Samsung could launch a Galaxy S25 Slim to compete with the rumored iPhone 17 Air

Samsung Galaxy S24 generative AI home screen wallpaper
The Samsung Galaxy S24 (Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

We’re likely now just a few months away from the launch of the Samsung Galaxy S25, Samsung Galaxy S25 Plus, and Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra, but reports suggest that Samsung might also have a fourth model in the works, which for now we’ll refer to as the Samsung Galaxy S25 Slim.

The latest news on this front comes from South Korean site ET News (via @Jukanlosreve), which says that Samsung is considering releasing a slimmer entry in the Samsung Galaxy S25 series, one which would probably land a few months after the main S25 line. We’re expecting the Samsung Galaxy S25 to launch in January or February, so in that case, we might see the Samsung Galaxy S25 Slim around April or May.

The fact that Samsung is apparently doing this next year is notable because Apple is also rumored to be launching a thinner phone in 2025, perhaps dubbed the iPhone 17 Slim or iPhone 17 Air. This would give Samsung's potential new device a direct competitor – though, as mentioned, the Galaxy S25 Slim would likely launch slightly earlier than Apple’s equivalent model.

It’s unclear exactly how thin the Samsung Galaxy S25 Slim would be, but the slimmest model in the Samsung Galaxy S24 line is 7.6mm thick, so we’d expect it to be noticeably thinner than that.

An S25 Slim or an S25 FE?

Samsung Galaxy S24 FE held in someone's hand with display showing the time

The S25 Slim could be the successor to the Samsung Galaxy S24 FE (Image credit: Future)

It’s also uncertain whether the Samsung Galaxy S25 Slim would be the first in a completely new product line, or whether Samsung would simply make the Samsung Galaxy S25 FE slimmer than previous FE models. One earlier leak from The Elec suggested the latter, and we’ve also previously heard that the Samsung Galaxy S25 FE could land in April, which would match the predicted launch timing of the Samsung Galaxy S25 Slim.

If these two phones are indeed one and the same, then we have some idea of the Samsung Galaxy S25 Slim’s specs, as the Galaxy S25 FE is rumored to have a 6.7-inch screen and an Exynos 2400 chipset.

The remaining specs of this phone are unknown, but to make it thinner, there would likely be sacrifices in other areas, perhaps leading to a smaller battery or fewer cameras, for example.

It’s also not clear how widely available the Samsung Galaxy S25 Slim will be, with the report in ET News suggesting that it might only be released in small quantities to judge the appetite for it, and then if it’s a hit, Samsung could make the following year’s Samsung Galaxy S26 Slim more widely available.

In any case, we’d take all of this with a pinch of salt for now, but hopefully, Samsung’s plans will become clearer over the coming months.

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James Rogerson

James is a freelance phones, tablets and wearables writer and sub-editor at TechRadar. He has a love for everything ‘smart’, from watches to lights, and can often be found arguing with AI assistants or drowning in the latest apps. James also contributes to 3G.co.uk, 4G.co.uk and 5G.co.uk and has written for T3, Digital Camera World, Clarity Media and others, with work on the web, in print and on TV.

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