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 S25 Ultra look and feel the same (minus the camera). The curved sides of the S24 Ultra are finally gone, replaced by the solid, square lines seen on cheaper Galaxy S phones. The flatter sides make the device easier to grip, slip into your pocket, or hold when you’re trying to photograph it for a tech website.

I’ll be honest, they look like iPhones. And older Galaxy S phones. And, well, even older iPhones. Smartphones have jumped from flat to curved since they’ve been around.

With Samsung, we’ve stuck to rounded sides since the debut of the Galaxy S (2010) until 2015. Then the Galaxy S6 (2015) had flatter sides before the series returned to curves for the S8 (2017). It remained this way until the most recent S24, and in recent years these curves were gradually outlined. The S25 series now has flat sides for each model.

Are flatter sides really easier to grip? I don’t know. I’m a hypocrite. I’ve found several reviews and impressions of pieces where I love the flat sides. I found the same number of stories where I loved curved devices. Why should you believe me again? I’m sure there are tech journalists who have stuck with a better form factor, but I couldn’t find them.

Every time it happens and the company explains its change, designers say this lack of curves/introduction of curves It’s better than what it was last year. In an interview with vanity fair In 2024, Jony Ive said that Apple chose rounded edges for the iPhone 6 series because they made larger phones look less clumsy. That’s when the iPhone 6 Plus had a heady 5.5-inch display, which seems… quaint in 2025.

My theory is that our hands get used to whatever phone form factor we’ve used over the last few years. That means that when the design changes (or you switch to a different manufacturer), you have to pay more attention to its fastening. But that effect fades.

If the two biggest and most influential phone makers have gone for flat sides, then there are reasons for that. Until there is an even bigger reason to return, once again, to the curves.