Curvy sides, flat edges: The Galaxy S25 and the arbitrary shape of smartphones

This year, Samsung unified the design language of its S-series flagships, making the S25, S25+ and the S25 Ultra look and feel the same (barring the camera). The curving sides of the S24 Ultra are finally gone, replaced with the solid, squared-off lines seen on the cheaper Galaxy S handsets. Flatter sides make the device easier to grip, slide into your pocket, or prop up when you’re trying to photograph them for a tech website.

I’ll be honest, they look like iPhones. And older Galaxy S phones. And, well, even older iPhones. Smartphones have hopped from flat to curves for as long as smartphones have existed.

With Samsung, we’ve gripped onto rounded sides from the debut of Galaxy S (2010) through to 2015. Then, the Galaxy S6 (2015) had more flattened sides before the series returned to curves for the S8 ...