Samsung has done a good job of making the S25 Edge feel like an almost mystical device – a luxurious item that was worthy of some extra time in the oven before it was truly ready.

It’s a bit of a shame that, in reality, the S25 Edge is just a slightly thinner version of the S25 without a whole lot of technical advancement to match the sleek chassis.

There’s no doubt that phones have become a little stagnant. The designs are all very similar across the best Android phones and even the best iPhones, the cameras are mostly very good, even on the budget options, and we’ve gotten to the point where the chips are faster than many really need them to be. Smartphone AI, which has been touted by many to be the Next Big Thing, has also so far fallen flat.

More than dimensions

The perfect antidote to this stagnant selection should have been the arrival of these super-thin devices. But I’d have hoped that Samsung would have used the Edge as not just a thinner S25, but a showcase of where the series is going next.

For example, the S25 Edge still uses a traditional lithium-ion battery, whereas the more modern silicon-carbon alternative would have allowed Samsung to stuff a larger cell into the thinner body. The measly 3900mAh cell and the average endurance that comes with it is one of the biggest downsides of the Edge, but I didn’t have to be.

It feels like we’ve been through this before. Make something thinner, and as a result the battery life suffers, just for the next generation to get a little bit thicker in an effort to turn back the clock. I can’t see these thin phones being a true success without battery life that can comfortably last the day.

Samsung could have also kept the small battery and given us faster charging instead, but that’s not the case. There’s only 25W charging here (rather than 45W across the rest of the range) and even though the cell is small, a full charge still takes around an hour.

The Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge is a good phone – there’s no doubt about that. It packs a fast chip, gorgeous screen and two good cameras into a body that is so thin it really needs to be held to be believed. But it could have been more.

Will the iPhone 17 Air be the same?

While Samsung got its slim 2025 phone out first, all eyes are now on Apple and how it will counter with the rumoured iPhone 17 Air.

If the vast amount of rumours and online chatter is to be believed, Apple will launch the iPhone 17 Air alongside the standard iPhone 17 and iPhone 17 Pro series in September.

It’ll likely take the place of the misunderstood iPhone Plus range, sitting as a ‘mid-range’ option between the entry levels and true flagship models. Rumours suggest it’ll have the same 120Hz display of the Pro line, but only carry a single camera on the back – like the iPhone 16e.

Now, I really hope that Apple uses the 17 Air as a testbed for new advances – be it battery, charging or single camera performance – rather than giving us an iPhone 17 Plus with slinkier dimensions and battery life that requires a battery pack on hand at all times.

An iPhone 17 Air would represent arguably the biggest redesign of the iPhone since the iconic iPhone X, a device that changed the trajectory of the series, bringing with it many features – like Face ID – that still live on today.

The iPhone X was a special phone, and I really hope the iPhone 17 Air is that once again.