Is thin the new fold when it comes to smartphones?

The wave of folding phones and their flip counterparts showed no sign of let up over the past few years. With each generation came slimmer designs, bigger screens and less noticeable creases down the centre. But in 2025 it seems something has changed.

Yes, I still very much expect that Samsung will launch its Galaxy Z Fold 7 and Flip 7 this summer. Plus, I’m sure we’ll see new versions of the OnePlus Open and the Motorola Razr before too long. The big news though, seems to be around models that neither flip nor fold.

In the last seconds of Samsung’s Unpacked event, which revealed the Galaxy S25 range, it teased another model – the Galaxy S25 Edge. While there were no explicit details on the additional model, it is significantly thinner than the S25 Ultra, though with a reduced feature set.

Samsung isn’t the only one looking to release thin models though. The Oppo Find N5 will be the company’s thinnest foldable model to date, with the depth of the USB-C port being the limit of how thin this can go.

There’s even a rumour that Apple could release an Air model as part of its iPhone 17 range. Like the MacBook Air and iPad Air, this too would likely be a super slim and lightweight addition to the range. It would offer premium users the choice between the ultimate feature set, and the thinnest and lightest build.

Do we really need phones that are thinner and lighter though? I’ve tried most of the latest flagship handsets from Apple, Samsung, Xiaomi and Honor, and none of them strike me as being particularly chunky. All will slide into a trouser or jacket pocket and do little to affect the fit – unless you wear really skinny jeans.

Granted, if you put a cover on your phone they do become a little meatier. It’s amazing how even the apparent thinnest of cases can suddenly make your phone feel completely different. But still, it’s not like fitting a Nokia 5110 in your pocket, I can tell you – there was a reason that phone came with a belt clip.

Fold and flip phones make sense as a concept because they provide a greater screen size than the folded handset would normally allow, maximising real estate when minimising pocket space. But will these thinner flagship smartphones really offer more of anything?

You could argue that the MacBook Air isn’t that much thinner and lighter than the MacBook Pro. And the iPad Air isn’t that much thinner than the iPad Pro. But in these cases, it also differs enough in price and spec to make it unique. Will an iPhone 17 Air be considerably cheaper than an iPhone 17 Pro, while being better specced than an iPhone 17? Maybe it will, but it feels a tougher sell.

Not to sound like a broken record, but I’d much rather have a smaller version of the Pro than a thinner and lighter one – an iPhone Mini Pro, if you will. As it’s the height and width of the phone that takes up the bulk of my pocket, not the thickness. It’s why I think the various flip phones, including the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6 and the new Motorola Razr are some of the most appealing models on the market right now.

Maybe these thinner handsets are just a gateway to a new even thinner generation of flip phones – much like the Oppo Find N5 promises with the fold models. If that’s the case, I’m holding out for an iPhone flip that offers a 6.3-inch display that gets lost in my pocket.