Samsung Signals Retreat from Ultra-Thin Phones After Galaxy S25 Edge Stumbles

Samsung Signals Retreat from Ultra-Thin Phones After Galaxy S25 Edge Stumbles

Samsung Electronics is backing away from ultra-slim smartphone designs after its Galaxy S25 Edge—positioned as a rival to Apple's rumored iPhone Air—delivered disappointing sales, according to the company's Chief Operating Officer.

The admission marks a rare public acknowledgment of a product misstep from the world's largest smartphone maker and suggests Samsung may be rethinking its strategy of matching Apple feature-for-feature in the premium phone market. For finance leaders tracking hardware manufacturers, it's a reminder that even industry giants can misread consumer appetite for form-factor experiments, particularly when those experiments come at premium price points.

Samsung unveiled the Galaxy S25 Edge at a launch event in Seoul in 2025 as part of its flagship S25 lineup. The device was designed to compete directly with Apple's anticipated ultra-thin iPhone model, which has been the subject of industry speculation for months. But the COO's comments—delivered without specific sales figures—indicate the Edge failed to gain traction with consumers despite Samsung's marketing push.

The company's hesitation extends beyond just slim phones. Samsung's COO also indicated the manufacturer is uncommitted to pursuing a trifold smartphone design, despite competitors like Huawei generating buzz with experimental form factors. The statement suggests Samsung is adopting a more conservative approach to product development after the Edge's underperformance.

What's particularly notable here is the speed of Samsung's pivot. The Galaxy S25 Edge was announced just weeks ago, yet the company is already signaling it may not pursue a follow-up model. That's a sharp contrast to Samsung's typical playbook of iterating on designs across multiple product cycles, even when initial reception is lukewarm.

For CFOs and finance teams at hardware manufacturers, Samsung's experience offers a cautionary tale about the costs of chasing competitors into niche form factors. Ultra-thin phones require engineering compromises—typically in battery life and thermal management—that may not resonate with the enterprise buyers and power users who drive premium phone sales. When those compromises don't translate to market share gains, the R&D investment becomes difficult to justify.

The bigger question is whether Samsung's retreat signals broader industry skepticism about ultra-thin designs, or whether the company simply executed poorly on a viable concept. Apple's iPhone Air, if it materializes, will provide the answer. If Apple's version succeeds where Samsung's failed, it will underscore the brand premium Apple commands—and the risk Samsung faces in playing catch-up rather than leading with differentiated features.

Samsung did not provide specific sales figures for the Galaxy S25 Edge or clarify what threshold would constitute success for future experimental designs. The lack of quantitative detail makes it difficult to assess whether the Edge was a modest disappointment or a significant financial miss.

What's clear is that Samsung is recalibrating its approach to premium phone design at a time when the smartphone market is increasingly bifurcating between budget devices and AI-powered flagships. The company's willingness to publicly acknowledge the Edge's struggles—however obliquely—suggests internal pressure to allocate R&D spending more strategically as growth in the smartphone market slows.