A Galaxy S21 with an S Pen isn't as crazy as you think it is

There are always rumors whenever Samsung is set to release a new phone, and the coming Galaxy S21 is no exception. We'll all find out everything there is to know in January 2021, but one persistent rumor has more than a few of us excited — the Galaxy S21 Ultra might have support for Samsung's S Pen.

This isn't the first time we've heard rumors like this. The past few Galaxy S phones have all been predicted to have S Pen support, but it has never materialized. But the idea itself isn't as crazy as you might think, and now would be the right time for Samsung to do it.

This is because of another persistent rumor that Samsung wants to consolidate the Galaxy S and Galaxy Note lines and stop producing the Note. While I'm not predicting anything here, Samsung has shown signs that merging the two would be a good idea that would make financial sense and make customers happy.

Phones like the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra and Galaxy S20 Ultra aren't that different from one another. While there are some differences in the camera, both are roughly the same size, both have the same excellent display, and both cost about the same when first launched. The real difference is the S Pen and the software that supports it. Basically, both are some of the best phones you can buy today.

Imagine if the Galaxy S21 does include S Pen support. Is there anything there that would make a potential customer who is looking forward to buying it have second thoughts? A case could be made that the Galaxy Note tends to have a smaller battery because of the room for an S Pen slot but nobody is saying the S Pen will be included or have its own space in the phone itself. S Pen support means a change in the display tech and a few extra bits of software.

Conversely, if you're a fan of the Galaxy Note and a future Galaxy S model does have a slot for the S Pen and the same software support, what else are you going to miss? By expanding the Galaxy S line — especially the Galaxy S20 — to cover everything from the Galaxy S20 FE to the Galaxy S20 Ultra, there's a phone for everyone at plenty of different pricing points. If the S20 Ultra had an S Pen there would be no need to release the Galaxy Note 20 line at all.

Samsung really has nothing to lose here. Adding digitizer support to the display assembly is probably trivial since Samsung has so much practice after 11 years of building the Galaxy Note. It will certainly add to the bill of materials so it either cuts into the profit or the prices raise a few dollars, but it's not a drastic undertaking at all.

Pulling the Note line into the premium version of the Galaxy S line saves Samsung more money than the cost of adding a digitizer would, too. One less phone to build means more time and money to focus on making the Galaxy S as great as it can be as well as freeing time and money to focus on the foldable devices Samsung is betting on like the Galaxy Z Flip 2. And we haven't even reached the point of talking about marketing and presentation dollars. After 2020's poor sales numbers across the entire mobile industry, saving a lot of money is a very good thing.

Your carrier wouldn't be opposed to the idea either, and like it or not that's who Samsung builds its phones for in the U.S. While Samsung does offer unlocked versions of all of the flagship phones, it knows that it has to make a phone that a carrier is willing to get behind if it wants to sell millions and millions of them.

I don't think any of us should be opposed to the idea, either. If Samsung were to discontinue the Note line while incorporating the features Note users love into the premium models of the Galaxy S line, everyone wins.