The S Pen has been a function of Samsung’s largest and greatest flagship smartphones for the reason that authentic Galaxy Be aware in 2011, however in 2025, you’d be forgiven for questioning its future.
Sure, the now-iconic smartphone accent continues to be a part of the Samsung Galaxy S25 Extremely, however there was no point out of the S Pen on stage Galaxy Unpacked in January – even Samsung’s official press launch for the brand new telephone relegates it to the small print – and the corporate really eliminated Bluetooth Low Vitality (BLE) tech from the newest S Pen mannequin, that means it’s now not capable of perform Air motion shortcuts and distant management options.
In isolation, these adjustments may appear inconsequential (Samsung informed TechRadar’s Lance Ulanoff that it eliminated the S Pen’s Bluetooth options as a result of so few folks had been utilizing them). However the accent is clearly not the high-priority advertising device it as soon as was for Samsung, which has prompted hypothesis about its potential discontinuation on social media platforms, Samsung’s personal neighborhood discussion board, and certainly right here on TechRadar.
So, what does Samsung need to say concerning the S Pen’s future? At MWC 2025, I put the query to the corporate’s Cell Expertise (MX) VP of Product and Advertising and marketing within the UK, Annika Bizon, and her response ought to allay the issues of apprehensive S Pen followers.
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“Multimodal is admittedly vital to us,” Bizon defined. “So [that’s] how folks use their telephone – whether or not they’re talking, whether or not they’re writing, whether or not they’re in a gathering. Individuals do use their S Pens in conferences to write down notes. So, I do not see an area the place the S Pen isn’t a key a part of our portfolio.
“And actually, if you take a look at the Extremely, it’s one thing folks genuinely come again to us round. [They ask us] “Will it have an S Pen?” And it goes again to the Be aware days. […] We see the S Pen as one thing that’s key to the Extremely expertise at this level.”
In a current function piece speculating on the S Pen’s future, we famous that “main developments in AI imply that a number of the distinctive features of the S Pen are now not fairly so distinctive,” however Bizon is assured that the arrival of Galaxy AI on the greatest Samsung telephones hasn’t harmed the S Pen’s enchantment: “Creativity is one in every of our core values. For those who’re artistic, you need to have the ability to draw and sketch issues. And with Sketch to Picture being one in every of our AI options, you may sketch superbly utilizing the S Pen. It’s acquired fairly a giant design edge.”
Bizon concluded: “The analysis says [consumers are using the S Pen], and it’s one thing that we’re happy with as being a part of our portfolio.”
So there you have got it. Except Samsung has a change of coronary heart between now and subsequent 12 months, you may anticipate the S Pen to be a function of the as-yet-unconfirmed Samsung Galaxy S26 Extremely.