Samsung was not quite ready to declare the Galaxy Note dead. Not yet. When we asked the company questions again after this month’s unpacked event, a representative told us: Samsung is constantly evaluating its product lineup so that we can meet the needs of consumers, while introducing technologies that enhance the mobile experience of users. We will not launch the new Galaxy Note device in 2021. Instead, Samsung plans to expand the Note experience and bring many of its popular productivity and creativity features, including the S Pen, to other segments across our Galaxy ecosystems, such as the Galaxy S21 Ultra and tablets and laptops. Once we are ready to announce we will share more detailed information about our future portfolio.
This is not an answer, just as he repeats his earlier announcement that there will be no new notes for 2021. Samsung sent us a similar non-committal response asking if it was just a chip shortage: The current instability in the semiconductor market is being felt throughout the technology industry and beyond. At Samsung, we continue to do our best to minimize impact and continue to work diligently with our partners to overcome supply challenges.
It is too early to announce the successor to the decade-long phablet throne of the Galaxy Fold 3 Note. What is certain, however, is that the new features for the Galaxy S line and the company high-end foldable have made the device quite unnecessary. Which, of course, made the video an overnight sensation? A good sales fold is mandatory as an argument for the redundancy of 3 notes. But it would have been a big “if”. Samsung was smart to place the early folds as an exciting test. It has never been easier to be the first in the market with new technology, especially the kind of scale that Samsung trades on. The original fold brings with it some big questions, in terms of reliability and acceptance.
Not reading too much of the former here (we’ve written a lot about it), let’s say the company went back to the drawing board a few times with that first round. For the latter, the company revealed in 2019 that it sold one million units in its first year. It was an amazing and impressive figure. Obviously, it can’t hold a candle to the number of the company’s S and Note series, but for an unproven $ 2,000 device a few months after launch, it was certainly a positive sign – in a very short time – adopted with early passengers.
