Samsung could copy Apple again with 2025 smartphone line-up
Samsung is reportedly planning to follow Apple’s lead and launch a Galaxy S25 Slim smartphone in 2025.
Fairly or otherwise, Samsung has been accused of more than the usual amount of Apple plagiarism throughout 2024. This reached a head with a couple of deeply familiar product launches in the Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra and Galaxy Buds 3 Pro.
Proponents of such claims will be delighted/enraged to hear the latest rumour concerning a slimmed down flagship smartphone model. According to South Korean publication ETNews, Samsung is planning a “thin smartphone showdown” (quotes via machine translation) next year.
Unnamed industry sources reckon that Samsung Electronics is reviewing a plan to launch a slim flagship model as a follow-up to the Galaxy S25. While Samsung’s next flagship is expected to launch early in the first quarter of 2025, this new slim model would emerged a little later in Q2.
The move is being likened to the recently announced Galaxy Z Fold SE, which offered a slimmed down and premium-priced version of the Galaxy Z Fold 6 several months after the latter’s launch.
This Galaxy S25 Slim, or Galaxy S25 Special Edition to follow through on the above analogy, would apparently be treated as something of a market experiment by Samsung. If its customers respond to the new form factor, it might prompt a fundamental shift in design priorities for the Galaxy S26 in 2026.
As a result of this thinking, the Galaxy S25 Slim is likely to be released in limited numbers. This follows the Galaxy Z Fold SE receiving only a limited local rollout.
Apple has long been rumoured to be considering the launch of an ‘ultra-thin’ variant of the iPhone 17 in 2026, potentially as a replacement for the Plus range. Apple’s approach could involve rolling back the camera provision to a single wide camera lens.
It remains to be seen if Samsung will offer a similarly compromised slim phone vision, or whether it finds a way to go all out on the spec front.
We’re expecting many of Samsung’s best devices to be featured among the Black Friday deals this year, so be sure to keep our dedicated page bookmarked.