Samsung has not left much to the imagination with its next smartphone launch. Having physically shown off its upcoming, very thin Galaxy S25 Edge back in January (and again at Mobile World Congress in March), the company has confirmed it’s set to unveil the device properly this week.
“Join us online on 13 May at 1am BST as we introduce the next evolution of Galaxy,” Samsung said. “Discover how Galaxy engineers built on years of innovation and visionary thinking shaped by you to reimagine everything you expect from a smartphone.”
You read that correctly, British Samsung fans. You’ll have to get up at 1am on Tuesday if you want to watch Samsung reveal all about the S25 Edge live. That could be because the phone is rumoured not to be launching in the UK or US – 1am UK time is friendlier to viewers in South Korea, Samsung’s home country, and China.
Whatever the reasoning for the odd time, Samsung is talking a big game about a phone that is basically a few millimetres thinner than the regular S25 and has one fewer camera lenses on the back (two rather than three).
“This is more than a slim smartphone,” Samsung said. “Every curve, contour and component reflects a breakthrough in precise engineering to create a premium experience worthy of the S series name. The Galaxy S25 Edge not only sets a new standard for what you can achieve with your smartphone, but it also unlocks a new era of growth for the mobile industry.”
The phone, which I photographed at MWC (above), brings back the ‘edge’ branding Samsung once used to indicate those models had curved edges to their displays, but the last phone to use the moniker was 2016’s Galaxy S7 Edge. As Samsung has moved back to flat panels, it looks as though this Edge is referring to its thinness, otherwise used for nostalgic brand reasons.
In a press release, Samsung confirmed the S25 Edge will have a 200MP main camera, saying it comes with “mobile AI that empowers users to reach new creative realms in every aspect of mobile photography”.
Smartphone launch hyperbole all present and correct, then.
One of the main things Samsung hasn’t confirmed is the price. Assuming the S25 Edge does come out in the UK, it could be pushing the asking price of the £1,249 Galaxy S25 Ultra.
It’ll also be interesting to see if consumers are bothered. Smartphones used to be much thinner, say with the iPhone 6 or Galaxy S6 back in the day, but those phones literally bent when sat on and had terrible battery life, respectively.
It looks as though phone makers are betting on thin being in again though, as Apple is rumoured to be teeing up a thinner version of the iPhone 17. Samsung will get its S25 Edge to market first, but it remains to be seen if these likely pricier, thinner models will be popular with buyers.