After the Galaxy Note's retirement, Samsung's Galaxy S22 Ultra was the first S-series smartphone to embrace the iconic S Pen accessory. The new Galaxy S23 Ultra, unveiled at Unpacked 2023, follows in the footsteps of its predecessor and comes with an S Pen embedded in a dedicated holster. But has the technology improved?
To give you a quick answer to that question: no. The Galaxy S23 Ultra uses the same S Pen technology as the 2022 flagship model. And although this may sound disappointing at first, it's worth considering that the Galaxy S22 Ultra S Pen took one of the most significant technological leaps in years.
In other words, the Galaxy S23 Ultra S Pen is no slouch, even though it has seemingly remained the same as last year.
The same low latency and great accuracy for the 2023 S Pen?
Samsung hasn't talked much about the S Pen experience at Galaxy Unpacked 2023, which probably means that it hasn't upgraded the internal hardware governing the S Pen. Whether or not it downgraded any specifications is not entirely clear, but the S Pen seems to have the same low latency of 2.8ms (down from 9ms) as last year's model. This likely means that the Galaxy S23 Ultra uses the same S Pen technology and upgraded Wacom integrated circuit as the S22 Ultra.
With that information as a basis, the Galaxy S23 Ultra S Pen should benefit from the new Wacom IC's 480 circuits per second specification and the same multi-point algorithm that anticipates the direction in which the S Pen might go next.
All this means that the Galaxy S23 Ultra should offer an almost analog-like S Pen experience when writing or drawing on the 6.8-inch AMOLED display in apps like Samsung Notes.
Speaking of the latter app, Samsung Notes did get a neat little upgrade this year through One UI 5.1. The app now has a collaboration feature, allowing users to share a note and be edited simultaneously by different people.
At the end of the day, the Galaxy S23 Ultra appears to have remained the best S Pen device on the market and a worthy successor to the now-retired Galaxy Note lineup. If you're an S Pen fan looking for a new smartphone with a dedicated holster, the Galaxy S23 Ultra is your best — and frankly only — choice.
