The Galaxy S25 Ultra may get an unfortunate S Pen downgrade

By Patrick Hearn Published January 10, 2025 9:26 AM

Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra in Titanium Gray with S Pen on back. — Christine Romero-Chan / Digital Trends

Earlier today, a massive leak revealed all of the technical specifications for the upcoming Samsung Galaxy S25 series. That news is wild enough on its own, but another leak suggests the beloved S Pen might also receive a particularly unwelcome downgrade: the loss of Bluetooth. If that’s true, it means users won’t be able to use gesture control with the pen.

The news comes from Ishan Agarwal on X. The tipster says he doubts it will improve the battery life by more than a few minutes and implies it’s most likely a cost-cutting measure. The full impact of removing Bluetooth from the stylus isn’t clear, but unless Samsung has built an alternative into the device, any features that rely on Bluetooth will be unavailable.

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We should still see features like pressure sensitivity available on the S25 Ultra, but things like remote camera activation could be lost. The feature came to the S Pen in 2018 when Samsung first introduced Bluetooth.

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Exclusive: S Pen on the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra will no longer feature Bluetooth according to retail sources!

Which means you will lose certain features like gestures & remote control.

How do you feel about this downgrade? #GalaxyS25Ultra pic.twitter.com/ASDKB06nsx

— Ishan Agarwal (@ishanagarwal24) January 10, 2025

The S Pen is a popular feature among a more niche set of users, but the majority of Samsung customers don’t use most of its functionality. It’s a great tool for signing a PDF or taking a few notes (or for giving kids something to doodle on when no paper is available), but it already comes only with the Galaxy S25 Ultra. Removing potentially useful features to cut a few dollars from the price of a flagship feels unnecessary.

While the S25 Ultra is going to have a tremendous amount of non-stylus functions, the added benefits aren’t something to scoff at. Being able to quickly navigate between functions makes the phone more convenient to use.

Again, this is a leak. None of these rumors have been confirmed by Samsung, so maintain at least some level of skepticism with regard to accuracy.

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