Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge vs. Galaxy S25 Ultra: Which will be the better Samsung flagship?

It's tricky to know how the Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge vs. Galaxy S25 Ultra match-up will result, since while both phones are officially announced, we don't know what Samsung's first Edge-branded phone in almost a decade will offer.

We know the Galaxy S25 Edge is real, and we know what it looks like, thanks to Samsung's teasers. But other than having fewer cameras, it's hard to tell whether this will offer the kind of performance and features we see on the other Galaxy S25 models, or if it will be its own beast, focused entirely on being as slim as possible.

The Galaxy S25 Ultra is more tangible, having already been fully launched. It's a brilliant phone, offering all the features you could ask for, but at quite a high price. Depending on how much the Galaxy S25 Edge offers and for what cost, the Galaxy S25 Ultra could find itself sharing a part of its niche, or remain steadfast as the S25 Edge aims for a totally different market.

To try and sort out what's known, rumored and assumed about these phones, we've broken down the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra vs.Galaxy S25 Edge face-off here. Hopefully this will help clarify what these phones are trying to do while we wait for more details to leak, or be announced properly by Samsung itself.

Galaxy S25 Edge vs. Galaxy S25 Ultra: Specs

Galaxy S25 Edge vs. Galaxy S25 Ultra: Price and availability

First teased at a Galaxy Unpacked event in January, the Galaxy S25 Ultra has been official for some time, but there's no official launch or pricing information yet. The S25 Edge rumors have suggested it'll be surprisingly cheap (for a flagship phone), at the $1,000 mark like the Galaxy S25 Plus, according to two different reports, and that it could launch either in April or possibly June. Even if Samsung picks the later option, the S25 Edge should still appear before the usual July/August launch window for its foldables, like this year's assumed Galaxy Z Fold 7 and Galaxy Z Flip 7.

The Galaxy S25 Ultra meanwhile is already on sale, having launched in January 2025. It costs $1,299 for the 256GB model, with 512GB and 1TB versions also up for grabs for more. It's the most expensive Galaxy S Ultra phone to date, and could be $300 more than the S25 Edge going by the aforementioned rumors.

Galaxy S25 Edge vs. Galaxy S25 Ultra: Design and display

Slimness is the name of the game with the Galaxy S25 Edge, with this new Galaxy S model possibly measuring as little as 5.84mm (0.23 inches) thick and as light as 162 grams (5.71 ounces). This is 1.5mm thinner and 28 grams lighter than the Galaxy S25 Plus, the closest comparable device in Samsung's current portfolio.

With the slim frame being the phone's focus, other elements have seemingly had to adapt to compensate. That includes a potential off-center USB-C port on the bottom edge, and only two cameras on the back rather than the usual three for Samsung's non-Ultra flagships.

Beyond this, the Galaxy S25 Edge should be made of ceramic and aluminum materials (or possibly titanium), and feature a 6.6-inch display with narrow bezels. That display should also have a 2K resolution, which in this case likely means a QHD+ resolution like the Galaxy S25 Plus and Galaxy S25 Ultra.

While the Galaxy S25 Ultra is hardly chunky, it is going to be larger than the rumored size of the Galaxy S25 Edge. It features a 6.9-inch display, with titanium side rails, Gorilla Armor toughened glass on the front and back, and double the number of rear cameras. So that extra size is being put to good use.

It's believed that the Galaxy S25 Edge will be sold in Titanium Silver, Titanium Icyblue, and Titanium Jet Black colorways, fewer than the Galaxy S25 Ultra has access to. The basic colors for the S25 Ultra are Titanium Silverblue, Black, Gray and Whitesilver, but buying the phone from Samsung directly unlocks further Jadegreen, Jetblack and Pinkgold options. Perhaps we'll see Samsung offer a few extra choices for the Galaxy S25 Edge too, but there have been no rumors to confirm this yet.

Galaxy S25 Edge vs. Galaxy S25 Ultra: Cameras

We can see from the Galaxy S25 Edge dummies that Samsung has displayed that there are only two rear cameras on the back. We'd assume these will be a main and ultrawide combination, with the consensus currently being that these will have 200MP and 12MP sensors respectively.

The Galaxy S25 Ultra meanwhile has four rear cameras - a 200MP main camera, 50MP ultrawide camera, 10MP 3x telephoto and 50MP 5x telephoto. Even if the S25 Edge's main and ultrawide cameras happen to be just as good as the Ultra's versions, the dual zoom cameras will give the S25 Ultra a major advantage for long-distance, close-up and portrait photography.

To quickly mention the front cameras, the Galaxy S25 Ultra uses the same 12MP sensor as the other Galaxy S25 models. It seems safe to assume the Galaxy S25 will use it too, but we'll wait and see what further rumors have to say.

Galaxy S25 Edge vs. Galaxy S25 Ultra: Performance

It's not clear just yet how the performance of the Galaxy S25 Edge will compare to the Galaxy S25 Ultra. One major rumor, supported by leaked benchmark results, is that the S25 Edge will use an identical Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy chipset to the S25 Ultra, which would put both comfortably ahead of other Android flagship phones using the standard 8 Elite chip, and beyond the iPhone 16 Pro on some benchmarks.

However, other sources suggest that the Edge could instead use an Exynos 2400 chip, which powers the Galaxy S24 and Galaxy S24 Plus in regions outside the U.S., China and Korea. This would make the Edge less powerful than the Galaxy S25 Ultra, potentially an acceptable compromise based on other design elements, but also a pity as it would make the Edge the only Galaxy S25 model with this limitation.

We expect the Galaxy S25 Edge to match the Galaxy S25 Ultra on memory though. That would mean 12GB RAM and 256GB default storage, the de facto standard for flagship phones in 2025.

What other storage options Samsung may offer for the Galaxy S25 Edge isn't clear right now. We would expect at least a 512GB variant to be offered for users who like having extra space for their files, but a 1TB version feels less likely. This is an option for the Galaxy S25 Ultra, and makes sense given the additional utility of this phone compared to the likely feature set of the S25 Edge.

Galaxy S25 Edge vs. Galaxy S25 Ultra: Battery and charging

Tipsters claim that Galaxy S25 Edge will have about 3,900 mAh of battery capacity, which is less than the base Galaxy S25 despite it being the same height and width as the Galaxy S25 Plus. The thinner body is presumably to blame here.

If this claim is accurate, then that puts the S25 Edge a way behind the 5,000 mAh battery in the Galaxy S25 Ultra. The S25 Ultra is currently number 8 on our best phone battery life guide, and while we can make no guarantees at this point, but it feels unlikely that the S25 Edge would beat the S25 Ultra's result.

Apparently the Galaxy S25 Edge will offer 25W wired charging, in line with the Galaxy S25 but behind the Galaxy S25 Ultra's 45W charging option. The Edge should share the Ultra's Qi2 wireless charging support, although the Ultra doesn't come with built-in alignment magnets, meaning half of the benefit of Qi2 only applies if you have the phone in a case. If the Edge does support Qi2, then we would expect it to also come without magnets.

Galaxy S25 Edge vs. Galaxy S25 Ultra: Software and special features

One UI 7, based on Android 15, drives the Galaxy S25 Ultra, and will most likely do so on the Galaxy S25 Edge too. This includes many Galaxy AI features such as cross-app actions when making Gemini requests, improved image generation and generative image editing, and the Now Bar and Now Brief for providing timely information.

However, one thing the Galaxy S25 Edge won't copy from the Galaxy S25 Ultra is the S Pen included with the phone. Built-in stylus support is a rarity among modern phones, and the Galaxy S25 Ultra is arguably the standard bearer for this feature. Even if there was room for the S Pen in the Galaxy S25 Edge (which feels unlikely), Samsung probably wouldn't want to steal this signature of the Galaxy S Ultra line for the Edge.

Galaxy S25 Edge vs. Galaxy S25 Ultra: Outlook

Pending actual hands-on time with the Galaxy S25 Edge, we've got a good impression of how the S25 Edge and the Galaxy S25 Ultra will sit in Samsung's stable of phones.

The Galaxy S25 Edge seems to be a new idea for a series-topping Galaxy S model, not as fully featured as an Ultra model but one that still feels luxurious and special to hold and use, offering a similar level of features to the Galaxy S25 Plus, but with one fewer camera.

It's odd to think of the Galaxy S25 Ultra sharing the throne with the S25 Slim, but it goes after a different audience. Its extra cameras, battery life and possibly performance are nice to have, but considering the price of the phone, it may all be too much for some users. It'll still likely be the ultimate Samsung phone (setting foldables aside) once the Galaxy S25 Edge appears, but the Edge could be a more mainstream "halo" model that will entice more casual tech buyers with its handsome, novel design.

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