Future S Pen might capture digital signatures and carry a microphone

Back in 2014, a patent application filed by Samsung with the USPTO showed a stylus with a built-in microphone and a speaker. Phone calls could be made through the device. According to the filing, the stylus "functions as a substitute for a wireless headset" allowing the user "to mount the pen to a shirt pocket or the like, and communicate in a phone call using the portable terminal as a base."

Today, some three years later, a report out of Korea says that Samsung’s S Pen development chief Chae Won-sik has admitted that studies are underway to determine the best way to add a microphone to the accessory. In addition, Samsung and its partners are reportedly working on the technology needed for the S Pen to create digital signatures. After the Samsung Galaxy Note 8 was introduced last week, Chae said that the company wants the S Pen to provide a "more sophisticated digital signature solution." The executive added that an S Pen that creates and captures digital signatures will lead to new demands for the Galaxy Note phablet and its writing tool from the Business to Business (B2B) market.

Despite the possibility that an S Pen that captures digital signatures would be a hit in the B2B market, don't expect to see the S Pen offered on other Samsung smartphones outside of the Note line. Nobutaka Ide, executive vice president of Wacom’s technology solution business unit that includes the S Pen, says that his company, along with Samsung, has spent seven years studying electron magnetic resonance. He says that in order to upgrade this technology, Wacom and Samsung will focus on using the S Pen for Galaxy Note models only. The Wacom executive also noted that as more features are added to the S Pen, the security of the digital writing instrument will be enhanced.

source: TheInvestor via AndroidAuthority