I've observed an interesting disconnect this year. At every mobile event, the biggest crowds swarm around the slimmest phones, from Apple's iPhone Air to Samsung's Galaxy S25 Edge. When I pull one of these skinny handsets from my pocket, I'm similarly greeted with oohs and aahs from those around me.
But most people aren't actually buying these sleeker devices. Sales of both Apple's and Samsung's skinny phones have reportedly been underwhelming, and the category as a whole remains very niche. Many view these slim handsets as more of a spectacle than a feasible purchase.
"Just because something looks great, doesn't mean you want it at the end of the day," said Nabila Popal, senior research director at market intelligence firm International Data Corporation. The biggest drawbacks for many consumers are scaled-back cameras, shorter battery life and sky-high price tags -- paired with a lack of clear reasoning as to why a phone needs to be thin in the first place.
Does that mean we'll be seeing fewer sleek phones in 2026? Not likely. In fact, it appears these devices are setting the stage for a surge in another niche design: foldable phones.
Slim flat phones are standout devices in their own right, but they're also a critical stepping stone toward the development of sleeker, more appealing foldable phones. If you've nailed a slender design with a product like the Galaxy S25 Edge or iPhone Air, you can more easily repurpose that model into a foldable that doesn't feel like two phones stacked together.
When I first held Samsung's Galaxy Z Fold 7, I was struck by how much it felt like a normal phone when folded shut, with the added perk of a spacious internal display and top-notch cameras. It proved that foldables don't have to compromise on quality, feel or function. That's something several phone makers demonstrated this year, and we'll likely see that even more in 2026.
Global foldable phone shipments are expected to grow 10% in 2025 compared with last year, according to a December report from IDC. In 2026, they're expected to jump to 30% -- and much of that growth will be driven by smartphone giants Apple and Samsung.
The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 is just 4.2mm thick when open and 8.9mm thick when closed. James Martin/CNET
The road to a thin foldable
Samsung has proven to be the poster child for the slim-phone boom. In May, it released the Galaxy S25 Edge. In July, it debuted the Galaxy Z Fold 7, its thinnest foldable. In December, it took that design one step further with the Galaxy Z Fold, which borrows from the sleek design of its predecessors and features two hinges instead of one. The Z TriFold went on sale in Korea -- and reportedly sold out in minutes -- as well as other parts of Asia earlier this month, and is slated to launch in the US in the first quarter of 2026.
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