If teasers and leaks are anything to go by, phone makers are becoming more obsessed with thinness with 1980s fitness gurus.
We already know about the Galaxy S25 Edge coming from Samsung — or at least we know one of the most salient details about the phone. When teasing the device at January's Galaxy Unpacked event, Samsung promised "a form that's sleek, powerful and unlike anything you've seen before." And according to people who've laid eyes on the sample units Samsung's trotted out to display, the promised device looks thinner than any other phone out there.
If iPhone 17 rumors are to be believed, though, Samsung won't be the only major phone maker to come out with a slender device this year. Supposedly, Apple has an iPhone 17 Air in the works that could be as thin as 5.5mm. The iPhone 16 Plus it's slated to replace in Apple's phone lineup measures 7.8mm thin.
Samsung and Apple are the biggest names either working on or about to launch ultra-thin phones. But you only had to stroll the show floor at last month's Mobile World Congress 2025 event in Barcelona to see even more instances, including the 5.75mm-thin Techno Spark Slim concept. Clearly, thin is in, and it feels like the Galaxy S25 Edge will be the first in an onrush of devices that place an emphasis on a slender form factor.
The question is why all the sudden attention on thin phones? And then there's a pressing follow-up question: what else are these phones going to offer us?
Why thin phones now?
The first question is actually pretty easy to answer. While Apple certainly didn't build the first smartphone, the iPhone was the device that popularized the concept of having your mobile phone handle more than just calls and the occasional text message. That device debuted in 2007 — nearly 20 years ago.
"Smartphones are a mature category and consumers are keeping them longer," said Avi Greengart, chief analyst with Techsponential. "Manufacturers are looking for ways to differentiate with design and accelerate upgrades."
To put it another way, smartphones have been around for a while now. And a lot of similarities have crept into the best phones out there.
Features that used to set the top models apart — fast-refreshing displays, long-lasting batteries and the like — have found their way into more affordable models. Even high-end camera setups including dedicated telephoto lenses are beginning to show up in sub-$500 options like the Nothing Phone 3a Pro.
So phone makers have to find other ways for their higher-end devices to stand out — and to convince people with older phones to upgrade to a premium model. Recently, that's been pumping up the brightness of displays. Now, attention seems to be shifting toward making phones thinner.
It makes sense — big-screen devices are far more popular than the best small phones. Those bigger screens require bigger frames, though, which can result in bulkier designs that aren't as easy to tote around. Tackling a phone's thickness can address that issue.
And make no mistake — the thin phones we're talking about are going to have big screens. Samsung hasn't confirmed Galaxy S25 Edge specs yet, but it's widely accepted that the phone will feature a 6.6-inch panel. Rumors tip the iPhone 17 Air to offer a 6.6-inch screen as well.
Is thin all there is?
The other question facing the upcoming spate of ultra-thin phones — what will they offer besides a slender design? — is one that I've been asking since that Galaxy S25 Edge preview at the start of the year. And it's one phone makers have yet to provide an answer for. It sounds like we're going to have to wait until Samsung's official S25 Edge unveiling — now reportedly happening in May — to find out if there is one.
Based on what we've heard so far, if anything it seems that phone makers are stripping away features. The Galaxy S25 Edge on display only has two rear cameras rather than the triple-camera array found on other Galaxy S models. iPhone 17 Air rumors suggest Apple is sticking with one rear camera, as it does with the iPhone 16e.
Battery life could be an issue, too, at least with the Galaxy S25 Edge. Rumors claim that phone will have a 3,900 mAh power pack, which would be smaller than the cell powering the standard Galaxy S25.
"I'm skeptical that consumers will be willing to give up battery life for a thinner form factor."
— Avi Greengart
That may be a hard sell for some people. "I'm skeptical that consumers will be willing to give up battery life for a thinner form factor," Greengart said.
It should also be noted that the rumored iPhone 17 Air may have figured out a way to address the battery life challenge of getting a super-thin phone to last a long time on a charge. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman has reported that the iPhone 17 Air may offer battery life "on par" with its current devices, which would be better than the average smartphone based on our iPhone 16 battery test results.
Besides, even with his concerns about battery life for a thin phone, Greengart acknowledges there's an appeal to this new design. "There were crowds of journalists absolutely jamming the display area at Samsung's last Unpacked event trying to get a picture of the Galaxy S25 Edge," he added. "Thin gadgets are cool."
Thin phone outlook
Ultimately, it's going to be to phone makers to make the case as for devices like the Galaxy S25 Edge and any other thin phones that might show up this year. And it will fall to consumers to decide if the prospect of a thin phone is enough to get them to pay for a new device.
It's not out of of the question that phone makers may have found way to breathe some new life into a mature market. "Nobody asked for the Motorola Razr back in 2004," Greengart said. "And Moto sold over 100 million of the things."
More from Tom's Guide
- iPhone 17 Air — the 7 biggest rumors so far
- Forget the Galaxy S25 Edge — make this phone thinner instead
- Galaxy S25 Edge vs. Galaxy S25 Plus
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