In the smartphone industry, thin is in — but it really shouldn’t be.
Last week, Apple unveiled the iPhone 17 Air, its thinnest iPhone ever, while Samsung recently debuted the Galaxy S25 Edge, also a wafer-like sliver of glass and silicon. Both launches drew headlines for their engineering feats. But let’s face facts here: this obsession with thinness is a triumph of marketing over common sense.
The modern smartphone is no longer a luxury. It is a camera, computer, wallet, gaming console and health tracker. Shrinking it down further does nothing for functionality – and often undermines it. By chasing millimetres, the world’s top phone makers are giving up the very features consumers care about most: longer battery life, better cameras and devices that risk being bent if you sit on them by mistake.
No one should rush out to buy either the iPhone 17 Air or the Galaxy S25 Edge. First-generation designs tend to highlight problems that later iterations eventually smooth out (if they ever do). Early adopters paid for the privilege of being beta testers.
The compromises needed to shave down thickness – smaller batteries, less robust cooling systems and tighter internal tolerances – are obvious. Repairability takes a big hit and durability becomes questionable. Yes, these phones look stunning in keynote slides, but the trade-offs are significant.
That doesn’t mean the technology won’t improve. Apple is expected to move its next generation of A-series processors to a 2-nanometre process node at semiconductor manufacturing partner TSMC in 2026, a leap that should dramatically improve performance-per-watt. Samsung will do the same.
Shrinking transistors from the current 3nm down to 2nm means more computing power squeezed into less space while drawing less energy. In theory, that could allow ultra-thin phones to claw back some battery efficiency.
Moore’s law
But let’s not fool ourselves here: the extra 5mm saved in thickness could just as easily have housed a battery with more capacity.
The semiconductor industry has built its reputation on Moore’s law – the observation that transistor density doubles roughly every two years. Apple’s shift, with TSMC, to 2nm will move the company to the most advanced process node yet deployed.
The benefits are substantial: smaller chips, reduced heat generation, and the ability to stack more specialised cores for AI and graphics. A 2nm chip will help offset the battery deficit by using less power for the same workloads.
Read: iPhone Air steals the show at Apple’s 2025 launch event
And because efficiency gains compound over time, Apple’s 2026 iPhones may well make today’s Air look like a prototype.
But even then, consumer value doesn’t rest on advanced process nodes alone. A chip can be brilliant, but if the rest of the phone is a compromise – a tiny camera sensor or a battery that dies before dinner – then the device fails to serve its purpose. Performance gains from 2nm should be paired with design pragmatism, not this fetish for thinness.
Consumers consistently rank battery life and camera quality as their top priorities in surveys. Neither benefits from this newfound obsession with ultra-thinness.
No, the drive to make thinner phones isn’t about consumer demand; rather, it’s about showroom appeal. A device that looks impossibly slim on a retail shelf grabs attention. Reviewers gasp. Share prices tick upwards. But once the honeymoon ends, users are left scrambling for their power banks.
It’s ironic that, at the same time, accessory makers are thriving by selling bulky cases and battery packs – effectively undoing the very thinness that manufacturers trumpet. Equally ironic is that Apple is touting its own MagSafe battery pack for the iPhone 17 Air. And let’s face facts: if people genuinely wanted the thinnest possible device, phone cases wouldn’t be a multibillion-dollar industry, would they?
Read: Why the real story at Apple’s launch was eSim, not the iPhone Air
The sensible advice is simple: don’t buy the iPhone 17 Air or the Galaxy S25 Edge (or any of the other ultra-thin phones now sure to follow). For now, the best phones on the market are not the thinnest ones. They are the ones with balance – enough heft to pack in batteries that last, cameras that impress and chips that run cool under load. – © 2025 NewsCentral Media
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