I licked my Galaxy S25 Ultra’s S Pen so you don’t have to

As a reviewer at Android Authority, I usually get my hands on brand-new smartphones before many of my colleagues. When that happens, I do my best to help the team by asking if anyone has any questions, concerns, or things they’d like to know during my first few hours with a new device. Usually, the requests are simple, like how the phone feels in my hand or if the charger in the box has a USB-A port, but not always. No, sometimes I get a request so unexpected that I can’t help but test it out.

So, here’s why I licked my Galaxy S25 Ultra’s S Pen.

Let me be clear — I didn’t start planning to lick the built-in stylus that came with my Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra. I didn’t plan to use the S Pen very often, let alone give it a taste test. However, when I asked for questions, comments, or concerns, my colleague Aamir chimed right in, asking, “Does the S Pen smell?” Apparently, he’d heard that the same funky smell that was present in the Galaxy S24 Ultra hadn’t been fixed for the newer generation. And, being a good teammate, I popped it free from its slot to give it a quick check. Unfortunately, the answer to his question is yes, the S Pen still smells.

In fact, Samsung’s latest built-in stylus, which now comes without Bluetooth connectivity, downright stinks. I’d call the bouquet something between slightly burnt plastic and oil, and it’s not exactly pleasant. It doesn’t seem to fade, either — or at least it hasn’t in my week with the device. Even now, after inserting and removing the stylus several times, I still get a whiff of plastic here and there.

But, as I’ve learned, the first question isn’t usually the worst one. Instead, the follow-up questions tend to get you in trouble. So, when I reported that the S Pen could probably use a bath, my tech-loving colleagues began to speculate why that might be. Before I knew it, our fearless managing editor, Ollie, asked, “Is it like the Switch cartridge thing where it tastes awful so kids don’t swallow it?”

I don’t know about you, but I know what a dare sounds like. If I didn’t at least do my due diligence and try to answer his question, we’d probably both be disappointed. I pulled the S Pen back out of its slot, double-checked that I had mouthwash nearby, and licked it.

To my great relief, it tasted like nothing. It didn’t have a single hint of the oily, burnt plastic I’d smelled just moments before, nor was it coated in a bittering agent that would help keep it out of children’s mouths. If anything, it was like I’d licked a plastic, reusable chopstick — and I couldn’t be happier about it. I didn’t want the S Pen to taste like anything, but I would have understood if Samsung had treated it so that children wouldn’t want to chew on it or potentially choke on it — not that you should leave a small child unattended with a $1,300 smartphone anyway.

With that, my time as a professional technology taster has come to an end. From now on, I’ll draw the line at smelling or tasting phones, watches, and accessories, and yes, that includes the Hershey’s Chocolate-branded Galaxy S25 cases.

All I can ask, dear reader, is that you do the same, but if you want to grab a Galaxy S25 Ultra for your own taste test, you can do so below. Just don’t say that I didn’t warn you.