A new ultra‑thin arms race is underway: Apple introduced the iPhone Air as its thinnest iPhone to date, while Samsung’s Galaxy S25 Edge positions “Beyond slim” as a core identity alongside flagship cameras and Galaxy AI features. In parallel, Honor and Oppo are shrinking foldables to sub‑9mm folded profiles, and Tecno used MWC 2025 to showcase a 5.75mm concept that spotlights how far thinness can be pushed.
Apple and Samsung
Apple’s iPhone Air formalizes the premium ultra‑thin category, combining an aerospace‑grade titanium frame, Ceramic Shield 2, ProMotion, and A19 Pro to offset the compromises often associated with extreme thinness. Apple’s regional product page underscores the emphasis on a strikingly slim profile—listed at 5.6mm—framing the device as “impossibly thin and light” while preserving Apple’s top‑tier build quality. Early mainstream coverage highlights new design details and features as Apple’s most aggressive thin‑and‑light push in years.
Samsung’s Galaxy S25 Edge embraces the same philosophy on the Android side, using “Beyond slim” positioning to market a super‑slim flagship with a 200MP camera system and Galaxy AI features that stay aligned with the brand’s premium performance ethos. Launch coverage earlier in the year reinforced the “super‑slim” narrative even before Samsung’s full product page confirmed the Edge’s role as the company’s thin design showcase for 2025. The result is a direct, high‑end counter to Apple’s Air play, with Samsung leaning on camera leadership and AI to differentiate.
Who’s joining
Honor’s Magic V5 is marketed as the world’s thinnest book‑style foldable, targeting an 8.8mm folded profile while still delivering a flagship Snapdragon platform and high‑end cameras. Design outlets and news features echo Honor’s “world’s thinnest” claims, underscoring how aggressively the company tuned structure, hinge, and internal stacking to hit record slimness. Regional and global coverage also cites a large battery in the V5 class, reinforcing how power capacity is becoming less of a trade‑off in thin foldables.
Oppo’s Find N5 arrives with a sub‑9mm folded profile—listed at 8.93mm folded and around 4.21mm when unfolded—achieved via a custom titanium‑alloy hinge that aims to reduce bulk while improving rigidity. Oppo’s own materials emphasize hinge durability and crease minimization, with certifications to back long‑term fold endurance as the brand competes for the thinnest‑credible foldable title. Buyer‑guide roundups and spec trackers place the N5 among the slimmest foldables available, reinforcing the device’s thinness‑first design brief.
Tecno’s Spark Slim concept underlines how far slab phones can go, debuting at just 5.75mm with claims of a 5,200mAh battery and dual 50MP cameras to demonstrate feasibility rather than immediate retail readiness. Retail and brand‑partner writeups from MWC echo the same specs and emphasize that the concept exists to showcase internal stacking innovations that preserve endurance despite extreme thinness. Coverage across mobile news sites presents the Spark Slim as a design proof‑point that pressures mainstream brands to keep shrinking dimensions.
Tech enablers
Titanium frames, tougher glass stacks, and advanced alloy hinges are central to cutting thickness without sacrificing rigidity, letting designs shed grams and millimeters while keeping structural integrity in both slab and foldable profiles. Oppo’s titanium‑alloy hinge and crease‑management focus illustrate how hinge innovation sits at the heart of thin foldables, improving durability as thickness comes down. Honor’s broader “ultra‑slim” device trio points to cross‑category materials evolution, where lighter, stiffer components ripple into phones, tablets, and laptops together.
Battery density and component packing are the second pillar: higher‑density cells and denser mainboard stacking help sustain competitive capacities even as chassis thickness falls. Tecno’s concept claims a 5,200mAh pack at 5.75mm, while Honor’s foldable pushes capacity higher than previous thin designs, illustrating how energy density and layout optimization are closing the gap between slimness and endurance. The cumulative effect is that “thin” no longer automatically equals “small battery,” though tuning varies by brand and model.
Trade‑offs and cautions
Early reviews suggest that extreme thinness can still carry endurance and thermal trade‑offs, with iPhone Air coverage specifically flagging battery life and heat as areas to watch relative to chunkier siblings and predecessors. As ever, software power management and sustained performance tuning will determine whether slim designs hold up under heavy camera, gaming, and AI workloads.
Durability remains a critical talking point: Apple leans on Ceramic Shield 2 and titanium to manage drop and torsional stress, while Oppo cites hinge certifications as a proof‑point for fold reliability in thinner frames. Concept‑only devices like Tecno’s Spark Slim showcase potential but underscore the gulf between trade‑show demos and daily‑driver readiness until retail models validate long‑term robustness.
Market outlook
Positioning is clear: iPhone Air enters as a premium ultra‑thin option with a flagship price, reframing thin‑and‑light as a core desirability feature rather than a niche compromise. Samsung’s S25 Edge plays the Android counterpart with a camera‑and‑AI‑forward story, putting design slimness alongside imaging prowess and on‑device intelligence to maintain flagship status. Together, they set the bar for mainstream thinness, prompting rivals to iterate rapidly.
Competitive pressure is now broad‑based: Honor has proven that record‑slim foldables can still ship with big batteries and top chips, and Oppo’s hinge engineering shows that crease and durability challenges can be tackled even as thickness falls. Tecno’s MWC concept throws down a numerical gauntlet for slab phones, suggesting that multi‑day endurance in sub‑6mm bodies might soon be more than a lab feat if component suppliers can scale yields. Expect a wider slate of ultra‑thin launches across tiers into late 2025 and 2026 as materials, hinges, and battery chemistries continue to trickle down the stack.
Buyer’s checklist
- Prioritize balanced thinness: Look for models that pair slim profiles with proven thermal management and clear endurance claims validated by independent testing or trusted reviews.
- Check materials and certification: Titanium frames, tougher glass, and certified hinges can meaningfully impact longevity in ultra‑thin devices where margins for structural error are smaller.
- Distinguish concept vs retail: MWC‑style concepts demonstrate possibilities, but retail devices with disclosed warranty, durability ratings, and verified specs are the safer bet for daily carry.
- Align features with use: Camera, AI features, and display tech vary; Samsung’s S25 Edge leans into 200MP imaging and Galaxy AI, while Apple’s iPhone Air courts thin‑and‑light enthusiasts with A‑series performance and ProMotion.
- Consider foldable maturity: Thin foldables are now credible daily drivers from multiple brands, but hinge execution, crease visibility, and battery longevity still vary and should be assessed hands‑on where possible.
