The Samsung Galaxy Note 20 might get a big upgrade to the S Pen

(Image credit: TT Technology)

last updated 24 June 2020

You might think that the S Pen – Samsung’s nifty pressure-sensitive stylus – has gotten as good as it can over nine generations of Galaxy Note, but apparently not. Leaker Ice Universe has hinted that the Samsung Galaxy Note 20's S Pen will be getting an upgrade that’ll be music to mobile doodlers’ ears.

The reveal is actually a contender for the shortest leaking tweet of all time, coming in at just one word and three characters long. Here it is in all its glory:

9msJune 19, 2020

Technically that could be about anything, but given Ice Universe has been leaking Galaxy Note 20 information left, right and center, it seems highly likely that the S Pen will be the beneficiary of this nippy response time.

In fact, 9ms would bring it in line with the Apple Pencil, but why has it taken Samsung so long to catch up? Well, R&D aside, a 9ms response time would have been wasted on 60Hz screens – and the Note 20 Plus (though sadly not the original Note 20) will reportedly have one of those when it launches later this year.

A 120Hz screen combined with a 9ms S Pen will be transformative to Galaxy Note doodlers, making the whole experience feel a lot closer to the smooth feeling or writing pen on paper. There’s a reason why the 10.5in iPad Pro got such rave reviews from artists when it arrived back in 2017, and much of that was down to the 120Hz display.

So does this make the 60Hz Note dead in the water before it launches? Not necessarily. Previous generations have all attracted rave reviews, after all, and being able to draw on the screen in a pinch is a real advantage over every other handset even if it doesn’t feel as smooth as it could. In short, this is just another reason why some buyers will think it makes sense to pay a bit extra for the Plus model.

Of course, for now, these are just rumors, but they should be confirmed one way or the other soon enough. Samsung is reportedly planning its next Unpacked event on 5 August when we can expect to see the Note 20s emerge, as well as the Galaxy Tab S7, Galaxy Watch 3 and Galaxy Fold 2. Watch this space.