Samsung may not feature one of its most famous features, the curved display, starting with the Galaxy Note 20.

This surprising unofficial news comes from Ice Universe on Twitter (via SamMobile), who noted that the smaller Galaxy Note 20 device will have a flat display. Ice Universe has a solid track record with technology leaks, so the information regarding this screen could be spot on.

Samsung first offered curved displays in the "Edge" variant of its main flagship line, starting with the Galaxy Note Edge in 2014. It then moved to curved displays only with the Galaxy Note 7 and Galaxy S8, including last year's Galaxy Note 10 and Galaxy S10. However, some of the lower-priced versions of these phones, such as the Galaxy S10e, Galaxy S10 Lite, and Galaxy Note 10 Lite, had flat screens instead.

Perhaps we should have anticipated this earlier this year when it became clear that the edge-to-edge display curvature of the Galaxy S20 was less pronounced than in previous models. For example, we felt that the OnePlus 8 Pro's curved display made it easier to accidentally tap the screen.

Given that the Note series' business card substitute is the S Pen, the Galaxy Note 20's flat panel may make it easier to use the stylus on the wider screen of the phone, as the lack of curved edges makes the S Pen less likely to slip off the screen.

However, the Galaxy Note 20 is expected to come in several different sizes, with Plus and Galaxy Note 20 Ultra variants also available. And so far, there is no indication that the larger Note 20 devices will discontinue the curved display. A flat screen on the smaller Note 20 and a curved display on the larger model would be one way for Samsung to provide variation between Note 20 models.

We will know the truth of this rumor in August. Samsung is planning a Galaxy Unpacked event to show off the Galaxy Fold 2, Galaxy Watch 2, Galaxy Z Flip 5G, and Note 20.

The Note 20 can be expected to feature the same design, 5G-enabled Snapdragon 865 chipset, and camera sensor as the Galaxy S20 series. However, the Note 20 Plus may add a laser focus sensor on the back to speed up camera focusing and make available an improved 108MP sensor.

There are rumors that only the Note 20 Plus and Note 20 Ultra will be able to take advantage of the 120 Hz refresh rate display. However, no conclusion has been reached on this yet.