Samsung is reportedly on course and is busy prepping the next-gen avatar of its popular Galaxy Note series, the Galaxy Note 5. Now, word is that the impending Galaxy Note 5 phablet may boast a novel feature for its S Pen stylus: Auto-eject.
A patent application filed by Samsung (and published by the USPTO recently) is the source of the information, and it suggests that the Auto-eject option will be made available for the next-gen phablet, which is poised for a September release. The Auto-eject feature implies that Galaxy Note 5 users will not have to manually pull out the S Pen, instead it will be pushed out automatically by the smartphone.
The USPTO patent was spotted by Patently Mobile, and the publication reveals that the Auto-eject mechanism will work thanks to magnets.
The S Pen will apparently house a single magnet inside and the Galaxy Note 5 will also have one magnet. Both these magnets will attract each other when the stylus is placed inside the phablet. This will keep the S Pen locked inside the Galaxy Note 5. For those wondering how the S Pen will be auto-ejected, it has to do with simple physics. The polarization of the two magnets will be reversed so that they repel each other and, as a result, the S Pen "auto-ejects."
The next logical question is how Samsung will bring this polarization into effect. Samsung's patent suggests that the OEM is looking to key in a voice command or gesture control system that will work in tandem with the auto-eject feature.
Users will likely need to issue a voice command or draw a basic "shape gesture" that will propel the stylus into eject mode automatically.
"Since it is possible to automatically eject the touch pen only with a simple manipulation and/or command, it is easy to manipulate the electronic device with one hand, and since a separate locking device for confining the touch pen isn't needed, it is possible to enhance the usage convenience of the electronic device," revealed Samsung in the patent.
Alternatively, a possibility exists that Samsung may have a button to facilitate auto-ejection. With the Galaxy Note 5 anticipated to release at the IFA 2015 in Berlin in September this year, we will know if the unique auto-eject feature makes its way to the phablet.
