Samsung put Note fans on notice back in mid-March. There wasn’t going to be a Galaxy Note 21 series this year, and it was all because of the chip shortage. “Note series is positioned as a high-end model in our business portfolio,” Samsung co-CEO DJ Koh said. “It could be a burden to unveil two flagship models in a year, so it might be difficult to release a Note model in [the second half of 2021]. The timing of Note model launch can be changed, but we seek to release a Note model next year.”
Since that announcement, Samsung might have decided to kill the Galaxy Note entirely.
The writing was already on the wall
Samsung’s March warning gave Galaxy Note enthusiasts more than five months to decide what Galaxy phone to get. At the time, the Galaxy S21 Ultra already supported the S Pen. And rumors said the Galaxy Z Fold 3 would also come with S Pen support. That turned out to be accurate.
The chip shortage gave Samsung the perfect excuse for fans. In reality, Samsung was already working on at least two flagships for the second half of 2021, the Fold 3 and Flip 3. On top of that, the Galaxy S21 FE should also launch later this year. That’s another flagship-grade handset.
Ditching the Note is not a surprising move. The Note’s demise appeared in Samsung rumors for a few years now. Ever since Galaxy S phones got displays as big as the Note, or larger, it became evident that the Note’s days were numbered. The stylus remained the only Note signature feature. Then Samsung added S Pen support to the Galaxy S21 Ultra and the Fold 3.
Also, foldable devices like the Galaxy Z Fold series further threaten the Note’s existence. Not to mention that the Fold 3 is more durable and more affordable foldable than its predecessors.
What about the Galaxy Note 22?
Then in early June, we heard that Samsung was already discussing the Galaxy Note 22. The S21 Ultra sales were disappointing — the entire S21 line failed to meet expectations. At the same time, however, rumors said that Samsung had big plans for its foldables.
Fast-forward to early September, and the 2021 Samsung foldable handsets are a success story. They’re selling better than expected, according to early reports. On top of that, not many people seem to miss the Galaxy Note. Not even Samsung.
Well-known Samsung insider Ice Universe posted on Twitter a few days ago a screenshot that shows Samsung just renewed trademarks for several of its key Galaxy handset series.
oh shit！ pic.twitter.com/BLrFvZ3SxF
— Ice universe (@UniverseIce) September 7, 2021
The Galaxy S, Galaxy Z, Galaxy M, and Galaxy A trademarks got renewals in late August. Absent from the list was the Galaxy Note series.
Ice has criticized Samsung’s decision to abandon the Note all year long, so he’s definitely among the disgruntled Galaxy Note fans out there. But if his finding is correct, and Samsung hasn’t renewed the Note trademark, then the Korean giant might indeed be looking to eliminate the original “phablet” from its lineup for good.
Nothing is certain until Samsung makes it so. If there’s a Galaxy Note 22 in Samsung’s future, we’ll probably learn about it soon after the Galaxy S22’s mid-January launch.
