I’m over the Galaxy S25 Edge. There, I said it. For all the hype around its ultra-thin design, I’ve said how I wish it were thinner in my Galaxy S25 Edge review. In fact, the more I closely inspect it against other phones, the less I’m convinced about Samsung’s claim of it being a “remarkable feat of engineering.”
I think it’s a wasted opportunity because thin phones already exist everywhere, so you can’t let this marketing gimmick fool you. Instead, Samsung should’ve saved its thin design for another phone that’s much worthier — the Galaxy Z Flip 7.
Considering how Apple is taking its sweet time at releasing an iPhone Flip/iPhone Fold, Samsung could use this to its advantage to explore thinner designs with its foldable phones, because let’s face it, foldables are much cooler than your ordinary slate phone. Here’s why I think the Galaxy Z Flip 7 is more deserving of a thinner design.
Foldable phones are historically thinner
I reviewed the Motorola Razr Ultra 2025 not long ago and completely forgot how thin it is by today’s standards — and it’s a foldable phone, no less. Samsung wants us to believe that the Galaxy S25 Edge is a revolutionary step in phone design, but I don’t think so when I look at some of the best foldable phones around.
Take the Oppo Find N5 as an example, which at 4.21mm at its thinnest point when unfolded, actually beats the Galaxy S25 Edge’s 5.8mm profile. However, that’s just one side of a phone. Compared to the Galaxy Z Flip 6, which becomes a slate when it’s unfolded, the Galaxy S25 Edge’s thin construction isn’t as substantial. Is it thinner? Yes, but it’s not remarkably thinner — despite how the numbers show the Flip 6 with a 6.99mm profile.
If the Galaxy S25 Edge were more than 50% thinner than the Z Flip 6, then I’d be more apt to agree that it’s a remarkable feat of engineering. But the reality is that foldable phones have been pushing the boundaries in terms of thinness and will continue to do so.
A bigger battery is expected with the Z Flip 7
There’s still a lot unknown about the Galaxy Z Flip 7; we’re probably months away from an official reveal alongside the notebook-style Galaxy Z Fold 7. CAD files of the alleged phone indicate that the Z Flip 7 will have a thinness of 6.94mm when it’s unfolded, which grows to 9.17mm with the cameras taken into consideration
Reports indicate, too, that the Galaxy Z Flip 7 will be accompanied by a 4,300 mAh battery — which could explain its thicker size over the Galaxy S25 Edge. If Samsung were to really trim its chassis to reach the same 5.8mm profile of the S25 Edge, I suspect that the battery capacity would need to be much smaller, perhaps similar to the 3,900 mAh size in the S25 Edge currently.
Last year’s Galaxy Z Flip 6 didn’t necessarily have huge battery gains over its predecessor, but I would be content with a smaller battery if Samsung is somehow able to trim down the Z Flip 7 to be the same thinness as the S25 Edge — that’s only if and only if it gets a faster charging speed, which doesn’t seem likely given the 25W speed it’s rumored to have.
Now, the only way Samsung could achieve throwing in a big battery into its flip-style phone is to grow its overall size. This would inherently allow it to have a thinner chassis because of how it would be taller and wider. At this point, it’s all unlikely to happen given how close we are to its potential reveal, but it’s another example of how Samsung could’ve garnered more attention with a thinner design.
It's all about accepting compromises
Let's believe that Samsung ends up making a Galaxy Z Flip 7 with a 3,500 mAh battery. That’s roughly a 10% difference in battery capacity over the S25 Edge, but it could potentially make the Z Flip 7 obscenely thin. Again, I would gladly be okay with a smaller sized battery if it were given the same 45W charging speed as the Galaxy S25 Plus and S25 Ultra.
More importantly, though, a thinner Galaxy Z Flip 7 would be an engineering masterpiece because of how it’s a foldable phone to begin with. In addition to how flip-style phones have distinct advantages over slates, like being able to vlog by pairing the better rear cameras with an outer screen, a thinner design would certainly add to the appeal — much more so than a slate.
All of this simply reaffirms my sentiments about how it’s a wasted opportunity for Samsung, and how it should’ve waited to do it with the Galaxy Z Flip 7. At this point, I can only look forward to next year's models.
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