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(Bloomberg) -- Samsung Electronics Co. plans to launch an ultrathin version of its Galaxy S25 phone in the first half of this year, beating Apple Inc. to a promising new category.
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The company previewed a phone called the Galaxy S25 Edge at the conclusion of its Samsung Unpacked presentation Wednesday in San Jose, California. Building on an S25 lineup that was unveiled earlier at the event, the Edge model is notable for its extremely thin profile.
The move sets up a showdown this year in the skinny smartphone segment. Apple also is expected to add an ultrathin version to its iPhone line later this year, marking one of its boldest design changes in years. That company typically unveils its new phones in September.
Samsung plans to start selling the Edge in the US and other markets by the middle of the year, TM Roh, president of the mobile devices business, told Bloomberg News in a separate interview.
The Edge will use some of the same technologies as the new Ultra model, but fit them inside a slimmed-down design. Customers want the “best performance, the best camera features, the best AI, but at the same time they want an even more attractive form factor that stands out among the pack,” Roh said in the interview.
“We’ve been trying to combine all the advantages of the S25 Ultra in a slimmer form factor,” he said.
For Apple, a skinny model is its latest attempt to find a new phone size that consumers embrace. In recent years, it has offered a mini iPhone and a Plus model, but neither of them were big hits. The Plus version will be replaced by this new thinner variant, which some are dubbing the iPhone Air, Bloomberg News has reported. It will be the skinniest iPhone in the device’s history.
Roh said Samsung chose the Edge name as a reference to both the thinner design and the idea that the phone will use more cutting-edge technology. It also recycles a brand used by Samsung several years ago when it first launched phones with curved-edge displays.
Roh said the company has “high expectations for this product.” Samsung hasn’t settled on a price, he said, but acknowledged it will be cheaper than the $1,299-and-up Ultra.
“Our goal is to position this at pricing that is lower than the Ultra models, so it’s more accessible and has more customers,” Roh said.