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Just when I thought Samsung had no more secrets left up its sleeve ahead of yesterday's Unpacked event, the tech giant caught me (and many like me) off guard with the surprising announcement of a fourth Galaxy S25 family member.
Of course, I'm using the term "announcement" rather loosely there, as the 40-second Galaxy S25 Edge teaser could probably make even the craftiest Hollywood directors jealous with its vagueness and lack of clarity.
But because we still don't know much about this phone (like when it's supposed to be released, how much is it going to cost, and what specs it will offer), that gave me the opportunity to ponder the one detail Samsung was gracious enough to reveal after wrapping up its comprehensive presentation on the S25, S25 Plus, and S25 Ultra.
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Usually, not much. The product branding strategies of companies as seasoned as Samsung rarely have a deeper meaning than to make it clear that X device comes after Y device with the typical batch of yearly improvements. But on occasion, a phone with no obvious predecessor will see daylight, and when that happens, companies need to figure out slightly more inventive monikers.
While certainly unprecedented, a Galaxy S25 Slim name would have probably sounded, well, dumb for a first-of-a-kind product looking to breathe fresh air into a somewhat stagnant handset lineup. Enter the S25 Edge label, which I honestly didn't see coming for a pretty simple reason - I had completely forgotten about the likes of the Galaxy Note Edge, S6 Edge, and S7 Edge.
It's definitely not like Samsung to bring back device names from the dead (that's more Motorola's specialty), and it feels especially odd to see the company prepare a Galaxy S25 Edge model that doesn't appear to have anything in coming with any of those other Edge-branded handsets. I mean, it's not like we're expecting this ultra-thin 2025 flagship to come with any kind of secondary screen gimmick, right?
Much like recent Motorola Edge editions, the S25 Edge also seems to be sporting a completely flat panel based on the photos we've been able to snap of a prototype showcased at the January 22 Unpacked shindig, which makes this naming choice feel even weirder. Unless...
Someone is feeling nostalgic!
I know, I know, I might be reading too much into a moniker that may have been chosen by Samsung simply because it undeniably sounds cooler than Galaxy S25 Slim, but what if the Galaxy S25 Edge is meant to (indirectly) prepare us for a revival we've all dreamt about for so excruciatingly long?
While I obviously don't expect to see the Galaxy Note 21 materialize five years too late as if nothing ever happened to Samsung's once-mighty S Pen-wielding smartphone family, I feel like a Galaxy S26 Note is not totally outside the realm of possibility.
In a (weird) way, the addition of a Note-branded device to the Galaxy S series next year would explain what's happening to the company's iconic stylus this year. I know the theory is that the Galaxy S25 Ultra's S Pen lacks some of its predecessor's crucial functionality to reduce costs and thus be able to retain the S24 Ultra's retail prices while packing a significantly more expensive processor around the world.
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Yes, the S25 Edge looks pretty crazy thin, at least in prototype form. | Image Credit -- PhoneArena
Samsung is also rumored to drop the digitizer component and thus eliminate the S Pen support from the Galaxy Z Fold 7 altogether to make the next-gen book-style powerhouse as slim as possible. But what if these changes are (also) destined to make 2026's Galaxy S26 roster feel more special?
Yes, I realize it sounds... counterintuitive to get rid of beloved features and capabilities today and bring them back just a year later as a key selling point of a "groundbreaking" new device, but isn't that (more or less) what the Galaxy S25 Edge is all about? Yes, that waist looks a bit thinner than we all expected after those recently leaked renders, but let's not act as if super-slim phones are something we've never seen or previously thought impossible.
Similarly, a Galaxy S26 Note with all of the S24 Ultra's S Pen skills resurrected (and possibly, a few entirely new ones added into the mix) wouldn't reinvent the wheel, but executed correctly and with the proper respect given to the Galaxy Note family legacy from the years 2011 to 2020, it could definitely provide a blend of nostalgia and modernity many hardcore fans are currently dying for.
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Adrian, a mobile technology enthusiast since the Nokia 3310 era, has been a dynamic presence in the tech journalism field, contributing to Android Authority, Digital Trends, and Pocketnow before joining PhoneArena in 2018. His expertise spans across various platforms, with a particular fondness for the diversity of the Android ecosystem. Despite the challenges of balancing full-time parenthood with his work, Adrian's passion for tech trends, running, and movies keeps him energized. His commitment to mid-range smartphones has led to an eclectic collection of devices, saved from personal bankruptcy by his preference for 'adequate' over 'overpriced'.
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