C. Scott Brown / Android Authority
Yesterday, a report out of South Korea dropped a bombshell for Samsung’s Galaxy S26 lineup. According to the report, Samsung has canceled its upcoming Galaxy S26 Edge and will release the Galaxy S26 Plus instead. The Edge was supposed to replace the Plus in next year’s Galaxy S family, but those plans are now apparently scrapped.
The report cites extremely low sales of the Galaxy S25 Edge as the reason for the S26 Edge’s cancellation. This isn’t the first time we’ve heard of poor Edge sales, and Samsung seemingly doesn’t want to risk repeating itself in 2026.
On the surface, it can be easy to write off the Galaxy S26 Edge’s cancellation as a random, one-off flop from Samsung. However, I think it’s an indicator of a larger overall problem within the company, and it’s a problem that Samsung needs to address soon.
How do you feel about Samsung in late 2025? 79 votes Good! I think the company is in a solid place. 29 % Bad. Samsung is in need of big changes. 41 % I think it's fine / No strong opinion. 29 % Other (let us know in the comments). 1 %
Samsung doesn’t have an identity
Ryan Haines / Android Authority
Why did Samsung create the Galaxy S25 Edge? If you ask TM Roh, Samsung’s President and Head of Mobile, he’ll say it was to “not only mark a breakthrough for its category,” but also to “accelerate important innovation across the mobile industry.”
It’s possible that Samsung was genuinely passionate about making a slim smartphone and truly wanted to create the Galaxy S25 Edge. But there’s a more cynical way to look at the Edge, and it’s the one that I think is more likely: Samsung wanted to beat Apple.
Rumors of the iPhone Air had been circulating for over a year before its release. We didn’t know it would be called the iPhone Air (initial rumors called it the iPhone 17 Slim), but the rumor cycle was adamant that Apple was creating an ultra-thin iPhone. And Samsung, being Samsung, likely wanted to release its own thin phone before Apple did — hence the Galaxy S25 Edge.
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