As smartphone brands continue to pack in more features and capabilities, most high-end candy-bar style flagships have come to weigh over 200 grams. Add a case, they almost become as thick as modern foldables. However, reports said that Apple and Samsung are developing flagship smartphones––iPhone 17 Air and Galaxy S25 Slim, respectively––that are thin and light. These devices are expected to launch in the second half of 2025.
If you are considering either of these devices as your next smartphone, here is everything we know about these two phones, both expected to have premium design and cutting-edge hardware, all inside a thin-and-light form factor.
Don’t confuse these with mini-phones. These will not be your average mini-sized flagship smartphones like the iPhone 13 mini. In fact, these flagship smartphones will pack a display that will be similar in size to a regular flagship.
Galaxy S25 Slim could be the thinnest flagship from Samsung. (Express Photo)
According to analyst Jeff Pu, the iPhone 17 Air will have a 6.6-inch screen. In terms of screen size, it will sit between the iPhone 16 Pro and the iPhone 16 Pro Max. The Galaxy S25 Slim is expected to pack a slightly bigger 6.7-inch screen.
Both smartphones will be powered by next-generation flagship chips. While the Galaxy S25 Slim is likely to be based on the Snapdragon 8 Elite chip, the iPhone 17 Air is expected to be powered by the next-generation A19 chip, which is also likely to power the regular iPhone 17.
However, according to Naver Blog, Apple is said to have hit some roadblocks with their new battery tech, and hence, the iPhone 17 Air might not be as slim as Apple wants it to be. The report does highlight that it will still be the slimmest iPhone measuring around 6mm in thickness. For now, there isn’t much information about the slimness of the slimmest variant of the Galaxy S25, but it is also expected to be around 6mm.
Galaxy S25 Slim packs a triple camera setup based on ALoP tech. The Galaxy S25 Slim, like its regular counterpart, might include a triple camera setup at the back, featuring a new type of telephoto sensor technology called ALoP that Samsung recently unveiled, which is said to be a significantly thinner module when compared to a typical periscope zoom lens.
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iPhone 17 Air will still be the thinnest smartphone from Apple. (Express Photo)
The Galaxy S25 Slim is said to offer a 200 MP primary lens, a 50 MP ultra-wide angle lens, and a 50 MP telephoto lens with 3x optical zoom.
There isn’t a lot of clarity on the iPhone 17 Air’s camera deck. The rumours around the iPhone 17 Air’s camera array are a bit cloudy at this point. The latest report from The Information indicates that the iPhone 17 Air will have a dual-camera setup in the top centre of the back panel, possibly featuring a 48 MP main sensor, while the same publication in an earlier report hinted at a single camera module, similar to the 3rd generation iPhone SE.
Both phones are likely to pack a silicon carbon battery, the latest battery technology which uses silicon-carbon-based anode instead of graphite with a higher energy-carrying capacity.
As of now, the Galaxy S25 Slim is expected to go official by Q2 of 2025 and might arrive a few months after the regular Galaxy S25 series, while the iPhone 17 Air is expected to be unveiled alongside the next-generation iPhone series in September 2025. The Galaxy S25 Slim and the iPhone 17 Air are expected to be priced around $999 or around Rs 1,00,000.
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