Skip to main content

What’s the point of the Note’s S Pen? Samsung needs to find one or kill it

samsung s pen
Image used with permission by copyright holder

The defining feature of Samsung’s Galaxy Note phone is not the large screen, it’s the stylus. Why? Because almost no other phone has included one over the past decade. It’s a Note tradition, but as we approach the launch of the ninth version of the phone, Samsung faces a severe challenge. It has to convince not just us, but owners of Note phones everywhere, that it’s actually worth using.

The stylus remains deeply unusual in the world of phones because it’s, if you’ll forgive the pun, pointless. At this stage the S Pen feels like a tacked on gadget there for no other reason than the phone’s name is the Note. It’s time Samsung changed that.

Only the arty

If you’re reading this and anger is boiling inside — before you clutch the S Pen and scribble a heated reply — we’ll concede the stylus makes sense for artists. Drawing with your finger is best left to pre-schoolers, so when inspiration strikes, reaching for the stylus will elevate the result beyond the work of a keen five year-old. Also, if you’re using the S Pen with the Galaxy Tab S4, that’s also fine. It’s a tablet, the natural home of a stylus.

Samsung Galaxy Tab S4 review
Julian Chokkattu/Digital Trends

Modern phones, especially those with big screens, are designed specifically to be used with our fingers. There was a time when this wasn’t the case. Before capacitive touchscreen technology became common, we had to make do with resistive touchscreen technology. If you’ve never used one before, they’re slightly springy and require a firm prod — with a fingernail for best effect — to register an action. A stylus was a very big help. When the capacitive screen came along, the stylus became redundant.

Apple’s Steve Jobs was a famous hater. He claimed if you saw a stylus, then the manufacturer had failed, hence the use of a capacitive screen on the first iPhone. Samsung and the Galaxy Note 9, in Steve Jobs’ eyes, even before it has launched, has failed. More worryingly, in a completely unscientific Twitter poll we ran, a high percentage of Galaxy Note owners can’t find a use for the S Pen stylus either. Of the 200 people that answered, 61 percent said they don’t use the S Pen on the phone.

The S Pen feels like a tacked on gadget there for no other reason than the phone’s name is the Note.

If the majority is nonplussed by the S Pen, Samsung’s definitely failing, although not in the way Steve Jobs meant. If you’re going to include a special, almost unique feature, it’s criminal not to make it useful to everyone.

Quickly forgotten

When I used and really enjoyed the Galaxy Note 8 after its release, the stylus came out of the phone perhaps twice, and one of those was only to show it to someone else. The rest of the time, it was faster and more convenient to use my finger, as intended by the operating system. The S Pen stayed inside its sheath while I had the device.

samsung note 8 s pen
Image used with permission by copyright holder

The previously mentioned pre-schoolers have greater artistic ability than I do, therefore I never felt the need to put S Pen-to-screen and sketch my surroundings. Otherwise, the shortcut menus weren’t useful because my finger does the same thing, only faster, and while taking notes in a meeting, I quickly swapped to a pen and paper as I didn’t need to look at the screen while jotting away. Besides, scribbling on glass still feels weird due to the lack of resistance.

Even in our reviews of Note phones, we’ve either questioned why it exists at all, unsurprisingly praised it for how good it is for an artist, or summed it all up with, “styluses aren’t for everyone.” This is a feature that has been around for nearly nine generations, yet we haven’t said anything more positive, or once singled it out as a big reason to buy the Note. Even after adding new graphical features, buttons, and additional levels of pressure sensitivity, the S Pen remains an anachronism. A leftover from when screen tech was worse.

Where’s the point?

Why then, is it still there? It simply has to be Samsung being obstinate, and needs something in its ads to remind us the phone we’re looking at isn’t an S9 Plus. This is a problem, because the Galaxy Note series has become increasingly less relevant over the past few years, and it has been far harder to differentiate between it and the S Plus models. Pushing the S Pen as the Note’s unique selling point is eye-catching, despite most eventual owners not even using it. Even Samsung may know it, and there are rumors the Galaxy Note 9 may be the last of its kind. If the Galaxy Note goes, then the stylus will go with it.

The S Pen’s nemesis is the finger, and we’re giving it the middle one.

Harsh criticism? No. We complain about apps that duplicate other functions, and silly camera features like augmented reality filters all the time. They don’t add anything to the experience, and simply replicate another app or service that inevitably does it better. The S Pen’s nemesis is the finger, and we’re giving it the middle one.

Yes it makes us mad, but when features we thought were six-feet under are thoughtfully given a new lease of life, they can quickly become desirable. See the BlackBerry Key2 for proof. We don’t really want the Note’s stylus to just fade away. What it needs is a reason to exist. Not just for artists, but for every prospective Note owner.

Note 9 saves the day?

Samsung has already said it wants to improve key Note features with the Note 9, and there are few as iconic as the S Pen. Rumors talk about a new Bluetooth connection, additional features including a button to act as a remote camera shutter release, and most interestingly operating as a custom game controller.

nintendo 2ds stylus
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Nintendo made the stylus work very well as a game controller on the 3DS, and provided Samsung doesn’t make it too awkward for developers it integrate it into their games, we could see this being a desirable additional feature. That’s artists and gamers covered, selfie fans, and compulsive note takers too; but there needs to be more. We need a reason to take it out, on a daily basis, rather than just using a finger.

Otherwise, just buy a cheaper but excellent Galaxy S9 Plus, or wait to see just how space-age Samsung’s foldable phone is next year. If Samsung can’t give you a reason to want a stylus, don’t pay for the pleasure of having one.

Andy Boxall
Andy is a Senior Writer at Digital Trends, where he concentrates on mobile technology, a subject he has written about for…
Samsung’s upcoming Fan Edition tablets might test fans’ patience
Leaked render of Samsung Galaxy S10 FE Plus.

Samsung is expected to launch new budget-centric tablets in the coming weeks, expanding its portfolio of “Fan Edition” devices. But it seems the upcoming Galaxy Tab S10 FE series of slates will test the loyalty of Samsung enthusiasts with a higher asking price.
The folks over at YTechB have shared the purported pricing structure for the vanilla Galaxy Tab S10 FE and its Plus variant, and it seems a minimum price hike worth $50 is on the horizon. This is what the outlet shared:

Galaxy Tab S10 FE (8GB RAM /128GB storage) - $499
Galaxy Tab S10 FE (12GB RAM / 256GB storage) - $569
Galaxy Tab S10 FE+ (8GB RAM /128GB storage) - $649
Galaxy Tab S10 FE+ (12GB RAM / 256GB storage) - $749

Read more
It’s a good day for Samsung Galaxy S23 owners as One UI 7 beta rolls out
The Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra's camera.

Samsung announced it would be opening up the One UI 7.0 Beta Program for its Galaxy S23 series a couple of weeks ago and in what is great news for the Galaxy S23 owners among you, that day has now arrived (in some regions anyway). 

The South Korean company has released the Android 15-based One UI 7.0 beta update in India and Korea for the Galaxy S23, Galaxy S23+ and the Galaxy S23 Ultra, with other markets expected to follow. 

Read more
Samsung promises not to remove S Pen from future Galaxy S Ultras
The Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra and the S Pen Stylus.

The S Pen has become the top-tier accessory for people who like to draw and take notes on their phone, especially on the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra. However, the future of the stylus has become a topic of debate lately, as it wasn't included in the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold Special Edition package. Fortunately, the company promised not to leave out the S Pen from future Galaxy S Ultra models.

Annika Bizon, VP of Product and Marketing at Samsung's Mobile Experience in the UK, recently told TechRadar at MWC 2025 that Samsung Galaxy users don't need to worry about whether or not the S Pen will be included in future models. The stylus was left out of Samsung's Galaxy Unpacked event showcasing the Galaxy S25 series back in January, but just because it was absent from recent marketing campaigns for the latest model doesn't mean it won't be a part of the upcoming Galaxy S Ultra phones.

Read more