It’s time for Samsung’s S Pen to evolve or die

I love the S Pen. While I’m more than happy with my Pixel 10 Pro, one of the things I miss most from Samsung’s flagship phones is the stylus. The S Pen has been with us since 2011, and it hasn’t changed much during that time. The S Pen has gotten better, but the core technology that makes the stylus work is the same on the Galaxy S26 Ultra as it is on the original Galaxy Note.

That’s impressive, but it’s also leading to a major problem for Samsung. If the S Pen doesn’t evolve soon, it may be time for Samsung to make it a tablet-only accessory for good.

Ever since Apple added MagSafe to the iPhone, I’ve wanted something similar on Android. I was thrilled when Google added Qi2 support to the Pixel 10 series. I was hoping Samsung would do the same for the Galaxy S26 series, but much to our disappointment, that didn’t happen. You might be wondering what any of this has to do with the S Pen. Well, I think the fate of the S Pen and the chances of getting magnets in any Samsung phone, not just the ultra models, are more intertwined than you’d think.

The S Pen works because the phone generates an electromagnetic field that the S Pen alters when it is near the display. That’s how the phone can show a cursor when the S Pen is only hovering above the screen. The magnetic part of electromagnetic is the issue here. The magnets inside Qi2 cases and accessories stop the S Pen from working correctly. In fact, the first time you use an accessory like this with your S Pen-equipped Samsung phone, you’ll get a warning.

That’s why we don’t have Qi2 magnets built into the Galaxy S26 Ultra. If the magnet inside a case can stop the S Pen from working, then it’s reasonable to conclude that having the magnet built into the device would have the same effect. If that’s why the S26 Ultra lacks Qi2 support, what’s stopping Samsung from adding it to other phones, like the Galaxy S26 Plus?

The problem is that the Galaxy S26 Ultra has to be the best phone in the Galaxy S26 lineup. It’s the model everyone wants, so there’s no way that a lesser phone in the lineup will get a feature the S26 Ultra doesn’t have, especially something as requested as Qi2 support. That sentiment extends to all the other phones Samsung makes, from the Galaxy A57 to the Z Fold 7. The S Pen, as much as I love it, is holding back all of Samsung’s phones — and it’s getting harder for me to say the trade-off is worth it.

As I’ve said more than once, I love the S Pen, but it feels like I’m in the minority. I used it every day before I swapped to my Pixel 10 Pro, and the stylus is one of the reasons my wife moved from the Z Flip 6 to the S26 Ultra. I don’t know many other people who use it that often, but I know plenty of people who want Samsung to adopt Qi2 magnets. If the S Pen is responsible for the lack of magnets, then the people who want it to be removed will only become more vocal.

For a short while, it looked like Samsung was going to change how the S Pen works. We hoped that meant removing the issues it had with magnetic accessories and making the technology thin enough that it could be added back into the folding phones. Less than a month later, rumors suggested Samsung changed its mind.

I’m hoping the latter rumor is wrong. I want the Galaxy S27 Ultra to have an S Pen and Qi2 magnets, not one or the other. Likewise, I’d love to see the S Pen return to folding phones. I used the S Pen with my Galaxy Z Fold 4 a lot, and while I love the Z Fold 7, the lack of an S Pen was a disappointment.  The stylus has become part of Samsung’s brand — it’s what makes its phones unique. I’m sure it’ll never disappear from Samsung’s tablets, but for the dozens of us who love using it every day, losing it from phones would be a shame.

But even I, as an S Pen lover, have to admit that clinging to it isn’t worth it if it means sacrificing other advancements.