Samsung's S25 Slim competitor to the iPhone 17 Air exists indeed
Samsung's phones are already pretty thin as the recent Galaxy S24 FE or the S24 that precedes it would suggest, not to mention some handsets in the Galaxy A-series. Still, it may soon before to release even thinner phones in order to have an answer to the Apple iPhone 17 Air that is purportedly coming next fall to take the place of an eventual iPhone 17 Plus.
Apple will allegedly be setting apart the iPhone Air by, you guessed it, its svelter and more elegant design, so Samsung may very well be forced to do the same. According to Smartprix, Samsung's Galaxy S25 Slim has popped up at the Korean version of the FCC.
Fourth S25 model number | Image credit – Smartpix
While the exact naming scheme of Samsung's thinnest handset for 2025 is still up in the air, it carries a model number SM-S937U, or that of a fourth member added to the Galaxy S25 trio, that has been identified in a regulatory database. This gives some folder for thoughts on the eventual purpose of another phone in the series that is not the Galaxy S25, S25+, or S25 Ultra.
Since the Galaxy S24 FE was just released, it's logical to deduce that the fourth headset in the S25 series would be Samsung's rumored answer to the Apple iPhone 17 Air. Thus, we can expect a slimmer and more elegant build but relatively weaker specs than the rest of the pack.
The "U" notation in the end also indicates that this phone will be making its way stateside, so it is not some obscure regional model made for local carriers, but actually a full-fledged member of the S25 family.
The S25 Slim release is set for Q2 2025, too, or a quarter before the iPhone 17 Air, so as Samsung can gauge its acceptance. Apple has imprinted in the mind of consumers the association of incredibly thin, elegant, and light devices with the Air moniker since the first MacBook Air appeared, so it is only logical that Apple would want to transfer the association to the iPhone line, leaving the Slim variant to Samsung.
When it comes to specs, the 6.7-inch iPhone Air will very much resemble the iPhone Plus line, as it will reportedly ship with an Apple A19 instead of the A19 Pro chipset, and will also offer a camera set that is much less capable than what will be on the iPhone 17 Pro Max.
Samsung, however, is said to one-up it by equipping the Galaxy S25 Slim with the Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset that will be powering the other phones in the S25 line, so it may have another ace up its sleeve when the iPhone 17 Air lands.
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