Weekly poll: are you using the S Pen's remote control functions?

02 February 2025
The Bluetooth-enabled S Pen is no more, the Galaxy S25 Ultra comes with a passive stylus.

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The S-Pen is a niche feature of an already niche phone with an outrageous pricing (that keeps increasing each year). All the more reason Samsung should always bring improvement to it. Tweak the design so its is more comfortable to hold, increase the pressure sensitivity, decrease the drawing lag, add bluetooth and use it as camera shutter, add accelerometer for air gestures, add laser pointer for presentation, add tilt sensor, add some sensor to the other end of the pen so we can use it to erase text just like traditional pencil, etc.

    Yes, and I'm going to use it again on s25u, in summer when the pen is enabled with brand new features and old ones.

      David 040882, 8 hours agoRegardless if people use it a lot or not, I think we can al... moreTo save cost. 8 elite is expensive, so to keep margins up they removed Bluetooth from the stick and made sure you get no upgrades, oh sorry you got budget 50mp ultra wide, forgot to mention 🤣

        Glad I don't have and I am not using it. Not stupid enough to buy Samsung crap 🤣

          justasmile, 58 minutes agoI mean, yeah. Businesses exist for a reason - to earn money.You can earn money and NOT fool your customer base at the same time as well, Samsung just doesn't seem to be a fan of that, they have to do both at the same time.

            justasmile, 1 hour agoNo? Still supports pressure and tilt sensing.So just like any 3rd party app pen. It still has been nerfed substantially.

              DarlingYext, 7 hours ago"Samsung says that most people just weren’t using the ... moreI mean, yeah.
              Businesses exist for a reason - to earn money.

                ThatOneWeabo, 3 hours agoS Pen without Bluetooth is just like a plastic waste stick,... moreNo?
                Still supports pressure and tilt sensing.

                  9el, 3 hours agoSamsung announced it will sell bluetooth s pen for s25 ultr... moreSamsung announced it was a mistake. The news is all over internet and i don't understand why you’re still living under the rock to not understand 😒

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                    • Are you using 10x
                    • JYb
                    • 2 hours ago

                    So when they cut 10x optical zoom they also judged it by "only 1% using it"? lol

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                      • Anonymous
                      • SYx
                      • 2 hours ago

                      I've never been wealthy enough to own a device with the s pen, but someday when I'm old enough to get a job the s ultra phone would probably be my first pick. I'm somewhat of an "enthusiast " so it's sad to see such a nice feature go

                        Zonyl, 2 hours agoLong time Samsung Note and Ultra user (and palm treo stylus... more"The likely reason is that Samsung didn't want to engineer the stylus charger into the new snap dragon elite motherboard."

                        Oh, they didn't want to engineer something? Incredible, but they do want to charge $1300 for it of course.

                          • Z
                          • Zonyl
                          • E8Z
                          • 2 hours ago

                          Long time Samsung Note and Ultra user (and palm treo stylus) and have never used the air gesture feature on the stylus.

                          Use it all the time to write on the screen though and that functionality remains. I have compared the s24u and S25u stylus and they have negligible weight difference. Jerryrig broke open the stylus and showed it is essentially identical to the 24 and just has the battery missing in an empty space. The likely reason is that Samsung didn't want to engineer the stylus charger into the new snap dragon elite motherboard.

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                            • Anonymous
                            • B}K
                            • 2 hours ago

                            ThatOneWeabo, 3 hours agoBluetooth-enabled S Pen allows users to control the phone r... more"Remote control"? I'll be honest, I never had a phone with an s-pen so all I know is what I've seen around the office and what Samsung's help article ANS10003221 lists as "air actions" and all that seems like a glorified "back, forward, home screen presses, with an additional swipe left and swipe right on the screen" - none of that seems any more useful than the shutter, you still need to be in viewing distance of the phone, unless you have some REALLY specific use-case for those, it's nothing you can't perform with your fingers anyway and correct me if I'm wrong, but the pen can still be used as a substitute for a finger on the screen (like how drawing tablets work on PCs) so "I have gloves on and gestures were useful" is out of the window on that one.

                            I'm not saying I'm right, again, limited exposure 'n all that, but I have yet to see anyone that actually shares a good example of a situation where the removed features actually make a difference for the better.
                            This is not sarcasm or anything like that - I REALLY want to actually hear from people that used them - how did you use them and what did they improve for you compared to just using your phone normally?

                            If Samsung claims they didn't do anything for people and the people never share how they DID DO something for them, then nothing will change in the future either.

                              9el, 3 hours agoSamsung announced it will sell bluetooth s pen for s25 ultr... moreIf you looked at those articles you would have eventually found out that it is fake. Wouldn't even make sense since you could not charge that pen inside of the phone anymore.

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                                • 9el
                                • nDx
                                • 3 hours ago

                                Samsung announced it will sell bluetooth s pen for s25 ultra if you want it. The news is all over internet and i don't understand why gsmarena not said nothing about that in the review or even in this post 😒

                                  ThatOneWeabo, 3 hours agoBluetooth-enabled S Pen allows users to control the phone r... moreYou had other options, but those were even less used than the remote control.

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                                    • jpn4
                                    • yJt
                                    • 3 hours ago

                                    Camera remote control I use often it is a nifty feature and a shame it's gone with the S25U

                                      Anonymous, 5 hours agoWith comments like this one, I can't help but wonder i... moreBluetooth-enabled S Pen allows users to control the phone remotely, you could use it to trigger the camera, open apps, and navigate the phone’s UI, among other things.

                                      So no it is NOT only for the camera shutter.

                                        S Pen without Bluetooth is just like a plastic waste stick, you might as well remove it at this point, remove what made the S Ultras special.

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