Slim phones are making a comeback, and the world’s top two makers are here to battle it out. The newly announced iPhone Air is set to compete with Samsung’s Galaxy S25 Edge, so we’ve rounded up a quick specs comparison between the two.
Table of Contents:
You can compare the complete specs sheets or go through the rundown below.
Size comparison
The iPhone Air is 2 grams heavier than the S25 Edge, but it’s also 0.2mm thinner. Honestly, we doubt anyone will be able to tell the difference, so we can safely give this category a tie. Both phones feature titanium frames, with the one on the iPhone going for a shiny look while the Galaxy’s has a matte finish.
- Light Gold
- Cloud White
- Space Black
- Sky Blue
Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge
- Titanium Icyblue
- Titanium Silver
- Titanium Jetblack
While we’ve yet to handle the iPhone Air in hand, it does feature rounded corners, which give out the illusion of being even slimmer. At the same time, its camera visor (or plateau as Apple calls it) appears to be more pronounced than the more compact camera island on the S25 Edge.
Display comparison
Samsung’s thin and light phone features a larger 6.7” display with higher pixel density (513ppi) and a smaller front-facing camera cutout. Both panels feature 120 Hz refresh rates and HDR10 support. The iPhone is rated at a higher peak brightness of 3000 nits, compared to 2600 nits on the Galaxy S25 Edge, even though we measured 1,416 nits during our review. We’ll have to test the Air’s brightness output once we get our unit.
iPhone Air features Ceramic Shield 2 vs. Corning Gorilla Glass Ceramic 2 on the S25 Edge. We expect both to fare equally in terms of scratch resistance. Elsewhere, the iPhone does feature an anti-reflective coating while the Galaxy does not.
Performance
Apple
iPhone Air
Apple A19 Pro
3 nm
256GB 12GB RAM
base config
1TB 12GB RAM
top-tier config
The A19 Pro is the world’s fastest smartphone chipset according to Apple, but we don’t have any real benchmarks to work with for now. The Galaxy runs on Qualcomm’s flagship Snapdragon 8 Gen Elite for Galaxy, which is the current best of the best on the Android side.
The Galaxy gets the added benefit of a vapor chamber for heat dissipation, which is quite important for a slim device. It will be interesting to see how the iPhone performs under load since it does not get any advanced heat dissipation tech. Both phones come with 12 GB RAM and 256 GB base storage, but the iPhone is upgradeable up to 1 TB, while the Galaxy can only go up to 512 GB.
Camera comparison
Apple
iPhone Air
48 MP main camera
1/1.56″ sensor
18 MP selfie camera
f/1.9 (wide)
4K@24/25/30/60fps
Main and selfie camera video
Samsung
Galaxy S25 Edge
200 MP main camera
1/1.3″ sensor
12 MP ultrawide camera
1/2.55″ sensor
12 MP selfie camera
f/2.2 (wide)
8K@30fps, 4K@30/60/120fps
Main camera video
When it comes to cameras, the Galaxy S25 Edge is the clear winner. Not only does it feature a 200 MP main camera with a larger sensor, but it also has a 12 MP ultrawide lens. The Galaxy records up to 8K video or 4K 120fps, whereas the iPhone tops out at 4K 60fps.
The iPhone features a higher-resolution 18 MP front-facing camera, with a square sensor and wider viewfinder that allows you to take horizontal photos even when holding the phone in landscape mode.
Battery and charging
Apple
iPhone Air
Wired charging
20W (50% in 30 min)
Wireless charging
20W wireless MagSafe/Qi2
Samsung managed to fit 23% more battery capacity in the S25 Edge while also delivering faster 25W wired charging (55% in 30 minutes). Battery capacity is arguably the biggest pain point of these thin and light devices, and the larger cell on the Galaxy gets it a nod over the iPhone. Apple, however, offers slightly faster 20W wireless charging speeds compared to Samsung’s 15W.
Verdict
Rounding out the specs comparison, both phones support Wi-Fi 7 and UWB connectivity, though the iPhone gets the newer second-gen UWB and is also outfitted with the more recent Bluetooth 6.0 vs Bluetooth 5.4 on the Galaxy.
On the other hand, Galaxy S25 Edge brings a USB Type-C 3.2 port while the iPhone is limited to a USB Type-C 2.0 connector. Samsung also managed to fit stereo speakers on the S25 Edge, while the iPhone Air gets a single one on top. The Galaxy also retains the physical SIM slot while the iPhone is eSIM-only.
Apple iPhone Air • Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge
Last but certainly not least – pricing. The Galaxy S25 Edge is currently available for around $840/€725, whereas the iPhone Air starts at $1,000/€1,200. That’s a hefty difference, which certainly tips things in favor of the Galaxy. But we’ll have to wait and see how the iPhone Air performs in our tests to give you a final verdict.
Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge
In the meantime, we’d like to hear your thoughts – did Apple or Samsung make the better slim phone?
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