Although the evidence remains largely anecdotal, a growing number of accounts have emerged describing an interesting phenomenon taking place in Apple’s retail stores. Many visitors reportedly walk in with firm intentions of purchasing the much-celebrated iPhone 17 Pro — a flagship device renowned for its enhanced camera versatility, advanced vapor chamber cooling system, and that unmistakable, eye-catching orange finish — yet they ultimately leave the store carrying the newly introduced iPhone Air instead. A similar narrative unfolded on Samsung’s side: when the company unveiled the Galaxy S25 and S25 Ultra, consumer curiosity centered on the mysterious mention of a superslim variant. That curiosity soon materialized in the form of the Galaxy S25 Edge, a handset whose defining characteristic is its remarkable thinness. For anyone who has unexpectedly found themselves contemplating a slender alternative to the standard smartphone form, 2024 may well be the most fitting moment to make that leap.
This raises a natural question: how do these two ultra-slim contenders truly compare when placed side by side? If one were to stack them together, would their combined thickness rival that of an average iPhone 17 or Galaxy S25? In this comparison, the objective is to analyze that very question through precise measurement and evaluation of technical specifications and user-facing features.
Those considering the purchase of Apple’s latest featherlight iPhone Air can consult the comprehensive order guide to uncover opportunities for free offers and other promotional deals. Likewise, individuals leaning toward Samsung’s Galaxy S25 Edge are encouraged to research which carriers and retailers are currently presenting the most advantageous pricing structures for this aesthetically refined device. And for readers devoted to unbiased, data-driven technology analysis, it’s a good idea to follow CNET’s updates directly through Google to receive in-depth lab-tested reviews as soon as they’re published.
The iPhone Air begins at a retail price of $999. This model effectively replaces the iPhone 16 Plus within Apple’s lineup, assuming its position as the only device larger in screen size than the iPhone 17 that doesn’t carry the Pro designation. Samsung’s competing Galaxy S25 Edge starts slightly higher, retailing at $1,100 and joining the S25 and S25 Ultra as part of this generation’s Galaxy family.
Feature-wise, Apple’s design decisions demonstrate an intentional trade-off: while the iPhone Air forgoes some of the capabilities of the iPhone 17 — most notably, additional camera modules — it compensates with a more expansive display, Apple’s sophisticated A19 Pro processor, and a generous 256GB of base storage. As with many past Apple products, the company continues to assign a premium price to the engineering achievement of crafting thinner hardware. This mirrors earlier patterns, such as the release of the original MacBook Air, a device thin enough to slip into a manila envelope and priced at $1,799 despite modest performance at launch. Only after several successive generations did that machine evolve into a $999 entry-level mainstay — a trajectory the iPhone Air may eventually echo.
Samsung’s Galaxy S25 Edge, priced $101 above its rival, seems positioned to capture the interest — and spending power — of consumers seeking a device that stands apart aesthetically. Early market feedback already includes significant price drops of roughly $300, underscoring how fluid smartphone pricing can be. Importantly, both companies have managed to maintain these prices without major impact from tariff increases set during the Trump administration — no small feat in a volatile trade environment.
Turning from cost to construction, the defining feature of these phones lies in their precise dimensions. No manufacturer would ever describe its flagship devices as bulky, yet the distinction between the depths of the iPhone Air and the S25 Edge compared with their non-slim counterparts is striking. Excluding the raised camera section (what Apple prefers to label the “plateau”), the iPhone Air’s body measures a mere 5.64mm in thickness. Samsung’s S25 Edge, by comparison, registers at 5.8mm at its narrowest cross-section. Each company, notably, cites only the minimum frame measurement and omits the camera bump from official data. When laid against the 7.9mm iPhone 17 and 7.2mm Galaxy S25, the degree of slimming becomes immediately apparent.
Though other foldable devices like Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 7, measuring just 4.2mm when open, achieve even thinner profiles thanks to the increased internal surface area, such comparisons are not entirely equivalent. Competing Chinese foldables from Huawei, Oppo, and Honor achieve similar illusions of thinness in their open configurations, but when closed, their dimensions revert to something thicker than these non-folding ultra-slim designs.
When the iPhone Air and S25 Edge are physically pressed together — cameras excluded again for fairness — the total combined thickness equals about 11.44mm. Interestingly, this combined figure surpasses that of most modern flagship phones, even the largest of Apple’s lineup, the iPhone 17 Pro Max at 8.75mm. Yet, by historical contrast, that pairing almost perfectly matches the 11.6mm depth of the original 2007 iPhone, giving nostalgic users a tangible sense of how far smartphone engineering has progressed in less than two decades.
Despite thinner builds, the weight differential between these new devices and their standard-edition counterparts remains surprisingly modest. The iPhone Air weighs 165 grams, only 12 grams lighter than the iPhone 17’s 177 grams. Samsung’s slim S25 Edge tips the scales at 163 grams, barely below the Galaxy S25’s 162 grams, illustrating how the quest for lower weight yields diminishing returns at this level of miniaturization. Dimensionally, the iPhone Air is ever so slightly shorter and narrower, measuring 156.2mm by 74.7mm, compared to the S25 Edge’s 158.2mm by 75.6mm frame — differences that are perceptible only upon close comparison.
Display technology remains one of the strongest differentiating categories between the two. Apple’s iPhone Air is equipped with a 6.5-inch OLED panel marketed as a Super Retina XDR display, offering an impressive 2,736-by-1,260 pixel resolution at 460 pixels per inch. It can achieve 3,000 nits of peak brightness for visibility under direct sunlight yet dim gently to just one nit in near-total darkness — a testament to Apple’s nuanced control of luminance. Samsung’s S25 Edge, on the other hand, incorporates a slightly larger 6.7-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X display with QHD+ resolution of 3,120 by 1,440 pixels at 513 pixels per inch. While its peak brightness caps at 2,600 nits, this difference is marginal in practical use, and both displays share the adaptive 120Hz refresh capability for fluid, stutter-free animation and scrolling.
Camera configuration, however, introduces sharper divergence. The iPhone Air simplifies its optical system to a single 48‑megapixel wide camera offering a 26mm-equivalent field of view and a constant f/1.6 aperture. Through Apple’s computational imaging process, it merges high-detail 48MP data with a 12MP base image that employs pixel binning to form a 24MP “fusion” shot — balancing fine detail with improved low-light performance. Additionally, Apple provides a 2x digital crop mode producing 12MP images that simulate a 52mm-equivalent telephoto effect without optical magnification.
Samsung’s S25 Edge opts for a more traditional dual-lens arrangement: a 200‑megapixel wide sensor paired with a 12‑megapixel ultrawide. Despite lacking a dedicated telephoto lens, Samsung mirrors Apple’s 2x crop approach for achieving mild zoom while preserving high resolution through its abundant pixel data.
The contrasting philosophies continue on the front-facing side. Apple introduces an 18‑megapixel selfie camera featuring an f/1.9 aperture and, more notably, a square sensor design under its “Center Stage” branding. This enables automatic adjustments between portrait and landscape framing depending on how many subjects the camera detects in view — maintaining compositional balance whether it’s capturing one person or a small group. Samsung’s front camera, while lower in resolution at 12MP, remains a capable performer with conventional proportions and imaging behavior.
Battery performance inevitably becomes the focal concern for any device that sacrifices internal space for reduced thickness. Apple, staying consistent with recent practice, does not disclose raw capacity figures but promises “all-day battery life” and specifically estimates up to 27 hours of local video playback. The company also offers a MagSafe Battery accessory designed exclusively for the iPhone Air that magnetically attaches for extended runtime. In real-world testing detailed by CNET’s senior reporter Abrar Al-Heeti, the iPhone Air survived approximately 12 hours under intensive daily usage and finished lighter workloads with close to 20% charge remaining — a satisfactory tradeoff given its compactness. Samsung lists a defined 3,900‑mAh battery for the S25 Edge, claiming 24 hours of video playback. Al-Heeti’s review further supports Samsung’s claim that despite marginally shorter endurance, the S25 Edge still comfortably meets the “all‑day” standard, especially considering the pleasure of its slender profile. Both phones support wired fast charging reaching about 50% within thirty minutes when paired with sufficiently powerful adapters.
Performance and software ecosystems represent the final dimensions of this comparison. The iPhone Air carries Apple’s top-tier A19 Pro processor, mirroring the architecture found in iPhone 17 Pro models. Though Apple withholds its memory specification publicly, 8GB of RAM is widely assumed — enough to handle machine-learning operations under the Apple Intelligence framework. Storage begins at 256GB with scalable options of 512GB and 1TB, all launching with iOS 26, Apple’s latest iteration of its mobile operating system. Samsung counters with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset, the same platform used throughout the Galaxy S25 series, paired with 12GB of RAM and storage variants of 256GB or 512GB. The S25 Edge arrives running Android 15, layered with Samsung’s One UI 7 interface and Galaxy AI enhancements.
In summary, Apple’s iPhone Air and Samsung’s Galaxy S25 Edge embody parallel interpretations of a shared design philosophy — minimalism and thinness as the new premium markers. Each brand negotiates inevitable compromises between function, endurance, and form, yet both accomplish an impressive technical balance. Whether one values Apple’s integrated software ecology or Samsung’s expansive feature customization, this year marks a pivotal moment in which thin truly becomes the defining attribute of flagship craftsmanship.
Sourse: https://www.cnet.com/tech/mobile/thin-phone-battle-iphone-air-vs-galaxy-s25-edge/#ftag=CAD590a51e
