The latest rumors for the Galaxy S8 suggest Samsung may make the device compatible with an external S-Pen stylus. The unconfirmed report comes from a Weibo user who claims to be familiar with Samsung’s development strategy.
Samsung is reportedly testing several prototypes for the Galaxy S8 at the moment, and has not finalized the device’s design and features, according to SamMobile. This has lead to several conflicting rumors. However, the speculation offers an interesting look into the manufacturer’s possible thought process.
There have been hints Samsung could replace its Galaxy Note with something new and several rumors corroborate the claim. There are reports of Samsung possibly retiring the Note branding and claims one of the Galaxy S8 models may be a 6-inch phablet.
Adding the rumor of S-Pen support for the Galaxy S line could be seen as a bad sign for the Note series. However, the Weibo reports note Samsung strategically decided against an integrated stylus for the Galaxy S8 prototype in question.
The Galaxy Note line is known for having a built-in stylus as part of its design. Users must pull the S-Pen out of the Galaxy Note chassis for use, and store it away when not in use. However, if rumors are accurate, the Galaxy S8 would have stylus-compatible software on board, but the S-Pen would likely be sold separately. This would differentiate the device from Galaxy Note handsets.
Samsung has not confirmed any claims about the Galaxy S8 or future devices. But SamMobile notes such a move could be Samsung’s way of making up for the discontinuation of the Galaxy Note 7. The manufacturer still has housecleaning to do pertaining its flagship, which was pulled from the market due to a faulty design that affected its battery.
However, prior to the device’s demise, Samsung was already playing around with phablet-sized devices without an S-Pen. The manufacturer released the 5.7-inch Galaxy S6 Edge+ in August 2015 and the 5.5-inch Galaxy S7 Edge in February. The Galaxy S7 Edge in particular is very similar to the Galaxy Note 7 in design.
At this time, very little is known about the Galaxy Note 8. Preliminary rumors suggest the device may feature a battery by LG. Stylus inclusion may have been a natural progression of the Galaxy S line even if the Galaxy Note 7 was not discontinued. Ultimately, we may never know.
