The future of thin phones is up in the air, leaving me on the edge of my seat. Apple’s latest smartphone redesign is epitomized by the $1,000 iPhone Air, while Samsung is still trying to sell consumers on a slim $1,100 Galaxy S25 Edge. Tales as old as good versus evil—or Android versus iOS—don’t ever have an expected outcome, and we doubt either device will make you want to change ecosystems. Still, we know you’re curious about how the devices stack up, and we finally have the specs to compare them.
You could be forgiven if you can’t spot the difference based on pics alone from Apple’s “Awe Dropping” showcase. While there’s a dramatic difference between the iPhone 16 and iPhone Air, there are more things happening under the hood to keep the Samsung and Apple devices distinct, and it sets us up for a whole new category of smartphone. Samsung is normally the company more willing to innovate, especially considering its Galaxy foldables, culminating in this year’s Galaxy Z Fold 7. Apple will likely take some of these thin design cues into its inevitable foldable competitor. We don’t suggest you go out and buy either of these phones right off the bat. No matter which ecosystem you belong to, you may be giving up on some expected features—whether battery life or camera capabilities—for the sake of a device that slides easier into your pocket.
Galaxy S25 Edge vs. iPhone Air: Design
Specs can’t do justice to the major distinctions between Samsung’s and Apple’s slim phones, but we need to explain how the minute millimeter differences play out in real life. The iPhone Air clocks in at 5.64mm while the S25 Edge measures at 5.8mm. Samsung’s device is slightly larger with a 6.7-inch display compared to the iPhone Air’s 6.5-inch, but it’s also lighter at 163g versus 165g.
What matters more is looks. The iPhone Air appears thinner when you hold the two phones side by side. Part of that is color choice and aesthetic, especially if you compare the black model to the silver sides of the S25 Edge, where the light tends to reflect. The Edge also has a larger camera bump compared to the Air’s thin “plateau.” In terms of display, the S25 Edge has a higher-resolution display with 513 PPI, or pixels per inch, versus the Air’s 460 PPI. At least both screens now support 120Hz refresh rates (older base iPhones were locked at 60Hz).
iPhone Air thinned comparison with Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge #AppleEvent pic.twitter.com/BlujtA6wV1
— Ray Wong (@raywongy) September 9, 2025
Both phones use titanium for the sides, as it’s likely better for keeping the phone from bending under strain. As for added protection, Samsung is using Gorilla Glass Ceramic 2 for the screen and Gorilla Glass Victus 2 on the back. Apple went with a Ceramic Shield 2 layer on the front and a first-gen Ceramic Shield on the back. Slapping a case on a thin phone would defeat the entire purpose, so having a sturdy device is paramount. The S25 Edge has one thing the iPhone Air doesn’t: a physical SIM card tray.
Galaxy S25 Edge vs. iPhone Air: Chip
Samsung’s Android devices have relied on Qualcomm chips for the last several phone generations, and that didn’t change with the Galaxy S25 Edge. The phone uses the powerful Snapdragon 8 Elite, a CPU with an octa-core CPU and Adreno 830 GPU on a 3nm process. The iPhone Air is using Apple’s more powerful A19 Pro chip, though it notably has one less GPU core than the same processor found on the iPhone 17 Pro.
We have not done any benchmarking with the A19 chips, so we won’t know how the two chips stack up when compared side by side. Apple promised the A19 Pro will have better single-thread performance compared to the A18 chip, which implies it will handle individual tasks faster than before. The A18 Pro was already better in multi-core scenarios compared to the Snapdragon 8 Elite, though the Qualcomm chip has a slight edge in multi-core scenarios.
We have to add a big asterisk amid all this speculation. Having a thin phone with a limited amount of thermal management will potentially hamper performance. How well the phone can perform in synthetic tasks won’t dictate how well it performs in hand.
Galaxy S25 Edge vs. iPhone Air: Battery
Apple has yet to share specific battery capacity specs for its iPhone Air. Instead, it used vague mentions of an “all-day battery” alongside a host of video playback battery life benchmarks. Video playback tests are never going to equate to real-life usage. The iPhone Air promises to do 27 hours of on-device video playback compared to 30 hours of the regular iPhone 17. On paper, that sounds like it’s equivalent, but depending on the usage scenario, the battery life could be worse compared to your standard candy bar-style device.
Apple designed its new iPhone to shove all the most important internals into the new camera “plateau,” giving more room for a larger battery. Samsung’s Galaxy S25 Edge did something similar, and it houses a 3,900mAh battery. That’s smaller than any of the other devices in the S25 family. That doesn’t necessarily mean shorter battery life thanks to hardware efficiency changes. The same can be said for the iPhone Air, but it will take testing to find out if Apple’s claims match real-life use.
A closer look at the iPhone Air MagSafe Battery Pack and how it compares to the old MagSafe Battery Pack. It’s thinner, larger, and charges with USB-C! $99 to add more battery life to the iPhone Air #AppleEvent pic.twitter.com/Ssmbo5wScQ
— Ray Wong (@raywongy) September 9, 2025
The iPhone Air supports Qi2 wireless charging up to 20W compared to the S25 Edge’s 15W wireless. Apple also promoted a new exclusive MagSafe Battery for the iPhone Air, claiming it takes the total battery life to a total of 40 hours for video playback. Sticking that magnetic battery to the back not only ruins the look of the iPhone Air, it also makes it as thick as a regular device.
Galaxy S25 Edge vs. iPhone Air: Camera
The Galaxy S25 Edge wants you to snap shots in the usual way, through the rear cameras and its twin sensors. The iPhone Air, by comparison, is more of a selfie device than anything. The S25 Edge uses a 200-megapixel wide alongside a 12-megapixel ultrawide. The phone can shoot video at 4K and 120 fps. The iPhone Air has a single “Fusion” camera with a 48-megapixel wide lens that doubles up for 12-megapixel 2x telephoto shooting.
The iPhone Air, alongside the rest of the iPhone 17 lineup, houses 24-megapixel “Center Stage” camera that houses a square sensor. This allows users to choose to shoot 18-megapixel vertical or horizontal shots without having to tilt the phone to landscape. The S25 Edge makes use of a 12-megapixel selfie camera, like most Samsung mobile devices.
In the end, the differences between both phones are minutiae. Thin phones will only ever really appeal to specific users. It’s better to think of each device as a first step. Apple may take this thin design for use in its long-awaited foldable rumored for 2026. Both companies will likely push battery life harder in future iterations. Maybe, eventually, all our phones will be this thin. Maybe they won’t cost over $1,000, either.
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