The Galaxy S26 Ultra, which is slated to be released early next year, could still be equipped with an in-built S-Pen.
Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra still comes with an S Pen but lacks Bluetooth functionality
Samsung launches its flagship Galaxy S series phones every year with the ‘Ultra' model placed as the top-of-the-line offering. While this variant brings the best of technology which the South Korean tech conglomerate has to offer, future ‘Ultra' models in the Galaxy S lineup are tipped to sacrifice a feature that has been synonymous with the series for years — the S-Pen. However, this won't happen immediately as the purported Galaxy S26 Ultra is still said to retain the stylus.
This information comes from user @PandaFlashPro's post on X (formerly Twitter). As per the tipster, Samsung may get rid of the S-Pen in future Galaxy S ‘Ultra' models. This move is said to be with the aim of "making more room". In a subsequent comment, the tipster clarified that the company may not take this decision hastily and the Galaxy S26 Ultra, which is slated to be released early next year, could still be equipped with an in-built S-Pen.
This suggests that Samsung could make this change with the Galaxy S27 Ultra model speculated to be launched in 2028. It remains unclear if the phones would still be compatible with the S-Pen despite getting rid of the in–built feature. If this happens, we think that the company could potentially market it separately as an accessory.
Following the Galaxy S25 Ultra's launch in January, it was reported that Samsung would be selling a Bluetooth-enabled S Pen separately. However, the company later clarified that the prior information was erroneous. While the Galaxy S25 Ultra still comes with an S-Pen, it isn't without a notable downgrade.
As per Samsung, it lacks Bluetooth functionality, which means it does not support remote features such as air actions and remote clicker for the camera — some of the most popular S-Pen functionalities on the Galaxy S24 Ultra and previous models. The reason? The South Korean company says only a small percentage of users took advantage of the Bluetooth interaction features. Thus, the aforementioned capabilities have been removed to prioritise features that are actually widely used by Galaxy users.
Meanwhile, the in-built S-Pen on the current flagship Galaxy S25 Ultra model is now simply marketed as a tool for note taking, scribbling, and using Google's AI-powered Circle to Search.
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