The story that is the S pen started off as a fairly inaccurate stylus (pen-like) device in the original Galaxy Note. In the coming years, it experienced many accuracy and functionality improvements. Every new Galaxy Note model that came out added more and more features to the handy little companion. The Galaxy S9 came equipped with an S pen sporting Bluetooth connectivity that, in their own words, acted as an “android remote.”
But as they say, creativity shouldn’t stop. Our very own Samsung has been experimenting with many ways to stuff more creative features in its flagship S Pen. The S Pens are now estimated to come with something straight off a James Bond movie.
An optical zoom camera.
Yup, you heard that right, folks. As first spotted by Patently Mobile, some of the recent patents granted to Samsung talk about incorporating an optical zoom camera into the stylus that might eventually debut on a future version of the S Pen. One of the patents, “Electronic pen device having optical zoom” (boring title, I know), describes in detail about a stylus having an optical system comprising of a lens, image sensors, and a communication module.
What that means in plain English is that the future models of the S Pen might come with a camera embedded in the stylus. This makes it capable of superior magnification compared to the normal digital zoom implemented by most modern phone cameras. It will also be capable of sending the image signals to the connected device wirelessly, possibly through Bluetooth. This way, the optical zoom device could have a mechanism that makes it controllable by an external gizmo such as a smartphone, notebook or a laptop.
The combination of the camera on the stylus would allow a truly seamless design in the future Galaxy Note devices. Optical zoom is different than normal digital zoom technology and uses an organized row of lenses. Since the stylus has more space, it is more capable of housing such technology instead of the main phone body. This could very well create a breakthrough on how phone companies will approach cameras in the future. However, the camera embedded styluses might still take a few years to hit the market along with a Galaxy note flagship.
What do you think of this new idea? Leave your thoughts on the comment section below!
