Samsung S Pen Pro vs S Pen: Which stylus should you buy?

Samsung introduced the S Pen with its Galaxy Note smartphone back in 2011. It was revolutionary for a lot of people who wanted a large smartphone with a stylus to either take notes or just scribble away. While a stylus used to be pretty common with resistive touchscreen phones some time back, capacitive screens meant you could use your finger instead of an additional tool. However, Samsung brought back the stylus with a unique take by using a Wacom digitizer for precision mapping.

Ten years later, Samsung has ditched the Note series of phones but the S Pen continues to stay, moving on to the Galaxy S series and now the Galaxy Fold series as well. The new Galaxy Z Fold 3 has support for two types of styluses — the standard S Pen (Fold Edition) as well as the new S Pen Pro. If you’re wondering which one to get and what the main differences are, we’ll help you out.

S Pen Pro vs S Pen: How do they differ from each other?

S-Pen Pro and S-Pen Fold Edition (right)

Let’s begin with the most obvious difference between the two — the size. The S Pen Pro is considerably larger than the regular S Pen. The S Pen resembles the stylus we’ve all been seeing from the Note series of phones. It’s small, slim, and easily pocketable. In fact, Samsung is even selling a dedicated Fold Edition of the S Pen for the Galaxy Z Fold 3, alongside a dedicated phone case with a cylindrical cavity that you can use to house the S Pen with the phone. The S Pen Pro, on the other hand, is much larger, similar to a conventional writing instrument like a pen. You can’t house it inside a case or attach it to the phone and you’ll have to carry it separately.

The next difference is in terms of functionality. The normal S Pen can be used to take notes and draw on the screen and even has a button to erase. If you remember the S Pen prior to the Note 9 without Bluetooth, this is exactly similar to that. The S Pen Pro takes features of the stylus to the next level. It has Bluetooth so it can connect to your phone and provide support for multiple gestures. It has a 0.7mm tip with 4,096 pressure points that can be useful to artists. It charges via USB-C and can connect to multiple devices simultaneously.

S-Pen Pro and S-Pen Fold Edition

If you have the Galaxy Z Fold 3, the Galaxy Tab S7+, and a Galaxy Book, you can use the S Pen Pro on all these devices. You can even copy something on one device and paste it on another device thanks to onboard memory on the Pro version. The S Pen weighs in at 8g while the S Pen Pro has some extra heft to it and measures 14g. It feels more natural to use the S Pen Pro since it resembles a real pen or pencil.

The standard S Pen (Fold Edition) can’t be used with any other device or even older Samsung devices since the frequency it operates at is different, plus it has a retractable nib to prevent any pressure damage on the foldable display. The S Pen Pro has the ability to switch frequencies that allow it to work with multiple devices. The Pro version also has air commands and the ability to click photos from within the camera app if you’re into that kind of thing.

Galaxy Z Fold 3 with an S-Pen Pro

The S Pen Pro is compatible with a host of devices from Samsung including some older smartphones, tablets, and notebooks.

List of devices from Samsung that are compatible with the S Pen Pro. Click to expand

Here’s a list of compatible devices:

Galaxy Z Fold 3
Galaxy S21 Ultra
Galaxy Note series
Galaxy Tab S7 FE
Galaxy Tab S7/7+
Galaxy Tab S6 Lite
Galaxy Tab S6
Galaxy Tab S4
Galaxy Tab S3
Galaxy Tab Active Pro
Galaxy Tab Active 3
Galaxy Tab Active 2
Galaxy Tab Active
Galaxy Tab A 8.0 2019 with S Pen
Galaxy Tab A 10.1 2016 with S Pen
Galaxy Tab A 9.7 with S Pen
Galaxy Tab A 8.0 2015 with S Pen
Galaxy Note Pro – 12.2
Galaxy Note 8.0
Galaxy Note 10.1 2012/2014
Galaxy Book Pro 360
Galaxy Book Flex 2
Galaxy Book Flex S Pen
Galaxy Book Flex 5G
Galaxy Book Flex α S Pen
Galaxy Book 10.6
Galaxy Book 12.0
Chromebook Plus V2
Chromebook Pro
Notebook 7 spin
Notebook S51 Pen
Notebook 9 Pen
Notebook 9 Pro

Which stylus should you buy?

If you’re a normal user who just wants a stylus to take notes and scribble around while you’re in a meeting, the normal S Pen (Fold Edition) should work just fine with the Galaxy Z Fold 3. If you’re serious about note-taking on your phone/tablet and have multiple Samsung devices compatible with the Pro stylus, you can invest a little extra. If you’re someone who does digital artwork or you’re a graphic designer, you’ll appreciate the extra features you get on the S Pen Pro.

While older versions of the S Pen may work with the Galaxy Z Fold 3, the tip of the S Pen on the Fold Edition and the S Pen Pro are specifically meant for the Galaxy Z Fold 3’s internal display. Using an older version may damage the screen of your Galaxy Z Fold 3. The phone even alerts you if you’re using an older S Pen.

S Pen Fold Edition

S Pen for Z Fold 3

This is the standard S Pen Fold Edition for the Galaxy Z Fold 3. Get this if you plan on using the S Pen only with the Z Fold 3.

View at Samsung

Samsung S Pen Pro

For multiple devices

The S Pen Pro enables you to take notes and scribble on the Galaxy Z Fold 3's large display, making it the perfect replacement to the Galaxy Note series.

Buy S Pen