Samsung’s Galaxy Note is officially dead

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The Samsung Galaxy Note branding is dead. Not just paused but officially finished. That’s straight from Samsung’s new mobile chief, Roh Tae-moon. Going forward, the “Galaxy Note will be released as [the] Ultra.”

The S-pen-equipped phablet is a fan favorite. Samsung didn’t release a Galaxy Note device in 2021, after years of releasing both the Galaxy S and Galaxy Note lines. Instead, it held the S-pen in reserve for the Galaxy S22 Ultra.

We all thought that the Galaxy S22 Ultra was a Galaxy Note in all but name. Now, we have official confirmation that’s the case, with the Note becoming the Ultra.

READ MORE: Apple Exec: Early Galaxy phones were a ‘poor copy’ of the iPhone

Samsung’s official pre-order figures for South Korea show 1.02 million units of the Galaxy S22 Ultra already, with another week of the pre-order period to go.

That’s a respectable number, although it’s short of the 1.17 million units that the Galaxy Note 20 reached. It’s also short of the 1.3 million pre-orders that the Galaxy Note 10 managed in 2019.

Does that downward trend show that the market is falling out of love with the S-pen and the phablet form factor? It’s hard to say, as the falling sales figures come during the pandemic.

The worldwide market for smartphones dropped by around ten percent in 2020, which could explain the drop in Galaxy Note 20 orders. We’ll have to see what the retail sales of the Galaxy S22 Ultra do to that trend.

Let’s pour out one for the Galaxy Note. While we’re at it, though, raise a glass to the Galaxy Ultra, because it’s a spectacular rebirth for the phablet we all know and love.

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Joe Rice-Jones

Maker, meme-r, and unabashed geek with nearly half a decade of blogging experience at KnowTechie, SlashGear and XDA Developers. If it runs on electricity (or even if it doesn't), Joe probably has one around his office somewhere, with particular focus in gadgetry and handheld gaming. Shoot him an email at joe@knowtechie.com.