By Akriti Rana and Nimish Dubey
"The Note is dead
Long live the Galaxy S22 Ultra…"
Those words were not actually uttered at Samsung's recent Galaxy Unpacked 2022 event, but they definitely hung in the air. Rumours had been rife that Samsung would be discontinuing its Note range in 2022. The fact that Samsung did not release a flagship Galaxy Note in 2021 only fuelled this belief, especially when support for the S Pen stylus (a Galaxy Note exclusive) was extended to other devices, such as the Galaxy S21 Ultra and the Galaxy Fold 3. When Samsung revealed the Galaxy S22 Utra complete with not just support, but a special slot for the S Pen, many felt that the move essentially spelled the end of the Galaxy Note era.
The Rise And Fall Of The Galaxy Note
It also marked a very bold gamble by Samsung to blend two of its bestselling series of premium devices.
In the past, the Korean brand used to take care to keep the S series and the Note series distinct. The positioning was simple — the S series was for mainstream users who wanted a powerful phone with a very good camera and a terrific display, while the Note was more about those who were concerned about productivity, serving up a bigger display and coming with the famous S Pen stylus tucked inside it.
That large display, generally very good cameras and battery life and most of all, that stylus made the Note perhaps the most distinct phone in the world. It was hardly surprising that though the Galaxy S was supposed to be the flagship phone, it was the Note that was seen by most people as the real iPhone challenger, and was often considered the best non-iPhone flagship.
That changed with the Galaxy Note 7 disaster in 2016.
The problems with the device, many units of which exploded, suddenly put the spotlight on the Galaxy S series. While the Note did make a comeback and even did brisk business, there was a feeling that it had lost momentum due to the setback. What's more, one of its biggest assets — the large display — had become a mainstream phone feature, with many phones boasting large displays.
In fact, the dividing line between the Galaxy S and the Galaxy Note had become a very thin one and was defined by the S Pen stylus. When the Galaxy Note 20 was seen as not doing very well, as per reports, it was felt in many tech circles that the time had come for the Note to bow out.
A Rebranded Galaxy Note 22?
Samsung seemed to be thinking on these lines as well. S Pen support was extended to both the S21 Ultra and the Galaxy Fold 3 in 2021, although in both cases the stylus had to be purchased separately and neither device had space to store it.
The Galaxy S22 Ultra revealed at the Galaxy Unpacked event, however, comes with no such restrictions. It not only supports the S Pen, but comes with it slotted inside its body, just like in the Note. Also, just like the Note, the S22 Ultra had a large display (although not as big a deal as it once was). Just as the Note stood apart from the S series, so too did the S22 Ultra from its siblings, the S22 and the S22+. And just like the Note, the S22 also came with a premium pricing, starting at USD 1,199 (the Indian price has not been revealed at the time of writing).
The similarity was so uncanny that some observers even called the S 22 Ultra a "rebranded Galaxy Note 22".
All new S22 Ultra or rebranded Note, the big question however, is whether the S22 Ultra can carve a niche for itself to the same extent that the Note series did as its peak, and in doing so, challenge the iPhone as the premium segment's Top Gun? There is a line of thought that feels that discontinuing the Note series made sense given the relatively lukewarm response to the Note 20, as well as the increasing similarity between the S and the Note series. However, it is not as simple as that. In fact, Samsung has taken a rather brave gamble by Note-fying the S22 Ultra.
The Stylus Challenge
The S22 Ultra's biggest challenge is actually the stylus that accompanies it. Yes, the S22 Ultra also packs some very good hardware, but we are likely to see other Android manufacturers match that in the coming days, and perhaps even at lower prices. It is the stylus that marks it out as special, but is the stylus as big a deal as it was a few years ago?
The Note's USP was its S Pen stylus. You could not get a Note without it. In fact, most people bought the Note for it. The S22 Ultra carries that tradition forward. There is no way in which you can get the S22 Ultra without a stylus. That may sound good, but the fact is that while the S Pen was a formidable tool a few years ago, it literally has been out in the cold for more than a year, as no phone launched in 2021 was sold with it as a single package. There is a perception that the withdrawal of the Note 7 had harmed the stylus' prospects. The lull between the Note 20 and the S22 Uttra might do the same. Remember what happened to BlackBerry's legendary QWERTY keyboard when the brand took a year long sabbatical to refresh its OS? People simply moved on.
There is a genuine concern that this could have happened with the S Pen as well, notwithstanding how formidable a tool it is. Some observers feel that Samsung would have done better by keeping the Note as a separate series, or maybe even blending it with the S series in terms of nomenclature by calling the device the S22 Ultra (Note Edition), thus giving the consumers the option to go for a variant with an S Pen, or to opt for a similar one without it. As of now, this is not possible as both the S22 and the S22+ have inferior specs in terms of display, cameras and a few other factors. You want the top of the line S22? You get the stylus as well, whether you want it or use it or not. Some consumers might not appreciate that, especially if there are competing devices at lower prices.
Taking On The iPhone
The Galaxy S22 Ultra will have to deal with not just the challenge of Android devices but also the iPhone. Apple's phone has been on a winning run for a while and the absence of a clear Android rival has clearly helped its cause.
The S22 Ultra could change that.
It has not only an exceptional spec sheet but also comes with that stylus which makes it stand out from the Android crowd. However, standing out is by itself not likely to be enough given the extent of the task the phone faces — four of the five highest selling phones in the first three quarters of 2021 were iPhones, as per Gartner. The fifth phone, interestingly, was a Samsung. But it was not a flagship device, but the very budget-oriented Galaxy A12.
The fact that the fourth quarter of 2021 saw new iPhones being released would only have boosted Apple's share.
On a purely commercial level, Samsung has gambled by combining two bestselling series into one, hoping that it will get the same level of sales and revenue as it did from two. Not an easy task. The Galaxy S22 Ultra has its work cut out. It has to get Samsung back into the premium phone zone and take on the iPhone in the process. What's more, it has got to move Note loyalists (and we believe they are still a large number) to a new series. Given how well it recovered from the Note 7 fiasco, we would say that the brand has the marketing muscle and nous to pull it off. And if it does not, who knows, there might be a Note 22 later in the year?