Now that I’ve seen the Galaxy S25 Edge in person and held it in my hands, I have a better appreciation for the engineering behind the ultra-thin construction of Samsung's new phone. At 5.8mm thin, it’s hard to overlook how the S25 Edge's svelte construction is a major part of its story — but how thin is it really?
Historically speaking, phones have continually become thinner with each generation. However, we’ve come to a point where we’ve become complacent to what is actually thin. That’s why I want to show you how the Galaxy S25 Edge’s construction stacks up against some of the best phones on the market.
Remember how the original Motorola Razr from the mid-2000s looked compared to other flip phones at the time? Or perhaps how the iPod Nano’s bite-sized design was a dramatic difference over the standard iPod?
That’s the kind of impression the Galaxy S25 Edge needs if it really wants to sell its thin design. I just don’t want this to be an evolutionary step forward, I want it to be revolutionary.
Galaxy S25 Edge vs. Galaxy S25 Ultra
| Row 0 - Cell 0 | Size | Weight |
Galaxy S25 Edge | 75.6 X 158.2 X 5.8mm / 6.23 x 2.98 x 0.23 inches | 163 grams / 5.75 ounces |
Galaxy S25 Ultra | 162.8 x 77.6 x 8.2 mm / 6.41 x 3.06 x 0.32 inches | 218 grams / 7.69 ounces |
Starting off against the Galaxy S25 Ultra, it’s evident from the first picture above how the Galaxy S25 Edge compares against Sammy’s top-of-the-line flagship. You can clearly see how the Edge is much thinner at 5.8mm, versus the Galaxy S25 Ultra’s slightly thicker 8.2mm size. This makes the Edge 31% thinner.
What’s also important to know is their weight difference, just because I think it’s much more striking as I hold them both in my hands. Actually, the Galaxy S25 Edge is still a handful to manipulate one-handed, but I can’t help observing how much lighter it is. In fact, the Galaxy S25 Edge is 28% lighter. I actually think it's a much more important metric in a Galaxy S25 Edge vs. Galaxy S25 Ultra face-off.
Galaxy S25 Edge vs. iPhone 16 Pro Max
| Row 0 - Cell 0 | Size | Weight |
Galaxy S25 Edge | 75.6 X 158.2 X 5.8mm / 6.23 x 2.98 x 0.23 inches | 163 grams / 5.75 ounces |
iPhone 16 Pro Max | 163 x 77.6 x 8.25mm / 6.42 x 3.06 x 0.32 inches | 227 grams / 8 ounces |
Another matchup that exposes the clunky size of today’s flagships pits the S25 Edge against the iPhone 16 Pro Max. I’ve always thought of the iPhone Pro series to be thin and light by today’s standard. But it’s not even close as the iPhone 16 Pro Max tips the scales at an even heavier 8 ounces — giving the Galaxy S25 Edge an astounding 32% lighter construction.
In the thickness department, it’s again a substantial difference as the iPhone 16 Pro Max comes in at 8.25mm. This makes the Galaxy S25 Edge 34% thinner than the iPhone 16 Pro Max.
Galaxy S25 Edge vs. Galaxy Z Fold 6
| Row 0 - Cell 0 | Size | Weight |
Galaxy S25 Edge | 75.6 X 158.2 X 5.8mm / 6.23 x 2.98 x 0.23 inches | 163 grams / 5.75 ounces |
Galaxy Z Fold 6 | 153.5mm x 132.6mm x 5.6mm (unfolded) / 6.42 x 3.06 x 0.32 inches (unfolded) | 239 grams / 8.4 ounces |
This next comparison is important because it exposes a couple of important things. First of all, I’ve been using the Galaxy Z Fold 6 as one of my daily drivers for more than 6 months now — and it actually is thinner than the Edge at 5.6mm. Side-by-side to one another, you can see in the first photo how evenly they match up.
However, that’s only one half of the Galaxy Z Fold 6 when it’s unfolded. When it’s closed, the foldable phone balloons to a thickness of 12.1mm.
Secondly, it’s worth pointing out the weight difference between the two — as the Galaxy S25 Edge is 31% lighter. This is yet another revealing area where I can physically tell there’s a noticeable difference.
Galaxy S25 Edge vs. Galaxy Alpha
| Row 0 - Cell 0 | Size | Weight |
Galaxy S25 Edge | 75.6 X 158.2 X 5.8mm / 6.23 x 2.98 x 0.23 inches | 163 grams / 5.75 ounces |
Galaxy Alpha | 132.4 x 65.5 x 6.7 mm / 5.21 x 2.58 x 0.26 inches | 115 grams / 4.06 ounces |
For this final one, I want to illustrate how thin you can get. Despite being a decade old, the Galaxy Alpha shows how thin and small phones were before everything decided to go obnoxiously big.
First of all, the size difference between these two phones is laughable due to how tiny the Galaxy Alpha is compared to the Galaxy S25 Edge.
Interesting, though, the Galaxy Alpha is a smidge thicker at 6.7mm — but my side-by-side shot says otherwise as they appear to look very similar. Another stark difference between them is their weight, with the Galaxy Alpha coming in lighter at 4.06 ounces.
This is exactly why I feel that Samsung went down the wrong route of taking an existing flagship (say the Galaxy S25 Ultra) and making it thinner. Instead, I think it would have been more ambitious to make a much thinner and smaller phone,like the Galaxy Alpha to pick an unconventional option. Do you agree?
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