- 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 Ultra’s 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 “magnets in accessories can interfere with your S Pen’s signal,” potentially leading to connection or writing issues.
It’s unclear whether this is an issue with all third-party magnetic cases or not, and unsurprisingly this doesn’t seem to happen with Samsung’s official magnetic cases according to Phandroid, but it’s 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 doesn’t 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 there’s 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 “we’re 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.”
While they were light on specifics, 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 then we’re 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.
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