Smartphone vendors are piling in to the slim phone space. Samsung wanted to be the first among the truly global vendors, launching the Galaxy S25 Edge with an impressively thin 5.8mm profile. It has crucially pre-empted the iPhone 17 that Apple is expected to launch later this year, which by some accounts may be even thinner.

Samsung has been teasing the Galaxy S25 Edge for months now. It first showed a glimpse of the device at the Unpacked event for the regular Galaxy S25 series. The device was then showcased from a distance at the Mobile World Congress 2025 in Barcelona. It finally launched the phone after four months of building up hype around it and the device went on sale in South Korea today. The second wave of availability will see the device being released in the United States, and other western markets on May 30.

The company shared some pictures from South Korea where we saw some Apple-like retail store theatrics as the device went on sale in its home country today. It was clearly giving the impression that the device has seen strong demand from customers in South Korea, but the reality may not be that simple.

As we reported earlier today, Samsung is typically quick to announce how many pre-orders it has received or sales it has made once a new high-end device is launched. We've see no such figures being offered for the Galaxy S25 Edge. It hasn't even confirmed how many pre-orders came in for the device in South Korea, where customers typically favor Samsung products over others in the market.

We also highlighted a couple of signs that suggest the sales may not be as strong as the company would have expected. Samsung has already improved pre-order bonuses in markets like the Netherlands twice in one week. Samsung initially offered a free storage upgrade to pre-order customers, then started adding a 10% voucher. It's now offering an additional 100 euro voucher to further sweeten the pot.

Such doubling down on pre-order incentives is not common for new devices that are expected to have solid demand. This could suggest that Samsung needs to push things along even in the start, and it may not bode well for the device once the initial rush dies down.

The muted market response may not be because the Galaxy S25 Edge isn't a good device, on the contrary, it has all the hallmarks of being a great device. It's likely because the Galaxy S25 Edge has been launched at such an awkward time in Samsung's release cycle that many potential customers wouldn't probably be able to justify the purchase.

It has been launched nearly four months after the Galaxy S25 series hit the market. Anyone who bought the Galaxy S25 Ultra is obviously not downgrading to the Galaxy S25 Edge. They bought the top-of-the-line model for a reason, to have the best specs and the best camera experience, a slim frame will hardly be incentive enough to give up things like a dedicated zoom camera, which the Galaxy S25 Edge doesn't have.

Customers who bought the Galaxy S25+ won't have much reason to buy this phone as well, they'd rather hold on to the larger battery capacity on their device than roll the dice with the Galaxy S25 Edge's 3,900mAh battery. Those who went with the base Galaxy S25 primarily for cost considerations won't likely be able to justify this purchase anyway.

Those who didn't buy one of these devices are possibly waiting for the new foldables, this writer included. Yes, the slim form factor is compelling, but many still wouldn't rank it over the foldable form factor as far as versatility and portability is concerned, particularly with the Galaxy Z Flip series. Those who have their hearts set on Samsung's foldables and didn't get swayed by the Galaxy S25 series earlier this year, won't be getting swayed by the Galaxy S25 Edge.

Samsung couldn't have waited to launch the Galaxy S25 Edge in the second half of this year, because that's when it's going to launch the affordable Galaxy S25 FE. The former is a premium device with a price tag to match, the matter aims to provide a flagship-adjacent user experience at a reduced price point. Launching these devices together wouldn't make sense, and would likely result in sales cannibalization for the more premium model.

The July/August 2025 window wouldn't work for Samsung as well, since that's when it's going to unveil the Galaxy Z Flip 7, Galaxy Z Fold 7, and the Galaxy Z Flip 7 FE. That's also a clash best avoided, leaving Samsung to launch the Galaxy S25 Edge at a time when most of its loyal customers have either bought the year's latest flagships or are waiting to pounce on the new foldable phones.

Hence the rumors that have already started circling that we may see Samsung ditch the Galaxy S26+ next year and replace that model with the Galaxy S26 Edge instead. The “+” models typically sells fewer units compared to the other two models and Samsung replacing it with the slimmer option would bring more variety to the lineup. The difference between the base and “+” models isn't as significant as it used to be, but the Edge phones would offer more differentiation between the models.

That all depends on how the Galaxy S25 Edge fares in the market this year. With Apple jumping in the fray with a slim iPhone, it's unlikely that Samsung won't release a successor to this device next year. It should take a lot of lessons from what could potentially be a botched launch for the Galaxy S25 Edge this year.

The device should be offered at a time when the likelihood of customers opening up their wallets is at its highest, not when it's the only time that's available which doesn't clash with some of the other marquee phones that Samsung has got lined up for the rest of the year. Otherwise, the Edge may never get the sort of momentum Samsung wants for it.