Back in the days of the Galaxy Note series, Samsung's iconic S Pen used to get better with almost every yearly Note release. But after more than a decade of improvements, it seems as though the S Pen accessory may have peaked back in 2022.
The S Pen experience, consisting of the S Pen, phone specs, and all the software around it, is evolving. Even the Galaxy S24 Ultra has improved the S Pen experience with Galaxy AI productivity tools and a flat display, the latter of which fits the stylus better than the old Edge panels did.
However, there is a distinction between the S Pen experience and the S Pen itself. As far as the S Pen is concerned, i.e., the stylus accessory sans display specs and software enhancements, nothing has changed since the Galaxy S22 Ultra went on sale two years ago.
The S Pen might never get any better than this
If you own the Galaxy S22 Ultra and a better S Pen is the only thing that would make you want to upgrade to the Galaxy S24 Ultra, you probably shouldn't bother — unless you dread the curved screen around the edges and you'd rather use the stylus on a flat panel.
However, aside from the flat display and Galaxy AI productivity tools, the Galaxy S24 Ultra doesn't do anything to improve the S Pen itself. The accessory has had the same specifications for the past two years. And the only difference could be that the S24 Ultra S Pen might stink of burned plastic worse than the S22 Ultra's S Pen.
Whether you use the Galaxy S22 Ultra, the S23 Ultra, or the S24 Ultra, you get the exact same S Pen specifications:
- IP68 dust and water resistance rating.
- Bluetooth connectivity with remote control (Air Command) capabilities.
- A 0.7mm pen tip with 4,096 pressure levels.
- A low latency of 2.8ms.
Seeing how the S Pen doesn't feel as important to Samsung as it once was, this is where the accessory may have peaked. 2022 was the last time the S Pen saw any significant improvements, and there's no telling if it will ever get any better than this.
That being said, even if the S Pen's hardware specs have been the same for the past two years, we don't recommend mismatching your S Pen and S Ultra phone. Technically speaking, the Galaxy S22 Ultra's S Pen works with newer models, but it might get stuck inside the phone if you try holstering it.
Some Galaxy S23 Ultra users on Reddit found out the hard way that you should never holster the 2023 S Pen model inside the newer Galaxy S24 Ultra, and all in all, it's better to avoid mismatching S Pens and S Ultra phones.
