It’s officially the end of an era.  

As SamMobile reports, the Samsung Galaxy Note 20 and Note 20 Ultra will no longer receive software updates, meaning all existing users should switch to a new phone. 

Released in August 2020, these are the last handsets to bear the Note branding, meaning that the line is, to all intents and purposes, dead. It’s a day we all knew was coming, but it doesn’t make it any easier. 

Of course, the built-in stylus lives on via the Galaxy S25 Ultra, but it’s not the same. The Galaxy Note line had its own distinct personality and core base of enthusiast fans, which Samsung’s current lineup can’t match. 

The introduction of Galaxy Z foldables in 2020 meant that the Note had probably run its course, but I’m still sad to see it go. Here’s a reminder of why it was so important to me and millions of people around the world. 

The device that made me fall in love with smartphones

When smartphones were first introduced, I was too young to be among the early adopters. At the time of the first iPhone launch in 2007, I didn’t have a mobile phone of any description, and nine-year-old me simply didn’t care what was going on in the world of consumer tech. 

The first shift happened a couple of years later, when I vividly remember being so excited to play a racing game on my uncle’s iPhone 3GS when I visited him. That same year, my Christmas gift of an iPod Nano properly introduced me to the world of handheld touchscreen devices, and I was amazed by what it could do. 

An iPad followed soon after (specifically, the classic iPad 2), but it was another few years before smartphones played a significant role in my life. Following a series of hand-me-downs from my other uncle, I bought my first proper smartphone in time to attend sixth-form college, aged 16.  

However, while the 2015 Motorola Moto G was great for staying in touch with family and running regular apps, its limited performance made it frustrating to use for anything more complex. So, it mostly stayed switched off in my backpack. 

That phone served me well for a full three years, during which time I passed my A-levels and started university. But in the summer of 2017, my parents bought me a shiny new flagship phone, which you might’ve heard of: the Samsung Galaxy Note 8. 

Foundry

Before you say it, yes, this was the one after the one that exploded. Samsung’s smartphone reputation was in tatters, but it was arguably the best time to buy a new Galaxy flagship. There was no way the company would let that happen again. 

And so it proved. The Galaxy Note 8 was an excellent phone by anyone’s standards, offering some of the most advanced, premium hardware you could get. Its timeless design still stands up well today. 

And let me tell you, 19-year-old me was hooked. The Note 8 was an extremely useful tool for getting uni work done, especially with the note-taking abilities of the built-in S Pen. It had the best camera I’d ever owned at the time, and was powerful enough to run basically any app. 

In my free time, I relied on it for staying in touch with family and friends, browsing the web and kicking back with a YouTube video or 10. 

I believe that having access to the Galaxy Note 8 had a profound long-term effect on me. It supercharged my love for consumer technology, which went from a mild interest to one of my favourite things to watch and read about. 

Foundry

As a result, when I was looking for internships towards the end of my uni degree, technology journalism emerged as a realistic option. I eventually secured a four-week internship at Tech Advisor, and the rest, as they say, is history. 

Would I be Mobile Editor right now if it weren’t for the Galaxy Note 8? I can’t say for sure, but it undoubtedly supercharged my interest in phones and made tech journalism a realistic career path. 

In the end, I only spent a couple of years using the Note 8 as my main smartphone. Once I started at Tech Advisor, I soon moved my SIM card and all my data to a review device, something which has continued for six years. 

I’m sad that I never got the chance to review a Galaxy Note phone, yet grateful for the role that the Note 8 played in getting me where I am today. 

The termination of software support for five-year-old handsets might not seem like a big deal, but it’s the official end of an era for a line that meant a lot to me. Rest in peace, Samsung Galaxy Note. You’ll be missed.