iPhone Air vs Galaxy S25 Edge: The battle of the super-thins

Apple has officially entered the ultra-thin smartphone arena with its new iPhone Air, placing it directly against Samsung’s sleek Galaxy S25 Edge. This is basically a design war where both companies are pushing engineering to its limits, sacrificing a little battery here and a camera lens there to create devices that feel as futuristic as possible. And with prices so close they’re practically touching, picking between the two is extremely difficult. But that’s what we are here for.

iPhone Air vs Galaxy S25 Edge: Design and display

Holding either of these phones feels like magic. The iPhone Air is the thinner of the two, measuring a wild 5.6mm, just sneaking past the S25 Edge’s 5.8mm frame. In terms of weight, Samsung gets a tiny win at 162 grams compared to the iPhone’s 165 grams. Both are wrapped in tough titanium frames and protected by advanced glass, with Apple using Ceramic Shield 2 and Samsung opting for Gorilla Glass Ceramic 2.

Moving on to the screen, Samsung gives you a slightly larger and sharper 6.7-inch QHD+ AMOLED display, which is gorgeous. But Apple fires back with its more compact 6.5-inch screen. Its 3,000 nits peak brightness is also a smidge higher than the S25 Edge’s 2,600 nits. Both thankfully offer 120Hz refresh rates.

iPhone Air vs Galaxy S25 Edge: Cameras

Here’s where your decision gets a bit clearer. Apple went for extreme minimalism, giving the iPhone Air a single 48MP rear camera. It relies heavily on Apple’s “Fusion Camera” trick to improve the versatility, allowing for stuff like lossless 2x zooming. Apple’s phones have always been perfect for the person who wants a fantastic, reliable picture without thinking too much – and this is especially true for the Air with its singular lens.

Samsung, on the other hand, gives you more tools to play with. The S25 Edge packs a dual-camera system featuring a monster 200MP main sensor and a 12MP ultrawide lens. That ultrawide gives you a whole different perspective that the iPhone simply can’t capture.

iPhone Air vs Galaxy S25 Edge: Performance, extras

The iPhone Air runs on Apple’s new A19 Pro chip, while the S25 Edge is powered by the Snapdragon 8 Elite. Both are the best of the best and will handle anything you throw at them. Samsung does pull ahead with 12GB of RAM as standard and a suite of genuinely useful AI tools like Circle to Search, courtesy of Galaxy AI and Google Gemini.

ALSO READ: Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge review

Apple’s new iOS 26 is getting a visual facelift and some neat features, but Samsung’s AI implementation feels more mature and feature-packed right now. The biggest deal for many Indian users might be the SIM situation. The iPhone Air is eSIM only. The Galaxy S25 Edge, however, still has a physical SIM card slot. For frequent travellers or anyone who likes the flexibility of swapping SIMs, this could be the single most important difference.

The bottom line

In India, the Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge starts at Rs 1,09,999 for the base model. The Apple iPhone Air comes in at Rs 1,09,900, meaning there’s no price difference to sway you.

Your choice boils down to priorities. The iPhone Air is for someone deep in the Apple ecosystem who values simplicity above all and is ready to embrace the eSIM future. It’s also more grip-friendly with a more compact build. Meanwhile, the Galaxy S25 Edge is for the user who wants more. You get a more versatile camera system, useful AI features, and the flexibility of a physical SIM card.

So which one would you go for? Let us know in the comments below.