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Someone at Samsung thinks a stylus with a camera is a good idea
Samsung already jacked up its Galaxy Note 9 stylus with the addition of Bluetooth, now it could be plotting a camera for it too. An S-Pen with an integrated snapper that lets you wirelessly send images to your phone or tablet is laid out in a newly-granted patent, spotted by Patently Mobile. But it won't just be any old camera. The upgraded stylus would boast optical zoom, a feature that most phones tend to skip nowadays in order to stay trim (remember the bulky Galaxy S4 Zoom?). Of course, Samsung also has to think of the privacy implications: chances are, people won't take kindly to users secretly capturing close-ups of them.
Samsung's lightweight Notebook 9 Pen is aimed at creators
Last year at CES 2018, Samsung unveiled the Note 9 Pen, a lightweight 13.3-inch convertible aimed at artists and anyone else who needed decent power with as little weight as possible. The model is back again in a big way, with an all-new design and features that should fix what we didn't like about it before. Most notably, it comes in both 13-inch and 15-inch versions, has more ports and packs a much bigger battery with fast-charging that lets it run for up to 15 hours.
A cheat sheet for the new Galaxy Note 9 S Pen
In its quest to lure more users to the flagship Note 9 phones, Samsung imbued its S Pen with many new powers. Now in addition to letting you scribble on the screen, the stylus serves as a remote trigger for the Note's camera, letting you launch the app, switch lenses and snap pictures from a distance. However, the new S Pen is not only a camera remote control but also a presentation clicker, a track skipper, a pointer and, at its heart, a very good stylus. Thanks to Samsung's helpful on-screen tips when S Pen remote controls are available, you don't have to dig deep to learn how to use them. But there are a few controls you might not even know exist without a trip to the settings menu. For those who want to get the most out of their S Pen, here's a quick guide.
Samsung Galaxy Note 9 review: A better Note for most of us
The biggest, beastliest phone of the year is here, and spoiler alert, the Galaxy Note 9 lives up to the lofty expectations. In addition to a huge battery, large screen and generous onboard storage, Samsung taught the old S Pen a few new tricks that should make the stylus more useful to a wide audience. You'll have a hard time finding a phone that does more, and though I'm reluctant to recommend any device that costs this much, I have a feeling power users will want to get their hands on this thing. The Note 9 has a few minor quirks, but overall it feels like more than the sum of its parts.
Samsung brings new controls to the Note 9 with redesigned S Pen
As we geared up for today's Samsung event, the announcement for which teased us with a close-up image of the Galaxy Note 9's S Pen, there's been a fair bit of speculation regarding what new features might be coming with the phone's redesigned stylus. An FCC filing that surfaced last month gave us a peek -- namely that it would be Bluetooth-enabled -- but today we got to see what the S Pen can do and how it works with the Note 9.
Samsung's Galaxy Note 9 pen will include Bluetooth
Samsung hasn't been shy about hinting that the Galaxy Note 9 launch will focus heavily on the S Pen. Now, however, we have a better idea of what that means. An FCC filing for the Note 9's S Pen has revealed that it'll include Bluetooth, suggesting remote control features. The documents unsurprisingly don't say what those features are, but leaker Ice Universe had previously claimed that the stylus could control music playback and timers. We wouldn't expect anything sophisticated (it's a one-button device without a screen), but it could provide value even if you only rarely intend to draw.
Samsung will reveal the Galaxy Note 9 in Brooklyn on August 9th
It wouldn't be summer without a big Samsung announcement, and now we know when it's going down The company just sent out invitations out for an Unpacked event at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn on August 9th (as expected) and even by Samsung standards, that's a pretty massive venue. Then again, Samsung has some pretty dramatic tendencies when it comes to putting on launch events -- after all, this is the company that turned a phone launch into a sort of faux-musical. If the invitation is any indication, though, the new Galaxy Note 9 will be the star of the show.
Samsung Notebook 9 Pen review: Solid stylus, so many compromises
My backpack is a disaster. I've always been sort of a pack rat, and working at Engadget doesn't help. Every day I lug a laptop, a tablet, a few phones (for review purposes), an SLR, a huge power bank, chargers and cables for all of those things, and a book to the office. With MWC coming up, this seemed like a great time to reevaluate what I drag with me everywhere. And at the top of my list for reevaluation is my 15-inch MacBook Pro -- one of the heaviest things in my bag. Enter Samsung's (awkwardly named) Notebook 9 Pen. For $1,399 you get one of the lightest Windows 10 ultraportables out there, and as the name suggests, it's one of just a few Samsung laptops that use the company's famous S Pen. After a week of testing, it's clear that the Notebook 9 Pen has its uses, but most people won't miss out by skipping it.
Samsung's Notebook 9 Pen is a super-light Galaxy Note/laptop mashup
Samsung announced a handful of laptops before CES even started, but only one of the was really new: the Notebook 9 Pen. It isn't Samsung's first attempt at blending a laptop and a Galaxy Note, but after a little hands-on time, we can say it's shaping up to be one of the most polished.
Samsung's 2018 Notebook 9 lineup includes MacBook, Surface challengers
Last year Samsung's Notebook 9 laptop kept it simple with a standard thin-and-light design that got the important things right, but didn't sport flashy features like a high-res display or hybrid design. Earlier this year the Pro edition added a folding hinge for 2-in-1 tablet use and a stylus, and next year the company will fully revamp its lineup with four new devices. The new Notebook 9 Pen is ready to take on Surface devices with its built-in battery-free S Pen stylus, to go with a "thoughtfully designed" 2-in-1 hybrid laptop/tablet. The 13-inch devices comes with an 8th generation Intel Core i7 CPU, up to 16GB of RAM and up to 512GB of storage, but weighs just 2.2 pounds thanks to its "Metal12" magnesium-aluminum alloy.
Samsung Galaxy Note 8 review: Excellent, but still a tough sell
Last year's Galaxy Note 7 was a big step forward for the Note line, pairing an impeccably built body with an updated S Pen and excellent performance. Then they started blowing up. The Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus did well to rehabilitate Samsung's image as a top-notch phone maker, and now the company is trying to make up for past mistakes with the brand-new Galaxy Note 8. Samsung had a lot to prove, and it mostly succeeded. There's no doubting that the Note 8 ($929) is a great smartphone — it packs all the usual flagship amenities, not to mention a dual camera that works very, very well. The problem is, the Note 8 feels a little... by-the-book. Samsung, frankly, got so much right with its other huge phone, the Galaxy S8 Plus, that the Note 8 doesn't feel as triumphant an improvement as the Note 7 did in comparison with the S7 line. Don't get me wrong: The Note 8 is still Samsung's best smartphone, and one could even argue it's the best big phone out there. Just know that it's a pretty conservative update, and that it's going to cost you.
Galaxy Note 8 hands-on: Enough to make you forget the Note 7
After the nightmare that was the Galaxy Note 7, few people would've been surprised if Samsung killed the Note line entirely. But it didn't. As an insane number of leaks have suggested, the company still believes the world needs a high-end phablet with an S Pen, and it took over a historic armory in New York to show off its latest attempt. Say hello to the Galaxy Note 8: a huge, beautifully made phone that just might be good enough to make people forget about its poorly designed predecessor.
Samsung's Galaxy Note 8 packs a giant display and a smarter pen
It's been a long, long year for Galaxy Note fans. The Note 7 launched with much fanfare last summer, only to die in spectacular fashion as systemic battery flaws (not to mention hasty decision-making) forced Samsung to recall the fire-prone handset twice and eventually kill it off. Unless you went out of your way to get the Fan Edition, you've had to go without a modern Note for a long time. At last, though, a replacement is here: Samsung has unveiled the Galaxy Note 8, and it might finish the redemption process that started with the Galaxy S8.
Samsung Galaxy Book review: You're better off with a Surface Pro
It took a few years, but Microsoft's Surface Pro line is an undeniable hit. It also popularized the convertible tablet category: touchscreen-driven devices you can hold in your hands that also have power and attachable keyboards for getting "real work" done. The Surface Pro's success means it has its fair share of imitators, from Apple, Google and the swath of Windows PC makers out there. Naturally, Samsung produced its own, last year's Galaxy TabPro S. That device features a great screen and solid battery life but was hurt by a terrible keyboard and slow performance. With the new Galaxy Book, Samsung appears to have fixed those issues -- this convertible has a more spacious keyboard and Intel's seventh-generation Core i5 processor on board. But all that power introduces some unfortunate trade-offs.
MWC 2017 showed us the power of nostalgia
Millennials may recognize the Nokia 3310 from the "Indestructible Nokia" meme, but us older folks will more likely remember it as the first cell phone we ever used. Here at MWC 2017, Nokia revived the iconic handset, giving it a 2-inch color display, a "smart" operating system and a 2-megapixel camera. Yes, those specs are atrocious in this generation, but thanks to the power of nostalgia, no one cared.
Watch Samsung's MWC 2017 event in under 15 minutes
Samsung's MWC 2017 press conference opened with quality control assurances before moving on to the Galaxy Tab S3, Galaxy Book and a new Gear VR. We save you the trouble of watching an hour-long video with all the important details in a 15-minute clip. Don't forget: We'll be spending more time with Samsung next month as it's set to reveal the Galaxy S8 on March 29th. Click here to catch up on the latest news from MWC 2017.
Staedtler and Samsung made an old-school pencil-like S Pen
Along with a pair of new tablets and some 5G equipment, Samsung unveiled a fresh new version of its S Pen stylus -- and it looks very familiar. The new stylus is just like German pencil maker Staedtler's Noris stylud, except it will most likely do everything Samsung's pen can. (We say "most likely" because Samsung didn't provide many details at its MWC news conference this weekend.) That featureset includes detecting up to 4,096 levels of pressure sensitivity, and working with the company's new tablets to write and store memos even when the screen is off, as well as outline screenshots or annotate PDF documents. Samsung didn't say anything about price or availability, but young hipsters looking to mask their digital nativeness might have reason to get excited. Click here to catch up on the latest news from MWC 2017.
Samsung's Galaxy Book crams desktop power in portable body
Samsung may not be ready to unveil the Galaxy S8 smartphone just yet, but it still has some shiny new hardware for us here at MWC. In addition to the Tab S3, the company is showing off two new hybrids, both called the Galaxy Book. They're 10- and 12-inch Windows 10 tablets that support new S Pen features and come with keyboards. They're well designed and offered brisk performance during a brief hands-on. And, apart from the S Pen support, there are a few other, more subtle features that differentiate the Galaxy Books from rival Windows 10 convertibles.
With its Note 7 apology, Samsung finally gets something right
After the furor over flaming phones had mostly subsided, Samsung moved to end the Note 7 fiasco once and for all. Last Sunday, Samsung mobile chief DJ Koh -- along with a cadre of technical experts -- laid out exactly what caused the company's incredibly well-received phone to fail so spectacularly. In doing so, he sought to move Samsung past the mess that had consumed it for the past five months.
Samsung's Galaxy Tab A grows a bit, gains a pen
With the Galaxy Note 7 still making headlines, Samsung is ready to divert some of America's attention to another big screen with a pen: the 10.1" Galaxy Tab A will be available stateside starting October 28th. Samsung's latest tablet to hit American shores comes with a slightly larger, slightly higher definition screen than last year's model, and the company's S Pen stylus now comes standard.
