iPhone Air is thinner and cheaper than Galaxy S25 Edge, but at what cost?

The smartphone thinness war is in full swing. Months after Samsung introduced its ultra-slim Galaxy S25 Edge, Apple confirmed the rumors and unveiled its own slim phone, the iPhone Air, at yesterday's launch event. Judging by thinness alone, Apple has already won this battle. The iPhone Air is both thinner and cheaper than the Galaxy S25 Edge.

That, however, is not the full story. Granted, with a 5.6mm profile, the iPhone Air is 0.2mm slimmer than the S25 Edge. And at $999, Apple's ultra-slim phone is $100 cheaper than Samsung's. But the Galaxy S25 Edge, fittingly named, does have an edge over the iPhone Air. Several, in fact. Samsung fans might even say that the price gap is justified.

First things first, the fact that the iPhone Air is cheaper than the Galaxy S25 Edge isn't all that surprising. For comparison, the iPhone 16 Pro Max (or 17 Pro Max) also costs $100 less than the Galaxy S25 Ultra.

What I'm trying to say is that we're long past the point where iPhones are pricier than Samsung Galaxy devices. In 2025, if you're looking to buy the pricier phone as a status symbol, Samsung is the way to go — especially if you look into the foldable phone market.

However, unlike the tablet segment, where cheaper iPads outperform costlier Galaxy Tabs, the price gap between iPhones and Galaxy S phones can be justified by on-paper specs.

It's no different for the Galaxy S25 Edge versus the iPhone Air. Samsung's phone may be 0.2mm thicker and $100 costlier — when not available at a discount — but it is technically superior in several areas. And you could make the argument that those hardware advantages are worth at least $100.

Indeed, regarding that last point, the iPhone Air is exclusively eSIM-based, so if you are an Apple fan who can't or doesn't want to use an eSIM, you're out of luck.

To be fair to Apple, the iPhone Air does have some advantages over the Galaxy S25 Edge.

Besides, the smaller battery doesn't necessarily mean that the iPhone Air performs worse than the S25 Edge. Time will tell, but generally speaking, iPhones are better optimized for energy efficiency than Android devices.

And as always, some might prefer the iOS experience regardless of the iPhone Air's hardware shortcomings compared to the Edge. That's fair enough, although it must be said that the Galaxy S25 Edge offers access to the desktop environment, Samsung DeX, which is quite impressive for such a thin phone.

But at the end of the day, the conclusion is that the iPhone Air doesn't sound at all like the Galaxy S25 Edge killer some people were expecting — or I was fearing. Yes, it is slightly thinner and cheaper, but for the most part, the Galaxy S25 Edge appears to be the better phone for a reasonably higher price.

Regardless of how you view this price gap, I am somewhat excited to see a new category of slab-type phones, the ultra-thin ones, emerge. Especially since they don't seem to interfere with the established models.

I may not be a huge fan of the ultra-thin phone concept myself, but I'm glad that Samsung and Apple are competing in a new category once again. It brings a bit of extra spice to the phone Olympics. And needless to say, as a Samsung fan, I am relieved that the iPhone Air hasn't wiped the floor with the S25 Edge.