Neither Apple nor Samsung can do this.

Revenue signals from the Galaxy S25 Edge and iPhone Air show that Apple and Samsung have not been able to conquer users with ultra-thin smartphones.

The iPhone Air has not been as successful as the other three iPhone models released at the same time. Photo: The Verge .

According to SamMobile , Samsung is said to have canceled plans to develop the ultra-thin Galaxy S26 Edge smartphone, due to the Galaxy S25 Edge's sales not being as expected.

In addition to Samsung, Apple may also cut iPhone Air production. Despite attracting a lot of attention, the ultra-thin smartphone segment seems to have not been well received by users.

Samsung struggles with S25 Edge

Rumors had previously suggested that Samsung would ditch the Galaxy S Plus altogether in favor of a new model. The possibility grew stronger after the company unveiled the Galaxy S25 Edge earlier this year. However, the latest information suggests that Samsung appears to have abandoned the plan.

According to SamMobile , Samsung initially planned to develop four devices in the Galaxy S26 series including the basic S26, S26+, S26 Edge and S26 Ultra.

After evaluating the sales of the S25 Edge, the Korean company decided to cancel its successor. That means next year's Galaxy S series will only have the Galaxy S26, S26+ and S26 Ultra.

Previously, Korean news site NewsPim said that Samsung had informed employees about stopping production of the Galaxy S25 Edge and canceling the S26 Edge. The possibility of the Edge line returning in the future is also quite low.

“I don’t know if this slim smartphone line will come back, but the current situation is quite difficult. Basically, consider the product gone,” a Samsung official told NewsPim .

The Galaxy S25 Edge first hit shelves in late May, but the market response wasn't as expected. In addition to its low battery capacity (3,900 mAh), the price was also criticized by users. Although it's priced lower than the S25 Ultra, the S25 Edge is still a bit more expensive than the base S25.

Galaxy S25 Edge. Photo: Digital Trends .

According to data from Hana Investment & Securities, Galaxy S25 Edge sales in the first month only reached 190,000 units, significantly lower than the S25 (1.17 million units), S25+ (840,000 units) and S25 Ultra (2.55 million units).

As of August, the Galaxy S25 Edge has sold 1.31 million units. For comparison, the Galaxy S25, S25+, and S25 Ultra have sold 8.28 million, 5.05 million, and 12.18 million units, respectively.

Samsung has been positioning ultra-thin smartphones as the “next trend” in the mobile market for a while now, but the company appears to be changing its strategy due to limited demand.

In an interview, another Samsung official admitted that the sudden change caused internal confusion.

“With the Unpacked event scheduled for January next year, the company is confused about changes in the product line,” the person said.

Based on rumors, the Galaxy S26 and S26+ will be equipped with Samsung's first 2nm Exynos 2600 chip. Meanwhile, the S26 Ultra will use Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5.

There's still a chance Samsung could bring back the Galaxy Edge in the future, but based on the latest rumors, it won't happen until 2026.

The iPhone Air exception

Similar to Samsung, Apple's iPhone Air launch was not very smooth. According to the investment & securities company Mizuho Securities (Japan), Apple plans to cut iPhone Air production due to poor sales.

Specifically, sales of the iPhone 17 Pro and 17 Pro Max are higher than their predecessors in the same period. Even the basic iPhone 17 is a big success, selling significantly better than the iPhone 16.

“Except for the iPhone Air, Apple's iPhone 17 series sales have been steady so far,” analysts said.

The bank also lowered its forecast for iPhone Air production by the end of the year to 1 million units, while the remaining models all increased, such as iPhone 17 (2 million units), iPhone 17 Pro (1 million units) and iPhone 17 Pro Max (4 million units), The Elec reported.

Overall production forecasts show that the entire iPhone 17 lineup this year is estimated to increase from 88 million to 94 million units.

iPhone Air on display at an Apple store. Photo: SCMP .

The only exception to the iPhone Air is the Chinese market. According to SCMP , the device quickly sold out within a few hours of opening for pre-orders.

On October 17, many memory versions and colors of the iPhone Air were sold out on Apple's online store and the official Tmall store. This reflects that the demand for the iPhone Air in China is higher than in other markets.

The iPhone Air went on sale in many countries from late September. However, Chinese customers had to wait until October to buy the product due to the waiting time for the government to approve the testing of eSIM on smartphones, allowing to add phone numbers without a physical SIM.

The moves from Apple and Samsung show that the market is not yet ready for ultra-thin smartphones. Despite possessing many advanced technologies, this segment has not met some important aspects such as battery life and price.

“The purpose of Samsung creating the S25 Edge is not to meet demand, but because its competitor Apple will produce a similar device.

In this case, performance and battery capacity are more favored by users, besides the fact that high-end smartphones are now thinner than before,” a mobile industry official told NewsPim .

Source: https://znews.vn/smartphone-sieu-mong-that-sung-post1595388.html