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One of the features that Samsung announced for the Galaxy S21 Ultra this year, was the addition of S Pen support. Previously, the S Pen only worked on Galaxy Note (when it came to smartphones). But with the Galaxy S21 Ultra, that has changed.
Because of that, Samsung is selling a case that comes with the S Pen and a silo for you to keep it intact, and not lose it. As well as the S Pen individually.
I’ve spent a day with this case so far – yeah, early thoughts – and this case isn’t going to be what kills the Galaxy Note.
It’s a very wide case
Since Samsung needed to add a space for the S Pen to live, the case is much wider than the phone. It’s the same Silicon Case that Samsung sells for all of its smartphones, but the left side is a bit wider, for the S Pen silo. This means that the case is not symmetrical. And in that aspect, it just doesn’t look too good.
Additionally, since most of us are right handed, you are likely holding your phone in the left hand. If you try to use it one-handed that way, you need to reach further over than before. Honestly, that wasn’t a big deal for me. As the phone was already massive. So it’s pretty tough to use with one hand anyways.
This is a first-world problem, arguably, but I really wish Samsung did this with the leather case. Yeah, that would make this case almost $100, but it would have looked better, I believe. The biggest issue I have with Samsung’s Silicon Cases – and this isn’t exclusive to the Galaxy S21 cases – is that they attract dust like magnets.
This morning, I took the case out of the box, and put it on the phone. Before I could even take photos for this article, it had dust on it. Take a cloth to wipe it off, and more dust gets on it. One of the main reasons why I never buy Samsung’s Silicon cases, and instead go for the leather cases.
The S Pen is missing some of the best Galaxy Note features
The bigger issue, and why this S Pen case isn’t going to make the Galaxy S21 Ultra replace the Note, is that it’s missing features.
We already knew this, but it’s worth repeating. The S Pen functionality on the Galaxy S21 Ultra is limited to non-Bluetooth features. Meaning that you can scroll, draw, use smart-select and such. But you can’t use it as a remote.
Why can’t you use it as a remote? Well, the S Pen doesn’t have Bluetooth. It also doesn’t have a battery. This is basically the S Pen from before the Galaxy Note 9, where Bluetooth was introduced. The reason why it doesn’t have Bluetooth or a battery, is because there is no way to charge the S Pen with this case.
For some people, that’s going to make this case a non-starter.
However, for those that like to use the S Pen to do some drawing, or jot down some notes, then this is going to be a great case for you. I just wish Samsung had done a better job on this case, and maybe offered an S Pen version of more of its cases.
In the end, this is one of those cases that you’ll have to “get used to” if you really want the S Pen, and a place to keep it. That way it doesn’t get lost.