Despite the fact that Samsung has managed to guide the worldwide smartphone gross sales chart for the primary three quarters of 2024, which signifies that the corporate will doubtless prime the seller hierarchy on the finish of the 12 months as nicely, it is fairly apparent that the Galaxy handset household is in want of an overhaul of some type.
The chaebol’s product launch schedule and improve technique, particularly so far as high-enders are involved, have merely develop into too darn predictable in recent times to arrange Samsung for future trade development and prosperity, which is especially and abundantly clear within the still-fledgling foldable section.
After a 2024 flagship roster composed of a totally unremarkable Galaxy Z Fold 6, equally forgettable Z Flip 6, and a method too familiar-looking Galaxy S24 trio, I used to be sure that I’d welcome any 2025 deviation from the norm of the previous few years with open arms and a giant smile. Sadly, the adjustments rumored just a few days in the past by two usually dependable tipsters are… not it.
Why is Samsung preemptively copying Apple?
Sure, I understand that is not how plagiarism works, however with a brand new “Slim” (or Extremely, or Air) member broadly anticipated for a number of months now to be added to subsequent 12 months’s iPhone 17 household, it is onerous to not really feel like Samsung is taking a web page out of its largest rival’s playbook by purportedly contemplating a Galaxy S25 Slim launch “round April.”
I extremely doubt that is going to be the product’s remaining title (if such a product exists), and naturally, if the S25 “Slim” comes out within the spring, the iPhone 17 Slim might technically be thought of the copycat within the fall of 2025.
Do we actually want a considerably thinner Samsung flagship than the Galaxy S24? | Picture Credit score — PhoneArena
Nonetheless, making the Galaxy S25 collection a quartet moderately than a trio with the addition of an ultra-thin new mannequin looks like an ill-advised thought to me irrespective of when this “Slim” variant would possibly see daylight. That is as a result of I have never personally met a single human being who considers the thickness of the S24, S24 Plus, or S24 Extremely to be an issue.
7.6, 8, and even 8.5 or 9mm telephones are simply high quality for… just about anybody to make use of every day, to not point out that the S25 Extremely is already anticipated to cut back its predecessor’s 8.6mm waist to eight.2mm, which most likely signifies that the “vanilla” S25 might simply go right down to 7.2 and even 7mm with out chopping any battery capability corners.
Briefly, I do not suppose we want a wholly separate fourth mannequin to be launched months after the primary Galaxy S25 trio with, say, a 6.5mm profile and a 3,500mAh or so cell. That is not going to maneuver the needle for Samsung’s largely stagnant smartphone gross sales, particularly if it means dropping the household’s FE model.
A Galaxy S25 Fan Version extra carefully resembling the Galaxy Buds Fan Version than the Galaxy S24 FE is what Samsung actually must breathe recent air into its flagship portfolio, and focusing an excessive amount of on what Apple might or might not do a 12 months from now appears… in lack of a greater phrase, ill-advised. How can a cellphone take inspiration from a pair of earbuds? By protecting its worth level as little as potential and borrowing as many key options from the S25, S25 Plus, and S25 Extremely as potential. That is the recipe for achievement, Samsung, and I am giving it to you in the present day without cost.
I nonetheless cannot imagine the Galaxy Z Fold FE is (most likely) not taking place
I do know I’ve mentioned this earlier than, and I would say it once more within the subsequent few months within the hopes that my phrases will in some way attain Samsung’s powers that be, convincing them to rethink the corporate’s 2025 foldable launch plans. The market wants a Z Fold Fan Version.
A book-style foldable powerhouse with a (method) cheaper price level than $1,800 or $1,900 makes much more sense than a totally inaccessible “Particular Version” of the identical sort of gadget, and for my part, a Z Fold FE is extra desperately wanted than a Z Flip FE as nicely.
Do we want a Z Flip FE? Perhaps, however not as badly as we want a Z Fold FE. | Picture Credit score — PhoneArena
That is as a result of the premium Galaxy Z Flip 6 is already reasonably priced sufficient to enchantment to a really mainstream viewers (particularly across the holidays), and in case you suppose for a second {that a} Z Flip Fan Version could possibly be priced as little as the Motorola Razr (2024), as an example, then you do not actually know Samsung.
At greatest, I imagine the Z Flip FE (if actual) will begin at $850 or so, which might be how a lot the Z Flip 6 will value this Black Friday and Cyber Monday with no strings hooked up. An much more real looking prediction is that Samsung’s first-ever Fan Version clamshell will set you again $900 and up at launch, making it onerous to grasp the way it might distinguish itself from the Z Flip 7 and assist its producer attain a wider viewers.
The restricted mass enchantment of the tri-fold mannequin the corporate can be anticipated so as to add to its foldable roster in 2025 is the ultimate motive I do not perceive these rumored plans and I proceed to hope we’ll see… one thing else from Samsung subsequent 12 months as nicely. If not a Z Fold FE, not less than a extra impactful S25 FE than this 12 months’s S24 FE or a Z Fold 7 with a radically totally different design than the Z Fold 6.
Adrian, a cell expertise fanatic for the reason that Nokia 3310 period, has been a dynamic presence within the tech journalism area, contributing to Android Authority, Digital Tendencies, and Pocketnow earlier than becoming a member of PhoneArena in 2018. His experience spans throughout varied platforms, with a specific fondness for the variety of the Android ecosystem. Regardless of the challenges of balancing full-time parenthood along with his work, Adrian’s ardour for tech tendencies, operating, and films retains him energized. His dedication to mid-range smartphones has led to an eclectic assortment of units, saved from private chapter by his desire for ‘sufficient’ over ‘overpriced’.
