S25 Ultra, Spen downgrade!!!

[arivaal]

Hey Samsung,

I was gonna upgrade to the S25 Ultra from my S24 Ultra, but then I found out the S Pen lost Bluetooth. Bummer, right? Just because people don't use it *all* the time doesn't mean they don't want it. Don't downgrade the Ultras! The S Pen is a huge reason to buy one. If the S26 Ultra doesn't bring it back, I'm skipping Ultras in the future.

I'm perfectly happy sticking with my S24 Ultra.

I love all the new stuff in this generation, except for ditching the S Pen's Bluetooth.

It might not be a big deal for everyone, but it's a problem for me.

Love my S24U❤️

Thank you

[-Robot-]

I don't like loosing that feature too but thinking about it, I think I only used it the first few days when I got my S24ultra and to take steady Northern light pics, so I don't think it will be a huge loss for me

Not a deal breaker for me to be honest

[smiley]

The S24u is a great phone so if the incremental changes don't make sense to you then you should stick with your great phone you have.

On the Bluetooth function, I am also a little disappointed. However as i have a samsung watch I really haven't used the pen as a remote button as I use the camera assistant on my watch for that purpose... and also get a picture and full zoom features from the watch.

You can also use hand gestures with the camera on the take a picture.

It isn't a deal breaker for me... I find it strange why to remove it when it probably cost more to remove than to just leave the same as the previous generation. But perhaps they have their reasons.

Smiley

[Sirfoxelot]

Apparently they were saying most people didn't use the feature

[smiley]

I have heard that. I guess i used to mess around occasionally with air commands and remote shutters but usually I didn't use the functions that much myself.

I just wonder if there are other technical reasons for removal as well, that are not yet disclosed.

These are only 'engineering thoughts' and purely speculative, but let's say there are other possible reasons for removal....

Perhaps one of the parts used has an obsolescence notice and it would require to redesign the parts needed. This is common in my industry for a supplier to remove the part and suggest an upgrade. This often requires a modification to the known design.

Or perhaps the new promoted magnetic cases are causing issues with the Bluetooth.

Magsafe is for the first year being promoted by Samsung. We already know some magnets have issues messing with the spen digitiser.

aftermarket magsafe cases arw available with earlier S24u and S23u, so I wonder how well that worked. I did buy a magnetic closure case for my s23 before and the s pen on one side would not work. Of course Bluetooth and digitiser are two different functions, but if the magnets cause unreliability wirh Bluetooth of the pen, this could be a valid reason for removing it.

Finally, perhaps the Bluetooth of the pen caused some existence issues with the newly designed SoC chip and optimising it for all this AI processing.

These are just purely speculative and 'food for thought'... but these kind of hurdles and questions come up regularly in the engineering world that i work in... and sometimes the best solution is not always the one that the designer would like to make.

Anyhow this is just my brain on overtime. Take the comments as you will 😊

Thanks
Smiley

[keith30]

It's like Samsung all over they give you something, but then take some away. How do they know that you don't use the S Pen much? Do they keep track on everything your doing. Makes you think! They could have taken something else away like the useless Digital Wellbeing App I never use that, it's disabled on my device.

[Sirfoxelot]

I think one of the issues with magnets in phone cases and Bluetooth S-pens was with charging.
There were charging coils in the phone and S-Pen that enabled wireless charging of the capacitor in the S-pen.

If you placed a magnetic in the vicinity of these, the S-pen would not charge.

I do wonder if that was one of the reasons the pen was moved from the right side of the phone on the Note series, to the Left side on the S series, as it was usually opposite the magnetic closure on most cases.

[sheplfc74]

I get why take it away whether you use it or not, it's like something taken away when your trying to upgrade, personally I only ever used it to show off 1st week or 2. But I think if you've the watch (I've got the Ultra) you can control most of it from that... think they pushing that route... maybe?

[Allen p]

I was going to upgrade to I'm in the same boat I will not upgrade I'd rather get a fold phone I hope they get smart enough to realize S Pen built in to either one of them and better battery is what we want not AI are they going to eliminate Circle to search cuz people only used it three times if you remember they took away the note then they took away finger scent you used to be able to hover your finger over something they took our IR blaster they take everything we like and give us b*******

[Sebin369]

I'm so bummed Samsung ditched Bluetooth on the S25 Ultra's S-Pen! It was a total game-changer for me; on solo trips, I could easily take pics without bothering anyone. I'd just set up my phone, snap away with the S-Pen, even get different poses without constantly running back.

 The Galaxy Ultra line (used to be the Note) was always top-tier, you know? It wasn't just any phone; it was a statement, a symbol of quality. Things like the S-Pen and that classic design really set it apart. They weren't just add-ons—they were the whole point of the Ultra experience. People who never used the S-Pen just didn't get it—it wasn't for them. If they didn't care about the S-Pen, they could always get a Plus (used to be the S series). But the Ultra was for us—those who wanted the best camera, the best performance, and that amazing S-Pen versatility. Getting rid of such a key feature feels like a step backwards, making the Ultra just another fancy phone instead of the amazing device it should be. Samsung, please don't mess with what made the Ultra so great.