Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge vs Galaxy S25 Plus: The new kid on the block

Samsung dropped a substantial bomb during this year's Unpacked event. We kind of knew and expected a teaser of the so-called Galaxy S25 Slim but got one with a slightly different name. Enter the Galaxy S25 Edge.

This feels a bit weird, as the "Edge" moniker was previously reserved for the curved screen version of the Galaxy S series flagships. But now it seems like Samsung is trying to convey slimness and lightweight with this edgy name.

It is what it is. The Galaxy S25 Edge was teased, and since the event, rumors have been plaguing the internet with almost every spec and feature of that new and interesting device. According to those rumors, the S25 Edge is based around the S25 Plus with a few tweaks here and there.

Naturally, a comparison sprouts out of the aforementioned connection. It's still a bit preliminary and based on leaks and rumors, but we hope it will give you an idea of how the Galaxy S25 Edge compares to the Galaxy S25 Plus.

Thanks to the official teaser that Samsung shared at the very end of the Unpacked event, we know what the Galaxy S25 Edge looks like. Viewed from the back, the Galaxy S25 Edge displays a striking resemblance to last year's Apple non-premium lineup, the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus.

The camera bump is oval, and the two camera housings look very similar to what Apple did. The only difference is that the LED flash is part of the oval camera bump in the Galaxy S25 Edge, while in the case of the iPhone 16 it sits on the right side of the camera system.

Samsung showed a metallic-looking render of the phone with what seemed to be glass on the back. There's a punch hole camera on the front and the same boxy design of the S25 family, with a slightly wider bezel around the display.

But let's not forget that we're comparing this phone to the S25 Plus and not to the iPhone 16, so back on track. The S25 Plus has a different design philosophy when it comes to the camera system; it relies on the same separate camera housings pioneered by the Ultra a couple of generations ago.

In terms of size and weight, both phones share a similar footprint; the Galaxy S25 Plus measures 158.4 x 75.8 x 7.3 mm, while the Galaxy S25 Edge is expected to come in at 159 x 76 x 5.84 mm. According to the latest rumors on the subject, the Edge model is substantially lighter at around 160 grams, while the S25 Plus weighs a hefty 190 grams.

The Galaxy S25 Plus is available in Icy Blue, Mint, Navy, Silver Shadow, Pink Gold, Coral Red, and Blue Black. We don't have information about the hues of the S25 Edge other than the metallic gray color of the official render.

The display specs of the Galaxy S25 Edge are still kind of a mystery. We have a rumor or two sharing some theories about the size and resolution of this intriguing new model. According to the latest info, we're talking about a 6.6-inch FHD+ display with LTPO tech and a dynamic 120Hz refresh rate.

This mimics the Galaxy S25 Plus to some extent, with the sole difference being the resolution. The S25 Plus features a 6.7-inch AMOLED panel with 1440 x 3120 pixel resolution, resulting in around 519 PPI pixel density. If the rumors about the FHD resolution of the S25 Edge turn out to be true, the pixel density of the slim model will be significantly lower at 393 PPI, which will be the biggest difference between these two display-wise.

We still don't know how bright the new model will be, as Samsung didn't share any numbers during the presentation, but judging by the excellent brightness numbers the S25 Plus managed in our display tests (2391 nits), we expect the S25 Edge to perform in the same ballpark.

We have mixed information about the potential chipset inside the Galaxy S25 Edge. There are some early benchmarks posted around, showing Geekbench scores of 2,806 single-core and 8,416 multi-core, respectively. The listing also points toward a Snapdragon 8 Elite platform, and the lower scores might be due to final tuning of the hardware or thermal throttling due to the thinner size of the phone.

The Galaxy S25 Plus, in comparison, managed 3132 and 9935 in the same test, but we have to test the Galaxy S25 Edge when it launches officially to be able to make an objective comparison. Things look promising at this stage, though.

In terms of RAM, the same leaked Geekbench tests show 12GB of RAM for the SM-S937B model (thought to be the global version of the Galaxy S25 Edge). This puts it in the same ballpark as the Galaxy S25 Plus. There might be a difference in base storage, as the S25 Plus starts at 256GB, while the vanilla S25 has a lower 128GB version. The Edge could potentially go for the lower storage option if Samsung wants to keep the price down.

Now, in terms of software, we don't expect any difference between these two. The same software version, seven years of support, and AI magic should be found on both phones.

The camera specs of the Galaxy S25 Edge have leaked, but the most important thing and the takeaway here is the count of the actual cameras on the back. Because the S25 Edge will mark the first time a Samsung flagship launched with only two cameras in a long, long time. Which may turn out to be a segue to the Galaxy S26 having only two cameras; who knows?

Back to the camera specs of the Edge. According to IceUniverse, the phone will feature a 200MP ISOCELL HP2 sensor, just like the Galaxy S25 Ultra, and a 12MP ultrawide camera the same as the one used in the Galaxy S25 Plus.

If true, this information puts the Galaxy S25 Edge in a very strange position. The main camera is poised to be better than the vanilla S25 models and on par with the Ultra, but the ultrawide seems to be the same. Add the lack of a telephoto camera (we'll most likely get 2x crops from the huge main 200MP sensor), and we're left with a very strange experiment.

In another leak, Yogesh Brar lists the ultrawide camera of the S25 Edge at 50MP, which complicates things even more. This will make the Edge more similar to the S25 Ultra and better than the S25 Plus, at least in the main and ultrawide camera departments.

As always, we will add side-by-side samples and do our lab tests to give final camera scores and an in-depth camera comparison once the S25 Edge is official, so stay tuned.

The Galaxy S25 Plus has an intrinsic advantage in this section thanks to its battery. The capacity is 4,900 mAh, which, while a bit lower by modern standards, is still substantially more than the expected 3,900 mAh capacity of the Galaxy S25 Edge.

Now, given the fact that both phones feature the same Snapdragon 8 Elite chipsets, the only deciding factor will be the screen. The S25 Plus has to push more pixels due to the higher resolution, and this might balance things out. Nevertheless, we don't expect the Edge to win this battle.

In terms of charging, the S25 Plus comes with 45W wired charging support and 15W wireless charging as well, while the S25 Edge is expected to mimic the 25W charging of the vanilla S25 with no wireless charging coils (the phone is too thin for that). So, again, this looks like a win for the S25 Plus. Stay tuned for battery tests soon.

Here's a quick specs comparison for all the number nerds out there. You can also check out of full Galaxy S25 Edge vs Galaxy S25 Plus specs comparison on PhoneArena.

*rumored specs

There are a lot of questions before anyone would be able to stamp a final verdict on this one. The price tag of the Galaxy S25 Edge is still a mystery; we only know that it will be cheaper than the Ultra, but that's logical. We still don't know how the Snapdragon 8 Elite will perform in the slim body of the Edge, nor how the two-camera system will handle the competition of the triple system on the S25 Plus.

The way we see it, the Galaxy S25 Edge is trying to probe the market for a niche that's unexplored—a lightweight and thin flagship with a big screen and a basic camera layout. If priced right, the Galaxy S25 Edge could attract some attention, but whether or not it will sell better than the Plus, we still don't know. Stay tuned for tests and the final score once we finish the review of the Galaxy S25 Edge.