Samsung Confirms No New Note This Year, But Does Have A Pen For Foldables Up Its Sleeve

A Samsung rep has confirmed the Korean giant won't deliver a new Note phablet this year, but has disclosed a pair of new folding phones and the company's first S Pen for foldables, which will debut in August.

TM Roh, Samsung president and head of the Mobile Communications Business, today posted a teaser of "foldable surprises" that will be revealed on 11 August.

"Instead of unveiling a new Galaxy Note this time around, we will further broaden beloved Note features to more Samsung Galaxy devices," he wrote. The only concrete broadening mentioned was the new S Pen designed specifically for foldable phones.

Although Roh did not offer any more hard reveals in his post, he alluded to new models of the Galaxy Z Fold and Galaxy Z Flip, the two current folding models in the company's portfolio.

He also teased enhanced multitasking and durability, and continued partnerships with Google and Microsoft (perhaps to help organise the "foldable ecosystem" from a software perspective). Deeper integration between devices (specifically Galaxy watches, and other Galaxy phones) was also mentioned, as were ambitions to grow the software ecosystem for all Galaxy devices.

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Leaked information suggest the Galaxy Z Fold 3 pen will tuck into a case or holster rather than sliding into the phone itself.

Industry talk about a planned retirement for the Note, and possible addition of a pen, have circulated since December 2020. By March, supply chain issues moved Samsung to warn it might struggle to deliver both a Galaxy and a Note flagship in 2021. Co-CEO Koh Dong-jin suggested that a new release could be alternated between the two products, an option that Roh's language leaves as a possibility. ®