Samsung’s community is looking forward to three new Galaxy S25 handsets in early 2025. Could there be a fourth handset, and if so, how disruptive would it be?
That handset is the presumptively named Galaxy S25 Slim, a redesign of the Í25 family focusing on a slimmer and more fashionable design.
Will The Galaxy S25 Follow The Fold?
The Samsung community will recognise this strategy, as the South Korean company has implemented these steps with the latest Galaxy Z Fold family. The Galaxy Z Fold 6 (alongside the Galaxy Z Flip was announced in July 2024. while there were signs that Samsung was working on a third foldable model, nothing came to pass, and those looking to update to a foldable Galaxy had the single Z Fold 6 option.
Fast forward three months, and Samsung’s mystery model arrives as the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold Special Edition. Samsung focused on reducing the thickness of its foldable to offer the slimmest Galaxy Z Fold ever. At 10.6mm closed, it certainly achieved that, but the Pixel Fold undercuts it by the narrowest margin at 10.5mm, while the Honor Magic V3 remains the champion at 9.2mm. Nevertheless, the Z Fold SE is the winner in Samsung’s portfolio.
The Z Fold SE is a limited release. The slim handset is only available in two territories, which has reduced the number of consumers who could have bought into the Z Fold 6 family over the summer and are now being presented with a foldable that they may have considered if it had been available alongside the standard Z Fold 6.
The limited release suggests this is an experimental release to gauge the demand for a slimmer Samsung device. The question now is what lessons will be learned and applied to the presumptive Galaxy S25 Special Edition?
The Challenge Facing A Slim Galaxy S25
First, will the Galaxy S25 SE be launched alongside the other S25 handsets? A Galaxy Unpacked launch event is expected in late January 2025 and is the traditional home of the Galaxy S launch. Would Samsung pull the focus on the S25 SE, which will need to compromise the overall specifications, taking away the spotlight from the flagship S25 Ultra?
If, as some suggest, it holds back the SE for a release later in the years (and there must be a temptation to launch it close to the expected iPhone SE and Pixel 9a smartphones in the second quarter), how will Samsung deal with any potential buyer’s remorse?
And will Samsung offer the S25 SE a full international release or restrict sales to a limited number of regions? This would reduce the impact of the SE, but it would also allow Samsung to gain more retail information on the viability of this new approach.
When Will Samsung Launch The Galaxy S25?
While there is no confirmation of a launch date for the Galaxy 25 family, in previous years Samsung has launched the smarpthoens during a Galaxy Unpacked event early in the first quarter of the year. The Galaxy S24 was launched on January 17th alongside Galaxy AI and a preview of the Galaxy Ring.
Now read the latest Galaxy S25 headlines in Forbes weekly Android smartphone digest…