- The Galaxy S21 Ultra will be the only S21 version to work with the S Pen stylus.
- A new leak shows images of the S21 stylus and explains the S Pen’s functionality.
- One of Samsung’s special Galaxy S21 Ultra cases that can also house the stylus has also leaked.
Samsung early on Monday confirmed what we’ve all been suspecting: the Galaxy S21 launch event will take place on January 14th. The first Unpacked press conference of the year will stream online.
Rumors dating back to November said that the S21 phones would be unveiled in mid-January, pointing to the same date for both the announcement and the start of preorders. Since then, we’ve learned of all the Galaxy S21’s secrets, as everything leaked online in the past few weeks. One of the early S21 rumors said the Ultra would come with a unique feature not seen on any other Galaxy S models: Stylus support, which used to be exclusive to Notes.
Samsung has denied plans to kill the Note line just as more evidence arrives suggesting that the Galaxy S21 Ultra will indeed work with the S Pen stylus. With just a few days left to go until the Galaxy S21 press event, a leak tells us exactly how the S Pen will work with the Galaxy S21 Ultra.
WinFuture’s Roland Quandt has the most recent S21 Ultra scoop. The report tells us what we’ve heard before. The Galaxy S21 will not have an opening to house the S Pen, but Samsung will make special cases that will include stylus storage. Quandt’s S21 Ultra images practically confirm the early rumors:
The S Pen will come as a separate accessory priced at €40 ($49). The price of the special case has not been specified. Samsung will have at least a plastic cover and a flip cover for the S21 Ultra and the stylus. The case would be wider than the phone to account for the stylus. The report speculates that Samsung might offer bundles that include the stylus, a case, and the S21 Ultra, but nothing is confirmed at this time. Samsung did launch a Galaxy S21 preorder reservation deal that allows buyers to save up to $60 on accessories.
The S Pen will look and feel a lot like the Note’s built-in stylus, but it’s not quite identical. The device is similar to the S Pen sold with the Galaxy Tab S7 tablet.
The S Pen has a pressure-sensitive tip and uses digitizer technology from Wacom. The WinFuture report says the pen does not have the same mechanism at the top as the Note’s stylus. But the device can still be pressed at the end to scroll through presentations, start/stop video playback, and take photos. The stylus also offers support for gestures thanks to an integrated accelerometer. The S Pen can modify the volume and navigate through the gallery.
