During its MWC 2017 keynote address, Samsung made a surprise announcement with famed pencil maker Staedtler. Can you guess what it is?
Naturally, the two companies are working together on an S-Pen designed specifically to work with Samsung’s latest Galaxy Book and Galaxy Tab S3 that looks and feels just like one of Staedtler’s number two Noris pencils.
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For all intents and purposes, the stylus will operate like an S-Pen, with 4,096 levels of pressure sensitivity. Better yet, the gadget will work even when the tablets’ screens are off, enabling memo storage. Further still, the pencil-looking S-Pen will allow for digital annotation of PDFs as well as outlining screenshots.
In our tests with the pencil, the 0.7mm rubber stylus does feel more like graphite on paper when pushed nib-on... but when used on the side, a little more slippery. However, it's a nice shape to hold and, well, feels like a pencil.
The obvious comparison to Apple's device comes straight to mind - while Samsung flat out denied the presence of the Apple Pencil having any bearing on their decision to make this stylus model, it's literally the Samsung Pencil to Apple's... and this time it actually looks like one.
Sadly, the two companies had nothing to say of neither when this adorably retro device would hit shelves nor how much it will cost.
MWC (Mobile World Congress) is the world's largest exhibition for the mobile industry, stuffed full of the newest phones, tablets, wearables and more. TechRadar is reporting live from Barcelona all week to bring you the very latest from the show floor. Head to our dedicated MWC 2017 hub to see all the new releases, along with TechRadar's world-class analysis and buying advice about your next phone.
