The new Samsung phone that brought back a recently converted iPhone user

I've been a Samsung fan for a good part of my life, so when the opportunity came to play with the Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge for a few weeks, I couldn't wait to get my hands on it.

But the dilemma was, I had recently betrayed my long-lasting love for Samsung phones with the purchase of the iPhone 15 Pro

I mostly bought it for its compatibility with my MacBook Pro – and as a film enthusiast, its ability to capture log footage (which basically translates to super raw footage I can colour correct as much as I like).

So I was curious if the Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge would make me want to switch back.

NOTE: Prices are accurate at the time of publishing.

Galaxy S25 Edge 256GB - $1449Galaxy S25 Edge 512GB - $1649

Right now, Samsung is offering a $400 saving on the phone until July 9.

An edge up on Samsung's older models

I've owned Samsung Edge phones before, like the S6 Edge and the S7 Edge, and before I made the Apple switch, I owned an S10. The biggest question I had was whether this new edge model also featured that curved display we've seen in the past.

Immediately after taking the device out of its box, it became apparent to me that rather than a curved display, the new cutting-edge technology is how the phone manages to pack a 6.7-inch, 120Hz display into a 163g phone.

Despite only being 20 grams lighter than my iPhone, there was a serious wow factor to how light the phone actually felt. Not only that, it's one of the thinnest phones I've ever held, coming in at just 5.8mm thick, which also added extra novelty.

The phone's cameras mark a bit of a mix of upgrades for me. A 12 megapixel front and back camera, and a whopping 200 megapixel wide camera on the back as well, which is a major upgrade for me.

But with only two cameras on the back, it seems like it might miss out on the camera capabilities the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra has – but it is still able to shoot in log, which was a big plus for me.

The phone only features a 3900 mAh battery compared to the Ultra's 5000 mAh battery. But this is more than enough for me, and I survived most days without complications.

Making the switch

Samsung offers an app called Smart Switch that comes pre-installed on Galaxy devices. It's an easy set-up and just allows you to transfer pretty much all of your data to your new device using either Wi-Fi or a cord.

I didn't do it this time as I wanted a completely fresh experience with the phone, and I'm already pretty familiar with how Android works, so instead, here's a rundown of some old and new features I had to familiarise myself with.

The phone's feel and design

I love how a Samsung device feels in my hands and how it feels when I use it. This phone felt particularly innovative, and I can't articulate enough how light the phone felt. It got to the point where there were times I forgot that I had it in my pocket.

This time around, the volume button is found on the right side of the phone. This was something I had to get used to, and it feels hard to take screenshots with one hand.

Other than that, the user interface is fantastic. Android's customisability is great, and I'm a big fan of the embedded buttons in the display as opposed to the iPhone's swipe up to control everything mantra.

AI capabilities

AI is everywhere. The phone offers morning and afternoon briefs on the lock screen that detail the weather and a weekly usage report.

Google's AI Gemini is in-built too, and by holding the power button, you have access to its features. The phone also has a circle-to-search feature accessible by holding down the home button.

There is also an auto-transcribing feature within two apps – a revolutionary feature working as a journalist.

This feature is accessible in Samsung's Voice Recorder app and is available when taking a phone call to record and transcribe it. And in each of these, an AI summary is provided of the recordings.

Should you switch to the Galaxy S25 Edge?

After a few weeks with the phone and a bit of swapping back and forth with my iPhone, I found myself struggling with only a few things.

The phone loses its AirDrop compatibility with my laptop, although I already use Google Drive a lot to transfer files, so it wasn't much of a big deal.

And ideally, a smaller version with the Edge's thin design would be preferable, as I'm not the biggest fan of super large displays, but my nostalgia for Android shone through.

So, the final verdict is in: I'm officially a Samsung convert again, and if I had to, I would definitely opt for the Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge.

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