Is the thin smartphone dead? After lacklustre reception of the iPhone Air and Samsung’s S25 Edge it is unlikely we will see a new version of the products in 2026.
Since it went on sale the iPhone Air – while impressive in its super thin 5.6mm design – didn’t exactly have customers in raptures and sell in the same huge numbers as the rest of the iPhone 17 range.
It was the first new major iPhone redesign since the iPhone X but despite its attractive look and superb in-hand feel, customers shied away from it.
Our readers and listeners told us that while they were scrambling to buy the iPhone 17 and iPhone 17 Pro – retailers told them there was plenty of stock of the iPhone Air.
It is highly unlikely that the iPhone Air will be a part of the iPhone 18 launch with Apple reportedly releasing its first ever folding iPhone.
Samsung has seen the same thing with the bold release of the S25 Edge which the company released as a spoiler to Apple’s imminent release of the iPhone Air.
It seems that while users loved the super thin designs, they were aware there were some comprises to achieve the svelte look like battery capacity and the number and quality of the cameras.
On the iPhone Air side, the battery capacity (3,149mAh) was significantly lower than the iPhone 17 and iPhone 17 Pro. The iPhone 17 Pro Max battery is 5,088mAh.
And there was only one camera.
At least Samsung S25 Edge, at 5.8mm thick, had a dual camera system but it too had a smaller battery capacity – 3,900mAh compared to 5,000mAh on Samsung’s other Galaxy devices.
Rumours suggest the iPhone Air won’t be upgraded this year – perhaps that’s why it doesn’t have a number like the iPhone 17 range.
And the S25 Edge – which didn’t go on sale till the middle of 2025 – is reportedly not going to be replaced with an S26 Edge.
But Samsung will no doubt still offer it for sale until stocks last.
We are likely to find out about the Samsung S25 Edge’s fate before the iPhone Air with Samsung’s Unpacked event for the new S26 range to take place this week.
At last year’s S25 Unpacked launch – the S25 Edge was offered as a teaser.
If there is no mention of the S26 Edge at this week’s Samsung event then we think it would be a safe bet to say it’s the end of the road for the super thin smartphone.
But who’s to say that Apple and Samsung won’t be able to shoehorn a larger capacity battery and more cameras into a wafer thin device in the near future.
Customers do so much on their devices on the move than ever before and they rely even more on an all-day battery than ever before.
Style was beaten by performance here.
Funnily enough,h there were a range of Chinese smartphone manufacturers ready to release their super thin smartphones into the market.
But after seeing the disappointing sales of the iPhone Air and Galaxy S25 Edge companies like Xiaomi and Vivo have now shelved those projects.
If Apple and Samsung can’t move a super thin smartphone then what chance do these other brands have?
