Opinion
Opinion: By providing S Pen support to Galaxy S21 Ultra, Samsung is killing its Note series
Today, we’re talking about one of the most important topics for all the die-hard users of the Samsung Galaxy Note smartphones. If we take a look at the early reports and news, it looks like Samsung is trying to kill the Note series smartphones. How? Let’s take a look at this whole story in detail.
The Galaxy Note lineup is Samsung’s flagship offering and the company installs expensive and powerful components to make it truly premium. Aside from the hardware, software, and camera, the Note series smartphones come with their special identity that separates it from the S-series as well as its competitor from other smartphone makers around the globe.
Yes, I am talking about the almighty “S-Pen” stylus. Since its first launch with Galaxy Note, Samsung has made various improvements in its latency, pressure sensitivity, and its power efficiency. The S Pen itself is truly an invention that truly impresses me and also the other Galaxy Note users.
As a proud owner of the latest Galaxy Note 20 Ultra, I support purchasing the Note lineup because of its one-up feature, the S Pen. The S Pen allows me to jot down any idea instantly even when my Note 20 Ultra is locked, just tap on the display, and voila! Your Note device becomes a notepad.
Aside from writing or drawing, the S Pen can now capture pictures remotely, activate split-screen features, and more.
The S pen is surely unique and makes its users feel unique in their own way because each year, millions of unique users choose to buy the Note series because of the S Pen.
But reports reveal that we may no longer be a unique smartphone user because Samsung is now moving to give S Pen support with its upcoming S series smartphones, Galaxy S21 Ultra. This is a clear indication that Samsung has intentions to merge the Galaxy Note lineup to the S phones.
Even if it may not be an instant end to the Galaxy Note devices but it could be a beginning for migration and the inclusion of the Galaxy Note features – S Pen to the Galaxy S smartphone.
If the company stays on track, then we might see one more Note series launch, Galaxy Note 21 in 2021, and then it could be goodbye for a separate launch of the Galaxy Note devices.
Furthermore, Samsung will not only provide S Pen support to Galaxy S21 Ultra but it’s also reported that the next Galaxy Fold, Galaxy Z Fold 3 may also come with S Pen. Moreover, the South Korean tech giant is planning to bring the Z Fold phones into the mainstream, probably in place of the August launching slot, which is occupied by the Galaxy Note.
Currently, there’s nothing certain whether Samsung will sell the S Pen inside the Galaxy S21 Ultra or a separate accessory, as Samsung is yet to clear its stance on this matter. However, we can only hope that Samsung may have some other plans to surprise me and other consumers.
Related:
After One UI 5.1, we started hearing a lot of news, leaks, and rumors about the upcoming One UI 6. Recently, Samsung has also started releasing One UI 6.0 support for stock apps, starting with the Calculator app.
Looking at all this, we can expect that Samsung will provide this support to more apps in the future too. But the question is, why is Samsung providing One UI 6.0 support to its stocks apps before the official release? If you are thinking that by getting their support, you will get some new features in your apps, then it is not only the reason.
Samsung One UI 6.0 support can also bring new features for apps, but the main reason for this is something else. But what? The answer is that Samsung is going to release a new One UI update in the coming weeks or months and the company aims to make its stock apps compatible with that accordingly. Once the app is supported, the app will not stop working or get crash whenever the company releases that update for the smartphone.
A recent report revealed that Samsung’s stable Android 14 update will be available in October. This is the same time frame as last year’s UI rollout, with the latest Galaxy S lineup being the first to secure it. Meanwhile, beta activity is seeing an early start if everything goes as planned by the internals.
Still, for the time being, we can consider this information as a pinch of salt as the company has not yet announced any official timeline for One UI 6.0.
Samsung confirms One UI 6 and Good Lock features finding underway
Nowadays, smartphones are being heavily used for gaming and photography. Accordingly, phone makers are focussing more and more on upgrading the imaging capabilities and performance of chipsets. So why not, Samsung should now bring battery upgrade to Galaxy flagships.
Battery upgrade should be the next aim
The recently launched Galaxy S23 Ultra brings a high-profile 200-megapixel camera, allowing users to capture lossless shots, even when cropped. With great collaboration between hardware and software, the new Samsung flagships offer peace of mind to consumers, when it comes to battery life.
In addition to camera lovers, people prefer buying a smartphone, which offers great battery life without compromising features and power specifications. In the same way, Samsung is reportedly working, and there’s still room for improvements in flagships battery life.
The Galaxy S24 Ultra could come with a new battery technology inspired by electronic vehicles. The company is considering stacked battery technology for smartphones, which will reduce the size keeping the same mAh and enhanced lifespan.
Since the stacked battery tech could leave more gap inside the phone, Samsung might not think about increasing mAh on flagship phones. Instead, the company may use an additional vacant area for upgrading other hardware elements and better placement.
The S23 Ultra even defeated the years-old leader iPhone in terms of battery performance, thanks to the “Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy” processor. Exynos 2400 is reportedly coming to the S24 series in certain markets, which re-creates concern about the phone’s battery life and performance.
That said, Samsung should focus on increasing premium Galaxy phones’ battery life so users can use them longer with a single charge. 45W fast charging is doing quite well, just improvements to battery life would prove as cherry on the cake.
What do you think about it, do share your thoughts with us through the Tweet embedded below.
Vote here: https://t.co/tOfPTuWKX7
— Sammy Fans (@thesammyfans) May 5, 2023
Poll Results: May 12, 2023
We ran a poll that received 106 votes from our readers’ community. Among all, about 70 percent of readers voted in favor of a battery upgrade instead of the camera, while 23.6 percent want both upgrades together. Meanwhile, 6.6 percent of voters still want Samsung to focus on flagship camera upgrade.
Instead of Camera, Samsung should bring battery upgrade to flagships #Samsung
— Sammy Fans (@thesammyfans) May 5, 2023
Tech industry is currently facing a global downturn, forcing companies to shut down businesses in hopeless markets. Promotion no longer remains the only way to sell more smartphones as consumers start comparing products on different aspects; reliability, security and software support.
Samsung, unquestionably meets the demands of consumers, thanks to its 4+5 strategy, ensuring longer Android OS and security updates support. The company is the biggest Android seller in the world, and of course leads the market too, beating rivals like Apple.
Since the Samsung 4+5 strategy still lags behind Apple, when it comes to software support, it is record-breaking in the Android segment. As vendors stop including pre-built charging adapters to reduce e-waste, the EU also mandated longer software support so consumers can keep using a phone longer.
“At Samsung, you get not 1, not 2, not 3, but 4 times Android OS updates. And 5 years is a long time, so your palm-sized pal will be in good hands with new regular security patches.”
Software updates play a key role in continuing great smartphone experiences, as well as the releases come with new features and optimization. Android is open source and gets packed with numerous flaws, Google patches them through security releases every month.
Accordingly, Samsung rolls out monthly patches to a large number of Galaxy devices, which ensures the most reliable system and user data protection. Android OS usually gets a new version in the second half of every year, bringing new useful features and life-saving tools to consumers.
Samsung, with its amazing One UI, dominated the Android market. The custom skin is neat, clean, and intuitive, ensuring smoother and more stunning experiences on Galaxy smartphones and tablets. Google introduces 1 each year, but Samsung utilizes it thrice (x.0/x.1/x.1.1), cool enough?
Until the second half of 2020, Samsung supplied two OS updates to all Galaxy devices. Later, the company raised the bar of software and reached up to 3, matching the Android maker. With the S22 launch, the Korean tech giant promised to bring up to 4 OS and 5 years of patches to select Galaxy models.