Galaxy Note 9 S Pen: Fans Obsess Over New Details

Apparently the Galaxy Note 9 is coming with a new S Pen, one that's advanced beyond the past several generations of the smartphone. It's not 100% clear what'll be going on here, but we've had a couple chats with insiders (who shall remain anonymous) who've given us a couple clues as to the nature of this upgrade. We're fairly confident now that this new S Pen in the Galaxy Note 9 will have its own battery, and that it'll be charged whilst docked in the Note.

We chatted about the insides of the S Pen in the Galaxy Note 8 and came to the conclusion that it is very tiny. Based on what we know about the insides of another slightly-larger smart stylus called Apple Pencil, the tiny size of the standard S Pen might not make the cut. This tiny S Pen won't make the cut for the internal components included in the Apple Pencil as they are today, anyway.

But when we take a peek at the first major leaked renders of the Samsung Galaxy Note 9 from OnLeaks, we see something sorta interesting. Further confirming our tipster's claims, it would appear that this new Note 9 has a slightly more snugly-fit S Pen. The shape of the crown is more rectangular, and less space is wasted around its edges when docked.

An internal battery suggests there's something worth keeping powered in this new S Pen. In the Galaxy Note 8 and every previous Samsung Note device, the S Pen used electromagnetic resonance (EMR) technology. This tech worked with what each Galaxy Note device had as a digitizer below its display to make stylus work feel natural and top-notch.

Now the Galaxy Note 9 might be the first to use Bluetooth connectivity. We know that the approximate size of the internal components of the Apple Pencil (minus the battery) could MAYBE squeeze their tiny butts into a slightly expanded S Pen stylus. Maybe if Samsung found a way to make this board EVEN SMALLER?

Photos of the logic board come from the Apple Pencil teardown at iFixit. Arrangement of styli from PhoneArena for size approximation.

With a slightly expanded S Pen making use of that ever-so-tiny space in the body of the Galaxy Note 9, maybe there's room for some magical features. Or perhaps the Galaxy Note 9 won't end up coming with any different sort of S Pen features and this will all be a plane crash of a launch. Who knows?!

If you'll have a peek at the Galaxy Note 9 VS the 6.5-inch iPhone X Plus as rendered by Venya Geskin, you'll see why Samsung might need to make this newest Note as spectacular as possible. This is not a great time to be slacking! Have a peek at our article Galaxy S10's to-do list for battling iPhone X Plus to see what's up this next late Winter!

Above you'll see a set of likely specifications for the Samsung Galaxy Note 9 next to the final and confirmed specs for the Galaxy Note 8. Does this seem like the sort of upgrade you'd be all about?