Sitting at my desk within the Trusted Critiques places of work yesterday afternoon, I heard the doorbell. It was a courier, and he handed me a small, nondescript bundle. A bundle that I’d been ready for all day; a bundle containing the ultra-slim Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge.
After unboxing the telephone, marvelling as soon as once more at how skinny and lightweight it’s and displaying it to a few colleagues within the workplace, it instantly turned my ‘fundamental’ smartphone. I transferred all my apps, logged into my banking providers and bought the house display screen structure simply proper so I may crack on with testing.
Whereas I’m, after all, not but able to ship my last ideas, right here’s how my first 24 hours with the Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge formed up.
Choose up the Galaxy S25 Edge, and also you’ll in all probability need one
Even after dealing with the Galaxy S25 Edge at a Samsung occasion every week in the past, I used to be nonetheless enamoured with its ultra-slim design. At 5.8mm thick, it’s hanging, and tipping the scales at 163g, it’s an absolute deal with to carry and use. I discovered myself continuously marvelling on the telephone, taking a look at it from all angles.
And, regardless of having the identical angular design as the remainder of the Galaxy S25 assortment, I discovered it method extra snug within the hand – even with that enormous 6.7-inch QHD+ AMOLED display screen. It wouldn’t poke into my palms fairly as a lot because the Samsung Galaxy S25 Extremely, my go-to telephone for the time being, does.
Actually, I’d go so far as to say that the S25 Edge has ruined my beforehand optimistic expertise with the S25 Extremely. Even after simply 24 hours, the Extremely feels thick and noticeably heavy, to the purpose the place I ponder how I’ve used this telephone for the previous few months.
After all, you alter to no matter you may have, and it’s probably that after utilizing the telephone for every week, I’ll not discover its significantly skinny and lightweight nature – however I’ll should report again on that in my full assessment.
Efficiency has additionally been strong over the previous 24 hours with nary a stutter to be seen, however contemplating it packs the customized Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy, that’s not a shock. The larger problem, I anticipate, will likely be holding the slim chassis cool throughout longer gaming periods. I’ve not had an opportunity besides up Genshin Affect simply but, however I’m to see the way it does.
I’ll say, not everyone within the Trusted workplace was fairly as impressed with it as I used to be. Two colleagues independently stated that “it’s skinny, however that makes extra sense on greater tech like tablets and laptops”, whereas one other questioned its worth proposition when you may get cheaper telephones with extra superior tech – and that’s true. There are trade-offs to creating a telephone this compact.
Within the digicam division, for instance, the S25 Edge lacks the devoted telephoto lens current in the remainder of the S25 assortment. That’s not wholly unsurprising given telephoto lenses want bodily area for magnification, however it does imply that, regardless of costing simply £150 lower than the S25 Extremely, the £799 S25 can take a greater zoom shot – in concept, anyway.
In follow, the S25 Edge’s 200MP main lens does a fairly respectable job with digital zoom as much as the 5x mark – there’s a profit to all these additional pixels, in spite of everything. I’ve not shot sufficient to ship any type of verdict, however I haven’t been as dissatisfied as some may assume up to now.
The most important trade-off, nevertheless, must be the 3900mAh battery.
Battery life may very well be a problem
After I noticed that the S25 Edge had a smaller battery than the extra compact Galaxy S25, I used to be instantly fearful about battery life. How may the telephone energy a 6.7-inch QHD+ display screen for lengthy durations with a small cell?
Samsung claims that the S25 Edge can final for twenty-four hours… 24 hours of video playback, that’s. That’s not what the overwhelming majority of customers will solely be doing on their smartphones.
Reader, it appears my fears might have been warranted.
I charged the S25 Edge to 100%, and took it off cost at round 3pm yesterday afternoon. I went out for a few hours within the night, utilizing the telephone sporadically to answer to WhatsApps, take a handful of photographs and take heed to Spotify on my hour-long journey house and, by 10pm, my battery had dropped to 65%.
After I went to mattress at round 1am, the telephone had 54% cost left with solely an hour and quarter-hour of display screen time.
I didn’t cost it in a single day like most would, simply so I may get a style of how lengthy the telephone may final, and to my shock, it drained a whopping 24% in a single day. I woke as much as simply 30%, and by noon, the telephone was begging for a charger, sat at 5%.
Which may’ve been acceptable 5 or ten years in the past, however battery longevity in smartphones has come a good distance up to now few years. This may very well be the telephone that reintroduces the dreaded battery anxiousness for a lot of – particularly contemplating I didn’t actually use the telephone that a lot, with simply over two hours of display screen time in whole since its final cost.
After all, there are trade-offs to having such a skinny and lightweight design, and it may very properly be that battery life takes a little bit of successful in different slimline telephones – like Apple’s rumoured iPhone 17 Air. We’ll simply have to attend and see for now.
A promising begin
Even with the quite lacklustre battery life I’ve seen up to now, I’m definitely not writing the S25 Edge off.
That light-weight, ultra-slim construct will undoubtedly be the factor that some cherish most, particularly in comparison with telephones just like the Galaxy S25 Extremely that appear nearly brick-like as compared. The show can also be implausible, and battery apart, it has been a deal with to make use of up to now.
I’m definitely trying ahead to holding my SIM on this telephone for the subsequent week – preserve an eye fixed out for my full assessment coming very quickly.
