard sell.
Scary Battery Life
Speaking of compromises, let’s talk endurance. The Galaxy S25 Edge houses a 3900 mAh battery, which Samsung claims will power you through about 24 hours of video playback. Sounds decent until you compare it to the 4000 mAh cell in the S25 (29 hours) or the beefy 4900 mAh unit in the S25+ (30 hours). In real-world use, you could lose five to six hours of runtime just to shave off a few millimeters of thickness.
Worse yet, Samsung could have dipped into its cutting-edge silicon-carbon battery tech to keep the phone slim without sacrificing juice. Instead, they went with a smaller pack and left us hanging. In 2025, when everyone is glued to their devices, having a battery that might not see you through a full day under heavy use feels like a misstep—especially at this price point.
Slow Charging in 2025?
Okay, so the battery life isn’t stellar. But you might think, “At least it charges fast, right?” Sorry, that ship sailed long ago. The S25 Edge limps along with 25 W wired charging and 15 W wireless charging. Meanwhile, rivals are pushing 65 W, 100 W, or even 120 W turbo-charging. On this Samsung, you’re looking at roughly 90 minutes for a full top-off—an eternity when some handsets can hit 50% in 10 minutes flat.
Imagine running out of steam during your commute, then having to wait nearly two hours to get back to full power. It’s the perfect recipe for daily frustration. You end up hunting for outlets more often, and that ultra-thin profile suddenly feels less like an elegant statement and more like a design that forgot about practicality.
Photo Zoom Fiasco
If you’re into mobile photography, the Edge’s headline feature—a massive 200 MP primary sensor—is certainly enticing. But there’s a catch: Samsung ditched the dedicated telephoto lens. Instead, the device relies on a digital crop at up to 2x zoom. In other words, it’s not true optical zoom; it’s just clever software trimming.
Compared to the S25 and S25+, which both sport real 3x optical zoom modules, the Edge falls short when you try to capture distant subjects. Sure, daytime shots look crisp and detailed at 1x, and selfies turn out great. But the moment you need to zoom in on your kid’s soccer game or snap a quick wildlife shot, you’ll wish Samsung had kept that telephoto lens intact.
Thinness: What’s the Point?
At 5.8 mm thick, the Galaxy S25 Edge is one of the slimmest phones you can buy in 2025. It looks phenomenal out of the box—but be honest, how many of us actually rock our phones naked? Most buyers slap on a protective case that adds another 2–3 mm of bulk, negating the whole point of being so paper-thin.
When choosing a smartphone, people generally care most about battery life, camera versatility, and bang-for-their-buck performance. Samsung’s gamble on sheer thinness feels like a bet against consumer priorities. That said, the Edge is still an impressive feat of engineering. With its titanium frame, QHD+ 6.7-inch display, and Snapdragon 8 Elite chip, it delivers on raw specs. But for the extra cash, I’d rather take slightly more heft and zero regrets at the end of a long day.
