The Note 5 Stylus... Carefully does it!

The new Note 5 is a beautifully crafted  and curiously curved back, it has a metal and glass exterior which has been well received by most. Samsung's new handset also hosts some more controversial elements such as the removal of microSD, the IR blaster, and a user replaceable battery. One constant with Samsung's 'bigger is better' device however is the S-Pen, the pointing device that gave birth to the phablet and gave the device its’ namesake. The latest version of the Galaxy Note saw the introduction of a new, patented, spring-loaded eject mechanism that looks beautiful but there is a major problem in hand for those who accidentally stow it “eraser first.” .

According to a member of staff at Android Police they has discovered a major flaw with the Note 5 and the S-Pen, the issue is that if you insert the S-Pen backwards into the S-Pens' holder the phone will no longer be able to detect when the pen has been inserted or removed. This basically means that no sound or vibration will occur, and presumably (though not mentioned) and relevant software-related action that the device is set to trigger upon removal.

All previous designs of the S-Pen made it almost impossible to insert the S-Pen incorrectly. However, the latest version of the S-Pen can be inserted in either direction without any resistance which would prevent the user from inserting it incorrectly.

David Ruddock, who made the report and subsequent video, actually demonstrates this, and the difference between the S-Pens are quite obvious. Although it's worth pointing out for anyone who uses the device correctly, this is a total non-issue:

Don't ever stick you Galaxy Note 5 stylus in backward (which is surprisingly easy to do!) - you'll probably break S Pen detection on your phone, permanently.

This S-Pen problem has the potential to be a thorn in the side for Samsung, certainly from a PR perspective. The fact that the issue is so easy to reproduce and so ultimately is problematic means that at the very least a quick change to the design of the phone or the S-Pen is required. This could be in the fashion of something that is added to the Pen or the Pen's docking port to prevent the user from inserting the pen incorrectly, one thing is for sure we suspect there will be a number of returns for repair and we are hoping that Samsung will do the right thing and pick up the bill for the repairs until a solution is found.

Source: androidauthority.com