Samsung working on Ultrasound-enabled S Pen for future Galaxy Note devices?

Since the first Galaxy Note came along (and created an entirely new category of phones), Samsung has offered its S Pen stylus, which works in conjunction with a digitizer built into the display to allow pen input. Now, Samsung might be looking to shift to an S Pen that uses Ultrasound technology, according to a patent application published by the company in South Korea. The patent describes the working of an S Pen using ultrasound waves, wherein the waves would be picked up by up to four sensors on either side of a phone. Using ultrasound technology will negate the need for a digitizer on the screen, resulting in lower costs and a thinner display assembly.

Ultrasound-based stylus aren’t new – Qualcomm showcased a tablet earlier this year using such a stylus, with technology built into the chip maker’s Snapdragon 805 SoC enabling support without any additional hardware. Considering the Galaxy Note 4 is expected to be powered by the Snapdragon 805 on one of its variants, an ultrasound S Pen might just accompany Samsung’s next phablet flagship. Well, that is if Samsung actually is aiming to implement the technology in an upcoming device any time soon, since tech seen in patent applications is not always guaranteed to see the light of day.

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Samsung to launch metal-clad Galaxy Alpha smartphone lineup next month?

Grab your pitchforks and salt containers folks, as the rumor mill has reawakened and is once again hinting at a Samsung phone with a metallic construction. According to industry sources quoted by ETNews, Samsung is planning to launch a new lineup of smartphones different than the Galaxy S or Galaxy Note series, tentatively called the Galaxy Alpha. The Galaxy Alpha, or the first one in the new lineup, will reportedly be a premium smartphone made out of metal, and will be one of Samsung’s weapons against the iPhone 6, which will go on sale in September.

According to ETNews, the Galaxy Alpha – specs of which are currently unknown – will go against Samsung’s tradition of launching a Galaxy S flagship in the first half of a year and a Galaxy Note flagship in the second, and could see a change in the company’s strategy. However, we’re guessing that even if the Galaxy Alpha does launch as a flagship product, it probably won’t be a big part of Samsung’s strategy but will instead be a limited offering like the Galaxy S5 LTE-A.

As with all previous rumors about a metallic Samsung smartphone, this one needs to be taken with the proverbial grain of salt, though for proponents of metal, this will likely rekindle hope that Samsung has been listening and will finally follow what other industry players are doing (but knowing the company, it will likely be a few steps ahead of the competition when it comes to ergonomics and usability.)

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