The Galaxy S25 Slim might be one of the surprise announcements at Samsung’s Unpacked event on Wednesday. It wouldn’t be an actual surprise for anyone following Galaxy S25 rumors, as reports say Samsung will unveil the ultra-thin phone at Unpacked. But the Slim could certainly surprise people who don’t keep up with leaks.
Whatever the case, the Galaxy S25 Slim won’t get the same release date as the main three phones in the Galaxy S25 series. The Galaxy S25, S25 Plus, and S25 Ultra will be available for preorder after the press event, with in-store sales set to start about two weeks later. The Galaxy S25 Slim won’t hit store shelves until the second quarter of the year, likely releasing in May. But if you’re excited about the idea of rocking an ultra-thin phone this year, you might not like the newest report about its availability.
Word on the street is that Samsung will not release the phone worldwide, and the US might be among the markets that will miss out on the Galaxy S25 Slim.
The tidbit comes from PhoneArena, which quotes a “historically trusted source” that claims the phone will be available in the following 39 countries:
- Asia: Afghanistan, Caucasus, India, Iraq, Israel, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Pakistan, Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Turkey, UAE, Uzbekistan, Vietnam
- Europe: Austria, Croatia, France, Ireland, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Serbia, Montenegro, Slovenia, Switzerland, United Kingdom
- Africa: Egypt, Kenya, Libya, Morocco, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, Tunisia
- North America: Mexico
- South America: Brazil
- Oceania: Australia
The list excludes the US and a few other other major markets, including Canada, China, and Germany. Even more puzzling is the absence of South Korea, Samsung’s home market. Needless to say, that makes this report dubious at best. Also, PhoneArena doesn’t have a long history of reporting accurate leaks.
Previous reports said Samsung will only produce about 3 million Galaxy S25 Slim units this year, amounting to less than 10% of the total number of Galaxy S25 units the Korean giant will manufacture. The Slim is just a test device, a preemptive response to the iPhone 17 Air arriving this year. Reports say that Samsung only decided to make the ultra-thin flagship once it became clear Apple would go ahead with its iPhone 17 Air plans.
If the production rumors are correct, the Galaxy S25 Slim inventory would have always been limited. But if Samsung is restricting its availability to the countries in the list above, plenty of international buyers won’t be able to get one.
Samsung will never have to explain its decisions. Remember that it launched the Galaxy Z Fold SE in only two markets late last year: Korea and China. That foldable design will be available worldwide via the Galaxy Z Fold 7 later this year.
Maybe Samsung will conduct various experiments in these purported Galaxy S25 Slim launch countries. The ultra-thin phone might replace one of the other three devices.
The company also has available sales data for each market, so it knows exactly where it’s worth experimenting with new product ideas like an ultra-thin foldable or ultra-thin Galaxy S variant. This would explain the absence of some of Samsung’s most important markets from the list above.
The Galaxy S25 Slim isn’t a guaranteed success, just like the iPhone 17 Air isn’t. I might want an ultra-thin iPhone in my pocket despite the compromises, but not everybody likes the idea. The same goes for the Galaxy S25 Slim. That’s why Samsung might be cautious with the initial production run.
If the Galaxy S25 Slim is successful, Samsung might alter the Galaxy S26 product mix next year. In the coming years, Samsung may also decide to make more ultra-thin phones, but that’s all speculation.
On the other hand, The simplest explanation for the list above is that the leaker doesn’t have complete information about Samsung’s Galaxy S25 Slim rollout plans.
