- Some third-party magnetic cases appear to interfere with the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra’s S Pen
- This apparently wouldn’t be a problem with official cases
- Samsung plans to develop a more advanced S Pen in the future, and it may not have this problem
The Samsung Galaxy S26 series has only just launched and potential issues have already emerged, as it appears that third-party magnetic cases might not work properly with the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra’s S Pen.
Leaker Max Jambor shared a screenshot showing a warning that appears when attaching a third-party magnetic case to the phone. As you can see below, it says that “accessory magnets may interfere with your S Pen’s signal,” potentially causing connection or writing issues.
It’s unclear whether this is an issue with all third-party magnetic enclosures or not, and unsurprisingly it doesn’t seem to happen with Samsung’s official magnetic cases according to Phandroid, but it’s still a hassle and might make you want to think twice before purchasing a third-party option.
notification on S26 Ultra when using a third-party case with magnets pic.twitter.com/XuoLBg1EaKFebruary 26, 2026
This interference could at least partly explain why the Samsung Galaxy S26 series doesn’t have built-in magnets, even though the technology exists and can be found in the Google Pixel 10 lineup.
A more advanced future
But there is some hopeful news about it, like in an interview with Bloomberg (via SamMobile), Won-Joon Choi, COO of Samsung MX (Mobile Experience) said “we are working on more advanced technology within the S Pen to provide a new display structure, so that the penalty for using the S Pen is diminished. The S Pen will continue to be one of the core technologies.”
While they’re sketchy on the details, SamMobile speculates that these changes could mean there’s less interference with magnets – it’s certainly possible that this interference is part of the “penalty” mentioned here anyway.
However, if this requires a new display structure, we are not going to see this new S Pen sold for the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra. It would rather accompany a future phone.
But perhaps that means the Samsung Galaxy S27 Ultra or another model could have both an S Pen and built-in magnets, and at the very least it seems like Samsung is committing to the S Pen.
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