At Samsung's Galaxy Unpacked event on January 22nd we were treated to the launch of the new Galaxy S25 series, but one S25 model was only teased at the event. Rumors circulating beforehand speculated that this mysterious phone would be an extra-thin S25 variant, called the Galaxy S25 Slim. Well, the rumors were right in essence, but not in name, as Samsung has revealed that the upcoming slimline handset will be called the Galaxy S25 Edge.
At first I thought this resurrection of the Galaxy Edge name meant we could be getting an S25 with some sort of wraparound screen; reminiscent of phones like the Galaxy S6 Edge and S7 Edge. But in fact the S25 Edge is the official name for the rumoured S25 Slim - a version of the S25 series designed to be as thin as possible. How thin? Some estimates suggest 6.4mm, which would be noticeably slimmer than the already svelte 8.2mm S25 Ultra. That said, the camera bump on the S25 Edge does look quite prominent, somewhat negating the slimness of the rest of the chassis.
Initial renders of the S25 Slim showed a phone with a triple-module rear-facing camera array, but Samsung's presentation for the S25 Edge and physical mock-ups of the phone on display at Galaxy Unpacked show a device with only two rear-facing camera modules. This implies that the phone makes do with a primary and an ultrawide camera, with the telephoto module likely not making the cut. That will probably be due to space inside the phone needing to be sacrificed for a large enough battery to power the device.
As for what camera hardware the S25 Edge could be packing - Samsung still hasn't given any official specs, but previous S25 Slim rumors have suggested Samsung might use its ISOCELL HP5 (200MP, 1/1.56”) sensor for the wide-angle module, while the ultrawide snapper could be based around an ISOCELL JN5 (50MP, 1/2.76") sensor.
But with only two rear-facing modules, we question where Samsung will position the phone in the S25 line-up. At least from a camera perspective, it'll be at a clear disadvantage next to the S25 Ultra and S25 Plus. So will that wafer-thin design be enough to compensate for any camera hardware shortcomings and justify a premium price?
With rumors of a possible iPhone 17 Air launching later this year, it makes sense for Samsung to be readying a super-slim phone of its own, even if such a device is photographically compromised. We don't yet know where or when the S25 Edge will be released, but with Samsung itself teasing the phone, this is clearly much more than just a rumor.
