What Samsung thought can be a throwaway point out of the S Pen on the Galaxy S25 Extremely has develop into a long-lasting story. The corporate eliminated Bluetooth performance from the S Pen, citing a survey displaying that just one% of householders used its enhanced options. No matter how legitimate Samsung thinks its causes for eradicating Bluetooth from the S Pen are, it’s an unforced error that the corporate will ultimately backtrack from on future fashions. I’m a part of the vocal 1% that makes use of the Bluetooth S Pen, and right here’s why it’s a mistake that Samsung eliminated it.
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This is not the trail, Samsung
It’s not 1%
Nobody advantages right here however Samsung
I query the accuracy of Samsung’s survey to resolve in regards to the S Pen on the Galaxy S25 Extremely. If the consequence was 1%, then I’m wondering if the information wasn’t misinterpreted or if the query was phrased in order that customers didn’t perceive what they had been requested. As a result of, primarily based alone wholly unscientific survey, the precise quantity is far increased. Customers may not use Bluetooth S Pen features every day, however they admire them being there when wanted. And it goes past nostalgia. A portion of customers are genuinely upset on the lack of the options as a result of they used them usually, but in addition, a faction of customers hate what the change represents; each are legitimate.
Samsung additionally highlighted that the change means there’s one much less battery within the cellphone to take care of and {that a} passive S Pen saves weight. In seven years of utilizing S Pens with Bluetooth performance, I’ve by no means had a problem with a battery going unhealthy. I can’t think about Samsung saving a notable quantity of weight by eradicating the S Pen, both. Even with out the battery within the pen and the charging coils within the silo on the S25 Extremely, we are able to solely be speaking a couple of grams at most. It’s about reducing prices, and Samsung doesn’t get a gold star in my ebook for not elevating the value of the S25 Extremely in 2025 when it’s already the most costly cellphone within the US, particularly if it means reducing corners to take action.
Greater than only a distant shutter
Digital camera controls weren’t the one helpful characteristic
I’ll be the primary to confess I didn’t use the S Pen’s distant shutter characteristic usually, however I beloved how useful it was after I did. Framing a selfie shot with pals was a lot simpler, and I didn’t have to fret about palm gestures or saying cheese — it felt like a greater resolution. It was additionally extra versatile when utilizing the rear cameras, as gestures and voice instructions solely work on the front-facing digicam. The distant shutter on the S Pen was one of the best ways to set off a photograph in the event you didn’t personal a Galaxy Watch or Ring, and customers will really feel the loss on the Galaxy S25 Extremely.
Nonetheless, it wasn’t simply the distant shutter that was a success with customers. Media controls from throughout the room and even sitting at your desk had been simply dealt with by the S Pen. I might skip tracks or swipe by songs on Spotify. It was incredible on YouTube, the place I might skip by movies. It’s a superb expertise to have my S24 Extremely on a stand on my desk and management media with out having to choose up the cellphone every time I desire a completely different music. It’s not a dealbreaker for many, and also you would possibly even assume we’re making a giant deal out of nothing, however getting much less from a cellphone labeled “Extremely” is disappointing, particularly when Samsung might’ve gone in one other route.
We might’ve had extra as an alternative of much less
Why not enhance the S Pen?
The Samsung of 10 years in the past would have taken the consumer survey displaying an absence of S Pen use and had a completely completely different response. I can’t assist however assume that Samsung model would have packed the S Pen with extra options we wish to use. The Galaxy Observe collection was about stuffing the cellphone with probably the most options and know-how doable, so whereas I didn’t like the value, I might justify it. I can’t do this anymore on the Galaxy S25 Extremely.
I might get enthusiastic about S Pen performance tied to Galaxy AI, a method to higher interpret Air Actions from a distance or hyperlink the DeX expertise to the Bluetooth S Pen. As a substitute of searching for an answer that may give us extra, Samsung took the primary excuse to tug a characteristic — a far cry from the corporate many people used to look to for innovation.
It’s not simply in regards to the S Pen
No matter how a lot you utilize the S Pen, it’s plain to see Samsung made a PR blunder. In case you’re going to downgrade a beloved characteristic, you had higher do it in a 12 months while you’re dazzling us with new {hardware}. If you do it on a cellphone just like the Galaxy S25 Extremely, it looks like an affordable cost-cutting measure, one thing clients will reply negatively to on a $1,300 smartphone, whether or not they use the S Pen or not. In case you couldn’t inform by now, the S Pen Bluetooth performance is symbolic. Seeing its options diminish completely correlates to Samsung and the overall feeling surrounding the Galaxy S25 Extremely — we get much less after we used to get extra.