Samsung Planning Ultra-Thin Galaxy S25 Model to Rival iPhone 17 Air

[MacRumors]

Samsung is developing a slim version of its upcoming flagship Galaxy S25 smartphone that could launch in Q2 2025, potentially setting up a direct competition with Apple's rumored iPhone 17 'Air', according to reports from South Korean media and data discovered in GSMA's global mobile registry database.

Korea's ET News on October 31 claimed that Samsung could release a slim smartphone during the second quarter of 2025, or between April and June. The timing would position it just a few months ahead of the launch of Apple's so-called iPhone 17 'Air', expected in September 2025.

Since the Korean report, Smartprix has discovered a smartphone listing in the GSMA IMEI database under the market name "Galaxy" with the model number SM-S937U. According to the outlet, Samsung often registers smartphones it is testing internally in this database about six to seven months before their official launch. The model number is said to match the pattern seen in Samsung's standard Galaxy, Plus, and Ultra series devices, but it will likely be launched separately from its main Galaxy S25 series to avoid cannibalization of sales.

It won't be the first time Samsung has experimented with thin designs – back in 2014, the company released the Galaxy Alpha, which featured a 6.7mm profile compared to the regular Galaxy S5's 8.1mm thickness. Industry sources claim that Samsung views its latest attempt as a strategic move to reinvigorate the smartphone market amid plateauing demand. The company reportedly plans to gauge market response to the slim model before potentially restructuring its entire Galaxy S26 lineup in 2026.

There have been conflicting rumors about the design and specifications for Apple's rumored slim device, but most sources have agreed that it will have around a 6.6-inch display. In July, Apple supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said he expects the device to have a standard A19 chip, a Dynamic Island, a single rear camera, and an Apple-designed 5G modem. The official name of the model is not yet known.

• iPhone 17 Air: Everything We Know About Apple's Slim iPhone

The timing of both releases suggests 2025 could mark the beginning of a new focus on device thinness from the two major smartphone rivals, after years of emphasis on improved camera capabilities and processing power.

Article Link: Samsung Planning Ultra-Thin Galaxy S25 Model to Rival iPhone 17 Air

 

[DrJR]

If they aren’t delivering me my folding phone I hope they make the regular size pro thin as well. I prefer smaller device in pocket, thinner and lighter sure would be nice…..

 

[Robin Bonathan]

Of course there are, they copy everything apple do.

 

[MrGimper]

<- Shocked face.

 

[zapmymac]

Begun, the Kate Moss thiness war.

I mean the thinnest iPhone was the series 6, which was a decade ago, let’s break that barrier…

 

[Anywhere Offline Player]

I have an iPod Touch 5G that’s still working after 12 years, and holding this slim device feels almost magical. I really wish we had phones this thin nowadays… Even with the 13 Pro, I’m still waiting for something truly innovative to make upgrading worth it!

 

[azentropy]

Don't really care about slim, that is not my problem with big phones. It is that they are much more difficult to use one handed. Give us a nice 5.8/5.9 screen option in an updated Pro design pretty please! Slim down the bezels and even make it a tad thicker if needed to get good battery life.

 

[Jeo_cz]

Don't really care about slim, that is not my problem with big phones. It is that they are much more difficult to use one handed. Give us a nice 5.8/5.9 screen option in an updated Pro design pretty please! Slim down the bezels and even make it a tad thicker if needed to get good battery life.

But that's an iOS problem. Samsung's OneUI is designed to be operable one handed and it really is.

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

Of course there are, they copy everything apple do.

Apple hasn’t “do” yet. If Samsung is first to market with such a thing- as they often are with many things that eventually show up in iPhones- which corp is doing the copying?

That’s no defense of Samsung as they are quick to replicate true Apple firsts too. I just wouldn’t frame the copying concept as a one-way accusation. Both sides rampantly “take” from the other.

 

[Jeo_cz]

Apple hasn’t “do” yet. If Samsung is first to market with such a thing- as they often are with many things that eventually show up in iPhones- which corp is doing the copying?

That’s no defense of Samsung and they are quick to replicate true Apple firsts too. I just wouldn’t frame the copying concept as a one-way thing. Both sides “take” from the other.

Indeed. Moreover, we know just about an Apple's plan from Macrumors which deosn't mean that there wasn't a Samsung's plan before it, just not have been discussed here.

 

[wikiverse]

Of course there are, they copy everything apple do.

This hasn't been true since the Galaxy S2. We're about 14 models past that point. Samsung have innovated more in the mobile space than Apple have across all generations. Samsung now have multiple innovative models - including folding phones, while Apple is adding a camera button.

Apple wasn't the first with an all touch screen phone they copied that from LG. Pinch-to-zoom was used by Mitsubishi before Apple. The first eSim-only phone was a Motorola. Samsung has hole-punch front cameras several models before the Pill, and Samsung introduced large-screen phones years ahead of the iPhone 6, along with the software to use them one-handed.

Plus, Samsung have innovated and developed the technology and manufacturing processes to make much of the iPhone possible from Screens to RAM. Who do you think made the always-on OLED displays possible? Or the notch/pill cutout for FaceID?

We're well past bashing Samsung for 'copying Apple', when they've created their own ecosystem - some of which Apple has copied in return. Apple still use Samsung parts because they deliver unparallelled quality - which actually speaks highly of Samsungs own products. I don't think anyone can deny that Samsung make some beautiful, well engineered products.

Competition is good. If Samsung can produce higher quality, better featured phones than Apple, that's a great thing because Apple will compete and we all get better phones as a result.

I'm an iPhone and Mac user, and I might never buy a Samsung phone, but it's not 2010 anymore. Besides, can you really claim they're 'copying' Apple for a phone that is only rumoured and might not even exist?

 

[John_Blackthorne]

Because of course Samsung is.

 

[DarthDon]

So the Iphone air comes for real... Glas back, 48MP single cam and the slim will be perfect.

 

[Ctrlos]

Of course there are, they copy everything apple do.

It normally takes a few years of product development to get things out the door, test different materials for suitability, assemble a supply chain and so on. If Samsung are working on a thinner phone it won't have been started 3 months ago because one of their designers read on 9to5Mac that Apple was planning an 'iPhone Air'. Their now-ancient Tocco phone was likely developed as a reaction to the LG Prada rather than the iPhone and the war on bezels was arguably done with more finesse on the Galaxy S8 than the iPhone X which launched a good 7 months prior.

The reason so many companies 'copy the iPhone' isn't because of plagiarism but perception. Apple popularised the very form of modern smartphones with the iPhone 4 and the glass and metal sandwich has become the default shape in the eyes of the public. Phones that differ too much from this design paradigm tend to be batted away by consumers as a little bit bonkers. Foldables have inched their way in but Microsoft's Surface Duo, despite being better suited than a foldable for productivity failed to take off at all.

 

[JOLoughlin]

Odds are Samsung will have a marketing campaign first making fun of a thin iPhone and then release the copy.

 

[WarmWinterHat]

Of course there are, they copy everything apple do.

I don't get why anyone cares if a corporation copies another corporation. The only interest they have is profit, and it benefits the consumer on both sides. Competition is good and it's not like they are ripping off starving artists.

Whatever.. 🤷🏻‍♂️

 

[weckart]

This is Bendgate waiting to happen. I thought people had got over the thinner=better madness.

 

[vantelimus]

The reason so many companies 'copy the iPhone' isn't because of plagiarism but perception.

Your point about development cycles and perception is an important part of what happens.

These kinds of macro trends are also well covered by industry analysts. It's good bet that if you read a Gartner Report from a few years ago, they mentioned the slimmer phone trend. Of course, Gartner would "predict" the trend by paying attention to the fact that it had already started... Samsung would also have noticed if they weren't already, in fact, part of the trend.

There is also competitive intelligence and corporate espionage that contribute to a company's understanding of industry trends. But unless a company is caught red handed, it is hard to tease that out from all the other sources of information.

At this point, it almost doesn't matter who started copying whom. They are now both running in a tight circle chasing each other.

 

[Rychiar]

If they aren’t delivering me my folding phone I hope they make the regular size pro thin as well. I prefer smaller device in pocket, thinner and lighter sure would be nice…..

Why? You don’t like battery life?

 

[Princejb134]

Don't really care about slim, that is not my problem with big phones. It is that they are much more difficult to use one handed. Give us a nice 5.8/5.9 screen option in an updated Pro design pretty please! Slim down the bezels and even make it a tad thicker if needed to get good battery life.

agree. They can be hard to use with one hand. What has helped me is using a pop socket

 

[neuropsychguy]

If Samsung is first to market with such a thing- as they often are with many things that eventually show up in iPhones- which corp is doing the copying?

A company can release a product first but still copy another one that releases later. There are supply chains that can be analyzed and public rumors that can be used to quickly design a product and release it first. Temporal order of release doesn't inherently imply copying, although people infer it.

Also, sometimes similar products come out at about the same time independently.

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

A company can release a product first but still copy another one that releases later. There are supply chains that can be analyzed and public rumors that can be used to quickly design a product and release it first. Temporal order of release doesn't inherently imply copying, although people infer it.

True, and that works both ways too.

 

[H2SO4]

Of course there are, they copy everything apple do.

Not actually sure if you're serious if honest?

 

[SnowPenguin]

Do we really need thinner phones anymore? They look great! But sometimes I think a bigger battery or more power would have been better.

 

[roncron]

Does anyone have data on the percentage of phone buyers who switched (from Apple to Android or vice versa)?

My guess is that the percentage is on the small side, but I don't really know. I'm a loyal iPhone user, but I have friends and coworkers who are solidly in the Android camp.

I'm asking because the article seems to frame this as a competition between Samsung and Apple. But if most people are very reluctant to switch from one OS to the other, then it's not much of a competition.

Personally, I'm happy there are so many great Android phones. That motivates Apple to keep improving its iPhones (sometimes adding features that Android phones got two years ago, but hey, better late than never).