Why is there no real competition to Samsung’s S Pen?

Opinion from

Jon Fingas

When you think of phones with a pen, the Samsung Galaxy Note series and the S Pen are probably the first things that come to mind. And there is no doubt that the note is quite popular. According to Counterpoint Research, the Note 2o Ultra was one of the top five best-selling phones in the US and South Korea as of October 2020.

But there is one problem: think of a modern, pen-friendly phone that is not made by Samsung. There are certainly a few like the Moto G Stylus and (if you buy a pen separately) the Huawei Mate series, Samsung and the S Pen outperform them both in terms of sales and name recognition. There is no meaningful competition. Even our list of Galaxy Note 20 alternatives focuses on flagship widescreen displays that don’t have a pen option.

Why is that? Samsung’s technological advantages with the S Pen certainly help, but the nature of the smartphone market also plays a role. Simply put, Samsung rules a small chunk of land, and it’s unlikely that will change anytime soon.

There’s not a lot of market for pen phones

You may love the Samsung S Pen very much, but it’s a bitter truth that there isn’t a huge audience for pen-equipped phones. In this Counterpoint study, the top-selling cell phones were pen-free models. Even Samsung’s bestsellers were either budget models or conventional flagships like the Galaxy A51 and the S20 Plus. And remember, not everyone who buys a Galaxy Note uses the pen. Some may just buy it in order to have the best performing phone Samsung is making at the time of its release.

Not surprising. Many people need smartphones, but only a fraction of these people want to scribble notes or draw spontaneous sketches. Pens like the Samsung S Pen are a luxury even among high-end phone buyers, and this could easily be the case at a time when handwriting is rarer than ever.

See also: The best Android phones

This, in turn, affects the willingness of the rivals to enter (or re-enter) the category. They would bring out phones that would only sell to a small portion of the market, even in the most optimistic scenarios. That’s a tough question for any business, let alone LG and other ailing brands that can lose money on the slightest hint of problems.

The market leader also seems to be cautious. Samsung’s decision to add Ultra S pen support to the Galaxy S21 is tacit confirmation that pens are nice features rather than necessities. While this may not be the killer of the Galaxy Note range (at least not the way we write this), it certainly suggests that Samsung isn’t relying on an included S Pen as a sales driver.

Samsung’s S Pen is simply more powerful

We wouldn’t be sure if we didn’t point out the obvious: the Samsung S Pen is the toughest mobile pen out there.

Yes, you can use the pens for devices like the Moto G Stylus to quickly take notes or annotate a screenshot, but these competitors usually stop where Samsung starts. With the S-Pen you can view information, translate languages ​​and (with the right model) control a presentation remotely. The Samsung gadget can be helpful even if you are not interested in drawing or taking notes.

Continue reading: Samsung S Pen – the ultimate guide

Obviously, this is an important consideration when using cross-shopping phones, but it also has a significant impact on the competition. Samsung has roughly a decade of experience developing the Galaxy Note. Any potential challenger is likely to have a lot less know-how and may even start from scratch. Why bring out a phone that directly competes with the Note when Samsung could be miles ahead?

This doesn’t mean other companies are guaranteed to falter with their pen-packing phones, but it is indicative that the selections tend to be lower-priced products like the LG Q Stylus Plus. They’re effectively dancing around Samsung and the S Pen, attracting customers who can’t justify the Galaxy Note’s premium pricing and are willing to forego some features.

Much of the competition has already withdrawn

Other phone manufacturers have already tried to overthrow the S Pen. Samsung has already won the war for high-end pen supremacy, and its competitors don’t seem ready to start a new battle.

LG is the epitome. The Galaxy Note countered it with the Optimus Vu. While this was a powerful phone for the time, its unusual aspect ratio, latecomer status, and other quirks prevented it from generating the same buzz as the Note. LG has tried several versions of the Optimus Vu to no avail – you can’t blame it for staying away from direct competition after Samsung got such a bruise with the S Pen.

Load survey

Even phones with optional pens haven’t done as well. Sony’s Xperia Z Ultra could seemingly use anything as a pen, but that didn’t move the needle. Even with its M-Pen, Huawei didn’t exactly have runaway success. And no, Apple’s pencil doesn’t really count. While the iPad is a better device because of its pen support, it’s an optional add-on and not available for the iPhone.

Any viable competitor would have to roughly adjust or beat the S Pen in terms of their capabilities while learning from past mistakes.

Could one company ever offer stiff competition to the Samsung S Pen? Quite possible. But any viable competitor would have to roughly adjust or beat the S Pen in terms of its capabilities while learning from past mistakes. This is a huge task for any company, and there is no one on the horizon who seems able (or ready) to take on this daunting task.