For many compact phone lovers, the Galaxy S10e was the last truly small flagship phone from Samsung. The company has continued making small Galaxy S smartphones and has managed to fit 6-inch+ screens in bodies not all that taller than the S10e by slimming down the bezels, but physics has stopped Samsung from making any further progress on that front.

Because of its small size, the Galaxy S10e had some disadvantages, namely fewer rear cameras and a tiny 3,100 mAh battery. The battery life was the bigger downside–on most days, getting four hours of screen on time on a single charge was an impossible task without babying the phone or turning off various features.

Over the years, Samsung has made great strides in battery optimization, and thanks to bigger dimensions and more efficient chips, even its base Galaxy S models can offer all-day battery life without nearly as much effort. Unfortunately, with the Galaxy S25 Edge, Samsung has broken its streak of improving battery life with every new Galaxy S lineup.

Using the Edge has reminded me of the Galaxy S10e and makes me feel like we’re back in 2019 again, when getting through the day without worrying about running out of juice wasn’t a thing. The Galaxy S25 Edge’s battery life is, simply put, average at best and quite similar to the Galaxy S10e, despite packing an 800 mAh larger battery.

Three of us on the SamMobile team are testing the Galaxy S25 Edge right now, and there’s a common theme for at least two of us: we average 2.5-4 hours of screen on time on a single charge. Samsung is promising all-day battery life, but we don’t see what we could possibly change to achieve that kind of endurance.

Even with features like Always On Display disabled and without gaming, the Galaxy S25 Edge only seems capable of lasting up to around 18-19 hours after a full charge, and that’s when we’re mostly using a Wi-Fi connection.

Why is this the case? Well, we feel the Snapdragon 8 Elite chip and the phone’s ultra-thin form factor may be the root cause. The Galaxy S25 Edge consistently runs around 5-6C hotter than other Galaxy S25 models and other recent Samsung flagships, even when sitting idle.

The Edge may have a vapor chamber cooling system as large as the Galaxy S25 Ultra’s, but the Snapdragon 8 Elite may simply be too powerful to tame in a 5.8mm body. Perhaps Samsung should have opted for the 7-core version of the chip to achieve a better balance between performance and efficiency.

We will keep testing the Galaxy S25 Edge to see if battery life improves over time, and we’ll have a full review up soon. For now, our advice is: if you’re buying this phone for the beautiful and slim design, be prepared to carry a charger or power bank around unless you spend most of your time at home.