Think back to the January 2026 Unpacked and one moment stands out above all others: the big Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge tease. The ultra-thin and light S25 Edge arrived alongside its Galaxy S25 smartphone siblings, but it was still in the development oven.
We could see the 5.8mm thick phone but not touch it. It would take another five months for the Galaxy S25 Edge to arrive in our and consumers’ hands. It was the thinnest Galaxy phone ever, until just a few months later, we met the insanely slim Galaxy Z Fold 7 (just 4.2mm thick when unfolded).
The Galaxy S25 Edge is more important than you think
“It’s still in the portfolio today,” Samsung SVP of Mobile Product Management Drew Blackard told me this week when I asked about the “missing” Edge product.
“We’re not like ‘end of the life’ of the product, we’re still selling out… with all of our major partners, etc,” Blackard added.
It could be argued, in fact, that the S25 Edge played a pivotal role in the new S26 lineup. First of all, there is now a rather consistent, familiar design language across the three Android 16 phones, reminiscent of the Edge. What’s more, this is the thinnest Ultra ever; now down to 7.9mm, despite still including the S-Pen.
Blackard agreed with my assessment, “It has certainly influenced, I would say, in design – and you saw it even on Fold 7 last year – to really kind of push the boundaries of what is possible in terms of slimness. It was a really great step forward for us that we were able to then bring into Fold 7, and to your point, the influence I think on the S series this year with, even slimmer form factor on S26 Ultra.”
It has certainly influenced, I would say, in design…to really kind of push the boundaries of what is possible in terms of slimness.
Samsung’s Drew Blackard
It’s not just the influence, though. Blackard encouraged me to think about product cadence. “[The Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge] hasn’t even really lived a full life cycle in Samsung terms,” he told me. Which is true.
A January 2025 tease, May release, and we’re only in February. It’s not likely Samsung would release a product refresh less than a year after shipping the original S25 Edge.
All that said, there’s still something, well, uncertain about the way Blackard characterized when we’ll see another Edge.
“We’re still determining what the right life cycle length is for a product like that. So we don’t have any updates on what might be coming there.”
That’s not to say the future is uncertain overall. Thin phones are still in for Samsung, and Blackard made it clear that Samsung is simply pondering the next slim steps. “It’s still a category we’re really interested in, and we’re just kind of figuring out what the right timing for what’s next might be.”
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lance.ulanoff@futurenet.com (Lance Ulanoff)
