What you need to know
- Reports from a South Korean publication claim that Samsung has stopped pursuing a new S Pen design that “combines” the advantages of the two methods.
- Such methods include EMR and AES, meaning that the upcoming S Pen for the Galaxy S27 Ultra could omit the built-in battery and digitizer.
- Samsung changed the design of the S Pen slightly for the Galaxy S26 Ultra, while also removing the Bluetooth Air Activity controls (also left on the S25 Ultra).
We’ve seen rumors of Samsung’s Galaxy S Pen, but these new rumors suggest that any changes coming are no longer on the cards.
Sources informed about this EtNews Samsung is no longer pursuing a new S Pen design that combines the advantages of two different stylus methods: EMR and AES (via SamMobile). Each of these stylus methods uses a digitizer and an internal battery (plus an “electricity generating” module) so that the user can control its functions. Rumors add that these “advantages” could create an S Pen without a built-in battery or digitizer.
If Samsung followed this route, it would save some space or “thickness” on its devices.
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The Korean publication says that AES (Active Electrostatic) uses an “electricity-generating” device inside the pen so that the screen captures your inputs without a digitizer. This would also require Samsung to put a battery inside the pen. The digitizer is a key component of the EMR (Electromagnetic Resonance) method, although it thickens the screen due to its integration.
He adds that Samsung is taking a hard look at the S Pen digitizer because it could “conflict” with MagSafe technology. EtNews claims that the company will either come up with “new designs” so the two coexist harmoniously, or “consider” removing the digitizer.
Stylin’ Stylus
It’s not as if there hasn’t been some doubt as to whether or not we’ll see the end of the S Pen (there hasn’t been any). Samsung has made some changes to its S Pen, such as a slight design change with a a more rounded, softer aesthetic For Galaxy S26 Ultra. Another key aspect to note is that Samsung has removed all bluetooth capabilities Also for S Pen for Galaxy S26 Ultra and S25 Ultra. At the time, Samsung announced that it was removing this support due to “too little usage” from consumers.
It doesn’t look like we’ll be getting this feature back in a future S Pen. Bluetooth capabilities allow users to activate the S Pen’s Air Gestures. Users could hold the S Pen and take pictures on their device when they were a few feet away. The Galaxy S phone also had other gestures for basic interactions. We’ll have to see where Samsung goes with the S Pen iterations, as this rumor suggests we won’t see anything worthwhile for a 2027 release.
Android Central’s Take
At the end of the day, the relevance of Samsung’s old Air Moves the decision is up to the user. If you ask Samsung, we didn’t use it enough, so it hit them. It’s clearly in an odd place with the S Pen. On the one hand, you have a lot of people who love it because it’s a nice nod to the Galaxy Note and it’s a pretty useful, handy tool. On the other hand, it takes some kind of space to accommodate the small stylus inside the Galaxy S Ultra line. Samsung it seems do something to keep it.
