Both Apple and Samsung are expected to introduce super-thin smartphones in 2025, but their … [+]
Next year could be the year of the “slim” smartphone, with Apple and Samsung keen to release new devices with high-end specs and extremely slim profiles.
However, the two companies seem to be taking different approaches, which, according to a new report, could tip the balance in Samsung’s favor when it comes to the camera.
As noted tipster Ice Universe recently revealed, “The difference between the Samsung Galaxy Slim and iPhone Slim models is that Samsung wants to make the camera stronger, stronger than the S25 and more similar to the idea of the vivo X200 Pro mini, not just thin and light.”
As I previously reported, this would position the Samsung Galaxy S25 Slim as a flagship-level device with, at the very least, a triple-lens camera. Apple, on the other hand, is expected to opt for just a single-lens camera on the much-anticipated iPhone 17 “Air” (or possibly the iPhone 17 “Slim”) in 2025, potentially giving Samsung’s device a distinct advantage in zoom capabilities . and image quality.
Can Samsung’s Galaxy S25 Slim beat Apple’s iPhone 17 Air?
Fitting a triple-lens camera into a super-slim smartphone body is no easy task. Telephoto and zoom optics usually take up considerable internal space, even when prisms and mirrors are used to “fold” the lens into smaller sizes.
Additionally, higher-quality telephoto optics need physically larger lens elements to capture enough light to produce a high-quality image.
This often results in thicker smartphones with large camera bumps – neither of which would be suitable for a “slim” device.
Samsung’s ALoP technology results in much smaller camera modules than current folding optics models.
Samsung has a new super-thin camera technology
Samsung’s recently announced ALoP (All Lenses in Prism) technology is designed to meet this challenge by offering much smaller telephoto lenses while maintaining image quality.
With ALoP, the internal lens elements are placed in front of the prism rather than between the prism and the sensor. This results in much more compact telephoto lens modules that would fit a much thinner smartphone body, such as the Galaxy S25 Slim.
ALoP camera modules place all lens optics in front of the prism, facing forward, rather than … [+]
The iPhone 17 Air is likely to be thinner than the Galaxy S25 Slim
Despite Samsung’s new camera technology, Apple can still claim the thinnest smartphone crown. While we’re still a long way from seeing any confirmed specs, rumors currently speculate that the Galaxy S25 Slim will be under 7.2mm thick, the size Ice Universe previously thought to be the thickness of last year’s entry-level Galaxy S25. next.
The iPhone 17 Air, however, is expected to be even thinner: According to a research note from analyst Jeff Pu, seen by MacRumorsThe iPhone 17 Air could be just 6mm thick, handing Apple the “thinness” crown next year.
Ultimately, the decision for most customers won’t come down to whether Samsung or Apple has the best “Slim” smartphone, but whether the Galaxy S25 Slim and iPhone 17 Air prove compelling within their respective product ranges. Will potential iPhone 17 Air customers care about only having a single-lens camera? We will have to wait and see.
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