If you wanted a phone with a legit stylus for a long time – and I don’t mean one of those weak ones –sauce sticks with a soft lump on top – your only real choice was a Galaxy Note. However, after adding stylus support to some of its tablets and laptops, Samsung decided to release the stylus on its phones this year. to, by making an S-Pen for the Galaxy S.21 UltraAnd while the S21 Ultra’s $ 40 add-on accessory doesn’t provide the same cohesive package you get with a note, it’s convenient for less hardcore stylus enthusiasts.
One of the best things about the S21 Ultra’s S-Pen is that there is virtually no installation. Just take it out of the box, hold it by the phone’s screen, and you’re good to go – all the software you need is already baked in. And Since the S21 Ultra’s S-Pen is also a passive stylus, you don’t have to worry about it staying charged.
Similar to a Note, hovering the S21 Ultra’s stylus above the right edge of the screen will pop up a floating button, giving you access to almost all of Samsung’s standard S-Pen features. including traditional nutTake, Smart Select (for cutting photos from videos), Screen Write, Live Messages, AR Doodle and Translate. There’s also a handy settings shortcut that lets you customize S-Pen features, such as Enable Screen Off Memo (which lets you take notes without unlocking phone), display a pointer while hovering, and more.
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However, because the stylus doesn’t have an active Bluetooth connection like you get with a Galaxy Note’s S-Pen, you can’t use the S21 Ultra’s stylus as an external shutter photos or wave to use Samsung’s Air promotions
That said, the S21 Ultra’s S-Pen has some of its own advantages. Not only does it come with two extra stylus tips that you can swap out for a slightly different feel, the stylus itself is also also slightly longer and thicker than a standard Galaxy Note stylus. This might not sound like much, but even for someone like me who doesn’t have big hands, it’s significantly more comfortable to hold, while still providing a handy button for things like erasing. T.The super-slim dimensions of a Note’s S-Pen often gave it the feel like I was going to break it, while the S21 Ultra’s stylus feels more like a normal writing utensil.
The downside of this S-Pen version is that because it is an accessory, you have nowhere to store it when not in use unless you opt for Samsung’s $ 70 bundle, which includes the S-Pen and a silicone case for the S21 Ultra. On its own, the silicone cover from Samsung is perfectly functional and does everything you need with a case: met covers all corners, protects the rear camera body and has a slot for the S-Pen.
Unfortunately, for me and the other 90% of people in the world who are right-handed, the slot for the S-Pen is on the left, which means you have to do a slightly awkward shuffle or reach around to get the stylus in. to get the right hand for drawing or jotting downtake. I’ll admit, it’s not a huge deal, but it’s a bit clunky, and compared to a Galaxy Note, it’s just not that elegant. But that’s the compromise you have to make to make for an optional accessory.
Still, even as someone who doesn’t consider themselves a stylus buff, complecombining the S21 Ultra with an S-Pen changes the experience. Thanks to Live Messages, I found myself texting more for sure, if only for doodles on friends’ memes. I use Smart Select to make GIFs of thick stamps when I see them just because it’s so easy. And while I don’t take many traditional notes, I find it super convenient to annotate PDFs. So even if you don’t use it all the time it’s just nice to have the option to use a stylus if the situation arises.
I really appreciate that Samsung no longer limits the stylus to the Galaxy Note line. Styluses on phones aren’t for everyone, but they shouldn’t be strictly limited to $ 1,000 flagships and that one Moto handsetAnd while the S21 Ultra is by no means cheap, we hope that Samsung will continue to expand stylus support to the rest of the Galaxy S line and more in the future.