Galaxy Note 21 Might Still Happen Next Year With A Catch

Reports of the Galaxy Note line's demise might be exaggerated or premature. Those reports were mostly based on rumors that the Galaxy S21, particularly the Galaxy S21 Ultra, would gain the one feature that sets the two products apart. A report from South Korean media does seem to confirm that Samsung has gotten the ball rolling to give the Galaxy S21 Ultra its own S Pen. At the same time, however, it also gives Galaxy Note fans one last hope, at least until next year.

For years, the Galaxy Note's doom has been spelled out by prophets and analysts but it never came to pass, at least not yet. The S Pen is pretty much the last thing that the Galaxy Note has over the Galaxy S series and rumors suggest that might no longer the case. But rather than scrap the stylus-toting phablet next year, Samsung is now reportedly winding it down first.

ETnews' sources claim that Samsung has already placed orders for the digitizer that's needed to give the top of the line Galaxy S21 this S Pen support. It would have been way too early for the Galaxy Note 21 or even the Galaxy Z Fold 3. This unofficially confirms the feature for Samsung's early 2021 flagship coming in mid-January, or so leaks claim.

Those sources also say that there will still be a Galaxy Note next year but Samsung has reduced it to just one model. For two years, Samsung has put out two variants of this flagship and the reduction could suggest that Samsung is giving the line one last hoorah.

That would at least give the company enough time to prepare its true successor, the Galaxy Z Fold. Samsung has yet to figure out, much less prove, how it would allow using a stylus on the somewhat fragile flexible screen it uses for its foldable phones. Rumors that the Galaxy Z Fold 3 would have this feature might likewise be premature, especially if there will still be a Galaxy Note 21 after all.