Samsung Galaxy Note 20 leak reveals surprise Ultra model

The Samsung Galaxy Note 20 is coming later this year, but how many Note 20 models will there be? Over the last few months, we were pretty confident there’d only be two, but a screenshot of a Bluetooth certification document has appeared online that suggests a Galaxy Note 20 Ultra could join the regular and Plus variants of the phone.

The listing was published by MySmartPrice, and arrives to us by PhoneArena. You’ll notice that the name Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra is mentioned right above the model number SM-N986U.

The model number makes this leak especially interesting. As PhoneArena highlights, this is a designation we’ve seen before — first in a Geekbench results sheet back in April. At the time, however, it was believed that SM-N986U was related to the Note 20 Plus, according to a tweet from Max Weinbach, rather than an Ultra model.

That theory was later bolstered by another tweet, this time from Display Supply Chain Consultants CEO Ross Young, who played down the existence of the Note 20 Ultra. Prominent Samsung leaker Ice Universe also said as much on Weibo (via WCCFTech), claiming that the Note 20 series will only consist of two phones.

Here’s the thing though: There’s nothing stopping Samsung from delivering a Note 20 Ultra yet still only releasing two models in total. It’s possible the company skips the Plus name, and that the 6.9-inch model we’ve heard about thus far has, in fact, been the Note 20 Ultra all along.

Samsung’s model number nomenclature doesn’t inherently tip this device off as an Ultra version of the Note 20, either. Historically, the “U” in SM-N986U would signify territory (in this case, the configuration sold in the U.S.) rather than an entirely separate device. The number “986” is interesting — leaks thus far have linked the numbers SM-N981 and SM-N985 to the Note 20 and Note 20 Plus, respectively, though the 981 moniker hasn’t appeared since a SamMobile story from March that served as one of the earliest Note 20 leaks.

All of this is to say that we’re not entirely convinced by MySmartPrice’s assertion that this image of a Bluetooth certification page confirms the existence of a third Galaxy Note 20 model. It’s also worth pointing out that no link was provided to the particular listing in question, and searching “Galaxy” in the Bluetooth Launch Studio database surfaces the Galaxy A71 5G as the most recent result, dated May 20. However, given that the Note 20 hasn’t been announced yet, such a listing probably wouldn’t appear in the public database even if it were real.

Ultimately, the overwhelming majority of Note 20 leaks to date have suggested Samsung is planning to launch two phablets. Perhaps a third could be in tow, but we’d like to see a bit more evidence first.