Is there a difference between "leading edge" and "bleeding edge"?

Solution 1:

There is, in fact, a distinction.

Leading edge in this sense, means cutting edge. It refers to the most highly sophisticated development in a field. However, it rarely or never has the connotation of risky or untested. It is almost always used to describe the best; not necessarily the newest.

Bleeding edge would refer to a development that is so new that it could have a high risk of being unreliable and may incur greater expense in order to use it:

Bleeding edge: A pun on "leading edge." It implies that using the latest technology is often risky because it has not been tested with enough users and may not perform as expected. Introducing an advanced product or service is also risky because the user community may not be ready for it or really want it.

Solution 2:

There is a slight semantic difference here.

Leading edge refers to people or things who are the foremost or the best in a technology, science, art, skill, etc.

Bleeding edge also refers to this fact of being in the foremost, but the difference between bleeding edge and leading edge, is that bleeding edge is risky. Leading edge is not risky. Bleeding edge is. For example:

Bleeding edge technology refers to technology that is so new that it could have a high risk of being unreliable and may incur greater expense in order to use it.

PC Encyclopedia defines bleeding edge:

A pun on "leading edge." It implies that using the latest technology is often risky because it has not been tested with enough users and may not perform as expected. Introducing an advanced product or service is also risky because the user community may not be ready for it or really want it

Note how it's derived from leading edge.