iPhone 17 Air rumored to take on Galaxy S25 Edge this year – here's how
While Samsung is launching an ultra-thin smartphone, Apple is right around the corner with its own take on the form factor
📱 Samsung just dropped the Galaxy S25 Edge, but it’s not the only ultra-thin phone coming out in 2025
🤏 Apple is rumored to be working on the iPhone 17 Air, the thinnest phone from the company since the iPhone 6
📸 Samsung’s S25 Edge could face stiff competition, while still having some advantages over Apple’s device
📝 Here’s what we’ve heard about Apple’s S25 Edge rival thus far
Samsung has finally dropped the Galaxy S25 Edge, the fourth member of its Galaxy S25 series. The phone capitalizes on an ultra-thin form factor - 5.8mm, to be exact - to stand out among the competition. It comes with all the specs and features you could ask for in a 2025 flagship, too, which helps to justify the $1,099 price. But it isn’t without competition: the iPhone 17 Air is right around the corner, and it could be the buzzer-beater that Samsung needs to dodge.
Apple’s first super-skinny smartphone since the iPhone 6 in 2014 is coming later this year, according to the rumors we’ve been tracking. It could have one of the thinnest phone designs we’ve ever seen, plus some of the same perks we expect in the regular iPhone 17 and iPhone 17 Pro.
It seems like an interesting phone overall, which could give the S25 Edge a run for its money. Here’s how the two phones are stacking up right now, based on leaks and rumors.
Galaxy S25 Edge vs iPhone 17 Air: what we’re expecting so far
🤏 Apple might go even thinner. The Galaxy S25 Edge is one of the thinnest phones we’ve ever seen, measuring 5.8mm thick. It’s much thinner than the 7.2mm Galaxy S25, and it’s even thinner than Apple’s own iPhone 6 which measured 6.9mm. However, the iPhone 17 Air is rumored to be just 5.5mm thick, slightly beating Samsung’s phone to potentially become the thinnest phone on the market. Of course, it’ll be next to impossible to discern a 0.3mm difference in thickness, but if you’re obsessed with having the thinnest thing, it seem that the 17 Air will give you that.
📐 Titanium and water-resistant. The Galaxy S25 Edge uses titanium for its frame and comes with an IP68 certification for dust and water resistance. Based on the rumors we’ve seen, we expect Apple to follow suit and include both of these features with the iPhone 17 Air. Reports indicate the company could be shifting away from titanium for its other iPhone 17 models in favor of aluminum, although things remain unclear. For now, it seems like titanium will be the material of choice, aligning with Samsung’s super-slim smartphone.
📱 Similar screens. The S25 Edge has a big 6.7-inch AMOLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate. From what we’ve heard, it seems like the iPhone 17 Air will have a very similar screen. It’ll be a hair smaller at 6.6 inches and include an OLED panel, as well as a 120Hz refresh rate. It’ll also come with the Dynamic Island, whereas Samsung’s screen has a simple hole-punch cutout for the selfie camera. We were impressed with the S25 Edge’s screen in our hands-on, and we expect to have similar feelings about the 17 Air’s given Apple’s history of cranking out solid displays.
🏎️ The iPhone 17 Air’s performance will probably be better. Apple always one-ups Qualcomm with the chips it includes in its iPhones, and we expect the rumored A19 processor to outperform the Snapdragon 8 Elite inside the Galaxy S25 Edge. Will the difference be huge? We don’t know that yet, but Apple’s chips generally run faster and more efficiently than Snapdragon, and that’s not expected to change with the iPhone 17 series.
🔋 Better battery life is a strong possibility. Speaking of efficiency, there’s a chance the iPhone 17 Air could have better battery life than the Galaxy S25 Edge. Apple’s phone is rumored to ship with a 3,000-4,000mAh battery, similar to the 3,900mAh cell in the S25 Edge, only it’ll be paired with more efficient parts. Apple is expected to include its C1 5G modem and a custom-built Wi-Fi/Bluetooth chip, both of which will likely sip less power than the S25 Edge’s internals. We already know the C1 is incredibly efficient, as we demoed in our iPhone 16e review, and we expect similar performance from its Wi-Fi chip, which could ultimately mean the 17 Air will last longer on a charge than the S25 Edge. We’ll have to wait and see.
📸 One less camera on the back. The iPhone 17 Air is largely rumored to ship with a single rear 48MP camera. That kind of setup might be okay for some users, but not for everyone. Samsung’s S25 Edge has a 200MP rear camera, plus a 12MP ultra-wide. What’s more, the 17 Air could wind up with a huge camera bar on the back, while the S25 Edge sticks with a smaller bump in the top left corner. It looks like Samsung will win in the camera department, but Apple could surprise everyone with the quality of the 48MP camera it includes.
🤖 Samsung might have a leg up on AI. Another area Samsung could have a leg up is AI. Apple is still floundering around with its Apple Intelligence roll-out which, by all accounts, hasn’t gone great. The Galaxy S25 Edge is equipped with all of Samsung’s latest Galaxy AI features like Now Brief, the Now Bar on the lock screen, writing tools, and deep integration with Google Gemini. It isn’t clear what Apple could jam into iOS between now and the iPhone 17 Air release date, but as of now, the company’s system can’t match everything the S25 Edge is capable of.
💰 Similar price points? We don’t know how much the iPhone 17 Air will cost, but we have our theories. The S25 Edge is priced at $1,099, which is roughly the same price we’ve heard the 17 Air could cost. However, reports have also suggested it could be under $1,000 since it’s replacing the iPhone 16 Plus which costs $899. But with expected price increases for the entire iPhone 17 series, it seems safe to assume you’ll be spending roughly the same amount for the iPhone 17 Air or Galaxy S25 Edge.
Galaxy S25 Edge coverage continues
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Max Buondonno is an editor at The Shortcut. He’s been reporting on the latest consumer technology since 2015, with his work featured on CNN Underscored, ZDNET, How-To Geek, XDA, TheStreet, and more. Follow him on X @LegendaryScoop and Instagram @LegendaryScoop.