Samsung makes it official: the Galaxy Note is dead – long live the Ultra!

Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra
(Image credit: Aakash Jhaveri)

We've been expecting this for a while, and now it's official: Samsung's Galaxy Note brand is dead, as confirmed by the company's mobile division chief Roh Tae-moon at MWC 2022, as reported by South Korean outlet Dailian.

Speaking to reporters ahead of his visit to the Samsung Electronics booth at this year's Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Roh explained that the "Galaxy Note will come out as Ultra" moving forward.

Roh is of course referencing the new Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra flagship, which borrows the Note range's distinctive integrated stylus, squared corners and curved glass, resulting in what is essentially a new Note in everything but name.

Analysis: don't worry, the Note lives on in spirit...

With Samsung's decision to skip the business-minded Note range last year, 2020's Galaxy Note 20 and Note 20 Ultra are now the company's final Note-branded handsets, marking the end a fan-favorite line of devices which began with the original Samsung Galaxy Note back in 2011.

Of course, it hasn't always been smooth sailing for Samsung's Note series – the brand's reputation received a significant black eye back in 2016 due to its infamous Galaxy Note 7, which was recalled and eventually cancelled in the name of public safety over reports of exploding batteries.

That said, the Note range came back stronger than ever with the Galaxy Note 8, and has maintained a loyal fanbase ever since. Thankfully, those fans will still be able to get their Note fix from the newly revised S-series going forward, making us think that it's really the original S Ultra series we should be eulogizing...

Stephen Lambrechts
Senior Journalist, Phones and Entertainment

Stephen primarily covers phones and entertainment for TechRadar's Australian team, and has written professionally across the categories of tech, film, television and gaming in both print and online for over a decade. He's obsessed with smartphones, televisions, consoles and gaming PCs, and has a deep-seated desire to consume all forms of media at the highest quality possible. 

He's also likely to talk a person’s ear off at the mere mention of Android, cats, retro sneaker releases, travelling and physical media, such as vinyl and boutique Blu-ray releases. Right now, he's most excited about QD-OLED technology, The Batman and Hellblade 2: Senua's Saga.

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