Update: Roland Moore-Coyer reckons the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra could be the best Galaxy Note ever.
The Samsung Galaxy Note line is officially done, according to the Korean News site ETNews. Not only will there be no Samsung Galaxy Note 22, but production of 2020’s Galaxy Note 20 range has also apparently reached the end of the road.
It should be noted that the source for this information isn’t made clear, with ETNews just stating that “it has been confirmed,” but if accurate it’s not entirely surprising.
We've been hearing about the end of the Galaxy Note line for some time, especially as Samsung clearly viewed the Galaxy Note 21 as dispensable in a year when the global chip shortage was biting hard and it viewed foldables as a priority — and all the evidence points to 2022 looking much the same, with no end to silicon supply constraints in sight.
But just because the Galaxy Note’s name may be retired, it doesn’t mean that the core concepts that gave it such a loyal following are lost forever. Indeed, all signs point to their wholesale adoption with the Ultra model of the Samsung Galaxy S22.
Samsung Galaxy Note: What's in a name?
The Galaxy S22 Ultra will, according to the most recent leaks, strongly resemble the Samsung Galaxy Note 20, with a 6.81-inch screen (while the other Galaxy S22 handsets are reportedly getting smaller) and a dock for the S Pen to sit.
It’s that last point that will be music to the ears of those who feel so strongly about the Galaxy Note that they were prepared to petition Samsung to secure its future. While the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra and Galaxy Z Fold 3 both support the S Pen, it’s a slightly unwieldy optional extra. With no dock to plant the S Pen when not in use, it feels less integral to the device and can, of course, be easily misplaced.
By returning the S Pen to its rightful place within the phone, Samsung could hopefully be sending a message: the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra is nothing without its S Pen.
With that in mind, does it really matter that it likely won’t technically be a member of the Galaxy Note family? I’d argue not: it’s the hardware that counts, and whether it’s an S-series or a Note phone, as long as it has the big screen and built-in S Pen, it should prove to be a winner.
There is, however, one possible downside to this: price. The Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra will likely be hugely expensive given the Galaxy S21 Ultra sold for $1,199, and while that may be a reasonable replacement for the Note 20 Ultra, there’s nothing for budget conscious S Pen lovers. Where’s the replacement for the vanilla Galaxy Note 20, or indeed the Galaxy Note 10 Lite?
Hopefully that will be addressed in time. But if it isn’t, that will be the real loss of the Note branding — not the superficial brand name.
