A Samsung rep has made quite a bold claim about its thin phone. The S25 Edge, which you might think of as the lightweight version of the S25, S25+, or S25 Ultra, is actually a "flagship" model.
That's according to an interview with our colleagues at Tom's Guide published this week. While the definition of "flagship" in consumer tech can vary, calling a phone like the Edge, which you might associate with something light or airy, may take you by surprise. Despite the skeptics, Samsung might have a point. Here's why.
Samsung defends S25 Edge as the “Goldilocks” of phone
As its annual tradition, the Korea-based tech behemoth launched three devices in its flagship Galaxy S series earlier this year: the base S25, S25 Plus, and the S25 Ultra.
Though Samsung debuted the Galaxy S25 Edge back then, it was officially launched a couple of days ago.
The Galaxy S25 Edge is the thinnest S series phone the Korean-based giant has ever released, sporting a 5.8mm design and weighing 163g. Pre-orders went live on May 12, and the device starts at $1,099. For comparison, the standard S25, S25+, and S25 Ultra start at $800, $1,000, and $1,300, respectively.
Instead of focusing solely on the S25 Edge's slimness, critics have focused on the trade-offs Samsung made to achieve this design.
Blake Gaiser, the director of smartphone product management at Samsung Electronics America, believes the focus should be on the Edge's lightweight and the overall experience rather than just its raw specs.
When asked whether Samsung considers the Edge a true flagship, Gaiser said they do, describing it as an innovation piece where, despite cutting down on weight and thickness, the company isn’t compromising on what really matters to users.
We do consider it to be a flagship. It is a new innovation piece that we're bringing forth where we're taking out so much weight, so much thickness of this device, while not compromising on the things that are really important to our customers, such as durability, the performance of the chipset, having that flagship 200MP camera.
Blake Gaiser, irector of smartphone product management at Samsung Electronics America
This includes durability, chipset performance, and the Edge’s 200MP camera. Gaiser even called the Galaxy S25 Edge the “Goldilocks” of smartphones, saying it’s aimed at users looking for “a light, tech-forward, fashionable device” without compromising on performance.
Gaiser even addressed concerns critics have raised
One of the biggest concerns raised by critics is battery life. The S25 Edge packs a slightly larger battery than the base S25 (4,000 mAh vs. 3,900 mAh), but given that it’s 1.4mm slimmer, that’s still an impressive engineering feat.
The size difference isn’t all that significant compared to the noticeably thinner body. Besides, most users likely won’t notice much difference in day-to-day use, since the S25 and S25 Edge share the same processor: the Snapdragon 8 Elite Mobile Platform for Galaxy.
Gaiser addressed this, too, when asked about the Edge’s battery life being slightly shorter than the regular S25. He explained that “enough battery life for most customers is just an all-day usage,” and that Samsung defines a good experience as being able to get from “sun up to sun down without having any issues.”
Gaiser also told Tom's Guide that in internal testing, the Edge’s battery life held up as well or even better than the base S24 and very close to the base S25. The Edge also skips the 3x telephoto zoom found on other S25 models, but Gaiser justified that by pointing out that it’s not a feature most customers use every day or even every month.
When you consider why Gaiser considers the Edge a flagship, his point starts to make sense. While it might not tick every traditional flagship box, it delivers a premium experience for those who want a sleek, lightweight phone without any major compromises. The only caveat, really, is the price.
Starting at $1,099, the Edge edges dangerously close to the Ultra’s territory, just without the telephoto zoom and with slightly shorter battery life. Ultimately, this makes it a tough sell for many. Aside from the fact that Samsung did an incredible job shrinking the Edge’s size without stripping away too much, the phone doesn’t offer much else. It’s just another Galaxy S model, albeit a thinner one.
Perhaps the iPhone 17 Air will fix what the S25 Edge didn’t
Thin phones are starting to become a trend again and the S25 Edge may not stand alone for long. Apple is expected to launch its S25 Edge competitor, the iPhone 17 Air, later this year. Who knows — it might just piggyback off the Edge’s shortcomings and nail the formula better.
Rumors already suggest that the iPhone 17 Air will be just 5.5mm thick. While early reports hint at lower-than-ideal battery life, the iPhone 17 Air is still a few months away and its final performance remains to be seen. Besides, Apple has a track record of optimizing its hardware and software well enough to mask those gaps.
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