Glad the Samsung Galaxy Note died when it did | Digital Trends

The Samsung Galaxy Note changed the mobile phone industry when it arrived and it has become a favorite with many people. Its committed and passionate fan base is perhaps only matched by those who love the iPhone.

But all of that was a long time ago, and now in mid-2023, I’m very glad Samsung killed the Note when it did.

The Samsung Galaxy Note was meant to die

In early 2022, Samsung said it would not be continuing the Galaxy Note line and that everything many loved about the series would be integrated into other Galaxy phones. It was a bold move, as Samsung was fully aware of the following dedicated to Notes and has long been satisfying the wishes of fans through the range of products focused on productivity. It risked alienating a lot of people, and there was no guarantee it would keep its promise.

Thinking about where Samsung is today with its best smartphone models, I am very happy that it has made the decision to drop the Note name. Why? Because what we have in its place are two incredible top-level models that do everything the Note did, and more. As much as I’ve enjoyed some of the latest Galaxy Note models, I don’t look back and wish it was still here because we were in such a better place.

Before we get into that, just a reminder of what the Galaxy Note was all about. Characterized by its huge screen and equally gigantic body, the Note was best known for the stylus that slid into it, always having the latest processor, and its prowess as a work phone. Oh, and to explode. He did that too. It existed alongside Samsung Galaxy S phones, which were all about style and camera.

Two for one

Looking at what Samsung has done with the range since then shows what a wise move it was to kill the Note and how we’ve benefited from the decision. You see, the Note is really dead in name only, as the Galaxy S23 Ultra does everything a modern Note would, but also with an astronomically better camera on board. If the Galaxy Note still existed, Samsung would still be messing around with two fairly similar devices, frustrating a lot of people who want the best of both worlds in one. Our needs on a device now extend beyond just one major function.

The Galaxy S23 Ultra is the best camera phone Samsung has ever made, yet it still has the same huge screen and stylus that we identify with the Note series. Samsung would never have made the S23 Ultra if the Note was still around. I recently returned to the S23 Ultra and was incredibly impressed with the camera, but only after I got used to the sheer size of the phone itself again. It’s what I want from a flagship phone, but if you want the huge screen, a stylus, and task-killing power, it does all of that, too.

The Galaxy S21 Ultra and Galaxy S22 Ultra were both great, but neither ticked all the boxes as a successor to the Note. But the Galaxy S23 Ultra is the phone that best represents the ultimate combination of the strengths of the Note series and the Galaxy S series. I remember really liking the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra and probably wouldn’t have upgraded it to the S21 or S22 Ultra, but now with the S23 Ultra continuing to be great since its launch, we were at the point where the latest Note owners can happily upgrade.

The Galaxy Z Fold 5 is also on the way

However, the S23 Ultra isn’t the main reason I’m glad the Note is dead. The Galaxy Z Fold 2 arrived just a few months after the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra, and was a huge improvement over the original Galaxy Fold in almost every way, but it’s also a world apart from the Galaxy Z Fold 4 in terms of durability, software, and overall finish. If the Note were still around, sandwiching itself between the Galaxy S series and the Fold and requiring development, would Samsung also still be ahead of its competition in large-screen foldables as it is today?

I’m not sure it could, and there’s a real future in continuing the development of the foldable, where there isn’t in having two very similar standard phones at the top of the range. Instead, the Galaxy Note’s noble sacrifice left us with the best Galaxy S-series phone we’ve seen, and the best large foldable you can buy even today. Yet absolutely nothing of the banknote offered has been forgotten or overlooked. It has been assimilated, Borg-style, into two of the best smartphones on sale in 2023.

Towards the end of its life, August became the month we would traditionally see a new Galaxy Note. But now it has become the new Galaxy Z Fold moment and I can’t wait to see how the Galaxy Z Fold 5 improves on the Galaxy Z Fold 4. We’re finally at the point where the Galaxy Note can rest in peace, knowing that its legacy truly continues and that fans of its once unique feature set and design are completely satisfied with a pair of cracking devices that can be considered must-have purchases.

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