The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold3 5G is the first folding screen phone to support the S Pen stylus. Previously this stylus had become an inseparable part of the Galaxy Note line.
Samsung first released the S Pen at the same time as the Galaxy Note. Nine years since it was first released, Samsung continues to add more features and usability to the S Pen in order to meet the needs of its users.
Now the S Pen is no longer an exclusive accessory for the Galaxy Note line, because it is already present in the Galaxy S21 Ultra and Galaxy Z Fold3 5G. What is the development of the S Pen from time to time? Let's see the following explanation.
Galaxy Note 10
The Bluetooth LE feature of the previous generation is enhanced in the 10th generation S Pen. For example, the presence of the Air Doodle feature.
Samsung is also presenting a new video editor app that takes advantage of the S Pen's capabilities. The Notes application also gets an optical character recognition (OCR) feature that can recognize handwriting and convert it to text.
Galaxy Note 20
In this generation, the upgrades that the S Pen brings are invisible, but that doesn't mean they're not important. Samsung reduced its screen latency to 9ms which makes using the S Pen feel more natural.
Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G
This is the first time the S Pen has entered the Galaxy S line after years of being an exclusive feature on the Galaxy Note and Galaxy Tab. The difference is, the S Pen is sold separately and cannot be inserted into the phone body.
The S Pen on the Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G can perform various functions including drawing, writing notes, editing photos, signing signatures, and more. But there are limitations, such as not supporting Bluetooth.
Galaxy Z Fold3 5G
The Galaxy Z Fold3 5G is the first foldable phone to support the S Pen. This stylus can help Galaxy Z Fold3 5G users to increase their daily productivity, especially when combined with its spacious screen.
Thanks to this feature, users can make video calls while checking the agenda or writing notes. The addition of the S Pen to text feature can also help users improve their writing when they have to take notes quickly.
The S Pen for the Galaxy Z Fold3 5G comes in two variants, the S Pen Fold Edition and the S Pen Pro. To protect the screen from excessive pressure, the two S Pen variants are equipped with a softer Pro tip and force limit technology. Low latency also makes the experience of writing, drawing, and messaging more seamless.
Galaxy Note
Samsung partnered with Wacom to produce the first generation S Pen. It is 14 cm long, with a sensitivity of 256 pressures. Since the beginning of its iteration, the S Pen has been able to be 'stored' in the phone body and offers a touch that is more accurate than a human finger.
The letter 'S' of the S Pen refers to the word 'smart' which means a smart ability that can be accessed via the button on the side. This button is still around until the latest generation S Pen, and its functions are even more diverse, such as taking screenshots, opening the S Memo application, and so on.
Galaxy Note 2
The second generation S Pen used by the Galaxy Note 2 has a longer and thicker dimension. The rubber tip is made bigger and looks like a pencil. The sensitivity was increased to 1,024.
The biggest change was made in the Wacom digitizer, which allows the Galaxy Note 2 to recognize the S Pen when it's near the screen without needing to touch the screen. This is used by Samsung for the Air View feature which allows users to view photos, documents, and even videos by pointing the S Pen at the screen without touching.
Galaxy Note 3
The biggest change in the third generation S Pen is in its symmetrical shape. In addition, this S Pen also has an Air Command feature where the phone will issue a special S Pen application once the stylus is removed from the phone body.
Galaxy Note 4
Samsung increased the sensitivity of the fourth-generation S Pen to 2,048, double that of the previous generation. There is also a Smart Select feature that allows the S Pen to select text from web pages or documents.
Users can also copy and paste documents with a gesture or a few taps from the S Pen. Another feature is Photo Note, which allows the S Pen to add text to a photo, then copy and turn it into a new photo.
Galaxy Note 5
The fifth-generation S Pen features a button at the top to activate a pop-out mechanism that helps the stylus move out of its place of storage on the phone. This button is necessary because this generation S Pen no longer sticks out when stored.
In this generation, Samsung has also reduced some of the S Pen's less-used features, and retained its key features such as S Note, Screen Write and Smart Select.
Galaxy Note 7 and Galaxy Note 7 FE
Despite the problems that plagued the Galaxy Note 7 series, this generation S Pen actually brings significant improvements. As the sensitivity is increased to 4096, so it is waterproof, and can be inserted into the phone upside down.
In terms of applications, there are additional features such as Animation which allows users to record a 15-second GIF by drawing a frame using the S Pen. Air Command also gets a Magnify feature that can enlarge the screen display up to 300%.
The Translate feature has also been integrated with Google Translate, so users can translate words just by highlighting the word.
Galaxy Note 8
Although the Galaxy Note 8 brings a lot of new things, the S Pen it uses doesn't bring much change. Samsung is more focused on improving existing features.
Galaxy Note 9
Samsung started using Bluetooth LE (low energy) technology in this generation S Pen which allows the S Pen to be used as a remote control for several functions, such as opening the camera, taking photos, controlling music, changing presentation slides, and others.
The battery can be recharged when the S Pen is inserted into the body of the phone. A 40 second charge can power this stylus for 30 minutes of use or about 200 clicks.
Samsung has also opened the S Pen software development kit (SDK) to developers, so they can integrate the S Pen into their applications. Adobe and Autodesk is one that takes advantage of it.