We don’t need thinner phones
2025 is shaping up to be the year of the skinny smartphone. Samsung’s already announced the Galaxy S25 Edge, with the iPhone 17 Air set to follow in autumn. But here’s the thing: I don’t want a thinner phone. Especially not if it means having a smaller battery.
Ever found yourself thinking, «My new phone’s cool and all, but it kinda feels like it’s a millimetre too thick»? No? Me neither.
Despite this, all the major smartphone manufacturers seem to have set their sights on slimness. A few weeks ago, Samsung took the first step by announcing the Galaxy S25 Edge alongside the S25 family. The Apple iPhone 17 Air’s set to follow in autumn.
We don’t know anything about the Galaxy S25 Edge’s exact specs yet. And we’re certainly in the dark about the iPhone 17 Air’s. However, the handset was on display at Apple’s event in San Francisco. And guess what? It’s thinner.
In any case, there have been enough leaks to get speculation brewing. Let’s get into it.
What does slimness actually bring to the table?
The new Samsung Edge is currently rumoured to be an ultra-slim 5.84 millimetres «thick». For comparison, the rest of the S25 family measure between 7.2 and 8.2 millimetres. Compared to the regular Galaxy S25, the Edge model has 1.36 millimetres less chunk.
Source: Rafael Zeier
It’s worth noting that these thickness measurements don’t include the camera protruding from the back of the phone. If the rumours are anything to go by, that’ll bring the Edge back to 10 millimetres in thickness.
Still, cameras aside, I promise you’ll hardly notice that one-millimetre difference when you’re using your phone day to day. And if, like most people, you keep your phone in a case, thinness goes out the window anyway.
Dear manufacturers, if you’re going to slim down, do it right
Admittedly, slim phones can definitely be impressive. My Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold, for example, enchants me every time I open it up. At five millimetres thick when open, Google’s foldable is barely thicker than the USB-C port on the bottom. Similarly, the Galaxy Z Fold Special Edition, sold exclusively in South Korea, is just 4.9 millimetres thick.
Source: Oppo
Oppo’s pushing the boundaries too. In launching the Find N5, it’s keen to beat its previous record of 4.35 millimetres. Mind you, all of these examples are foldables, so they’re only really thin when you open them. Plus, these handsets give manufacturers much more space to fit in all their components.
But my point still stands: if you’re going to slim down a phone, do it right A marginally thinner phone without any real added benefit isn’t that impressive.
And besides, manufacturers could’ve come up trumps this year by presenting real innovations instead of scrapping over every last millimetre.
The problem with batteries
2025 should really be the year of large batteries, not thin phones. If you’ve been keeping an eye on the Chinese market, you’ll know what I’m talking about. Manufacturers including Xiaomi, Vivo, OnePlus and Realme are all currently launching new flagships with battery capacities of over 6,000 milliamp hours. And none of these handsets are thicker than previous flagships. The magic word? Silicon-carbon technology.
Source: OnePlus
Without going too much into the tech jargon, this refers to new lithium-ion batteries with an anode containing silicon-carbon instead of graphite. Our friends at Futurezone have written a great article explaining how it works (in German). The silicon-carbon allows for a higher energy density, i.e. more power in a battery of the same physical size.
Evidently, the new technology doesn’t feature in Samsung’s new flagships. The Galaxy S25 Ultra’s battery capacity is still 5,000 mAh, the same as its predecessor. With this in mind, the Galaxy S25 Edge’s thinner (and apparently smaller) chassis will severely limit battery capacity.
Even if Samsung does install a new silicon-carbon battery in its thinner phone, it’s unlikely to break any records.
Source: Samsung
Whatever the case, Samsung’s got things backwards in my view. Instead of a thinner phone with the same amount of battery, I’d rather have a phone of the same thickness with more battery. Or maybe even a thicker phone with even more battery? When it’s in my pocket, the Pixel Fold measures ten millimetres thick – and it’s never bothered me.
Source: Google
Now, imagine a 10-millimetre phone with no camera hump and an 8,000 mAh battery. A guy can dream, right?
As I mentioned earlier, we don’t yet know the Galaxy S25 Edge’s exact specifications. Maybe I’ve been too quick to jump to conclusions. Perhaps Samsung has an ace up its sleeve and will surprise us all with a completely unexpected innovation. I, for one, would love that. And will happily apologise to Samsung if that turns out to be the case.
Header image: Rafael Zeier
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Dayan Pfammatter
Freelance Editor
pf.dayan@gmail.comI've been fascinated by all things keys, displays and speakers for basically as long as I can remember. As a journalist specialising in technology and society, I strive to create order in the jungle of tech jargon and confusing spec sheets.
