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Durability and battery life were the main concerns when Apple unveiled the iPhone Air, but we quickly got our first answers. The glass may break after accidental drops, but the iPhone Air will not bend despite its 5.65 mm profile. While the iPhone Air is no match for the iPhone 17 models, battery life is decent, and some owners might have no problem making it through a day of use. But the battery life comparisons we saw so far don’t do the iPhone Air justice. This is a different category of smartphone, an ultra-thin design that can’t compete against the much thicker iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max in battery endurance tests.
The iPhone Air should go head-to-head against similarly thin phones, and YouTube channel PhoneBuff gave us precisely that sort of comparison. PhoneBuff put the iPhone Air and the Galaxy S25 Edge through the same battery life test to determine which of the two ultra-thin handsets offers the best battery life. The comparison comes from the same channel that showed the iPhone 17 Pro Max offers better battery life than the similarly sized Galaxy S25 Ultra, and the Pixel 10 Pro XL.
The Galaxy S25 Edge is slightly thicker than the iPhone Air, featuring a 5.8 mm profile. The Samsung phone has a 6.7-inch screen, which is slightly larger than the Air’s 6.5-inch display. That means the Edge has a slightly larger footprint that allowed Samsung to include a secondary camera and stereo speakers inside the handset. The Galaxy S25 Edge also features a higher capacity battery (3,900 mAh) compared to the iPhone Air (3,149 mAh).
Only a minute apart
The specs indicate that Samsung should outlast the iPhone Air in battery life tests, and PhoneBuff proved that’s what happens when the two devices go through the same set of scripted tasks. The Galaxy S25 Edge won the battery test, but only by an extra minute of battery life. The Samsung phone lasted for 25 hours and 59 minutes, while the iPhone Air died just a minute before that. The test also included a 16-hour standby period that measures how well each phone conserves energy while it’s not in use.
PhoneBuff’s battery test involves having each phone run the same app for one hour, with a robot handling the device instead of a human to ensure objectivity. That means the iPhone Air and Galaxy S25 Edge went through the same experiences: staying on a phone call, messaging, using email, browsing the web, scrolling Instagram, streaming YouTube, gaming, navigating with the GPS turned on, playing Spotify music, and using the camera in Snapchat.
Interestingly, the Galaxy S25 Edge was ahead of the iPhone Air, showing a higher battery percentage after many of the phases listed above. The Galaxy S25 Edge was also more efficient during standby than the iPhone. However, the Air caught up during more resource-intensive apps, including gaming and using the camera in Snapchat.
This head-to-head battery life comparison shows that the best ultra-thin flagship smartphones you can buy will offer similar battery life. Consumers who aren’t loyal to a brand or operating system would not be wrong to pick either handset. Unfortunately, buyers shopping for ultra-thin flagship phones don’t have other choices.
