Samsung’s Galaxy Note 7 fiasco will undoubtedly go down as one of the biggest smartphone blunders in history. The ill-fated incident, along with its arguably more unfortunate resolution, left many disappointed as proper Note alternatives in the industry are limited. Whether we will see a new Note emerge in late 2017 or not is a question that only time will tell, but consumers may not have to wait until next fall to experience a “new” Galaxy Note experience. According to a new rumor from SamMobile, the Samsung Galaxy S8 may support the S Pen as an external accessory.
As an “external accessory”, the S Pen allegedly wouldn’t have a dedicated pen slot like it does on the Note series. This, of course, sounds like a recipe for disaster as the pen slot has always been handy for keeping styluses from getting lost. However, dragging up a patent from early 2016, we know that Samsung placed a patent on an S Pen case for non-Galaxy Note devices. While I don’t think this is quite the reason Samsung had in mind to implement such a thing (assuming they ever planned to use it in the first place) the idea might just come in handy now that people are itching for a Note replacement.
I feel like the S Pen as an external accessory would actually be a good idea if it ends up being true. It may be more of a hassle than a built-in pen slot, but at least it would be an option. I assume that such a case would only be for the larger S8 variant as well, particularly since it’s rumored to have up to a 6-inch display, but I think it would be double rad if Samsung could make such an accessory available to the smaller Galaxy S variant as well. I still prefer smaller phones, which are falling more out of fashion by the year. I don't really consider the 5-inch display of the Galaxy S7 "small" except by comparison. I think the S Pen would still be useful in the smaller Galaxy S variant.
To be quite honest, I wouldn’t mind seeing Samsung merge Galaxy S and Galaxy Note completely. At this point, their differences are so minimal that there’s not much need to keep the two completely separate. The larger Galaxy S variant could adopt the S Pen with pen slot, and the smaller variant could support the active digitizer that allows the S Pen to work, but sell it as an external accessory with a case.
I wouldn't mind it, but I don’t think that will be the case. I think that this would simply be a compromise; those who were interested in the Note 7 could get a new flagship with Note-like features, and Galaxy users would have the option of turning their Galaxy S into a Note if they really wanted to. If it flops, Samsung could brush it off as a temporary solution until the next Note. If it succeeds, who knows? At the end of the day, it just seems like Samsung doesn’t have much to lose by making it an option at this point.
Readers, what are your thoughts on this rumor? Do you hope that the S8 will support an external S Pen accessory, or would you rather just wait for a new, proper Note? Let us know in the comments below!
