TL;DR
- Samsung has long struggled with S Pen users storing the stylus backwards.
- With the S 26 Ultra, a new design means it’s possible to store the S Pen rotated incorrectly along its long axis.
- Storing the pen like this won’t cause any damage, but will make one corner stick out.
How much longer is Samsung going to stick with the S Pen? Ever since the retirement of the Note series, Samsung’s stylus solution has felt like it’s on borrowed time. We’ve seen support continue with Galaxy S Ultra flagships, but the Fold 7 launching without S Pen support felt like a major slight. While those long-term prospects are still up for debate, Samsung’s giving the S Pen some fresh attention for the Galaxy S26 Ultra, and that means a new design element with a possibly annoying little quirk.
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Today we’re also thinking about S Pen orientation, although this time along a different axis. Last year, with the S25 Ultra, the end of the stylus opposing the tip was flat. But now with the S26 Ultra, Samsung has given this end of the S Pen a curve to match the phone’s frame.
Zac Kew-Denniss / Android Authority
The problem is — at least if you’re not aware of it — that there’s no system in place to prevent you from inserting the S Pen rotated the wrong way around its long axis. And if you do that, you’re going to have this little corner poking out the side of your phone’s frame, looking and feeling all sorts of wrong.
Either this is the sort of thing that’s never going to bother you, or you’re going to obsess over getting it right each and every time you put your S Pen away.
The good news is that this new mistake is a harmless one to make — you’re not going to break anything by putting the S Pen in your phone turned around the wrong way.
Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra
Privacy display • Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy • Power AI features •
Powerful flagship with top-tier cameras, AI, and privacy features.
The Galaxy S26 Ultra is Samsung’s slimmest and lightest Ultra yet, pairing a 6.9-inch 10-bit display with the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy and a redesigned cooling system. It doubles down on imaging with a brighter 200MP main camera, upgraded zoom, advanced 8K video features, and Ultra-exclusive privacy and Galaxy AI tools.
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