As part of the upcoming Samsung Galaxy S21 release, the Galaxy S21 Ultra is set to be S Pen support — a first for the Galaxy S series phones Newly leaked renders have now shown us what that will look like, as well as a neat case for the stylus and the phone.
Coming courtesy of WinFuture, the renders show off a departure from the design of the S Pen that we’ve gotten from Samsung phones like the Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra. Looking more like a shortened down version of the Galaxy Tab S7's S Pen, the Galaxy S21 Ultra’s stylus appears to have ditched the clicker button on its top, yet features what looks like an improved pressure-sensitive tip.
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It’s tricky to tell from the renders whether there’ll be other noticeable upgrades and tweaks to the S Pen design we've become familiar with through the Galaxy Note phones. But we can expect there to be accelerometer support, most likely augmented by improved gesture recognition.
We can expect the S Pen to be used in a similar fashion to the one in the Note phones. It’s likely to be used to scrawl notes onto the S21 Ultra’s display that will then be translated into typed text. You'll also be able to use the pen for more precise web page navigation and detailed photo editing such as finely cropping an image.
However, unlike the Note series, the Galaxy S21 Ultra isn’t expected to come with a slot in which to store the S Pen. Rather, a separate case with an S Pen holder will be on offer, given the S Pen itself is tipped to be an optional extra; there's no hint of pricing yet.
These new leaked renders show off what’s reportedly dubbed the LED View Cover. It's basically a silicone notebook cover-like case that swaddles the Galaxy S21 Ultra’s back with what appears to be a small section to the phone’s left-hand side to hold the S Pen in place.
There are also cutouts in the case’s back to allow the S21 Ultra’s reported quad-camera array — which will allegedly feature a 108MP main camera, 12MP ultra-wide-angle lens, and a pair of 10MP telephoto lenses offering 3x and 10x optical zoom.
But the most interesting feature on the Galaxy S21 Ultra case is what appears to be either a cutout, or a transparent window, or an external monochrome LED display along its right-hand side edge. From one render, it would appear the strip could also hold magnets to ensure the case remains shut when the phone isn't in use — this is just speculation, however.
When closed, this window/screen allows S21 Ultra users to see the time, date and battery percentage of the phone. Given the vertical size of the display, presumably it’ll show notifications as well, though this wasn't made clear in the render.
There’s no word on home much this case will cost, but we wouldn't be surprised to hear that the LED View Cover comes with a premium price tag in excess of $50. We’re expecting the Galaxy S21 Ultra to be pretty expensive as well, easily reaching or exceeding Galaxy S20 Ultra’s $1,399 starting price, given it’s set to offer not only boosted specs — notably in the form of a Snapdragon 888 chipset — but also Note-like capabilities.
Due to be revealed at a Samsung Unpacked event on January 14, it won't be long before we see if the rumors and leaks around the Galaxy S21 Ultra come to fruition. If they do, we could be looking at a new entrant for our best phones list.
