Make “XYZ” Great Again has sort of become an umbrella term to describe the potential that a recent change has to turn things around for the better. You may have a different perspective on the efficacy of such slogans, but they've now become such a big part of the discourse that it must inevitably be worked into a commentary about Samsung's tease at Unpacked last week.
There had been rumors for months now that the company has been working on a Galaxy S25 Slim. The fourth variant in the Galaxy S25 lineup wasn't launched at Unpacked, but Samsung did tease it, while also confirming that it's actually called the Galaxy S25 Edge. The device itself is slated to arrive later this year.
Based on what we know so far, the Galaxy S25 Edge is shaping up to be quite the feat of engineering. It's reportedly thinner than 6.4mm, that would make it at least 10% thinner than the base model of the Galaxy S25. It may also have a frame made of Titanium, the same material that's used for the Galaxy S25 Ultra.
Other specs may include a 4,000mAh battery with 25W fast charging. It may also have a down-tuned version of the Snapdragon 8 Elite with seven CPU cores. Samsung evidently wants to position it as a premium device, one not to be confused with the “FE” variants that are meant more for the budget conscious customer.
It's nice to see Samsung take a bold bet once again. We've gone through a few years of cyclical changes where the new models don't really have an element of shock and awe. It all seems business as usual.
Every Ultra model would be the best-in-class Android flagship, while the Plus and base models will provide a good balance between affordability and performance. The design gets minor changes with each iteration, some new software features are added, a few upgrades are made to the camera, and off we go.
This wasn't anything that really captured the imagination. There needed to be something that would make people sit up and take notice of Samsung's Galaxy S series, something that would send its rivals into a frenzy to try and figure out how they would respond. It had to be inspiring enough to bring back customers that had switch from a Galaxy to another device.
The Galaxy S25 Edge has all of those qualities. It's undeniably a premium phone with the specs to match. There's very little in the way of a unique selling point on modern phones. Most offer similar hardware and software functionality. It's all just packaged a bit differently. The Edge's thinness gives it a wow factor that few other devices possess.
Demand is already constrained in the high-end segment of the market as it is. Samsung needed a device that would ignite interest in the Galaxy S series beyond the customer base that doesn't need to be swayed whenever a new Galaxy phone hits the market. People naturally gravitate towards things that are unique, and the Galaxy S25 Edge has a good chance of winning over customers who may never have tried a Samsung Galaxy phone.
Samsung showed off the Galaxy S25 Edge from a distance at the Unpacked event last week. The booth got a lot of interest from the media, because they also have become tired of seeing similar devices from all OEMs over and over again. At least Samsung has finally found itself back in the habit of trying new things after not taking many audacious bets over the past few years.
We've highlighted a few times how Samsung seems to have put big hardware bets on the back burner in favor of more optimization from existing hardware. No wonder, then, the Galaxy S25 and S25+ share the same camera setup as their predecessors, but with a lot more improvements on the software processing side to deliver improved results from similar hardware.
Bold bets were once the hallmark of the Galaxy brand. Samsung's brought some truly unique ideas to market in the past, such as the Galaxy Round and the Galaxy Note Edge. Even though those devices didn't stick around for long, they showed that at least the company wasn't scared of pushing the limits, if only to just highlight its engineering prowess.
On paper, it might sound like Samsung is just making a thinner Galaxy S25 and that it shouldn't be that big of a deal. Yet, putting flagship-level hardware in such a svelte body while ensuring that its thermals remain in check, durability is assured, and battery safety guaranteed is not something to scoff at.
This device just might Make Galaxy Great Again for everyone that had drifted away from the lineup because the iterations released over the past few years weren't exciting enough for them. The Galaxy S25 Edge provides them a reason to return because they surely can't get a device like this anywhere else.
