The S Pen is one of the best mobile accessories Samsung has ever made, and with the Galaxy S22 series, it's found an interesting new home. When Samsung launched the first Galaxy Note in October 2011, it stood out for two key reasons. Not only did it have a 'giant' 5.29-inch display, but it also came with a built-in stylus. Whether users wanted to jot down notes, make fun doodles, or more easily navigate small menus, the S Pen proved to be a smash hit.
And it's continued to do so all these years later. Each new Galaxy Note found ways to improve the S Pen's functionality, it now comes with select Samsung laptops and tablets, and it was even an optional accessory for last year's Galaxy S21 Ultra. Being able to use the S Pen with the S21 Ultra was an interesting idea. Unfortunately, charging extra for it — and not being able to store the S Pen inside the S21 Ultra — kept it from being the Galaxy Note replacement some fans had been hoping for.
With the Galaxy S22 lineup, all of that changes. Similar to last year, the regular Galaxy S22 and Galaxy S22+ do not come with an S Pen and aren't compatible with the stylus in any way. The more expensive Galaxy S22 Ultra, however, does work with the S Pen. That alone isn't dramatically different from the S21 Ultra, but how the S Pen works with the S22 Ultra is improved in virtually every way.
How The S Pen Works With The Galaxy S22 Ultra
For starters, the S Pen is no longer an accessory you have to buy with the phone. Every Galaxy S22 Ultra comes with an S Pen included in the box — and it's stylized to match the S22 Ultra color you have. Furthermore, there's now a slot on the bottom frame of the S22 Ultra that the S Pen can hide in when it's not in use. Want to use the S22 Ultra without a stylus? Keep it tucked away and forget it's even there. Ready to draw a picture or write a quick note? Press the top of S Pen, pull it out of its silo, and you're ready to go. It's a much more seamless implementation than the S21 Ultra, and it effectively makes the Galaxy S22 Ultra a new Galaxy Note by a different name.
Adding to that point is the functionality of the S22 Ultra's S Pen. All of the expected features are here. Using the S Pen, S22 Ultra owners can take notes without having to wake up the entire display, annotate screenshots, sign important documents, and convert their handwriting to text (useful if you want to write a message instead of fiddling with the on-screen keyboard).
Making all of that better on the S22 Ultra is the S Pen's reduced latency. Compared to the 9ms latency on the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra, using the S Pen with the Galaxy S22 Ultra has just 2.9ms latency. Samsung says it achieved this through a combination of upgraded Wacom components and "AI-based prediction software." The end result is an S Pen that acts even more instantaneous, making drawing and writing feel as natural as possible. Added altogether, it makes the S Pen on the S22 Ultra the most capable one yet. The Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra (and its included S Pen) starts at $1199 and goes on sale February 25.
Source: Samsung