Samsung’s bold move: charging top dollar for a ‘less’ S Pen

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A person holding the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra.

The recently revealed Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra will undoubtedly become one of the year’s best smartphones. And yet, the company’s new flagship has at least one inferior feature compared to its predecessor, the Galaxy S24 Ultra, its S Pen. And that inferiority doesn’t mean you’ll save money if and when you need to purchase an S Pen replacement.

What has changed

The most significant difference between the S Pen for the Galaxy S24 Ultra and the Galaxy S25 Ultra is the removal of Bluetooth functionality in the S25 Ultra’s S Pen. As a result, features like Air Actions and remote shutter capabilities are no longer available on the newer model.

During the announcement of the Galaxy S25 lineup, Samsung noted that these Bluetooth features were not widely utilized. By eliminating them, the company was able to make the S Pen lighter and eliminate the need for charging.

What hasn’t changed

Despite the absence of Bluetooth, the S Pen for the Galaxy S25 Ultra still maintains its core functionalities. You can continue to use it for note-taking, sketching, and precise control on the screen. Additionally, the Air Command menu is still available, allowing for quick image and information searches using the Circle to Search feature.

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Can you use the S24 Ultra’s S Pen with the S25 Ultra?

Yes, the S Pen from the S24 Ultra is compatible with the S25 Ultra for basic writing and drawing tasks. However, you will not be able to use the Bluetooth features (like Air Actions) since the S25 Ultra does not support them.

What about an S Pen replacement?

As noted by Android Authority, this year’s S Pen, like its predecessor, is priced at $49.99 if purchased separately, despite offering fewer features.

While some users may miss the Bluetooth functionalities, this change is unlikely to impact the overall experience for most people. Our Galaxy S25 Ultra reviewer noted that no longer being able to use the S Pen as a remote shutter release is unfortunate. However, they also said they didn’t use it daily anyway, so there’s that. Regardless, the S25 Ultra’s S Pen still provides a precise and responsive writing experience for everyday tasks.

The Galaxy S25 Ultra, just like the Galaxy S25 and Galaxy S25 Plus, arrives in stores this Friday, February 7, with preorders available now.

Bryan M. Wolfe

Bryan M. Wolfe has over a decade of experience as a technology writer. He writes about mobile.

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A person holding the Samsung Galaxy S25.

Samsung's latest flagships have landed! The Samsung Galaxy S25, S25 Plus, and S25 Ultra look virtually identical to last year's Galaxy S24 range, but offer an array of small-yet-mighty under-the-hood improvements to ensure they're well worth the asking price.

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A familiar Samsung app has been replaced on the Galaxy S25

The Google Messages app on the Galaxy S25 Ultra.

After you’ve unwrapped and set up your new Galaxy S25, you may notice an app previously always installed on Samsung phones has disappeared. Samsung has stopped pre-installing its own Samsung Messages app, and handed cellular messaging duties solely over to Google. On the Galaxy S25, Google Messages is the only pre-installed, and therefore default, messaging app.

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I know which new Samsung phone I’d buy, and it’s not the Galaxy S25 Ultra

The Samsung Galaxy S25, Galaxy S25 Plus, and Galaxy S25 Ultra.

I've picked them up, put them down, used the software, and generally fondled each of the new Samsung Galaxy S25 smartphones. It wasn’t for a long period of time, but it was for several hours over the course of two events, giving me some breathing space to collect my thoughts about each one. It was all the time I needed to make my decision about which one I'd buy.
Go small, but not too small
Samsung Galaxy S25 Andy Boxall / Digital Trends

It may come as a surprise, but I’d go for the usually awkward middle Galaxy S25 model, the Galaxy S25 Plus, over either of the others, despite having used the Galaxy S24 Ultra over the past year. This time I am prepared to forego the best potential camera specification for improved in-hand feel. Samsung has made some changes to the S25 Ultra’s body that I’m not sure I’m entirely onboard with, especially as it has gone in a different (and to me, preferable) direction with the S25 and S25 Plus.

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