Samsung’s S Pen stylus was a standard feature on the Galaxy Note, and comes with the S23 Ultra. But is it compatible with the Galaxy S23 and S23+?
Unfortunately for would-be buyers, the vanilla Galaxy S23 and S23+ do not ship with a built-in S Pen, and neither are compatible with it either. However, like last year’s S22 Ultra, the S23 Ultra ships with the S Pen in the box. It is neatly tucked away inside the S23 Ultra’s built-in S Pen slot, giving users an easy storage option when it’s not in use. It is worth noting that the first Galaxy S-series device to ship with a built-in S Pen was the S22 Ultra, meaning the S23 Ultra is only the second device in the Galaxy S-series to get the bundled Samsung stylus.
Only The S23 Ultra Works With A S Pen
While the original Galaxy Note S Pen from 2011 came with 256 levels of pressure sensitivity, the latest versions offer much higher levels for more precise inputs. The latest S Pen with the Galaxy S23 Ultra registers up to 4,096 pressure levels, which is on par with the Microsoft Surface Pen 2.
The latency levels have also reduced significantly over the past several years. Compared to the 9ms latency on the S Pen from the Note 20 Ultra, the latest one has just 2.8ms of latency. The device connects to the phone via Bluetooth and draws power from a super-capacitor battery, unlike the lithium-ion unit in the Apple Pencil.
Samsung claims that it takes just a few seconds to charge completely, and its high efficiency levels means that it can be used for up to 30 minutes on a single charge. The S Pen also works without any charge, but without the remote capabilities.
Overall, the S Pen is one of the most useful smartphone accessories from Samsung, but one whose compatibility is largely restricted to a handful of smartphones and tablets. It has some similarities with the Apple Pencil and Microsoft Surface Pen, but there are many differences that make them all unique in their own right.
Either way, prospective Galaxy S23 buyers who want stylus compatibility will need to cough up the extra cash for the Galaxy S23 Ultra, which starts at $1,200 for the base 8GB + 256GB model.