Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra S Pen Loses Key Feature in Major Disappointment

The Truth About the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra’s S Pen: Is It a Game-Changer or a Step Back?
The Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra has finally landed, and while it’s an upgrade in some ways, its S Pen is arguably a step back from its predecessor. That’s because, as rumored, the S25 Ultra’s S Pen lacks Bluetooth connectivity. So, what does that mean for its functionality?
In a nutshell, you can no longer use Air actions, which means you can’t use gestures or a button on the pen to do things like launch apps, control music, scroll through photos, or use the S Pen as a remote camera shutter to take pictures or record videos.
That’s a lot of missing features, but Samsung claims that most people weren’t really using these features anyway, which is apparently a big part of the company’s decision to ditch them. Some of these tools, such as taking pictures, can be done with a connected Samsung Galaxy Watch or even a Samsung Galaxy Ring.
A Lighter Stylus
There are, however, some positives to ditching Bluetooth. It means there’s no battery to worry about, and the lack of a battery and other components that enabled Bluetooth means the S Pen is lighter too, which contributes to the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra’s overall weight being 15g less than the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra’s.
So, while it can always be disappointing when features are removed, it’s likely that this will be a good change for most people – though not for anyone who was regularly using the Bluetooth features.
What the S Pen Can Still Do
The S Pen can still be used to draw, write, and use Circle to Search, as well as bring up the Air command menu, which is a customizable menu of shortcuts.
Where the S25 Ultra Has Been Upgraded
The Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra has been significantly upgraded in its AI features, with many more than its predecessor. This phone also has a bigger screen, a new 50MP ultra-wide camera, tweaks to its design, a powerful Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset, and tougher Gorilla Armor 2 to protect it from drops and scratches.
To learn more about this flagship powerhouse, check out our hands-on review of the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra. We’ve also got a hands-on review of the Samsung Galaxy S25 and a hands-on review of the Samsung Galaxy S25 Plus.
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