Apple is expected to unveil its rumored iPhone 17 Air in mere weeks (it should replace the Plus model from its lineup), but the first contender in this super thin category has already arrived, and it is the Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge.
Both devices are expected to come with roughly the same 6.7"-ish screen size, a weight of just around 160 grams, and be under 6mm thick. But there are some notable differences between them. The Galaxy comes with a 3,900 mAh battery, while the iPhone is rumored to have a battery capacity lower than 3,000 mAh. And the Galaxy has two cameras on its back, while the iPhone is only rumored to have a single one.
Which one should you go for? Let's explore all the differences below.
Galaxy S25 Edge vs iPhone 17 Air expected differences:
Galaxy S25 Edge
iPhone 17 Air*
6.7-inch screen size
Similar, 6.6" or 6.7" screen size
5.8 mm thickness
Possibly even thinner - 5.5 mm
163 grams
Similar weight
Snapdragon 8 Elite chip (8-core)
Possibly A19 chip
12 GB RAM
8 GB RAM
Two rear cameras
One rear camera
200 MP main camera, same as on S25 Ultra
48 MP main camera, same as on iPhone 17
12 MP ultra-wide camera
No ultra-wide camera
3,900 mAh battery
Unknown battery size
25 W wired charging
20 W wired charging likely
Wireless charging support
Wireless charging support likely
$1,100 for 12/256GB model $1,220 for 12/512GB model
Both the Galaxy S25 Edge and iPhone 17 Air are expected to feature a large screen, with a size of around 6.7 inches.
However, thanks to their super slim construction, the weight of these phones will be closer to that of a small phone. The Galaxy S25 Edge weighs just 163 grams, the same as the much smaller Galaxy S25 (and 15% lighter than the S25 Plus). We expect similar from the iPhone 17 Air.
Both models will also be slim, but how slim exactly?
For the Galaxy S25 Edge we have an exact number — 5.8 mm of thickness, nearly 25% slimmer than the Plus or Ultra models. That is a noticeable reduction. And the iPhone 17 Air is rumored to be even thinner as rumors suggest 5.5 mm thickness.
Are these the thinnest phones to ever exist? Not really! In 2018, the Motorola Moto Z (the one with the Moto Mods) was a popular flagship measuring just 5.2 mm thick. There were a few other super thin models from some less popular brands from China too. If we look at more recognizable phones, the iPhone 16 series were around 6.9 mm, so these new models will be a bit thinner than that.
And compared to the latest foldable phones, these two are actually not as thin. The current record holder there is the Oppo Find N5, which opens to a slab with a thickness of just 4.2 mm.
Phone Thickness Comparison
Phone
Thickness
Oppo Find N5 (foldable, 2025)
4.2 mm (unfolded)
Oppo R5 (2014)
4.9 mm
Motorola Moto Z (2016)
5.2 mm
iPhone 17 Air (coming in Sept, 2025)
5.5 mm
Galaxy S25 Edge (coming by May, 2025)
5.84 mm
Galaxy S25 Plus
7.3 mm
iPhone 16 Pro Max
8.3 mm
One big question that arises with thinness is durability. After all, some of us still remember the iPhone 6 Plus bend-gate, as it folded when you applied more pressure to it. However, we are not too concerned about that. Both companies would certainly do their best to avoid such a scenario, and Apple just recently made a super slim iPad that was plenty durable.
The Galaxy S25 Edge also supports IP68 water and dust protection, and we expect the same for the iPhone 17 Air.
S25 Edge comes in Titanium Jetblack, Titanium Icyblue and Titanium Silver
As for colors, the Galaxy arrives in three colorways with a titanium body: a silver, a jetblack and an icy blue version.
Rumored iPhone 17 Air colors are Black, Silver, Light Gold, Light Blue
As you can see above, the iPhone 17 Air matches the colors of the S25 Edge with a black, blue and silver model, but we also expect to see a fourth, light gold colorway.
Display Differences
With a 6.7-inch display size, both the S25 Edge and iPhone 17 Air will offer plenty of screen real estate.
The iPhone 17 Air is also expected to get 120 Hz ProMotion technology for the first time on a non-Pro iPhone, so that's great. Of course, Samsung has been doing that for years.
Galaxy S25 Edge
iPhone 17 Air*
Size: 6.7"
Size: 6.6" or 6.7"
Brightness: 2,600 nits
Brightness: 3,000 nits
*based on leaks and rumors.
As for biometrics, we expect the usual — an ultrasonic fingerprint reader embedded in the display on the S25 Edge and Face ID on the iPhone.
Performance and Software
Snapdragon 8 Elite vs Apple's new chip
The Galaxy S25 Edge is a true flagship and it's no surprise it runs on the powerful Snapdragon 8 Elite chip as other Galaxy S25 models.
As for the iPhone 17 Air, it is likely to run on Apple's upcoming A19 chipset. There are no specifics about that chip just yet, but we will update you once they appear.
The Galaxy will have an advantage with 12 GB of RAM on board compared to an expected 8 GB RAM on the iPhone.
Galaxy S25 Edge
iPhone 17 Air*
Processor: Snapdragon 8 Elite
Processor: Apple A19
RAM: 12 GB
RAM: 8 GB
Storage: 256 GB 512 GB
Storage: 128 GB 256 GB 512 GB
*based on leaks and rumors
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Both phones will support AI, though, so at least that will not be a concern. Of course, the kind of AI on the two is vastly different.
Apple is still struggling to update Siri to a more modern form and is now relying on ChatGPT, which is integrated in the system. Samsung, on the other hand, is ahead in the AI game with Gemini and way more powerful AI image editing tools.
We now also now that the iPhone 17 Air will have iOS 26 on board. Some call this the biggest visual overhaul in the last decade with the new Liquid Glass design. Among the cool new iOS 26 features you get a new dynamic wallpaper where time fluidly adapts to the available space on the wallpaper and the whole wallpaper also moves and adapts for better visibility when you receive notifications. There is also new animated album art that you can see when you tap on the Now Playing menu.
Among the useful features, you get a new and much simplified Camera design, which hides all modes except photo and video. You can still reveal them with a swipe left or right, and a swipe up reveals additional settings. Apple also fixes the Photos app chaos from the previous iOS version as you now have two buttons to easily switch between a library view and your collections/albums.
But the star of the show is in the Phone and Messages app. You get Call Screening features that lets you fight off telemarketers. This will also work in Messages, filtering out spam messages. You also get a new Live Translate feature in calls. If all of that sounds familiar, it's because it is. Those features have been available on other Android phones and the Galaxy has added support for Live Translate in calls way earlier (but the actual results are a bit of a mixed bag).
There is also a huge number of smaller changes in iOS 26. Music for example is getting lyrics translations, which is cool, and Apple Maps will better understand your routines and proactively suggest alternate routes when it sees there is a traffic jam ahead.
On a separate note, we should mention that the Galaxy S25 Edge base model comes with 256 GB of storage, while we expect the base iPhone model to only have 128GB of native storage. We recomment most people to get a 256GB model these days.
Camera
One vs two
Slim phones have to make some concessions and apart from a smaller battery, the other adjustment these two make is with cameras.
TheS25 Edge is the first Samsung flagship in years to skip a telephoto camera as it only has two cameras on board, while the iPhone 17 Air goes even further in compromise territory with only one rear camera.
As for the Galaxy, it has a 200 MP main camera, using the same hardware as the Galaxy S25 Ultra, while the secondary camera is an ultra-wide one with a 12 MP sensor borrowed from the S25 Plus.
The iPhone is expected to feature a single 48 MP main camera.
Galaxy S25 Edge
iPhone 17 Air*
Main Camera: 200 MP
Main Camera: 48 MP
Secondary Camera: 12 MP ultra-wide
-
Selfie Camera: 12 MP
Selfie Camera: 24 MP
*based on leaks and rumors
We are yet to see how people react to a premium iPhone with just one camera. Some will be outraged, but we are not sure the ultra-wide camera gets all that much use anyway and for us, a telephoto camera would be a better addition (and both phones DON'T have one).
Battery Life and Charging
Worse than a regular phone, but how much worse?
With a 3,900 mAh battery on board, the Galaxy S25 Edge has less capacity than even the small vanilla S25 model (that one features a 4,000 mAh cell).
And we expect the iPhone 17 Air to also have a small battery, likely even smaller than the one on the Galaxy. Rumors say it could come with a 2,800 mAh battery, which is tiny even for Apple standards. That is our biggest concern about this phone, as we are not even sure it can last you a whole day.
Samsung says the S25 Edge can last for 24 hours of video playback, while the Galaxy S25 is officially rated for 29 hours, while the S25 Plus is said to last for 30 hours. So even official Samsung numbers confirm that the S25 Edge will have the worst battery life in the series.
It's still too early to say what this means for real-world battery life, but one thing is clear — neither the S25 Edge, nor the iPhone 17 Air will win battery benchmarks.
Galaxy S25 Edge
iPhone 17 Air*
Size: 3,900 mAh
Size: 2,800 mAh
Charging: 45 W
Charging: 25 W
Wireless Charging: 15 W
Wireless Charging: 25 W
*rumored specs
As for charging, we get 25 W charging speeds on the Galaxy and the usual 20 W charging on the iPhone.
The Galaxy also supports wireless charging, and we believe the iPhone 17 Air will have MagSafe with 25W wireless charigng speeds.
Summary
Despite their smaller battery size and the fewer cameras, the Galaxy S25 Edge and iPhone 17 Air are very exciting.
Everyone seems to be tired of the boring sameness of modern smartphones and a thinner design might just be that breath of fresh air users need.
Which of these two should you save up for? We'd have to test the battery which is, honestly, the biggest sticking point, but it seems that the rule here is to go for the Galaxy if you prefer Android, and the iPhone 17 Air if you want iOS, simple as that.
Victor, a seasoned mobile technology expert, has spent over a decade at PhoneArena, exploring the depths of mobile photography and reviewing hundreds of smartphones across Android and iOS ecosystems. His passion for technology, coupled with his extensive knowledge of smartphone cameras and battery life, has positioned him as a leading voice in the mobile tech industry.
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