2025 was a monumental year for Samsung. It kicked it off with the Galaxy S25 Edge, the world's first 5.84 mm thick smartphone, and tied it all up neatly with the brand's debut triple folding phone. Now, while from the outside, these are breakthrough engineering marvels, it all boils down to sales and massive R&D costs. That's why Samsung is taking a break from its slim phone and TriFold strategy in 2026.
Samsung confirms uncertain future for Galaxy S26 Edge and Galaxy Z TriFold
In an exclusive interview with Bloomberg, Samsung MX Chief Operating Officer Won-Joon Choi confirmed that the Samsung Galaxy S26 Edge is essentially cancelled. This comes almost five months after the Galaxy S26 Edge cancellation rumours started floating around. Turns out, they were true afterall.
Won-Joon Choi explained that the main reason behind not pursuing another thin phone is the Galaxy S25 Edge itself, or more specifically, its sales records. It seems like the smartphone failed to meet the internal sales requirements and ended up being the least sold Galaxy S25 series phone.
This doesn't come as a surprise since the phone launched at a hefty price tag, upward of Rs 1 lakh. For that price, the glaring compromises it came with were hard to ignore. From a nerfed battery capacity, lack of a capable camera system, to poor thermal management, it is obvious why it failed.
Won-Joon Choi has further added that smartphone buyers have different tastes and criteria while choosing a phone. Hence, till Samsung figures out how to match those expectations inside a slim chassis like that of the Galaxy S26 Edge, it remains shelved and no active work is done on it. However, there is still a chance of the phone happening.
People have different tastes, requirements, and criteria when selecting their device. We haven’t made a decision on when to launch the next one, but it’s still being considered.
— Won-Joon Choi, Samsung MX Chief Operating Officer
As for the Samsung Galaxy Z TriFold, the reason for not preparing a sequel is completely different. Choi explains that turning the triple-folding phone into a reality was a lot of hard work and R&D investments. He was himself reluctant to pursue it. However, the brand still managed to deliver a real-world product and it turned out as expected.
However, it all boiled down to the price. At 3,594,000 won (approximately Rs 2,20,000), Choi says that it is a niche product. The high price tag makes it out of reach for most buyers. This hinders the adoption rate and doesn't add value to high R&D costs. Hence, even with all the enginnering feat, Samsung is unsure about its future. He has added that internally, the sequel is still being debated. However, it is not likely to come anytime soon, if not at all.
Hence, it seems like Samsung is shelving two emerging product categories way too soon. We have seen brands like Honor, Tecno, Motorola and even Apple jump the slim phone race in 2025. Huawei is even expected to launch the third generation of its triple-folding phone.
However, for a brand like Samsung, which already has the Galaxy S series and the Galaxy Z Fold lineup to work on, as consumers, we will want the maximum R&D and benefits to go there. That's where the sales numbers and adoption rate are.
