There is a strong chance that we will not see a Galaxy Note model this year. That’s not just subtle profiteering, either. Samsung itself has thrown cold water on its plans for a Galaxy Note 21 last week, with mobile boss Koh Dong-jin telling Bloomberg that a global chip shortage could mean new Note in 2021.
If that’s the reason Samsung wants to provide for any new Note, that’s fine with me. But the company would just as well say that we have seen the last one of the Galaxy Note this year and beyond.
Don’t dismiss me as a Galaxy Note hater with wild eyes. It has been a good phone over the years, setting the standard for phablets that other phone makers have tried to survive. But its time as a distinctive and recognizable end product of Samsung’s phone line has passed.
Stand the big screen anymore
When the first Galaxy Note went out a decade ago this fall, competitors dismissed it as a misnomer and a less important piece of technical media. And people were still buying it. The Galaxy Note may be the first big-screen phone, but it certainly liked the idea. These days, it’s hard to find a phone with a screen that’s less than 6 inches, and a lot of that is due to the size of the Galaxy Note.
If the S Pen isn’t just a Galaxy Note add-on going, what’s really the point of that phone?
But that last phrase cuts both ways. With so many big screen phones now, the Galaxy Note is just one of many and no longer stands. Samsung’s own smartphone line is full of big screen options, with the 6.8-inch Galaxy S21 Ultra delivering almost as many display builds as the 6.9-inch Galaxy Note 20 Ultra. And if your extra cash is lying around, you can go even further with Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 2.
Put another way, all Samsung phones Galaxy S21 line diameter is 6.2 inches or more. Am midrange Galaxy A72 just mentioned by Samsung as much as the Galaxy Note 20. There is nothing particularly special about the screen size of the Galaxy Note anymore.
S Pen will come to other Galaxy phones
The Note can still claim a special feature in the form of the S Pen that navigates with all models. The S Pen is not a standard style, featuring a Bluetooth connection that enables remote controls. It is also useful for writing notes and for helping with detailed photo editing.
But as connected to the Galaxy Note as the S Pen could be, it’s no longer just for Samsung’s phablet. The Galaxy S21 Ultra was supported this year, and while you need to buy a separate case to hold the stylus, I can easily see future Galaxy S models including a slot for the S Pen just like the Galaxy Note does. It is reported that it is coming Galaxy Z Fold 3 going to support S Pen as well, and I wouldn’t be surprised if other phones came with an S Pen party further down the road. And if the S Pen isn’t just a Galaxy Note add-on going, what’s really the point of that phone?
It certainly does not deliver breaking features. Recent Notes has just embraced the camera features that Samsung introduced earlier this year’s Galaxy S models. The processor that powers the Note is usually the only one that appears in the Galaxy S. The only thing that is special about the Galaxy Note these days is the name. air.
Samsung’s future is easy to fold
If you’re looking for something innovative these days, you’re looking at Samsung’s complex efforts, whether that’s the Galaxy Z Fold 3 or what’s to come. Galaxy Z Flip 2. These devices have the users who are aware of screen space productivity, and features like Samsung’s flex mode take advantage of the flexible screen design to split the display between view space and specific controls. The biggest hits against folded phones so far are durability and price, and Samsung had rumors of looking to upgrade the former while reducing the latter ( or at least, making affordable phones so expensive).
There is an argument to be made from the industry point of view that Samsung will need a flagship phone later in the year, not only to help with holiday sales but also to not disrupt Apple’s attention and its annual iPhone update . But that’s easy enough for Samsung to deal with. A table showing rumored product announcements for the next six months was released this week indicating that Samsung will have a lower cost. Galaxy S21 FE celebrated in August; we would also see these flexible phone updates, according to a report working on Samsung. That’s a lot of phones that could be interesting, with no excessive phablets taking up any space.
The Galaxy Note had a good long run, but with its key features embraced and surrounded by other devices, it’s no longer a unique sight to the look of a smartphone. Samsung would rather drop that product name in style and turn their attention to the next big thing now that the last big thing is visible in its other phones.