5 Android phones you should buy instead of the Galaxy S25 Edge

The Galaxy S25 Edge is one of the most polarizing Android phones of the year. Samsung’s ultra-thin smartphone boasts some truly impressive design chops, cramming a 6.7-inch display into a body that’s thinner and lighter than previously thought possible.

At the same time, the S25 Edge’s middling battery life, lacking camera setup, and disappointing thermal performance may leave you scratching your head as to why Samsung deems the Edge worthy of its $1,100 asking price.

As impressive as certain aspects of the Edge may be, I can’t help but look at it and think your money is better spent elsewhere — specifically, with any one of these five Android phones you should buy instead of the Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge.

Let’s start with the most obvious S25 Edge alternative: the Galaxy S25 Plus. With a retail price that’s $100 cheaper than the S25 Edge, you’d expect the S25 Plus to be a worse overall phone. But in reality, the Plus either meets or beats the Edge in almost every regard.

Battery capacity is perhaps the most significant difference between the two. Where the S25 Edge has a paltry 3,900mAh battery, the S25 Plus has a much more appropriately-sized 4,900mAh one. The S25 Plus doesn’t have the most remarkable battery life we’ve ever seen, but it’s enough to easily get you through a full day or a day and a half on a single charge. The S25 Edge, meanwhile, will almost certainly require a midday recharge if you use it too much.

Charge speeds are also noticeably worse on the S25 Edge, which supports just 25W wired charge speeds, while the S25 Plus is capable of 45W. And as you’ve likely noticed by now, the S25 Edge is missing a telephoto camera compared to the S25 Plus. In real-world use, that’s a difference of only having a maximum zoom length of 10x on the Edge compared to 30x on the Plus.

What about other important aspects like display quality and performance? The Galaxy S25 Edge and S25 Plus have identical screen and chipset technology. The screens across the two are virtually indistinguishable, but while the chips are the same, the Edge’s thinner body means it’s much more prone to overheating and performance throttling — something we observed frequently during our testing.

At the end of the day, the S25 Edge is an objectively worse version of the S25 Plus, and a more expensive one, too. Is the thin design nice? Sure. But the S25 Plus isn’t a particularly heavy or uncomfortable phone, and it outperforms the Edge in so many different ways. Unless you absolutely need the S25 Edge’s thin body, the S25 Plus is unquestionably the better purchase between the two.

While the Galaxy S25 Plus is arguably the most logical direct alternative to the Galaxy S25 Edge, I also think there’s a strong argument to make for the regular Galaxy S25. It has some technical downgrades compared to the S25 Plus — namely, its battery capacity and charge speeds, which are almost identical to the S25 Edge — and there’s half the amount of base internal storage, too. But it still has a high-quality display, the same Snapdragon 8 Elite chip, and an identical camera setup to that of the S25 Plus.

What makes the Galaxy S25 a particularly interesting S25 Edge competitor is its hardware. While not as thin as the Edge (7.2mm vs. 5.8mm), the two phones weigh almost the same. In fact, the regular S25 is a tiny bit lighter than the S25 Edge. The S25’s 6.2-inch screen is much more manageable, too, allowing for easier one-handed use compared to the 6.7-inch panel on the Edge.

In other words, if what you’re looking for is a compact, comfortable Samsung phone, you get that with the Galaxy S25 — plus with fewer thermal issues, better battery life, and more capable cameras than the Edge. And that’s not to mention the $800 retail price, which keeps an extra $300 in your pocket compared to buying the Galaxy S25 Edge.

If you’re comfortable looking at phones not made by Samsung, the OnePlus 13 stands out as my number one non-Samsung recommendation. Is it as thin or as lightweight as the Galaxy S25 Edge? Not even close. Instead, the OnePlus 13 is a stylish, well-made, and highly specced Android phone. On a personal level, it’s my favorite of all the alternatives mentioned here.

What it lacks in ultra-thinness, the OnePlus 13 more than makes up for with its attractive design. The blue leather backside looks and feels outstanding, and despite being nearly 50 grams heavier than the S25 Edge, the OnePlus 13 feels shockingly light and comfortable in the hand.

OnePlus’s camera package is far and away better, offering up to a ridiculous 120x zoom and delivering really lovely images with its primary and ultrawide cameras, too. The OnePlus 13’s 6,000mAh battery allows for two days of use and truly puts the Galaxy S25 Edge’s battery to shame, as do OnePlus’s 80W wired and 50W wireless charge speeds — numbers the Galaxy S25 Edge can only dream of achieving.

The OnePlus 13 is one of the most capable and well-rounded Android phones available today, and the fact that its $900 retail price comes in $200 less than the Galaxy S25 Edge is just icing on the cake.

Another good non-Samsung recommendation is the Google Pixel 9 Pro XL. While it’s not as good of an overall value as the OnePlus 13, it’s the same price as the Galaxy S25 Edge and is a much better overall smartphone.

Without a doubt, one of the most significant advantages of buying the Pixel 9 Pro XL over the S25 Edge is the camera experience. Not only does the 48MP periscope telephoto camera fill the telephoto gap found on the S25 Edge, but the overall camera package is just better. All of the camera sensors are excellent, Google’s image processing is unbelievably consistent, and the suite of AI shooting/editing tricks is among the best out there.

Google matches Samsung’s seven-year update policy, though you’ll get updates much faster on the Pixel 9 Pro XL than you ever will on the Galaxy S25 Edge. Furthermore, if you like what you’ve seen with Material 3 Expressive from Android 16, you’re going to want a Pixel phone, as Samsung doesn’t show any indication of adopting it with One UI 8.

Cameras and software are the Pixel’s greatest strengths, but it’s also incredibly solid elsewhere. Performance is great for daily use, the display is outstanding, and Google’s other AI features are among the most helpful I’ve used. In some cases, it might be worth waiting for the Pixel 10 Pro XL, but if you’re in the market for a phone right now and have $1,100 to spend, I’d still argue the Pixel 9 Pro XL is a better use of your money than the S25 Edge.

My last pick for a Galaxy S25 Edge alternative is a bit of a wild card, but I think there’s an argument to make for it. I’m talking about the Motorola Razr Ultra. Like the Galaxy S25 Edge, the Razr Ultra puts a big emphasis on style and design, yet it does that through a foldable form factor and (amazingly) with better specs, too.

The S25 Edge’s thin titanium design is impressive, but you know what’s more impressive? A phone with a wooden back. Or one made with Alcantara, or a leather or satin-like finish. You get all of those on the Razr Ultra, and they all make the phone stand out in their own ways.

The foldable nature of the Razr Ultra helps with that, too. When the phone is open, the 7-inch AMOLED panel is as good as you could ask for. And when the phone is shut, you can do almost anything and run any app you’d like on the 4-inch cover screen. The Razr Ultra may not be as thin or lightweight as the S25 Edge, but if portability is a top concern for you, the convenience of the cover screen is worth a few extra millimeters and grams.

Even more amazing is that the Razr Ultra out-classes the Galaxy S25 Edge in areas you’d expect a traditional slab phone to shine. Compared to the Edge, the Razr’s battery life and charge speeds are both significantly better. Performance is also slightly improved, and the camera system is more capable, supporting up to 30x zoom and featuring a nicer 50MP ultrawide camera instead of the S25 Edge’s 12MP sensor.

The biggest downside to the Razr Ultra is its price; at $1,300, the phone costs $200 more than the S25 Edge. However, considering everything the Razr Ultra brings to the table — and how much more unique it is compared to Samsung’s phone — it’s not outrageously more expensive. If you’re eyeing the Galaxy S25 Edge because you want a phone that’ll stand out from the crowd, the Razr Ultra is well worth taking a close look at instead.