Another nail appears to have been hammered into the coffin of the Samsung Galaxy Note line, with prominent leaker Ice Universe claiming that “Note is over, but it's not over. S becomes Note!”
If Ice Universe is correct, we'd take that to mean that the features of the Galaxy Note will be integrated into the Galaxy S series, as seen already with S Pen support for the Galaxy S21 Ultra. And that's a positive move.
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Why? Well, while I like the Note phones, I do feel the Galaxy S-series' Ultra versions renders them a tad moot. And for ease of choice, I’d much rather Samsung has one do-everything phone a year, rather than two with minor differences.
Update: Note is over, but it's not over. S becomes Note!September 22, 2021
For the past few months, the Samsung Galaxy Note line had been looking dead for all intents and purposes. But a brace of rumors — again from Ice Universe — appeared to give it the kiss of life recently. The first claimed that someone had seen “evidence of the existence of the next-generation Galaxy Note,” while the second had supposedly seen a frame intended for the Note 22.
I took those earlier rumors with a hefty dollop of salted skepticism, as I could see no reason why Samsung would bring back the Note phones when it now has foldable devices flying the Galaxy flagship flag.
I’ve already written about how I'm sad at what's basically the death of the Galaxy Note, and I do hope Samsung does indeed find some way of keeping the DNA of its stylus-toting phone in future Galaxy phones. I see no reason why a Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra couldn’t have an S Pen compartment.
But while Samsung hasn’t firmly closed the door on the Galaxy Note line, it has said in no uncertain terms we won’t get a Note phone this year, as it’s concentrating on foldable phones, and appears to be doing so for the foreseeable.
Now, I have my own concerns about the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3, and not just because it has a fiddly name; it’s too bulky and expensive. But it’s still a cool bit of tech, even impressing non-techy people who see it in action. So I can understand why Samsung would want to focus on building out its foldable phones rather than work on what are effectively Galaxy S-series phones but with added extras and a beautifully boxy design.
If future Samsung foldables can trim the phone down a little and integrate an S Pen holder into the chassis, I think there’ll be some Note fans who’ll wipe the mournful tears from their eyes and glance furtively at such a folding device. After all, as impressive as Note displays are, they can’t deliver the expansive screens that Fold phones have.
All that being said, I’d not place a huge bet on the Note never making a comeback; I can totally see Samsung coming up with some anniversary version of the Note a few years down the line. But time will tell. And in the meantime we have phones like the Google Pixel 6 to look forward to, an Android phone I’m particularly excited about.
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