Samsung’s latest Galaxy Ultra phones have severed a key wireless link that many Windows professionals relied on every day. Starting with the Galaxy S25 Ultra, released in early 2025, the S Pen no longer includes a Bluetooth radio. That means the small but mighty button on the stylus can no longer act as a remote shutter, presentation clicker, or app controller when paired with a Windows PC.

The change may seem minor to casual users, but for engineers, designers, and road warriors who used the S Pen’s Air Actions to navigate slides during a meeting or snap a group photo without touching the phone, it marks the end of a versatile, pocket-friendly tool. While the S Pen itself still works as a precision stylus, the loss of Bluetooth strips away features that once turned the Note and later the Ultra series into pocketable productivity hubs. Here’s everything that’s changed, which devices still have full S Pen abilities, and how to keep your Windows workflow smooth without those missing remote powers.

What Changed — and What the S Pen Button Still Does

The S Pen hasn’t disappeared, but its wireless superpowers have. On the Galaxy S25 Ultra, S26 Ultra (expected early 2026), and any similarly designed future Ultra models, the physical button on the side of the stylus does only two things: it brings up the Air Command menu when pressed near the screen, and it can be used to create notes via Screen Off Memo. Gone is the ability to hold down the button and execute remote gestures, photography controls, or media playback controls via Bluetooth.

Prior Samsung phones with Bluetooth-enabled S Pens — including the Galaxy Note9 through Note20, all S22 Ultra through S24 Ultra devices, and even older Tab S tablets — allowed you to map single-press, double-press, and long-press actions to the button when the stylus was not in contact with the screen. You could remotely launch apps, toggle settings, control a presentation in PowerPoint, or use it as a camera shutter button from up to 30 feet away. These “Air Actions” relied on a tiny battery and Bluetooth LE chip inside the S Pen, recharged when the pen was docked inside the phone.

Samsung’s design choice to remove the Bluetooth hardware makes the new S Pen lighter, slimmer, and cheaper to produce — but it also renders it inert beyond a few millimeters from the phone. A Samsung spokesperson confirmed the change, noting that “most users only used the Bluetooth remote functionality for the camera shutter,” but the removal came without an option for users who valued the full feature set. Teardowns by iFixit and initial reviews confirmed the S25 Ultra’s pen lacks a battery and BT module entirely; subsequent models follow suit.

Meanwhile, the Galaxy Tab S series (Tab S9, Tab S10, and future updates) continue to include a full-featured S Pen with Bluetooth support. So the divide isn’t between old and new, but between phone model lines.

What It Means for Your Windows-PC Workflow

If you frequently connect your Galaxy phone to your Windows laptop or desktop, either via Phone Link or third-party tools, you might have used the S Pen Bluetooth button as a handy remote for several real-world tasks:

  • Presentation remote: With the phone either mirrored on a larger screen or actively running presentation software, a single press of the S Pen button could advance slides. Some users paired it directly with Windows via third-party apps (e.g., “S Pen Remote” utilities) to control PowerPoint or Keynote wirelessly. That’s no longer possible with the newest devices.
  • Camera remote: When shooting product photos or videos for work, you could place your phone on a tripod and frame the shot, then walk into the scene and trigger the shutter with the pen button, without needing a voice command or timer. With the Bluetooth-less S Pen, you now need to rely on voice, timers, or a separate Bluetooth remote.
  • Media control: While playing music over Bluetooth speakers from your phone, a quick press could pause/play, double-press skip track. This was convenient when your phone was in a bag or docked.
  • App navigation: Custom Air Actions allowed you to bind the pen button to specific functions in apps like OneNote, Adobe Lightroom, or even desktop-connected apps when using the phone as a companion device. Without BT, that integration vanishes.

For IT professionals and power users who manage multiple devices, the S Pen often served as a secondary controller during meetings or on-site visits. Losing it means reaching for the phone, a separate clicker, or a dedicated Bluetooth presenter — adding one more gadget to the bag.

How We Got Here: The Bluetooth S Pen’s Rise and Fall

The Bluetooth-enabled S Pen debuted with the Galaxy Note9 in 2018 as a marquee differentiator. Samsung marketed it as a “remote control for your phone,” and the feature grew over subsequent releases. The Note10 added Air Actions, letting users wave the pen mid-air to switch camera modes, scroll through content, or adjust volume. By the S22 Ultra, the integration was mature, and many third-party apps supported the Bluetooth button’s APIs.

But Samsung slowly de-emphasized the remote aspects. In surveys and usage reports, the company claimed that only a single-digit percentage of users regularly took advantage of Air Actions beyond the camera shutter. As the Ultra line absorbed the Note DNA, cost pressures and design trends pushed toward thinner profiles. With the S25 Ultra, Samsung reportedly saved roughly $2 per unit by eliminating the Bluetooth module and tiny supercapacitor, plus simplified the internal charging circuitry. That might sound trivial, but across millions of units, it adds up.

The move also aligns with Samsung’s broader strategy to push users toward its ecosystem of rings, watches, and earbuds for remote control functions. The Galaxy Watch can act as a camera remote, and newer Galaxy Buds have gesture controls that can interact with the phone. Effectively, Samsung decided the S Pen didn’t need to shoulder those responsibilities.

What You Can Do Now: 4 Workarounds for Lost S Pen Powers

If you’ve just upgraded to a Galaxy S25 or S26 Ultra, or plan to, here’s how to replace the Bluetooth remote capabilities in a Windows-centric workflow:

  1. Use a legacy device as a dedicated remote. If you have an older Bluetooth S Pen-capable phone (S24 Ultra, Note20, etc.), keep it paired and synced via Samsung Flow or Phone Link to use solely as a presenter or remote shutter. The pen will work without an active SIM card. This isn’t elegant, but it’s a zero-cost solution if you have a drawer phone.
  2. Invest in a dedicated Bluetooth presenter or camera remote. For under $30, you can get a pocket-sized remote that replicates the S Pen’s clicker functionality. Many models support both iOS and Android, and they can connect directly to your Windows PC for presentations. Pair one with a compact stylus if you still need inking.
  3. Lean on other Samsung ecosystem devices. The Galaxy Watch (from Watch4 onward) has a built-in Camera Controller app and can advance presentation slides via Bluetooth. Samsung’s Galaxy Buds2 Pro and later models let you assign tap-and-hold gestures to trigger the camera shutter or control media playback, which can help replicate some S Pen remote tasks.
  4. Explore software-only alternatives when using your phone with Windows. Phone Link already lets you control your phone’s screen from your PC; for presentations, you can mirror the phone’s screen and use a mouse to click. Apps like Unified Remote, Remote Link, or even Steam Link can turn your phone into a trackpad and keyboard over Wi-Fi, offering more control than a simple button.

If you’re still in the market for a new Galaxy device and S Pen remote features matter, check the specs carefully. Currently, the Galaxy Tab S9 and Tab S10 series tablets retain the Bluetooth S Pen. Any Galaxy phone prior to the S25 Ultra line (S24 Ultra, S23 Ultra, etc.) also includes it. Samsung’s official product pages clearly list “S Pen with Bluetooth” vs. “S Pen” under specs, so verify before buying.

Outlook: Will the S Pen Ever Get Bluetooth Back?

It’s unlikely Samsung will reverse course soon. The cost savings and design compromises have already rippled across the supply chain. Moreover, early 2026 rumors suggest the forthcoming Galaxy Z Fold7 and/or a tri-fold device might include a stylus without Bluetooth, reinforcing the trend.

The bigger picture for Windows users: Samsung continues to tighten its integration with Microsoft’s ecosystem. Features like clipboard sharing, drag-and-drop between Galaxy phones and Windows PCs via Phone Link, and native 5G support in Surface and Samsung laptops all point to a future where the phone acts more as a companion controller through software rather than a separate Bluetooth accessory. The S Pen’s button may still trigger native Windows Ink features over USB or Wi-Fi Direct in future updates — but that’s speculation for now.

For anyone clinging to the S Pen’s full potential, the advice is simple: if remote functionality is critical, stick with a pre-2025 Galaxy Ultra phone or switch to a Galaxy Tab for stylus-heavy workflows. And keep an eye on Microsoft’s own surface pens — while they don’t have Bluetooth remotes built-in, the Surface ecosystem’s tight coupling with Windows may offer alternative paths for the wireless presenter role.

The loss of the S Pen’s Bluetooth might feel like a step backward, but it also clarifies a long-term separation: the pen is now purely a precision input tool, while other devices handle remote control. For Windows professionals, that means taking a fresh look at the growing array of tiny gadgets and software tricks that can fill the gap. Sometimes the best remote is the one you already have in your pocket — even if it’s not a pen anymore.