What Samsung thought would be a throwaway mention of the S Pen on the Galaxy S25 Ultra has become a lasting story. The company removed Bluetooth functionality from the S Pen, citing a survey showing that only 1% of owners used its enhanced features. Regardless of how valid Samsung thinks its reasons for removing Bluetooth from the S Pen are, it’s an unforced error that the company will eventually backtrack from on future models. I’m part of the vocal 1% that uses the Bluetooth S Pen, and here’s why it’s a mistake that Samsung removed it.
No Thanks, Keep Reading
Related
I’m a smartphone expert and the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra left me unimpressed: Here’s why
This isn’t the path, Samsung
It’s not 1%
No one benefits here but Samsung
I question the accuracy of Samsung’s survey to decide about the S Pen on the Galaxy S25 Ultra. If the result was 1%, then I wonder if the data wasn’t misinterpreted or if the question was phrased so that users didn’t understand what they were asked. Because, based on my own wholly unscientific survey, the actual number is much higher. Users might not use Bluetooth S Pen functions daily, but they appreciate them being there when needed. And it goes beyond nostalgia. A portion of users are genuinely upset at the loss of the features because they used them often, but also, a faction of users hate what the change represents; both are valid.
Samsung also highlighted that the change means there’s one less battery in the phone to maintain and that a passive S Pen saves weight. In seven years of using S Pens with Bluetooth functionality, I’ve never had an issue with a battery going bad. I can’t imagine Samsung saving a notable amount of weight by removing the S Pen, either. Even without the battery in the pen and the charging coils in the silo on the S25 Ultra, we can only be talking a few grams at most. It’s about cutting costs, and Samsung doesn’t get a gold star in my book for not raising the price of the S25 Ultra in 2025 when it’s already the most expensive phone in the US, especially if it means cutting corners to do so.
More than just a remote shutter
Camera controls weren’t the only useful feature
I’ll be the first to admit I didn’t use the S Pen’s remote shutter feature often, but I loved how handy it was when I did. Framing a selfie shot with friends was much easier, and I didn’t have to worry about palm gestures or saying cheese — it felt like a better solution. It was also more versatile when using the rear cameras, as gestures and voice commands only work on the front-facing camera. The remote shutter on the S Pen was the best way to trigger a photo if you didn’t own a Galaxy Watch or Ring, and users will feel the loss on the Galaxy S25 Ultra.
However, it wasn’t just the remote shutter that was a hit with users. Media controls from across the room or even sitting at your desk were easily handled by the S Pen. I could skip tracks or swipe through songs on Spotify. It was fantastic on YouTube, where I could skip through videos. It’s an excellent experience to have my S24 Ultra on a stand on my desk and control media without having to pick up the phone each time I want a different song. It’s not a dealbreaker for most, and you might even think we’re making a big deal out of nothing, but getting less from a phone labeled “Ultra” is disappointing, especially when Samsung could’ve gone in another direction.
We could’ve had more instead of less
Why not improve the S Pen?
The Samsung of 10 years ago would have taken the user survey showing a lack of S Pen use and had an entirely different response. I can’t help but think that Samsung version would have packed the S Pen with more features we want to use. The Galaxy Note series used to be about stuffing the phone with the most features and technology possible, so while I didn’t like the price, I could justify it. I can’t do that anymore on the Galaxy S25 Ultra.
I could get excited about S Pen functionality tied to Galaxy AI, a way to better interpret Air Actions from a distance or link the DeX experience to the Bluetooth S Pen. Instead of looking for a solution that would give us more, Samsung took the first excuse to pull a feature — a far cry from the company many of us used to look to for innovation.
It’s not just about the S Pen
Regardless of how much you use the S Pen, it’s plain to see Samsung made a PR blunder. If you’re going to downgrade a beloved feature, you had better do it in a year when you’re dazzling us with new hardware. When you do it on a phone like the Galaxy S25 Ultra, it feels like a cheap cost-cutting measure, something customers will respond negatively to on a $1,300 smartphone, whether they use the S Pen or not. If you couldn’t tell by now, the S Pen Bluetooth functionality is symbolic. Seeing its features diminish perfectly correlates to Samsung and the general feeling surrounding the Galaxy S25 Ultra — we get less when we used to get more.
