Samsung Galaxy Note series won't be written off — the S-pen device lives on (for now)

Galaxy Note 20 Ultra on a table with S Pen
(Image credit: Laptop Mag)

The Samsung Galaxy Note series was the subject of discontinuation rumors, killing the spirits of many S Pen fans. According to Reuters, "sources with knowledge of the matter" blathered about Samsung's plans to ax the S pen-equipped phone, but this rumor has been debunked.

A Samsung official told Korean news platform Yonhap that the Galaxy Note series, contrary to the circulating gossip, will not be nixed from the tech giant's phone portfolio — well, not for now at least. That means the Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra won't be the last of its kind.

The Samsung Galaxy Note series lives to see another year

"We are preparing to release the Galaxy Note series next year," an anonymous Samsung official told Yonhap, dispelling rumors that the S-pen device is coming to an end.

The rumors about the end of the Galaxy Note series took off in November when Max Weinbach, a popular tech leaker, unveiled Samsung's roadmap for 2021, and the next-gen Galaxy Note smartphone was notably missing from the line-up.

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Another leaker with the moniker @UniverseIce tweeted, "An unusual clue: There is currently no information on the development of the Note21 series," adding more fuel to the rumors that the Samsung Galaxy Note 21 series is a no-go.

Further validating the rumors, Reuters reported that three unnamed sources revealed the Korean tech giant has no plans to launch a next-gen Samsung Galaxy Note series phone. The sources also claimed that the Korean tech giant plans to expand the S Pen, one of the standout features of the Galaxy Note series, to Samsung's next foldable release and the upcoming Galaxy S21.

Yesterday, after Samsung's President and Head of Mobile Communications Business TM Roh published a blog post, tech news outlets picked up on Roh's implication that the S Pen support will come to more phone lines. 

"We’ve also been paying attention to people’s favorite aspects of the Galaxy Note experience and are excited to add some of its most well-loved features to other devices in our lineup," Roh said.

As such, tech pundits assumed Roh's blog post substantiated sources' claims that Samsung is keeping the Galaxy Note series' best asset (the S Pen), ditching the Galaxy Note line, and focusing its attention on the Galaxy S series and other phone families. However, as mentioned, a Samsung official reportedly confirmed that the next-gen Galaxy Note will arrive in 2021. 

It's important to note, though, that the rumors of the Galaxy Note Series getting the ax may not be all that far fetched. Although Galaxy Note Series will live to see another year, according to ET News, Samsung will release one more smartphone at the tail-end of 2021, and that will be the last of the beloved S Pen-equipped device.

Kimberly Gedeon

Kimberly Gedeon, holding a Master's degree in International Journalism, launched her career as a journalist for MadameNoire's business beat in 2013. She loved translating stuffy stories about the economy, personal finance and investing into digestible, easy-to-understand, entertaining stories for young women of color. During her time on the business beat, she discovered her passion for tech as she dove into articles about tech entrepreneurship, the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) and the latest tablets. After eight years of freelancing, dabbling in a myriad of beats, she's finally found a home at Laptop Mag that accepts her as the crypto-addicted, virtual reality-loving, investing-focused, tech-fascinated nerd she is. Woot!