The Samsung S25 Slim and its competitor, the Apple iPhone 17 Air, are (already!) in the air.
Samsung phones are already quite thin, as suggested by the recent Galaxy S24 FE or the S24 before it, not to mention some models in the Galaxy A series. Yet Samsung may soon launch even thinner phones in order to respond to the Apple iPhone 17 Air which should arrive next fall to replace a possible iPhone 17 Plus.
Apple would distinguish the iPhone Air by, you guessed it, its slimmer, sleeker design, so Samsung may well be forced to do the same. Samsung’s Galaxy S25 Slim is rumored to have appeared in Korea.
While the exact name of Samsung’s thinnest phone for 2025 is still up in the air, it carries the model number SM-S937U, a fourth member added to the Galaxy S25 trio, which has been identified in a database regulatory data. This gives food for thought on the end goal of another phone in the series that is neither the Galaxy S25, nor the S25+, nor the S25 Ultra.
Given that the Galaxy S24 FE was just launched, it is logical to infer that the fourth phone in the S25 series would be Samsung’s answer to the Apple iPhone 17 Air. So, we can expect a slimmer and sleeker build, but relatively lower specifications than the rest of the range.
The “U” notation at the end also indicates that this phone will be released in North America, so this is not an obscure regional model designed for local carriers, but a full-fledged member of the family S25.
The S25 Slim is also scheduled to be released in the second quarter of 2025, one quarter before the iPhone 17 Air, so that Samsung can gauge its acceptance. Apple has imprinted on consumers’ minds the association of incredibly thin, sleek and light devices with the Air moniker since the first MacBook Air appeared, so it makes sense that Apple would want to transfer this association to the lineup iPhone, leaving the Slim variant to Samsung.
Specs-wise, the 6.7-inch iPhone Air will look a lot like the iPhone Plus line, as it will reportedly come with an Apple A19 chip instead of the A19 Pro chip, and will also offer a much lesser camera set. more efficient than that of the iPhone 17 Pro Max.
Samsung, however, is said to have a head start by equipping the Galaxy S25 Slim with the Snapdragon 8 Elite chip that will power other phones in the S25 line, so it could have another ace up its sleeve when the iPhone 17 Air lands.
