Erencan YılmazThe S Pen has been a primary differentiator on Samsung’s highest-end smartphones, a beloved staple among a loud minority of enthusiasts, for many years now. Samsung’s recent moves, however, have raised the possibility that the stylus could be phased out. Against this background, a recent leak has come as a blessing in disguise for S Pen die-hards, although its long-term fate in the end remains a point of discussion.
Galaxy S26 Ultra still supports the S Pen
Those who are fans of the S Pen are concerned, and they are in the right considering what Samsung did in the recent past. The company removed Bluetooth functionality from the S Pen in the Galaxy S25 Ultra, and it was a backward move since it eliminated support for remote control and Air Actions. Samsung claimed it was trying to simplify and conserve power, but there were views among experts that it was a way to cut costs. Despite the fact that the product still performed well in the market, removing it was an indication that Samsung no longer cared so much about the S Pen’s premium features.
The company went a step further by removing S Pen support altogether in the Galaxy Z Fold 7 in a bid to make it more slender. According to the company, the decision was made in an effort to achieve a more comfortable form factor. This trend has made fans worry about the future of the S Pen, especially because the design of the Galaxy S26 Ultra is expected to be different from the traditional Galaxy Note style. However, recent leaks suggest that the stylus is safe for now.
An image leak shows the S Pen slot clearly on the Galaxy S26 Ultra, giving some confidence that at least next year’s top phone will still have the stylus. In fact, reports say Samsung is making a new S Pen and digitizer system to fix long-standing problems with magnetic accessories, a problem that has affected the Note series for years. This shows that Samsung is committed to improving the main features of the S Pen.
Despite a brief reprieve, there are still concerns that the stylus will be axed altogether. Samsung is going all out in a quest to make phones thinner, as we’ve seen in the case of the Galaxy Z Fold 7 design, revealing what matters most to the company. The S Pen will most likely remain a significant inclusion in the Galaxy S26 Ultra, but the trend towards thinner phones means Samsung cannot include a stylus in the coming future. As it stands, S Pen enthusiasts can be at peace since their beloved inclusion is set and the company is actually trying to address a long-existing issue. The fate in this regard has been deferred now, at least in the near future.
Source: Ice Universe
