Months after Samsung first teased it, the Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge has now launched, and this slim alternative to the rest of the Samsung Galaxy S25 series has a lot going for it.
But it also gives us some indication of what to expect from the iPhone 17 Air, since Apple’s rumored super-slim iPhone is expected to be a similar prospect, just packing iOS rather than Android.
Below, we’ve listed five things that – based on the Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge – we think will probably be true of the iPhone 17 Air.
1. It will probably be noticeably slimmer
At 5.8mm thick the Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge is 1.4mm thinner than the standard Samsung Galaxy S25 and 1.5mm thinner than the Samsung Galaxy S25 Plus. Relative to the overall thickness that’s quite a reduction, but is 1.4mm really noticeable?
The answer is yes – the Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge is an obviously thin phone, even before you put it side by side with other handsets. So it turns out a 1.4mm reduction really does make a difference.
But the difference in the case of the iPhone 17 Air could be even greater, with some leaks suggesting this could be slimmer still at just 5.65mm thick, while the iPhone 16 series is thicker than the Galaxy S25 line.
So, if that holds true for the iPhone 17 series, then both in itself and compared to other models in its line, the iPhone 17 Air could be noticeably very thin.
2. To fully understand it you’ll likely have to hold it yourself
As slim as the iPhone 17 Air will likely be, you’ll probably have to get it in your hand before you’re fully sold on it.
With the Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge, you get a better sense for just how thin it is once you pick it up. And that’s not all – you can also feel how light it is, at 163g. That’s not very heavy at all for a phone with a 6.7-inch screen.
The iPhone 17 Air will probably also be a lot lighter than most phones with similar sized screens, so to get a sense of that, you’ll probably have to pick it up.
It will be interesting to see whether that has much impact on sales – Apple stores give you plenty of opportunity to try devices out, but we’d wager most people shop for phones online, so they might not fully understand how appealing the iPhone 17 Air could be in the hand.
3. The cameras will probably be compromised
For all the good things the Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge has going for it there are also some compromises, with the biggest of these arguably being the lack of a telephoto camera.
That’s something you’ll find on every other Galaxy S25 model, including the cheaper Samsung Galaxy S25 and Samsung Galaxy S25 Plus, so its absence is disappointing.
Samsung has done what it can to compensate, by equipping the Galaxy S25 Edge with a high-spec main camera, but if photography is something you care about, it could still be a tough sell.
The absence of a third rear camera is presumably necessary to keep the phone slim, so we’d expect similar compromises from the iPhone 17 Air. In fact, leaks so far suggest the iPhone 17 Air might just have one camera on the back.
4. The battery could be small
The other big compromise with the Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge is the battery capacity.
This is even less surprising than the lack of a third lens, as batteries take up a lot of space inside phones, so it’s almost inevitable that the capacity would need to be compromised to slim down a handset.
In the case of the Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge, it has a 3,900mAh battery, which makes it slightly lower capacity than the 4,000mAh Samsung Galaxy S25 (which has a far smaller screen to power), and way lower than the 4,900mAh Samsung Galaxy S25 Plus and the 5,000mAh Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra.
So, while we haven’t yet fully put the Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge’s battery to the test, we don’t expect it will hold up particularly well.
Samsung, for its part, claims the phone can deliver all-day life, but more specifically says it’s capable of up to 24 hours of video playback, while the standard S25 can manage up to 29, the S25 Plus can manage up to 30, and the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra can manage up to 31.
It’s possible that the iPhone 17 Air will do better here, with one leak pointing to it having a high energy density battery, and another saying it could have battery life that’s similar to current iPhones. But it’s hard to imagine there won’t be some compromises.
5. It will likely feel more Pro than Plus
It’s rumored that the iPhone 17 Air will launch instead of an iPhone 17 Plus, but despite possibly taking the Plus’ place, it’s likely that this will feel more like a Pro model.
That’s certainly the case with the Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge, which with its impressively slim and light build – along with a titanium frame and muted color options – feels a lot more premium than the Galaxy S25 Plus, and looks a little more like a Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra.
The price also adds to that impression, with the Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge costing more than the S25 Plus.
The situation might be a little different with the iPhone 17 Air, as some leaks suggest it could have the same price as the iPhone 16 Plus. Plus, if it only has one camera then it could look some way short of the Pro models on the photography front. But with a slim, sleek, and lightweight design it’s likely to still look and feel expensive.
Are you excited about the prospect of an iPhone 17 Air? Have your say in the comments below.
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