iPhone 17 Air makes the Galaxy S25 Edge look like a normal, boring phone, but is it actually any good?

The race for the slimmest flagship smartphone is now on, and it seems like Apple will be taking the lead with the iPhone 17 Air, at least when it comes to thickness. A physical comparison between the Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge and a dummy unit of the iPhone 17 Air shows a clear winner: Apple’s phone is much slimmer.
Of course, the iPhone 17 Air will come with its own problems, the biggest one being its battery capacity. It is all but confirmed that the Air will have a battery capacity of a measly 2,900 mAh, which pales in comparison to the 3,900 mAh found on the Galaxy S25 Edge.

Apple is reportedly hoping for the AI-powered battery management on iOS 26 to do the heavy lifting here, and make the iPhone 17 Air last a reasonable amount of time. Meanwhile, our Galaxy S25 Edge battery test showed that Samsung’s phone lasted way longer than expected.

With the Galaxy S26 Edge reportedly getting a 4,300 mAh battery early next year, a phone just as slim and with a much larger battery will be available not long after the release of the iPhone 17 Air.But these phones aren’t really being marketed to power users: we’ve got the thicker iPhone 17 Pro Max with its bigger battery for that purpose. No, these phones are for people who prefer form over function, and the iPhone 17 Air beats the Galaxy S25 Edge quite handily in that respect.

The iPhone 17 Air is much slimmer than the Galaxy S25 Edge. | Image credit — Cid

If you want the slimmest modern flagship phone that you can get your hands on this year, then the iPhone 17 Air is the device for you. While the Galaxy S25 Edge is 5.8 mm thick, the iPhone 17 Air is expected to be 5.5 mm instead, which is what the dummy units are modeled after.

But is the iPhone 17 Air actually worth getting this year? Unless you’re strictly an iPhone user, I’d say not really. According to reports, next year’s Galaxy S26 Edge will be 5.5 mm thick as well, so just as thin as the Air but with a much larger battery. If I was choosing between the two, I’d honestly wait for Samsung’s phone.

However, that is a trap some consumers fall into: always waiting for the next best thing. Yes, the iPhone 17 Air makes the S25 Edge look pretty thick — despite such a marginal difference — and if you don’t want to wait for it, I’d say have at it.