After writing my cranky rant about this S-Pen problem yesterday, I got a number of tweets and replies about how this issue is completely overblown, and everyone should just know (I guess innately?) that you shouldn’t do this. Apparently we’re all born with the evolutionary knowledge NOT to EVER slide an S-Pen into a Note 5 backwards.
Thankfully Leo Laporte from This Week in Tech was gracious enough to sacrifice his Note 5 for the cause. Live on the air, in discussing the story, he was fiddling around with his Note 5, and fell for the S-Pen trap.
This video should stand as a clear warning to NOT even THINK about TRYING to insert your S-Pen backwards, even though it slides in easily. There is no tactile feel for when you’ve gone too far, or when the internal latch system will clamp and ruin your day.
Again, do I think this is a “deal breaker” flaw? Not at all. I file this under “preventable and embarrassing”. What is upsetting though is Samsung’s replying to this issue with “read the manual and don’t do this”.
For a company positioning themselves as the World’s number one smartphone manufacturer, and pricing their products in the more fashionable end of the premium handset market, they should be out ahead of this problem with some kind of S-Pen replacement program. All it takes to correct this is a fraction more plastic on the end of the stylus. Done. Problem solved.
For a phone which costs more than a laptop, Samsung should be showing their customers they support their products beyond any doubt, especially when it comes to their own design mistake.
Remember! Don’t be like Leo!
Disassembled Note 5 pic courtesy of Android Police.
That’s definitely a worry for the more clumsy user! I am surprised they didn’t pick this up in design/testing. Quite disappointing really.
Still hoping Samsung responds with something more than just RTFM.