With the Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge finally here and the iPhone 17 Air around the corner, thin phones are in. The smartphone form factor is pretty mature at this point, but many of them are too big, and making phones thinner misses the point entirely. I don’t want a thin phone, I want a better phone that’s easier to hold.
I understand why Samsung, Google, and others want folding phones to be thin, but I don’t get the allure for regular models. Ahead of the Galaxy S25 Edge launch, a lot of fans were concerned about potential compromises that come with a thin design, and we were all right. If you buy one, you’re compromising on battery life and cameras, all for a phone that’s still huge and relatively hard to hold. But hey, at least it’s ultra-slim. I don’t want a slim phone, and you probably don’t either. Here’s what I’d like to see instead.
Better Ergonomics, Not Razor-Thin Designs
My biggest complaint with phones over the last few years is their sheer size, weight, and unwieldy designs, not thickness. Sure, thickness plays a part, but it’s a small part. Phones like the new Galaxy S25 Ultra or iPhone 16 Pro Max have huge screens, are bigger and heavier, and pack powerful processors and a slew of cameras. That’s what we all buy, so manufacturers keep pumping them out.
But things are getting out of control. The Galaxy S23 Ultra, S24 Ultra, and the latest S25 Ultra are all proof of that. They’re huge, hard to hold, and nearly impossible to use with one hand. In fact, after trying to enjoy it, I returned my Galaxy S25 Ultra for the smaller S25+, and now I’m happy.
Apple isn’t any better, either. The latest iPhone 16 Pro Max is big, heavy, and just as uncomfortable to hold for more than three minutes—but at least the corners are a bit rounded off. I hoped the Galaxy S25 Ultra’s rounded corners would make the ergonomics a little better than the previous generation, but no such luck. It’s still a massive phone that I have no desire to hold or put in my pocket. Samsung barely changed anything, but then it delivered the Galaxy S25 Edge, which is still huge, only super slim. It does nothing to address ergonomics.
If anything, it’s more difficult to hold because it’s slim and slippery, it still has squared-off edges that’ll stab your palm, and it’s as big as the Galaxy S25 Plus. And in case anyone forgot, Motorola released a phone slimmer than the S25 Edge over nine years ago, so this isn’t anything special.
Hey Samsung and Apple, I don’t want another massive Ultra Max Pro+ phone, and I don’t want a Slim/Edge/Air model either. Just make your already great phones better and easier to hold.
I Want Better Speakers and a Bigger Battery, Please
Making current generation phones thinner comes with sacrifices to the camera, battery life, and probably the speakers, among other things, like internal cooling. We all assumed that is what would happen, and we were right.
The sleek new Galaxy S25 Edge has a huge 6.7-inch screen but a small 3,900mAh battery and dual cameras without any fancy zoom features. For comparison, the Galaxy S25 has a 6.2-inch screen and a bigger 4,000mAh battery.
Or, there’s the Galaxy S25+ with the same 6.7-inch screen and a larger 4,900 mAh battery. It’s essentially the same phone, but the Edge’s battery won’t last as long, and the camera experience is a bit different and watered down. Who wants that? I don’t.
Instead, I want a Samsung phone around 6.6 inches with rounded sides and corners, solid cameras, improved speakers, and a bigger battery. Other manufacturers are busy integrating new silicon carbide battery technology into phones. Silicon Carbide delivers a bigger battery in the same space as current packs, making phones last longer. That’s what I want in my next Samsung phone, not a thinner frame.
Remember those old HTC One phones with huge front-facing speakers that sounded amazing? Those were the good old days. While our expansive edge-to-edge screens won’t allow that anymore, I’d love for manufacturers to focus on better speaker quality. I hate having to cup the bottom with my hand to hear a YouTube video. Fix that instead of making a phone that’s kinda slim.
Don’t get me wrong, phones are pretty amazing here in 2025. We have absolutely gorgeous screens, highly capable cameras, tons of power, fun AI features, and all-day battery life. But that doesn’t mean things can’t continue to improve. I wish Samsung and Apple would focus on speakers, battery life, and meaningful features instead of AI and thinness.
I’m sure there are a few people thrilled about the new Galaxy S25 Edge. I’m just not one of them.
