Samsung launches ultra-thin Galaxy S25 Edge, and an entirely new way to buy its Android phones in the UK

Official Livestream | Galaxy S25 Edge 

And there are the new innovations we've never seen on any previous Galaxy phone. Samsung has worked closely with Corning to develop a new Gorilla Glass Ceramic 2 that's specifically designed to offer durable protection on such a remarkably thin form factor. To survive an accidental drop, Gorilla Glass Ceramic 2 embeds crystals into the glass matrix, enhancing the durability and crack deflection capabilities.

So... just how thin is the Galaxy S25 Edge? Extremely.

With a wafer-thin 5.8mm chassis — that's roughly the same as three 10p coins stacked on-top of one another — the Galaxy S25 Edge is designed to squeeze a comparable flagship experience to the other handsets in the Galaxy S25 lineup in a much, much smaller package.

For comparison, the standard Galaxy S25 measures 7.2mm, while the Galaxy S25 Ultra is 8.2mm.

According to Samsung, shaving off the extra 1.4mm to achieve the ultra-thin design of the Galaxy S25 Edge took a "remarkable feat of engineering" that had to reimagine "nearly every element of smartphone design for an even more compact and convenient experience". The crash-diet for the Galaxy S25 Edge extends to the overall weight too, which clocks-in at just 163 grams.

Speaking about the new design, Samsung UK and Ireland Mobile Experience VP of Product and Marketing, Annika Bizon said: "Galaxy S25 Edge redefines smartphone design, with no compromise on performance.

"It’s our slimmest S Series device yet, created with style and strength in mind. Featuring an iconic Galaxy AI-enabled camera, it opens up a world of creativity in a light, elegant form factor for customers wanting stylish design and the best features Galaxy has to offer."

“Alongside S25 Edge, we are also launching our New Galaxy Club. This is designed to give customers more value and flexibility as they look to upgrade to the latest device and experience everything that Galaxy has to offer. To celebrate the launch of the New Galaxy Club, the first 2,500 members will receive a £100 introductory offer that can be used towards purchase of Galaxy S25 Edge.”

Available via the Samsung store, the new Galaxy Club is an exclusive upgrade and rewards programme. It lets you spread the cost of your new Galaxy smartphone over the next 24-months with 0% interest and just a 10% upfront deposit. In other words, it's like a pay monthly phone contract... but enables you to keep your existing SIM-only deal or switch to a rolling one-month plan for your minutes and data.

Members will be offered 2 years of Samsung Care+ Accidental Damage Cover (worth £179) with their monthly plan. New sign-ups to the Galaxy Club who spend over £150 — a threshold you'll easily top with any of the Galaxy S25 lineup, even with the latest Samsung deals — you'll be rewarded with a £50 voucher to spend at the online store. That'll come in handy if you want to upgrade to new wireless earbuds, a protective case, or more.

Galaxy Club customers can upgrade to the latest-and-greatest Galaxy smartphone after 12 months. According to Samsung, it'll guarantee a 50% return of the overall value of the handset when you upgrade after 12 – 15 months of your initial credit agreement.

After you sign up, Samsung will credit your Galaxy Club account with three £50 vouchers to pass on to friends or family redeemable at Samsung.com. Galaxy S25 Edge is available to preorder now (May 13) and will land on store shelves on May 30. It ships in the following colours:

• Titanium Silver
• Titanium Jetblack
• Titanium Icyblue

Like the original launch of the Galaxy S25 and Galaxy S25+, if you preorder the Galaxy S25 Edge before May 30, you'll unlock double the built-in storage for the same price. That means you can pocket the 512GB variant — usually £1,199 — for the same price as the entry level 256GB model (£1,099).

Under the bonnet of this paper-thin phone is the same, first-of-its-kind customised Snapdragon 8 Elite Mobile Platform for Galaxy system-on-a-chip that's found inside the Galaxy S25, S25+, and Galaxy S25 Ultra. It was specifically designed by teams from Samsung and US manufacturer Qualcomm to power the phones' extensive AI features.

It's also the speediest chip to ever ship inside a Samsung smartphone, delivering 40% faster performance from the Neural Processing Unit (NPU), which predominantly handles on-device AI tasks, as well as a 37% increase in CPU and a 30% improvement in GPU compared to the Galaxy S24 series. In other words, there will be no difference in the speed of the ultra-thin Galaxy S25 Edge and the larger handsets in the lineup.

This beefier chipset allows Samsung to crunch more AI tasks on-device. Some Galaxy AI features that previously had to be beamed to servers, like Generative Edit, now take place on the silicon inside the phone. Since you're not reliant on a decent Wi-Fi or mobile data connection, you'll be able to use these AI tricks on aeroplane mode.

AI also powers several new editing tools, like Audio Eraser, which lets you remove specific annoying background sounds from your videos, like unwanted chatter from crowds or disruptive wind noise.

Elsewhere, Circle to Search has been upgraded to immediately recognise and action phone numbers, email addresses, and URLs with a single tap.

Galaxy S25 and Galaxy S25+ owners can circle anything on-screen with their fingertip to perform a search with Google, while those with a Galaxy S25 Ultra can also use the S Pen stylus.

Galaxy AI features introduced with the Galaxy S24 series last year make a return with the next-generation handset, including real-time transcription or translation for incoming calls and video chats. Galaxy AI can also quickly summarise lengthy PDFs, webpages, and emails into a quick recap or bullet points.

Writing Assist works across the One UI 7.0 operating system, which is based on Android 15 and incorporates many of the advances introduced by Google in that update. Highlight text and Galaxy AI will offer to proofread for spelling and grammar mistakes. It can also adjust the tone of your writing — helpful if you need to make an email or cover letter sound more formal, or want to add some fun into your text.

Galaxy S25 owners can also use natural language across the One UI system, letting you chain multiple commands together, such as "show me the next Arsenal match, and add it to my calendar" or "find the photograph of mum at the Grand Canyon last year, then send it to dad on WhatsApp".