Every tech YouTuber is talking about the Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge now, so here’s a TLDR
They all released videos at almost the exact same time, so even though I don’t care, I was made to care. Therefore, I’m inflicting that same pain on you. You’re welcome.
Mrwhosetheboss made a good point saying that the target audience for this thing are rich people who want phones that look flashy and can pay for them, but don’t care that they have worse specs than the less flashy ones at a similar price.
MKBHD called it the “S25 Ultra Lite”, which I thought was funny. He also brought up the issue of cooling. He additionally said that no one is asking for thin phones, although it seems that Apple has also bought into the idea that people want this, since it’s rumored that they want to release a thin iPhone this year.
Dave2D said that he tested the heat dissipation capacity of the phone and that it can handle itself well. Apparently it still somehow has a vapor chamber inside of it, as well as a wireless charger. Apparently it also has the smallest battery in the lineup, even though it doesn’t have the silicon carbon tech that is all the rage now. He made a good point though, namely that this could just be Samsung starting the trend so that the technology matures in a few years’ time.
All three of them mentioned that everyone uses cases these days, which immediately kills the whole purpose of buying a thin phone and losing out on better specs.
If you somehow have not gotten enough of tech YouTubers acting confused over Samsung launching a product that no one asked for, there’s also Techaltar and Tech Spurt. I recommend the latter for dirty British humor.
Just FYI, most of the time with product launches there's a review embargo so that influencers don't leak anything too early. Because of that, the moment a embargo drops, most YouTubers and reviewers have a set time that their videos release. If you follow a lot of people with overlap you'll notice that a lot, it's not exactly a new thing.
Yes. I’m aware of that. It’s just that it’s been a few months (or years) since last I noticed the launch of one new phone prompting commentary from so many channels that I follow all within just a few hours. I can’t remember when that last happened with an iPhone even. I was just like: “OK. OK. I get it. There’s this new thin Samsung phone. Please stop spamming my feed.” lol
I see it every year for the iPhone but I’m looking for them. All you need to do is watch one for them to pop up all over your algorithm.
Warning: Rant. This phone's probably fine, but I can't imagine many people will buy it.
I genuinely don't really understand why all of these companies even still try, apart from the obvious dollar signs. Far be it from me to claim that "phones have gotten boring", that's not the point I'm trying to make and I also don't think it's true. I can't help but think though that slowly but surely, many if not all companies in the space are really running out of ideas.
The S25 Slim or whatever isn't what anyone (hyperbole) wanted. It's really the opposite. A tiny bit of a thicker chassis wouldn't bother most people, especially because they just slap a case on it anyways, and the battery life improvements would pay off in spades. This really seems like the natural consequence of making foldable phones and spending a LOT of R&D on making those devices thin enough they can fold in half and still feel somewhat normal. They want a return on those investments, and even if people generally like the Flip, that's not really what Samsung envisioned here.
Same with Apple, frankly. I use an iPhone and I quite like it, but I won't ever forgive them for getting rid of the Mini and replacing it eventually with the rumoured "Air" thin iPhone. Once again, probably a gimme if they're working on foldables, but... I mean, at least in a foldable, the thickness or lack thereof is a necessary problem to solve.
It genuinely baffles me how little innovation we're getting lately. I mean, if you're not a complete niche user (like me, who only got the iPhone 15 Pro because of its capability to record Log video, a real upgrade for mobile videographers) there's no reason to upgrade.
Yes, yes, I'm aware that the paradigm isn't and hasn't been upgrading every year for a while now, and that all those incremental upgrades do add up and feel significant if you're not hopping one generation, but four or five. But I can't be the only one who feels that this industry has lost its lustre, especially on the android side where everyone is offering the same experience, sans or plus a few software crimes between manufacturers. Everyone's got the 120 Hz screen (after successfully convincing the android crowd that that's something everyone definitely needs, we promise), the big screen with the hole for the camera, the USB-C port with insane charging speeds, anywhere between two and twenty camera lenses with varying reasons for being there, the Snapdragon Something-8-other, the AI assistant, whatever, dude, it's a phone.
The industry has been around for a long time now, and everyone's solved their problems to around the same level of general satifaction, and everyone's within a few percentage points of each other except in areas where they're doing a bad job on purpose because they have been denied the known objectively ideal solution due to economics or IP law bullshit.
I'll hold on to my iPhone 15 Pro well into the 22-series, hopefully.
I finally found a phone I want - the HMD Fusion - but like you, I plan on using my current phone as long as possible. I don't particularly like my current phone, but it does what I need and the only problems I run into are software-related. For once, a phone has a neat gimmick and repairability and yet I still probably won't get it.
See, I agree with all that you said, and if it was up to me, Apple, Samsung, and others, would act more like Nintendo or Sony with their video game consoles, and release new phones every five years, in order to protect the environment from which we over-extract the resources to manufacture them, and in order to get rid of this “return large profits to investors at all costs” economy that we have become addicted to. If people are holding onto phones for five years or longer (my iPhone Xr is in its 7th year since I got it), then why can’t companies slow down? The incremental upgrades each year don’t make that big of a difference anyway. But I’m probably being idealistic here.
I don’t know if the smartphone industry will ever move to 5-ish-year upgrade cycles like consoles. They’re more like PCs, which get updated regularly even though people don’t replace their PCs all that often.
I do however expect buyers to eventually settle into a more PC-like upgrade cadence, though, especially once some recent battery tech advancements land and battery longevity improves dramatically. Phones have been “good enough” for a long time in terms of performance, and so most people upgrading now do so to counter battery degradation, to deal with out-of-warranty breakage, or to signal status.
Are you talking about the salt batteries, or did I miss something?
There’s a whole variety of improvements in various stages in the pipeline, like the one that Dave2D mentions in his S25 Edge video with improved anode materials substantially increasing battery capacity (which he mentioned because Samsung didn’t take advantage of for the S25 Edge, even though some Chinese manufacturers already have).
Everyone upgrades at different times, even if the frequency is the same (which it isn’t). Either way the amount of iPhone shipments isn’t going to change much, whether they’re new models or not.
My prediction is that a phone with a large screen, that's also thin and light, is going to sell well. I think battery life isn't something most people consider when choosing a phone, and that ergonomics and appearance are much bigger deciding factors.
We know very different people then, because battery life for the android users I know absolutely matters, hah.
My prediction is that a phone with a large screen that's also thin and light is going to bend or snap in people's pockets. Remember the bending iPhone?
As someone who’s generally going caseless, I can appreciate attempts to make phones thinner, but for it to make sense it needs to be paired with a couple qualities that the S25 Edge is missing.
A nice bonus would be user-swappable backplates that cover much of functionality of a case without a case. One could imagine there being rugged polycarbonate and translucent colored plastic options which can easily be replaced when they inevitably get scratched up and ugly, and of course those with 3D printers could print their own.
A human after my own heart. ❤️
I'll throw a different opinion out there as a pretty big smartphone innovation fan: I welcome this thinner smartphone trend.
I have an issue with the weight (and size) of phones and would like it if someone could make a small, thin phone that has decent battery life. I don't use cases (unless I need to add magsafe, then I will use the slimmest and lightest case possible) and I am not in a position where a long battery life is necessary since I can charge at home, work, and in the car.
All that said, I don't plan to get this device and wouldn't upgrade solely to have a slimmer phone, but it will be a consideration of mine when the time comes. I also think the price of this phone is very high and, given how much you can generally save on a Samsung phone by waiting a few months, I would recommend everyone do that instead of you are interested.
my first thoughts looking at it are 'oh so they finally made an android that looks as good as an iphone.'
i don't know that a phone being particularly thin is going to make many people buy new ones (except rich folks, which others pointed out). i guess it is also an indirect indicator that perhaps phones differentiating themselves by their 'ai' features isn't working very well.
from my own perspective i'm trying to use my phone as little as possible, to the point i'd probably be seeking a less capable phone when i finally 'upgrade'. though i'm aware i'm an outlier.
It doesn't look as good as an iPhone. It just looks like an iPhone. I'd say it only looks good if "iPhone-like" is your standard of aesthetics.
I personally think modern iPhones are pretty boring to look at though. The "flat soft corner rectangle with flat sides" design that they started with the iPhone 4 and have decided to return to for some reason always felt like a really lazy, uninteresting design, and it might even be the ugliest design they ever went with for their phones.
I think the iPhone X was one of their best looking phones, but something like the Sony Xperia P was a far better looking phone than anything apple has produced. I think it's really unfortunate that Android manufacturers continually try to copy Apple's design, because Apple isn't really great at design anymore. They're just running on the fumes that Jony Ive left 6 years ago.
I bought my current iPhone Xr in late 2018. Can confirm. Love the design.
I don't understand why people want thinner phones. I can understand wanting lighter phones which I think could be accomplished without making it thinner. At some point it becomes so thin that it's not comfortable to hold and is likely to break easier.
Thinner is lighter and easier to hold, at least to me. I don’t see why I’d want it to be thicker.
It’s also less obtrusive in pockets.
As someone who is not likely to have pockets anyway, gimme my brick phone with days of power and removable battery. Also I am starting to really hate having a touch screen that goes all the way to the edge. Gimme space around the screen again and text labelled button please .
I have an S23 Ultra and it'll be the last Samsung I buy. I'm over the useless apps and integrations I never use from Samsung, and the price tag left me with a bad taste in my mouth. I tried to hand wave it away by rationalizing I'd be using this phone for 5 years minimum (currently 2 years in) but about the only thing that really impresses me about it anymore is the camera.
I don't have much to say about this new iteration, sorry.
The "lean Android experience" is what initially brought me to Pixel, and what's helped me sell it to a few of my Samsung using friends. I, too, got very annoyed with the Samsung bloat. And it was a great decision, I love how snappy the phones feel, even after multiple software updates years later on hardware that's been out-generationed 3 or 4 times over.
Having gotten a pixel tablet and overall being very happy with it, that's the way I'm leaning for the future.
Hello from my fourth pixel phone. I'm in the broke side of things - this is a relatively new-to-me 8a. But I like the pixels for reasons already articulate well. Great camera, droid keeps out of my way.
On the flip side, I'm considering switching away from Pixel phones. I've been using them since 2017, and at first they were great but I've been using a Pixel 6a for a few years now and it has had so many random issues since day 1. For example, I have to use speakerphone or ear buds for calls because otherwise the person on the other end gets an echo of their own audio back. Also, vibration just randomly stops working until I reboot the phone. This one is really weird because it seems to only happen when I'm not connected to WiFi (I've tested this by connecting to WiFi at work and can go days without vibration breaking, but once I disconnect from WiFi it'll happen within hours). I've reported this via the phone settings, and have seen posts from others complaining about this and it just isn't getting fixed.
Neither of those issues are that major really, but seeing issues like this go for years without even being acknowledged by Google doesn't leave a good taste in my mouth.
My wife and I each got a Pixel 3 together and used those for years. My wife's 3 had the battery bloat and needed replaced, so she got a 6a and it was inferior to the 3 in so many ways. She has had it for a couple of years now and it has so many problems.
I kept my 3 when she had her issues. I replaced the battery in both my 3 and her 3 (to use as a backup). My 3 finally started to show its age this year and I got a Pixel 9 and it basically exposed just how bad that 6a has been. With your story, either you and my wife were unlucky or maybe the 6a line just wasn't very good. She has issues with GPS and various other applications she uses on the regular that never have any issues on my old 3 or my new 9.
The 6 and 6a were the first to feature Google’s Tensor chip (their in house silicon fab) so it’s understandable that they were buggy af. First gen is usually full of early adopter issues.
Glad that you’ve said the 9 is great! Indies me for my next phone to go back to pixel.
The 6 and 6a were the first to feature Google’s Tensor chip (their in house silicon fab) so it’s understandable that they were buggy af. First gen is usually full of early adopter issues.
I’m sorry you’ve had to live with this.
Interesting, I never thought about it being a first gen Tensor device. I did get it right at launch too. Maybe newer Pixel generations have had more time to bake.
How odd, that's too bad. I had a 2 for a long time, 5 years I think. Then got an 8 Pro. Would have lived with that for another 4 or 5 years, but I got a promotion to trade in for a 9 Pro for $150 out of pocket, so I did that. I've heard mixed things about the "a" series phones, but can't comment personally. In any case, hope you find one that's a better fit for you!
I've had some weird issues with speaker on my 7a. The person on the other end doesn't get an echo, but they also can barely hear me if the phones further than a foot or so away from my mouth. Which basically makes speaker useless to me.
It’s too bad that nobody but Samsung is really making flagship Android tablets that come anywhere close to standing toe to toe with the nicer iPads. The others are all focused on the woefully underpowered cheap YouTube tablet market or at best have underwhelming midrange options that probably aren’t going to hold up well in the long term.
I would love it if Sony gave tablets a try again. Their phones are solid and come with a relatively unbloated Android, as do their Android smart TVs, so I’m sure a modern Xperia tablet would be pretty nice.
For what it's worth, I got my iOS adopted wife a Pixel Tablet, and she's enjoyed it. Almost two years later, it's still just as snappy as day one. Plus it's nice to have the dock turn it into a Google Photos frame.