Tech Tonic | Physics and engineering are fine, but consumers aren’t convinced
This generation’s ultra-slim phones have resoundingly met the hard surface of habit, battery anxiety, and wallet math. One hopes this isn’t the end of the road
For once, there is very little sarcasm at play when I say this — colour me surprised. Apple is believed to be cutting back production of the iPhone Air, barely a few weeks into the iPhone 17 and iPhone Air era. Samsung, too, is believed to have (believe what you will) pulled the plug on any plans for a Galaxy S26 Edge, after the Galaxy S25 Edge didn’t sell as well as expected. Global analysts seem to be leaning in with these opinions — Ming-Chi Kuo in Apple’s case and Sana Securities in Samsung’s instance — and it is unlikely there’s smoke without fire. But why have the Apple iPhone Air and the Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge lost convincingly where they should have won conclusively?
2025 was shaping up to be the year when ultra-slim phones showed us the future of flagship devices. While that may still happen, this hiccup isn’t a minor one. And I’d put the responsibility as much at the doorstep of the phone makers themselves as I would at the doorsteps of potential customers who fell for a mix of half-baked social media conversations, inertia of habit, and an unfounded sense of dealing with the unknown. This isn’t to say that the two ultra-slim phones were perfect in every sense — compromises borne by physics, as I had pointed out — but absolutely no smartphone on sale today is perfect. And I’m certain that’ll be the case tomorrow.
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A lot of this has stemmed from battery anxiety. If you believed purely in the sanctity of “screen active” screenshots or battery capacity (those numbers in mAh) being shared by all shapes and sizes of content creators ever since either phone was launched, you’re forgetting a very fine thing called nuance. How many among the typical iPhone Air or Galaxy S25 Ultra user base would shoot 4K videos in HDR every day? Or play video games for an hour? What they also forget is that the chips Apple and Samsung have deployed in these form factors are really pushing the performance-per-watt statistic. If you are basing your decision on someone else’s use case and assumptions, this is purely your loss.
But then again, there are the subjective aspects (which is where you should assign weightage, not assumptions of creators) such as durability, cameras, and, of course, the price. If you’re expecting even slightly higher levels of rougher usage than usual, or if you need the versatility of better camera sensors, make a call based on that. At this point, I’ll circle back to the compromises phone makers delivered. The iPhone Air’s single camera (no matter the praise for the Fusion Camera system) is seen by buyers as simply that — a single camera on a phone that costs ₹1,19,900 onwards. And as I noted from my experience with the ₹1,09,999 Galaxy S25 Edge, fully charged in the morning, it would dip to a fairly uncomfortable level by around 3 p.m. — anywhere between 20% to 30% charge remaining — and I compared it with a Galaxy S25 Ultra for context.
The question really is: where do ultra-slim phones go from here? The concept doesn’t need to be binned, and the idea doesn’t need to be abandoned. The key is in solving the few shortcomings that exist — and beating physics isn’t new for tech companies.
Advanced battery technology is the most obvious solution. Silicon-carbon batteries, already appearing in Chinese flagship phones, offer significantly higher energy density than traditional lithium-ion cells. If Samsung and Apple can incorporate these technologies, a 5.5mm-thick phone with a 5,000mAh battery becomes feasible. The challenge is manufacturing scale and cost, but these hurdles are surmountable. Apple even went the modular way — albeit at a cost — with the magnetic iPhone Air MagSafe Battery. In a different format, perhaps more affordable, this may just be the ticket.
Better positioning, as a result of better pricing, will be important. For both Samsung and Apple, the lessons from the Galaxy S25 Edge and the iPhone Air respectively point in one direction — you cannot charge a premium when actual flagships (the brilliant Galaxy S25 Ultra and the generational leap of the iPhone 17 Pro) are only a slightly higher monetary outlay away. In the iPhone Air’s case, it replaced the ‘Plus’ phone, but at a much more loaded price tag. Gaps need to be filled; new steps in the ladder aren’t needed.
The muscle memory of years and years of using phones that have become increasingly thick means “thinner is better” as a mantra doesn’t immediately gain traction — unless that svelte form factor has more substance to convince users. Think about it: would you pay ₹1,19,900 for an iPhone Air or ₹1,09,999 for a Galaxy S25 Edge, when an iPhone 17 Pro costs ₹1,34,900 or a Galaxy S25 Ultra can be had for around ₹1,23,499? The latter are true flagships — the best of each ecosystem at this time — and therefore bring the gravitas of performance, longevity, and experience.
Smartphone makers must crack this price-versus-longevity code, because engineering limitations aren’t enough of a reason for consumers to accept even the slightest compromise. And those limitations can be overcome. Apple’s thermal management and performance handling with an extremely powerful chip in the iPhone Air is one example, as is Samsung’s dual-camera system led by a 200-megapixel primary sensor within the slim innards of the Galaxy S25 Edge. What we saw were first-generation devices; the next generation will certainly be better — if there is a next chapter to be written, that is.
Apple needs this to succeed, with the Mini and Plus form factors both not doing as well. Samsung wouldn’t want to be seen leading the ultra-slim phone innovation and then be perceived as having failed at it. I sure hope this isn’t the end of the experiment.
(Vishal Mathur is the Technology Editor at HT. Tech Tonic is a weekly column that looks at the impact of personal technology on the way we live, and vice versa. The views expressed are personal.)
