It's been rumored for some time that the most expensive member of the Galaxy S21 family, the Galaxy S21 Ultra, will feature support for the S Pen. The pen accessory is typically included with the Galaxy Note series of phones and only works on those devices, so adding support for it in the Galaxy S series could signify a significant change of direction for the Korean company.
Now, the purported Galaxy S21 Ultra has been spotted by Android Authority in an FCC filing, with the codename SM-G998B. The filing confirms at one point that the device can interact with the S Pen, including the hover gestures that let users perform certain actions without touching the S Pen on the display.
TM Roh, head of Samsung's mobile division, recently talked about the company's plans for 2021, and mentioned that it was looking at incorporating certain Galaxy Note features in other smartphones. Many took that to mean S Pen support was on the way, given the existing rumors, and this filing seems to provide further confirmation that this is the case.
It's also been rumored that Samsung is killing off the Galaxy Note line to go along with the S Pen support in the Galaxy S series. However, a Samsung representative has denied that will necessarily happen. Additionally, most reports suggest that while the Galaxy S21 Ultra will support the S Pen, the accessory won't be included in the box, nor will the phone have a dedicated slot to store it. That does give the Galaxy Note some distinction from the Galaxy S series, and Samsung could be testing the waters to determine if there's a need to keep the Galaxy Note line around for much longer.
We're expecting to hear more about the Galaxy S21 family on January 14. Aside from S Pen support in the most expensive variant, the entire lineup is said to have a completely new design that extends the metal frame to serve as the rear camera bump. The devices are also expected to be cheaper than the Galaxy S20 family was at launch.
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