For a lineup set to debut in just a few months, the Galaxy S26 series sure seems to be in a constant state of flux. It wasn’t long ago that Samsung appeared set to launch a radically different trio of phones: the usual Galaxy S26 Ultra paired with a Plus-replacing Galaxy S26 Edge and a smaller Galaxy S26 “Pro.” It took less than the entirety of October for that all to fall apart, with the Edge seemingly scrapped and that “Pro” suffix dropped entirely. In other words, its vision for 2026 seemed to collapse overnight.
However, a new report from Galaxy Club suggests otherwise. While no one is ready to breathe new life into those “Pro” rumors, it appears like Samsung’s dream of ultra-slim smartphones isn’t dead just yet. According to that report, Samsung has had a device in-development for a few months now, codenamed “More Slim.” Work on that device started long after development on the original Galaxy S26 Edge had kicked off, while the codename itself pulled from the original “Slim” title used for this year’s Galaxy S25 Edge.
In other words, Galaxy Club‘s connected dots suggests Samsung cancelled a more straightforward Edge entry in order to potentially chase a more daring second-gen attempt, using the newly-revived Galaxy S26+ as a way to still launch with three phones while delivering a slimmer entry later in the year. Assuming this report is correct — and really, at this point, it’s hard to say for sure what exactly is happening with the S26 series as a whole — that leaves next year’s lineup looking very similar to this year’s, and I cannot escape the feeling that’s a bad idea.
Samsung appears to have learned nothing from the Galaxy S25 Edge’s launch
You can chalk the failure of the Galaxy S25 Edge up to countless mistakes. It could’ve been the late (and repeatedly delayed) launch that separated it from the rest of Samsung’s pack. It could’ve been the $1,100 launch price just didn’t make sense to consumers considering the competition, both from other Galaxy devices and from brands like Google and Apple. Perhaps the Galaxy Z Fold 7 arriving just two months later saw enthusiasts waiting for an ultra-thin foldable rather than a standard — albeit slimmed down — slab phone. And maybe tepid reviews and mediocre battery life left the S25 Edge practically DOA.
Personally, I think it’s all of this and more. Several months down the road now, I don’t think it’s a hot take to say Samsung botched this launch in an attempt to beat Apple to the punch. As I wrote about previously, the Galaxy S26 Edge seemed primed to, at the very least, launch with some momentum behind it. Arriving with the rest of its trio would bring more of a spotlight to Samsung’s slim option, while the removal of the S26+ could allow it to match the iPhone Air’s $999 price point. Even that rumored Qi2 support could let Samsung take a page out of Apple’s custom-built battery bank playbook.
And yet, if Samsung does in fact make a successor to the Galaxy S25 Edge, it sounds like it’ll make the same exact mistakes one year later: a late launch; a difficult price point sandwiched between the Plus and Ultra models; and a lack of real brand uniformity. This report says Samsung’s big swing is to make the phone even thinner, and frankly, I don’t see how that doesn’t come at the cost of battery life or, potentially, that Qi2 support we expect across the rest of the series.
The worst part is, Samsung’s eventual S26 Edge decision might not matter. The iPhone Air appears to similarly be selling far behind the rest of Apple’s 2025 lineup, and whether that’s due to a lack of demand or a lack of general awareness — I have yet to see a single ad for the Air during this NFL season — I’m not sure it matters. Samsung might see a path to success here by chasing an even slimmer, sleeker chassis to compete with Apple, but if it once again comes at the cost of a timely launch, a reasonable price point, and a full set of features, I’m not even sure why it’s bothering.
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