Samsung might bring back the Galaxy Note in an unexpected way — what we know so far

A leaked render of the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra
(Image credit: Ice Universe on X)

A surprising rumor trend regarding the big phone makers is new iterations or renamed variants of their latest devices. Google did so at the recent Made by Google event by renaming the Pixel Fold and adding it to the main Pixel lineup in the Pixel 9 Pro Fold.

Potentially, Samsung may be doing something similar with next year's Galaxy S25 Ultra. A new rumor from leaker Yogesh Brar on X claims that the higher-tier models in the S25 series could have new names (h/t Neowin).

According to Brar, Samsung may be dropping the Ultra moniker to return the Note naming convention. Samsung hasn't released a Galaxy Note device since the Galaxy Note 20 and Note 20 Ultra

That series was killed off when Samsung brought S-Pen support to the main Galaxy lineup with the S21 Ultra. However, it wasn't until the S22 Ultra that the pens were built-in. Functionally, the Ultra variants of the flagship Galaxy phones have been Notes. 

There is speculation that the Korean company wants to differentiate itself from other manufacturers like Xiaomi and VIVO, which also use Ultra for some smartphones.

The other half of Brar's rumor is that Samsung would replace the Plus moniker with Pro, putting that variant in more direct competition with the iPhone 15 Pro and the new Google Pixel 9 Pro and Pixel 9 Pro XL.

Like most rumors, this needs to be taken with a large grain of salt and even Brar doesn't seem confident about it in his tweet.

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Scott Younker
West Coast Reporter

Scott Younker is the West Coast Reporter at Tom’s Guide. He covers all the lastest tech news. He’s been involved in tech since 2011 at various outlets and is on an ongoing hunt to build the easiest to use home media system. When not writing about the latest devices, you are more than welcome to discuss board games or disc golf with him.