- Some third-party magnetic cases seem to interfere with the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra’s S Pen stylus
- This reportedly isn’t an issue with official cases
- Samsung plans to develop a more advanced S Pen in future, and perhaps it won’t have this issue
The Samsung Galaxy S26 series has only just launched and already potential issues are being turned up, as it seems that third-party magnetic cases might not play nice with the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultraâs S Pen.
Leaker Max Jambor has shared a screenshot showing a warning that pops up when attaching a third-party magnetic case to the phone. As you can see below, it says that âmagnets in accessories can interfere with your S Penâs signal,â potentially leading to connection or writing issues.
Itâs unclear whether this is an issue with all third-party magnetic cases or not, and unsurprisingly this doesnât seem to happen with Samsungâs official magnetic cases according to Phandroid, but itâs still a concern, and might make you want to think twice before buying a third-party option.
notification on S26 Ultra when using a third-party case with magnets pic.twitter.com/XuoLBg1EaKFebruary 26, 2026
This interference might at least in part explain why the Samsung Galaxy S26 series doesnât have built-in magnets, even though the tech exists and can be found in the likes of the Google Pixel 10 line.
A more advanced future
But thereâs some hopeful news on that front, as in an interview with Bloomberg (via SamMobile), Won-Joon Choi, Chief Operating Officer of Samsung MX (Mobile Experience) said âweâre working on a more advanced technology within S Pen to come up with a new structure of display, so the penalty of having S Pen is diminished. S Pen will continue to be one of the core technologies.â
While they were light on specifics, SamMobile speculates that these changes could mean thereâs less interference with magnets â itâs certainly possible that this interference is part of the âpenaltyâ mentioned here anyway.
However, if this requires a new display structure then weâre not going to see this new S Pen sold for the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra. Rather, it would accompany a future phone.
But perhaps it means that the Samsung Galaxy S27 Ultra or some other model could have both an S Pen stylus and built-in magnets, and at the very least, it seems Samsung is committed to the S Pen.
And of course you can also follow TechRadar on TikTok for news, reviews, unboxings in video form, and get regular updates from us on WhatsApp too.
Read the full article here