Samsung secures patent for S Pen with optical zoom camera - Cameras

Back to the recently unearthed patent, and Samsung describes how the zoom lenses fit into the pen with an image sensor and communication module to relay image data to your smartphone.

Now, it appears that Samsung is looking to expand the S Pen's photo taking functionality with the inclusion of a built-in camera, according to a patent that was officially granted today by the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Based on the illustrations, it focuses on providing an optical zoom feature by having an optical lens at the end of the S Pen. There's also mention of battery being mounted in the pen. Well, to solve this issue Samsung could be implementing a camera inside its S Pen. Samsung explains in the patent that smartphones typically employ digital zoom, but in the process of enlarging an image via a program or algorithm, the overall quality of the images takes a hit.

How much can you squeeze inside a thin stick like the Galaxy Note 9's S Pen? According to the concept, a camera lens will be located at the rear end of the pen, where a push button is now located.

With the launch of the Galaxy Note9, Samsung introduced the concept of using the S Pen as a remote shutter button. By doing this, the company opens the door for a proper full-screen display without a notch or punch-hole design.

Another possibility is that the stylus camera could be used for productivity tasks, such as optical text recognition. However, I would imagine that video calls would be mildly annoying via the S-Pen camera, as you'd need to hold the stylus up for the duration of the call.

The Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Android Pie update continues to make progress and it looks like it's still on track for a release in early 2019. But this future version could free you up to take a bigger range of shots with the phone acting as a viewfinder.