Technologies

Apple Should Steal These Galaxy S25 Edge Features for a Thin iPhone

Commentary: If the rumored iPhone 17 Air comes to fruition, I hope it borrows these five attributes from Samsung’s skinny phone.

Tech companies are known for, shall we say, «borrowing» features from each other. Any time Apple or Samsung release a new phone or software update, you can be sure arguments over who did it first, or better, will ensue among hardcore fans.

So, as Apple reportedly plans to debut a thinner version of the iPhone 17 this fall, it might look to competitors to see what resonates with consumers. And a few features on the Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge are on my wishlist for the rumored iPhone 17 Air. Reports suggest the skinnier iPhone could ultimately replace the iPhone Plus, and would have a similar $900 price tag. But whether or not tariffs will affect that price isn’t clear.

Samsung’s super-thin S25 Edge clocks in at 5.8mm and 163 grams. It costs $1,100 and is available for purchase now. It’s also one of my favorite phones I’ve ever used, thanks to the fresh form factor. In fact, despite my initial skepticism, I’m now convinced thin and light phones are the way to go. You can check out my review for a more in-depth breakdown of my experience using the phone.

For now, though, I want to share five Galaxy S25 Edge features I’d love to see on the iPhone 17 Air. Apple may not have confirmed the existence of this slim device just yet, but that can’t stop a girl from dreaming.

A titanium frame

Despite the Galaxy S25 Edge’s spacious 6.7-inch display, it still feels impressively feather-light. In spite of its thinness, it’s also surprisingly sturdy, it doesn’t feel like it’s going to snap in my hand or pocket.

That lightweight durability is thanks to the phone’s titanium frame, which is something I hope Apple adopts for its thin iPhone, too. Apple uses titanium frames in its Pro model phones, so it’d be great to see that same treatment applied to a thin iPhone. Since I’m sure it’ll also have a premium price, it will definitely need extra reinforcement to keep it from bending.

Rumors have gone back and forth on whether Apple’s upcoming iPhones will have aluminum or titanium frames. However, analyst Jeff Pu said in February that the iPhone 17, 17 Pro and 17 Pro Max will all have aluminum frames, and that the iPhone 17 Air could be the outlier with a titanium frame. I really hope that’s true.

A 120Hz refresh rate

Samsung’s S25 Edge has a 120Hz refresh rate for smoother scrolling. Honestly, with that $1,100 price, I’d be pretty annoyed if it didn’t. If the iPhone Air is going to be marketed as a premium device, then it also needs to have a premium display. Simple as that.

Asking for a 120Hz refresh rate in 2025 doesn’t sound like an extravagant request — until you remember that Apple’s baseline 16 and 16 Plus iPhones only have a 60Hz refresh rate, which is truly mind boggling. Hopefully, Apple remedies that with the entire iPhone 17 lineup, and especially with the iPhone 17 Air.

More than one camera, please

Number three on my wish list is the iPhone 17 Air’s cameras — and notice I said «cameras» with an «S,» because I don’t want just one.

One of the compromises with thinner phones is that the camera hardware can get scaled back. The Galaxy S25 Edge has two rear cameras, which is less than the rest of the S25 lineup. But Samsung has, impressively, carried over the 200-megapixel main camera that you’ll also find on the S25 Ultra, and pairs it with a 12-megapixel ultrawide camera. This makes for some pretty great shots — images are sharp, colors are balanced and portraits really pop.

Some rumors suggest the iPhone 17 Air could follow in the footsteps of the iPhone 16E and have just one rear lens. But that would be a huge bummer, since the 16E is technically a «budget» phone — even if that $600 price tag suggests otherwise.

Although the iPhone 16E has a 48-megapixel camera with 2x magnification, I’d still feel cheated if that’s all I got with a more premium device like the iPhone 17 Air. If I’m going to spend around $1,000 on a phone, I want the cameras to live up to the price tag.

Beat Samsung on battery life

Another feature you’ll have to compromise with when opting for a slim phone is battery life. Less room means a smaller battery, which means shorter battery life. The S25 Edge has a 3,900 mAh battery, which is the smallest capacity across the S25 series. It’s lasted me all day, even with my excessive screen time, but not much more than that.

I challenge Apple to break past that limitation and give us a skinny phone that doesn’t skimp on battery. It could be a great way to set the iPhone 17 Air apart from competitors — and in turn can push those competitors to improve their offerings, too. Apple’s Adaptive Power feature on iOS 26, which uses AI to subtly scale back energy usage, could be the secret to that longer battery life.

Generous storage and RAM

I was pleasantly surprised that the Galaxy S25 Edge packs 12GB of RAM, with 256GB and 512GB storage options. Since expandable storage is such a rarity — and is practically out of the question with a thin phone — it’s great to not worry too much about filling up your phone’s memory with photos, videos and games. All of that RAM helps to power the S25 Edge’s many AI features it shares with the rest of the S25 lineup.

The entire iPhone 16 lineup has 8GB of RAM, which seems to be working just fine, even when powering Apple Intelligence features. So maybe asking for 12GB of RAM on the iPhone 17 Air is unnecessary. But what I really hope is that a skinny iPhone won’t scale back on memory, and will also include a 512GB storage option. That way, you can really enjoy having a thin phone, without curtailing your use of it.

We’ll see what Apple’s got up its sleeve, and whether it really will launch a cutting-edge competitor to Samsung’s S25 Edge.

Technologies

Nintendo’s Pokemon Legends: Z-A Is a Hit. Just Ask My Kid

Pokemon Legends: Z-A has sucked my family in, and I can’t get my Switch controller back from my son.

I’d love to tell you all about Pokemon Legends: Z-A, arriving this week, and what it’s been like to play on the Nintendo Switch 2. I can mostly do that — but for most of the past five days, it hasn’t really been me playing. What started as co-playing together quickly turned into my kid taking over completely as he got hooked. And honestly, I’d say that’s a good sign.

Nintendo makes a lot of Pokemon games, too many for me to keep track of. But Legends Z-A is the first that’s Switch 2-optimized, although you can play on original Switches, too. I can’t tell you what that’s like, though — my early review access limited me to playing Pokemon Legends: Z-A on the Switch 2 only at home. I was doubtful about how much a city-based game would truly feel like a must-have experience, but so far it’s already become one of my favorite Pokemon games ever.

I’ll let my son tell you. He’s gotten deep into the trading card game and has played most of the recent Pokemon titles over the past year, and he says this is his favorite so far. When I asked him why, he said it’s because the game completely rethinks how battles work. The quick, real-time system feels more immediate and far less sluggish than in past Pokemon games. Plus, he’s loving the story… and honestly, so am I.

A city full of surprises

My son loves the «peculiar» storyline, the fast-paced battles (which he now wants in every Pokemon game) and the constant sense of surprise while exploring Lumiose City.

All of Pokemon Legends: Z-A (at least from what I’ve seen in my 10-plus hours so far) takes place entirely within Lumiose City — a Paris-like metropolis where the CEO of a company called Quasartico Inc. is planning to rebuild everything into a new world where Pokemon and humans can better coexist. The setup reminded me of the Detective Pikachu movie during my demo a few weeks ago, and it turns out my instincts were right.

Pokemon roam in wild zones within the city, occasionally spilling into urban areas, while mysterious rogue «Mega Evolution» Pokemon have begun appearing and threatening the city’s calm. There’s clearly a deeper mystery at play, and while I’m still uncovering it, I won’t spoil anything here.

The game seems to mostly involve a journey to level up in rank from Z to A by battling various Pokemon trainers, but that’s not the whole story. There’s a group of friends you hang out with at a local hotel, along with research missions you have to carry out. Side quests are everywhere. The city, though it can feel a bit sparse at times, stretches all the way up to its rooftops, where all sorts of hidden spots are waiting to be discovered. It feels like a living maze, and one I’m still navigating.

And the city’s always changing, too. Wild zones keep multiplying, and from day to night the city’s dynamics shift. Battles take place at night, with trainers gathering in new pop-up spots each time. It’s not as lively as I’d hoped — this isn’t Grand Theft Pokemon — but the cozy, vibrant world still makes me daydream about what a real-life Universal Pokemon theme park could someday look like.

The Pokemon shine

I keep reminding myself to take extra time to discover and level up my Pokemon. At least that’s what my son’s telling me to do. He loves how many Pokemon can become Mega Evolved in this game, and how much fun the battle moves are to pull off. I’m happy he’s happy. I thought I’d get lost in the RPG aspects of the game, but I think the real-time Pokemon battles put me in a looser state of mind, more able to explore and not feel locked down into systems and rulesets. Swapping Pokemon battle moves and reassigning them to buttons is easy, too.

The stronger focus on trainer battles — and the sheer variety of Pokemon capable of mega evolving — gives the game more of that classic, Pokemon-centered energy than Pokemon Legends: Arceus ever did. I found myself more excited to see how different Pokemon looked and behaved than to uncover new realms to explore. After all, for all of Lumiose City’s secrets, you’re spending a lot more time roaming one massive location than in any other Pokemon game I can remember. Thankfully, the visual upgrades on the Switch 2 make those Pokemon look fantastic in battle.

I do want to spend more time in Lumiose City, though, and can’t help but wonder if this is a glimpse of how all Pokemon games will keep evolving. It’s hard to say, since Legends games like Z-A and Arceus have been more experimental than the rest of the series. But, like Arceus, Z-A is now one of my favorite Pokemon games on Switch. And on Switch 2, it plays smoother and feels better than any Pokemon game ever has before.

Technologies

iPhone 17 Preorders Spike and Overall Phone Sales Aren’t Slowing Down Despite Tariffs

Global smartphone shipments saw a notable increase in the third quarter of 2025. Plus, preorders for Apple’s new iPhone 17 beat out the iPhone 16.

Despite tariffs and market uncertainty, global smartphone shipments increased 2.6% in the third quarter of 2025, compared to the same time last year, according to the International Data Corporation. Additionally, preorders for the iPhone 17, which launched last month, outpaced last year’s iPhone 16.

These increased sales include premium phones like the latest iPhones and Samsung foldables, suggesting yet again that pricier phones still sell in periods of economic strain. It’s a remarkable achievement, says IDC senior research director Nabila Popal, citing shrewd financing options as the reason people keep buying these high-end phones, which cost anywhere from $800 to nearly $2,000.

«[Phone makers] have mastered the art of innovation not only in hardware and software to entice upgrades but also in removing purchase friction. They have flawlessly combined cutting-edge devices with innovative financing models and aggressive trade-in programs that make the upgrading decision a ‘no-brainer’ for consumers,» Popal said in an IDC press release.

Apple sold 58.6 million iPhones this quarter, an increase of 2.9% over the same period in 2024, with more preorders for the iPhone 17 series than its predecessor. But Samsung wasn’t far behind, with its Galaxy Z Fold 7 and Galaxy Z Flip 7 selling better than all of the company’s prior foldables. The company still reigns atop the phone market with 61.4 million phones sold, representing 19% of the market in the third quarter of this year — an increase of 6.3% from the same period last year. Meanwhile, Apple lands slightly behind Samsung with 18.2% market share this quarter.

The other phone makers trailing Apple and Samsung are, in order: Xiaomi, with 13.5% of the market; Transsion, with 9%; and Vivo with 8.9%. The remaining companies in the phones industry, from Chinese stalwarts like Oppo and Honor to Motorola and Google, make up the remaining 31.4% of the market for the quarter. All told, 322.7 million phones were sold, up from 314.6 million in the third quarter of 2024, according to IDC.

IDC’s findings for the third quarter continue the small but steady growth of phone sales over the year, including a modest 1% increase in the preceding three months — which includes the April deadline when President Donald Trump unveiled sweeping tariffs. In the second quarter, IDC cited midrange devices like Samsung’s Galaxy A36 and other phones that started incorporating AI. But even persistent tariffs haven’t slowed down people’s appetites for pricier phones in the third quarter.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Tuesday, Oct. 14

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for Oct. 14.

Looking for the most recent Mini Crossword answer? Click here for today’s Mini Crossword hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Wordle, Strands, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Today’s Mini Crossword has an odd vertical shape, with an extra Across clue, and only four Down clues. The clues are not terribly difficult, but one or two could be tricky. Read on if you need the answers. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword

Let’s get to those Mini Crossword clues and answers.