- Samsung Galaxy S25 Slim may skip the US at launch
- Leaks say it’s not coming to the US, but don’t reveal why
- Similar to how the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold SE also skipped many regions
We’ve already had to brace ourselves for the fact that the much-anticipated Samsung Galaxy S25 Slim is unlikely to launch at Wednesday’s Galaxy Unpacked event alongside the regular Galaxy S25, S25 Plus and S25 Ultra – instead, leaks say it will drop around May – it’s now It looks like Slim might not even be coming to all markets: notably skipping the US if leaks are to be believed.
The first comes via reputable tipster Evan Blass, who took to his private X account to declare that the S25 Slim “will almost certainly not be offered through US carriers,” with Phone Arena following up with a report from a “historically trusted source” who reached out to tell them that while the S25 Slim will be coming to 39 markets, the US won’t be among them – regardless of how the UK and Australia are.
All leaks should be taken with a grain of salt – especially the Phone Arena leak, as we can’t name or confirm the claim from the source of the information – but this wouldn’t be the first ‘slim’ Samsung gadget to boast a limited release in the recent year.
An example of the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 Slim, which ended up being called the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 SE (Special Edition), was first released in South Korea and China when it arrived last year. The S25 Slim appears to have a slightly wider release, but again not quite as wide as Samsung’s flagship devices.
The only question we’re left to ask is why would it specifically skip the US? Since Samsung’s home market is South Korea, it makes sense that it could limit some releases to just that one market, or South Korea and a handful of nearby Asian territories, as we saw with the Galaxy Z Fold 6 SE. But if it launches more widely, skipping the US – the third-largest market for smartphones behind India and China – feels odd.
The only reason we can think of is that Samsung is worried about possible US tariffs that President-elect Trump has threatened to levy on various US imports – especially those coming in from China, where many are manufactured of smartphones. If Samsung plans to produce the S25 Slim in a region where Trump is imposing tariffs on imports from, it may decide that it won’t pay to release the phone in the US, and so while we wait and see exactly what Trump’s plans are, Samsung can be. takes the route of under-promising and over-delivery if rates are not as effective as expected.
A Slim by any other name would be just as thin
As well as borrowing its more limited release, the S25 Slim can also copy the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 Slim’s name – meaning not being called Slim. That’s according to Blass, who in a separate post asked why we expect the so-called Galaxy S25 Slim to be labeled as such when the Z Fold 6 Slim was not.
That’s not to say the S25 Slim won’t be a thin device – with Weibo leaker Digital Chat Station saying the Slim and rumored iPhone 17 Air will be around 5-6mm thick. Compared to the 7.8mm thick iPhone 16 (read our iPhone 16 review) and 7.6mm for the Samsung Galaxy S24 – but a name that doesn’t focus on the fact that it’s just less thick could mean it’s coming with some additional hardware changes and upgrades over the base model.
Such an upgrade has already been teased by rumors suggesting it will boast a 200MP main camera instead of the 50MP expected from the base Galaxy S25 smartphone.
For now, we’ll have to wait and see what Samsung has up its sleeve for the S25 Slim, but if you’re in the US, you probably won’t be holding your breath so you’ll be able to get your hands on it in 2025.
