The Samsung Galaxy S25 series is less than a week old right now, but it is likely to last through the entire year as one of the most popular Android flagship series available. The S25 Ultra is the lineup’s poster child, though it came with very few upgrades—more than the other options in the series though. However, Samsung made one notable downgrade.
The S Pen, which is part of what makes the Ultra model worth buying for many, has had its Bluetooth functionality removed, which means that Air Actions are no longer a thing. However, in what could potentially be a very shameless cash grab, rumors have it that Samsung might be considering selling a Bluetooth S Pen as a standalone accessory.
Did You Like Air Actions? Too Bad; Samsung Doesn’t Think You Need Them
It was rumored within a month of the release of the Galaxy S25 Ultra that its S Pen was going to come without Bluetooth functionality. To be honest, I was pretty skeptical when I heard that since there’s no upside whatsoever, at least to the consumer, and OEMs hardly make such obvious downgrades to their devices. Unfortunately, the device has been announced, and it’s true.
Bluetooth functionality doesn’t affect the core purpose of the S Pen’s existence, which is to be a stylus. It still offers thousands of levels of pressure sensitivity and can be used to write and draw, which is what most people use it for. However, Air Actions weren’t gimmicks, and for me, they make the S Pen incredibly useful when in the camera app.
Unfortunately, at the end of the day, it doesn’t matter what you want—Samsung says you weren’t using the features enough. It’s hard to understand why a $1,299 smartphone has to lose a feature that probably adds only a few dollars to its production costs. All we can do is follow the path that these OEMs take us along or choose another path entirely.
Samsung Might Be Offering a Standalone S Pen with Bluetooth Functionality
If you’re in love with the Bluetooth functionality on previous in-built S Pens and simply can’t do without it, the South Korean tech giant might have a super kind compromise in place for you Galaxy S25 Ultra users. What would we do without Samsung’s thoughtfulness?
Now, instead of getting an S Pen that does it all built into your brand-new and super-expensive smartphone, you’ll get a diminished version of it, and the opportunity to buy a full-fledged one separately, with your hard-earned money. This isn’t confirmed, as no such accessory can be seen on the company’s website right now, but the info was hiding in plain sight in a post on the official Samsung Insights blog.
The blog post is still up with the contentious info in place, so it looks as if its accuracy shouldn’t be in question. Regardless, it feels like a horrible move from the company, similar to removing chargers from boxes—without changes in pricing—to promote aftermarket accessory purchases. If you have an S Ultra device, how much do you use Air Actions, and do you mind it being removed from the new S Pen?
