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Samsung's Galaxy S25 Edge launched with significant fanfare earlier this year, but the ultra-thin flagship hasn't exactly set the world on fire. With sluggish sales of just 650,000 units so far (reported from leaked sales reports) and production cuts already underway, Samsung faces a critical decision for its 2026 lineup. The latest rumors suggest the company might be considering a surprising move, bringing back the Galaxy S26 Plus alongside the Edge variant, potentially reshuffling its entire flagship strategy to balance experimental design with proven performance. Surprising? A little. Sensible? Probably.
Why the Galaxy S25 Edge struggled to find its footing
Here is what went sideways with Samsung's ultra-slim experiment. The Galaxy S25 Edge sold 650,000 units by June 2025, a figure that pales in comparison to the S25 Ultra's reportedly 9.64 million units during the same period. That gap is more than consumer preference, it signals that Samsung misread demand for thinness over everyday functionality.
Timing hurt too. The Galaxy S25 was unveiled Jan 22, 2025, and went on sale Feb 7, 2025. The S25 Edge was announced May 12, 2025, and went on sale globally around May 30, 2025, missing those crucial early-adoption months when smartphone sales are typically concentrated in the first three months. That window gave competitors like the iPhone 16 extra runway without Samsung's thinnest alternative on shelves.
And the big culprit, battery anxiety. Industry reports point to the Galaxy S25 Edge's battery capacity as a major worry for consumers, and it is not hard to see why. If you are paying flagship prices, trading all-day stamina for a few millimeters of pocket-friendliness feels like a bad deal.
Samsung's marketing moves hinted at trouble. Pre-order bonuses got better every few days, a tell that the company was hustling for traction after launch metrics lagged. Even with aggressive trade-in deals and hefty discounts, the Edge never cracked the mainstream.
Production cuts arrived fast. Industry reports say Samsung made major reductions just a month after launch, with output plummeting compared to the previous month. That sort of snapback suggests internal projections were off, so the company hit the brakes quickly.
The Plus model paradox: Poor sales but steady growth
Here is where 2026 planning gets tricky. While Samsung initially planned to ditch the Galaxy S26 Plus entirely, recent sales data makes the case for a rethink. The Galaxy S25 Plus achieved reportedly 3.85 million units by the end of June, not a smash hit, but a meaningful 7.5% increase over the S24 Plus in the same timeframe.
Put next to the Edge's sluggish start, that trajectory matters. The Plus model has often been the worst seller in Samsung's flagship lineup, yet it shows steady, predictable demand and a loyal middle-ground crowd. More importantly, it is improving year over year, not sliding backward.
Zoom out, and the core blueprint still works. The Galaxy S25 series crossed 20 million combined units by June, a reminder that the traditional three-model approach keeps delivering. Does it really make sense to dump stable revenue for an experiment that has not found its footing?
Internal targets spell out the stakes. For the entire S25 lineup, Samsung reportedly aimed for 37.7 million units total, with the Plus model accounting for 6.7 million units. Cutting the smallest flagship sounds easy until you realize you are dropping a chunk of sales that the Edge would need to replace, and then some.
What a Galaxy S26 Plus revival could look like
If Samsung restores the Galaxy S26 Plus, the current development pipeline already offers a few paths. Samsung has already requested suppliers to prepare for Galaxy S26 Edge mass production, so the Edge is not going anywhere. Even so, internal signals point to flexibility that could accommodate both ideas.
Leaks point to a possible three-model lineup with revised branding, Galaxy S26 Pro, S26 Edge, and S26 Ultra. That setup would let Samsung reframe a Plus-style phone as the Pro, keeping the practical middle slot while giving it a more premium label.
The Goldilocks pitch can sharpen too, tuned for reliability. Rather than just a size compromise between standard and Ultra, an S26 Plus could emphasize battery life, thermal management, and consistent day-to-day performance for people who prize dependable flagships over design experiments.
The tech timing lines up. Silicon battery technology could be ready for the S26 generation, a fix for the Edge's battery limitations that lets a Plus-style phone push endurance beyond current models. That would give Samsung both worlds, an ultra-thin Edge for design fans and a Plus that power users can trust.
Samsung's also betting heavily on enhanced AI features for 2026, which could create separation beyond hardware. The Plus could be the AI workhorse with a larger battery to support heavier workloads, while the Edge leans into portability and style with more efficient AI features.
One more tell, Samsung is developing four different OLED panels for the S26 series. That move screams flexibility, support for multiple variants based on market feedback and competitive pressure, not a rigid three-slot template.
The bigger picture: Learning from the Edge experiment
Bottom line, the Galaxy S25 Edge taught Samsung plenty about pushing design limits, but it also showed that buyers still value practical basics like battery life over ultra-thin profiles. The sluggish sales and production cuts make it clear, engineering chops cannot paper over core user experience tradeoffs.
A Plus revival would not be a retreat, it would be a smart hedge. Keep the Edge for design-first shoppers, offer the Plus as the reliability play that builds on lessons from the Edge and the Plus model's steady growth. That dual track widens coverage and spreads risk instead of piling everything on a single bet.
Competition only raises the stakes. With the S25 Ultra ranking 7th globally behind the iPhone 16 in Q1 2025 sales, Samsung needs clear angles across segments. Give people distinct reasons to choose, Edge for premium design, Plus for tuned performance, Ultra for maxed-out capability. Choice sells.
Reports suggest Samsung is exploring silicon-carbon battery tech for the S26 generation; some leaks speculate capacities up to ~6,000mAh, but details are unconfirmed. It suggests that the company is applying Edge lessons to fix the battery versus thinness dilemma. If silicon tech eases that tradeoff, both Edge and Plus can stand tall, each serving different priorities without compromise.
The real test, resist chasing skinny-for-skinny's-sake at the cost of fundamentals. The Edge experiment was not a flop, it pushed boundaries and surfaced hard truths. Reliability still rules for the mainstream.
If the Galaxy S26 Plus returns with stronger battery tech, sharper AI features, and design tweaks informed by the Edge, that looks like Samsung's smartest 2026 play to me, innovation that respects what users value. Not flashy reinvention for its own sake, just better tools that work harder, longer, for more people.
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