I shot the iPhone Air next to Samsung’s Galaxy S25 Edge in the hands on, making sure frames, camera bumps and bezels all lined up for a neat side by side. On paper, they’re nearly twins. One phone feels noticeably thinner in the hand — and the camera lays it out factually in profile.
The Numbers That Count
The iPhone Air is 6.15 x 2.94 x 0.22 inches in size and has a weight of 5.82 oz, or around 165 grams. The Galaxy S25 Edge measures 6.23 x 2.98 x 0.23 inches and weighs in at about 5.75 ounces (approximately 163 grams). Translate that thicknesses to metrics and you have 5.59 mm, as opposed to the 5.84mm measurement. That 0.01-inch gap might not seem like much, but it’s about a quarter of a millimeter — around the thickness of two to three sheets of typical printer paper.
In a class where most of the best phones fall in the 7–8mm thickness, according to combined stats at GSMArena, both phones are on the fringes. But the iPhone Air is just the thinner device.
In-Hand Feel Beats the Spec Sheet
Specs don’t describe how edges and curves contort to fit the grip. The iPhone Air’s rounded, metal frame melds into the glass, minimizing uncomfortable pressure points and creating sides that feel almost recessed. The Galaxy S25 Edge is flat sided, with a more acute transitions at both the front and back. It’s a clean, modern aesthetic, but it actually makes the phone feel “blockier” in the hand than its simply fine measurements belie.
When I switched between them, the Air’s footprint felt a little smaller around the edges despite similar height and width. In ergonomics, edge radius (it is object thickness perceived as) changes a great deal – your fingers will pick up on the curve not just the calipers.
How They Got This Thin
The explanation Apple provided during briefings focused on a “plateau” at the back top: core components — like camera stack and processor — are packed there, leaving the rest of the body exceedingly lean. The company also ditched the physical SIM tray across the line, which lets it claim back those precious cubic millimeters for battery availability and structure.
Samsung achieved similar dimensions with its own packaging and materials too. The industry has come to rely on denser component stacking, thinner glass, and stronger alloy frames in its pursuit of thinness—methods that have been well documented by iFixit teardowns over the last several years. The S25 Edge is every inch a product of that era, even if it makes its size known in the hand.
Screens, Weight and Price Context
The Galaxy has a 6.7-inch screen that provides you with slightly more canvas to work with than the iPhone Air’s 6.5-inch panel. With the larger screen, Samsung’s phone is slightly lighter by a hair over 2 grams. The price swings the other direction: The iPhone Air starts at $999; the Galaxy S25 Edge is listed at $1,099. If you’re making this decision purely on thinness, then the Air takes it: if you want the biggest screen in a body less than 6mm thick, then the Edge answers that particular brief.
Durability and Battery Trade-Offs
Super-thin phones beg the obvious questions about rigidity and stamina. Apple has publicly commented on durability concerns about the Air’s razor-thin design, which focuses on internal reinforcement. Consumer Reports and third-party labs have also historically tested independent stress on frames in determining bending or dropping resistance pennedibly designed not for matches ret options, which but fame thicknessed not just players-driveneded resistant with a relationship dictatethis. We’ll have to wait for standardized testing to measure any gaps, but neither device felt at all flimsy in handling.
They don’t specify the battery size here, but the engineering choices are transparent: Lose the moving parts like a SIM tray and pack high-density components into a reinforced zone and you’ve got space for cells above without making it appreciably thicker. The Air’s weight-to-volume ratio indicates Apple wasn’t just fixated on making it slim, but rather that energy density was as much a concern; Samsung’s equally anemic mass suggests similar calculations.
The Verdict From a Side-by-Side
From the images, and more importantly from holding both phones, you can see that iPhone Air is a vinaigrette device — and feels it too. The Galaxy S25 Edge is a little bit larger, with an even sharper look that many might like the look of better than its ruler suggests it should (though it has flat sides that make it read bigger). If the one that provides the slimmest pocket silhouette is the most important issue for you, then Air is the one that disappears faster.
