Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra rumored to keep S Pen amid design changes

What you need to know

• Samsung's Galaxy S26 Ultra is likely to retain the S Pen, despite recent product changes.
• New camera features expected, including a 200MP main sensor and a thicker camera bump.
• Galaxy S26 Ultra specs include improved design, up to 16GB RAM, and faster charging.

It looks like Samsung might keep the S Pen on its next flagship device, aka the Galaxy S26 Ultra, according to a fresh leak. Many S Pen fans have been fearing the worst for the past few months, and for good reason.

Samsung has been making some moves that the S Pen fans, even though in the minority, have been caught off guard. First, it removed Bluetooth S Pen features on the Galaxy S25 Ultra, and more recently, it ditched the S Pen on the Galaxy Z Fold 7, as the Korean OEM wanted to keep things sleek and compact on the phone, which has caused us to think about the future of the S Pen itself.

While the company continues to make phones lighter and sleeker, we feel that the stylus could be a thing of the past. However, this may not be the case for the next-gen Galaxy S26 Ultra, a new leak from prominent tipster, Ice Universe, hints that the device will indeed keep the S Pen, with alleged device renders showing a dedicated slot for it.

Samsung isn't completely abandoning the S Pen across its device ecosystem. This is evident in its recent unveiling of the Galaxy S11 Tab and the premium S11 Tab Ultra, which come with stylus support. The company launched a new S Pen showcasing a hexagonal form factor that was engineered to look and feel like a traditional pencil. So, the company won't really stop making these styluses, which implies its support for future Galaxy phones (Phew!).

In another post earlier today, Ice Universe shared some details about the Galaxy S26 Ultra's camera, which may feature a new main camera and a larger telephoto lens, with a wider aperture, potentially resulting in improved low-light images. Additionally, the tipster notes that the camera bump on the Galaxy S26 Ultra will be thicker than that of the S25 Ultra, increasing from 2.4mm to 4.5mm. Despite the thicker camera bump, the telephoto sensor might still be surprisingly small for a flagship phone, which is a bummer, they add.

As for the other specs of the Galaxy S26 Ultra, it is said to get more comfortable to hold on to, with rounded corners ditching its "Note-like" edge-y corners, which some users complained are ripping a hole in people's pockets. The phone will alleged get a 6.9-inch display using Samsung’s latest third-gen anti-reflective glass. Configurations could go up to 16GB of RAM and 1TB of storage.

The rear camera array might include four cameras: a 200MP main, a 50MP periscope with a wider aperture than the S25 Ultra, a 50MP ultrawide, and an upgraded 12MP short-range telephoto. The Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra could be sticking to its predecessor's 5,000mAh battery, but could see faster 60W charging speeds.