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Samsung’s Galaxy S25 Edge arrives on Monday, May 12. The ultrathin phone was first teased at the company’s Galaxy Unpacked event in January when it announced the whole Galaxy S25 series, but details have been slim around the Edge (pardon the pun) ever since. But not for long—Samsung has confirmed it will host a virtual Galaxy Unpacked to divulge everything about its latest flagship on May 12 at 8 pm ET.
We know a few things about the Android phone, from rumors, leaks, and Samsung itself. The phone is expected to be 5.85 mm thick—for context, the Galaxy S25 is 7.2 mm, and the iPhone 16 is 7.8 mm. The battery might be correspondingly small, which opens up the question of what the purpose of such a slim device is when customers have long clamored for smartphones with multiday battery life.
Photograph: Samsung
The company confirmed the phone will have a 200-megapixel main camera, citing that it “embodies the ultimate camera experience,” suggesting that you can expect the same great camera quality as on the Galaxy S25 Ultra. However, it will not be as versatile, with only two camera modules. It’s unclear at this stage whether the second camera is an ultrawide or a telephoto.
Samsung also announced this week that the S25 Edge will employ Corning’s new Gorilla Glass Ceramic 2, which the company says was developed to remain exceptionally thin yet strong. It has ceramic crystals embedded in the glass matrix to improve durability and crack deflection, similar to Apple’s Ceramic Shield on its iPhones.
You can watch it on Samsung’s website or YouTube channel. You can reserve a Galaxy S25 Edge right now and get $50 Samsung store credit.
Samsung Lets You Tap Phones to Transfer Cash
Photograph: Samsung
Samsung also announced this week that peer-to-peer payments are arriving later this month in the Samsung Wallet app, allowing a user to transfer money from a Visa or MasterCard debit card into another person’s debit card—either through their digital wallet via a phone or their physical card via near-field communication (NFC). It works exactly like you pay at the cashier with your phone, just tap the two devices together, or tap the Samsung phone with the other person’s debit card.
The other user doesn’t need to have Samsung Wallet, so they can be on Google Wallet or Apple Wallet, though if they are on Samsung’s own platform, you can search for their phone number to send cash if they aren’t nearby. This is different from Apple’s Tap to Cash feature, which is limited to other Apple users. The cash is transferred in minutes, though this depends on your bank.
Backbone Pro Gaming Controller Works With Any Screen
Photograph: Backbone
The new Backbone Pro game controller is the latest release from Backbone, pioneers of mobile controllers that slide open to cradle your smartphone. We loved the original Backbone One for its elegant design and useful app, but Backbone CEO Maneet Khaira is fiercely ambitious. It’s a one-stop subscription app that already offers a hub for you to jump in and out of mobile games, console remote play, and cloud gaming, but the Backbone Pro is a tangible step towards Backbone’s goal of uniting mobile and cloud gaming.
Bluetooth connectivity is the headline addition, with Wireless Mode enabling you to pair with phones, tablets, laptops, VR headsets, and even some smart TVs. To smooth the experience further, Backbone has developed FlowState to allow simultaneous connections to multiple devices, so you can simply tap to switch from the TV to your MacBook. If you want to slot your phone in to connect via USB-C, Handheld mode has you covered.
Painstakingly designed over the last three years, the Backbone Pro is instantly recognizable, with that trapezoidal profile, but the grips are larger, comfier, and grippier, the thumbsticks are full size, and there’s a new pair of programmable back buttons. There are also Hall Effect rear triggers, improved face buttons, and a better D-pad. Everything feels more responsive, more premium, and a little quieter. There’s still a headphone port and pass-through charging.
As lovely as the Backbone Pro feels to use, both for mobile and cloud gaming, it lacks rumble and Hall Effect sticks. It’s also expensive at $170, and some features require the Backbone+ subscription for an extra $40 a year. However, I’m excited that Backbone is showing retro gaming some love with a built-in emulator that can run NES, SNES, Game Boy, Game Boy Advance, and Nintendo 64 games. Khaira says the subscription will include a rotating library of free games soon. —Simon Hill
Lenovo’s Legion 9i Joins the 3D Laptop Trend
Photograph: Lenovo
3D technology is having a bit of a resurgence, and Lenovo is joining the fray with a new gaming laptop, the Legion 9i, now in its 10th generation. The extra-large laptop has a dual-mode display, letting you switch between a 4K 2D screen and a 1200p 3D screen. Before you roll your eyes and write this off as an expensive gimmick, know this: We’re on the verge of a new era in 3D. Like Samsung’s Odyssey 3D gaming monitor or Acer’s Predator Helios 3D 15, no glasses are required, as the system uses eye-tracking and lenticular lenses to create the 3D effect. If it’s as convincing as it’s been on other recent 3D screens I’ve seen, you’re in for a treat. Lenovo says the laptop will have 3D support for 30 games and other creation apps at launch, including its own Lenovo 3D Studio, which comes preinstalled.
The high-end gaming laptop also comes with up to a Core Ultra 9HX processor and an RTX 5090 GPU. It can even support up to the max of 192 GB of RAM and 8 TB of storage. While it’s quite a thick laptop (and weighs well over 7 pounds), its specs and features are as premium as they get, including a 5-MP webcam, a six-speaker sound system, and just about every port imaginable—including Thunderbolt 5. You can opt for the basic 2D version as well, of course, which will likely bring the price down, right along with the cool factor. We still don’t know what that price will be, however, and the North American launch isn’t expected to come until later this fall, as the laptop will launch initially exclusively in China. —Luke Larsen
Whoop Finally Releases New Bands
Photograph: Whoop
We’ve included the Whoop band in our guide to the Best Fitness Trackers because it’s unique—it doesn’t have a screen, and you can wear it anywhere on your body by inserting it into a Whoop Body garment—but it has been years since it’s seen significant upgrades. That changed this week when the company announced the Whoop 5.0 and the Whoop MG, two new wearables that offer new health and performance features (for Whoop, anyway) for day-to-day use, not just for elite performers like Cristiano Ronaldo.
Some of these include Healthspan, which lets you see your Pace of Aging, and a Heart Screener with an FDA-cleared ECG feature that allows you to take a reading from your wrist. Most significantly, the new Whoop purports to measure your blood pressure, which isn’t currently available on any other wearable fitness tracker. Whoop’s patent-pending technology estimates systolic and diastolic readings from other cardiac measurements that the tracker takes. The wearable itself is now 7 percent smaller with up to 10x better power efficiency, and Whoop also offers new accessories, including a leather band. Finally, there are also three different pricing levels for the subscription, which range from Whoop One at $199, Whoop Peak at $239 per year, and Whoop Life, which offers medical-grade insights at $359 per year.
This announcement is not great news for everyone. Part of the deal with Whoop is that the hardware is included in the hefty subscription fee. To upgrade to the new hardware, existing Whoop users will now have to cough up, either by committing to a new 12-month membership or paying a one-time upgrade fee. Still, if Whoop really can take an accurate blood-pressure reading from your wrist, the company will be the first; Apple has been working on a similar feature on the Apple Watch for years. It’s still the only wearable that you can wear anywhere on your body, at any time, so for that reason alone, we are excited to test. —Adrienne So
Oura Releases Two New Metabolic Features
Photograph: Oura
One of the biggest trends I’ve seen in the past year is the prevalence of blood sugar sensors, which ping you when your blood sugar spikes and tell you how to eat all day. Late last year, Dexcom (which makes the Stelo sensor) announced a partnership with Oura, the makers of our favorite smart ring. This week, you can now purchase a Stelo biosensor from Oura and check your blood sugar readings in the Oura app. Just click on the sidebar and click Glucose.
After several months of testing, the Meals feature will now be a permanent part of the Oura app as well. Just take or upload photos of your meal, and Oura’s AI will analyze it and break it down into key nutritional elements like protein, fiber, and added sugars. I myself have had the Meals feature for half a year now and have trouble using it regularly; having mostly ignored the Instagram food-blogging era, I tend to eat food before I take a picture of it. However, the biosensor is remarkably effective at making sure I eat enough protein and fiber, even if it’s a bit nerve-wracking. And if you’re already an Oura ring wearer, it’s extremely convenient not to have to click on two separate apps to see all your health metrics. —Adrienne So
