Change my mind: The Galaxy S25 Edge is not worth it

The Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge was introduced this week, and to be completely trustworthy, I’m not notably impressed. Positive, it’s a succesful telephone general with a lot to supply. Nonetheless, it comes with vital trade-offs that, for me, are exhausting to miss.

The primary promoting level of the Galaxy S25 Edge is undoubtedly its thinness. Coming in at simply 5.8mm, it’s a formidable 20% thinner and roughly 14% lighter than the equally sized Galaxy S25 Plus. Nonetheless, its remarkably slim determine comes at a value that I’m not prepared to pay. For me, the Galaxy S25 Edge just isn’t value it.

The most important points I’ve with the S25 Edge revolve round its battery capability and digital camera setup.

Let’s begin with the battery. The S25 Edge homes a 3,900 mAh battery. For a telephone boasting a big 6.7-inch show, this capability instantly raises a purple flag. To place that into context, the Galaxy S25 Plus, which shares the identical display screen dimension, includes a 4,900 mAh battery — round 25% bigger. Even the S25 Plus isn’t what I’d name a battery champion; it’s going to reliably get you thru the day with reasonable use, however that’s about it.

Whereas we haven’t carried out formal battery life assessments on the S25 Edge but, it’s protected to say that it will likely be noticeably worse than that of the S25 Plus. It’s going to most certainly be worse than the battery lifetime of the usual Galaxy S25, the smallest telephone within the collection, which has a 6.2-inch show paired with a 4,000 mAh battery. For me, it is a vital trade-off, as I worth battery life way over how skinny a telephone is.

After all, there are limits. I wouldn’t desire a telephone like a few of these ultra-rugged fashions, which could be as thick as a brick attributable to packing a colossal 20,000 mAh battery. However I’ve by no means reached some extent the place I’d say a mainstream flagship, just like the Galaxy S25 Extremely, for instance, is just too thick for my liking. Thickness has by no means been an issue for me; it’s normally the general width and top of outsized telephones that I’ve had points with. Some telephones are just too large, making them cumbersome to make use of with one hand and awkward to pocket. Thinness, nonetheless, just isn’t one thing I’ve ever thought of to be a urgent subject with the overwhelming majority of telephones I’ve used over the past decade.

Then there’s the digital camera system. The Galaxy S25 Edge solely options two rear sensors, as a substitute of the triple-lens array you get on each the Galaxy S25 Extremely and the S25 Plus. Contemplating the S25 Edge is positioned between these two fashions when it comes to pricing, I’d have anticipated it to incorporate a 3rd lens — telephoto.

That is partly a matter of choice, as some individuals primarily keep on with the principle lens and don’t care a lot for telephoto photographs or ultrawide versatility. Nonetheless, I do. I worth digital camera versatility, and I count on it, particularly on the S25 Edge’s value level. I’ll admit I’m not knowledgeable photographer, however having the choice to seize high-quality zoomed-in photographs is one thing I admire and need, even when I solely use it often. I wouldn’t thoughts the dual-camera setup as a lot if the S25 Edge have been priced equally to the common S25, however that isn’t the case.

Along with the issues about battery life and the digital camera, it’s the worth level that actually bothers me, as already briefly talked about. The Galaxy S25 Edge is about to launch at $1,200. This makes it $200 cheaper than the premium Galaxy S25 Extremely however, crucially, $100 dearer than the Galaxy S25 Plus.

Moreover, because the S25 Extremely and S25 Plus have been available on the market for a number of months now, you possibly can usually discover them at discounted costs from numerous retailers, making them even higher offers.

In comparison with the Galaxy S25 Plus, the S25 Edge looks as if a foul deal for those who ask me. The 2 telephones share a whole lot of specs: each sport the identical 6.7-inch show, are powered by the identical chipset, and supply the identical RAM and storage configurations. Additionally they each characteristic an ultrasonic fingerprint scanner, carry an IP68 score for mud and water resistance, and are promised seven years of software program help from Samsung.

Nonetheless, the Galaxy S25 Plus boasts a a lot bigger battery, features a extra versatile triple rear digital camera system, and helps quicker charging. And on high of that, it’s additionally cheaper. The one distinct benefit the S25 Edge holds is its slim profile, which I actually don’t care about. Then there’s the marginally totally different major digital camera with its 200MP, which affords extra pixels however doesn’t essentially imply it’s going to produce higher photographs. We’ll know extra after we overview the system. The telephone additionally has a number of different extras, like the flexibility to shoot LOG movies with the entrance digital camera, though this characteristic could come to different S25 fashions through a software program replace.

Your mileage could range, in fact. Whereas I consider the telephone represents a poor worth proposition for a lot of, that gained’t be the case for everybody. In the event you genuinely like and worth the ultra-thin design of the S25 Edge and are prepared to just accept the compromises and pay the premium, then it could be the telephone for you. However for me, personally, the trade-offs in battery life and digital camera options for the sake of thinness an a better decision major digital camera aren’t value the additional price. I’d a lot quite go for the extra well-rounded Galaxy S25 Plus, or maybe think about another just like the Google Pixel 9 Professional XL.

That’s my tackle the Galaxy S25 Edge, and now I need to hear yours. Let me know within the feedback and attempt to change my thoughts. I’ll attempt to reply as many feedback as attainable, so let’s begin a dialog.