A stylus is a digital pen that was an exclusive feature of Samsung’s Galaxy Note lineup and for Galaxy tabs also. However, it was widely anticipated to come along with the S21 Ultra lineup as well. While it has now been announced at the annual trade show, Consumer Electronics Show (CES 2021), it is nice, but certainly not the best, neither better than the stylus of Galaxy Note.
S Pen has to be bought separately
First off, the most important part of the deal is that this much-coveted stylus, S Pen is not coming with the S21 Ultra phone. Rather, users will have to buy it directly from Samsung for another $40, or they can buy one of the two differently styled Samsung cases that include an S Pen, as a package deal for around $70. These cases house the S Pen on the left-hand side in a designated space.
The phone is already quite expensive, and to have to spend another $40-70 is quite disappointing. But if anyone is already spending around $800 on the phone, another $70 may not be such an added disadvantage anyway.
There is a cheaper option to buy any S Pen stylus by Samsung at a cost ranging from $25-40. But any other S Pen that is not exclusively designed for the S21 Ultra will not provide much functionality except for the basics.
S Pen from Galaxy Note and Galaxy Tab is compatible with S21 Ultra.
Although they are compatible and can be used together, however, the S Pen from Galaxy Note or Galaxy Tab will not be able to provide all the functions.
Storage space for the stylus within the phone
Sadly, the S21 Ultra does not house the stylus within its main framework. So, users will either have to be extremely careful while carrying both the phone and the stylus around, or they will have to buy the specially designed S21 Ultra cases that hold the pen in place.
Functionality and limitations
With the help of this S Pen, users can use it to navigate through various functions of the phone, check out menus, jot down notes in the Samsung Notes app or for Office 365 mobile version. Users can use it to draw something in the drawing apps too.
On the other hand, there are some limitations too. The stylus with the Galaxy Note has Bluetooth integration support. Users can use their stylus to control slideshows or flick it to choose menus or skip songs from the music player app.
This functionality is not available with the new S Pen for S21 Ultra as it is not integrated with the phone via Bluetooth.
Another limitation apart from the lack of Bluetooth support is that if the stylus is away from the phone, or if the user forgets it somewhere, their phone will not receive any alert or notification about it.
S Pen Pro
During their presentation at the CES 2021, Samsung revealed that they will launch an upgraded version of this basic S Pen later this year, and it will include the capabilities of gesture controls along with the Bluetooth support.
More functions and features of the S Pen will be known once S21 Ultra comes in the market later this month.
I’m Ava Paul, an experienced news website author with a special focus on the entertainment section. Over the past five years, I have worked in various positions of media and communication at World Stock Market. My experience has given me extensive knowledge in writing, editing, researching and reporting on stories related to the entertainment industry.
