The stinky stylus in question. | Photo by Allison Johnson / The Verge

I smelled the S Pen, and the reports are true: it kind of stinks.

The S Pen is one of the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra’s signature features — it’s a stylus that lives in the phone. A report from Reddit user LatifYil kicked off the S Pen aroma discussion earlier this week, noting that the S Pen on their Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra “absolutely reeks.” Dozens of commenters with S24 Ultras (and earlier stylus-toting Galaxy phones) responded in affirmation: their styli stank.

As noted by SamMobile, a moderator on Samsung’s EU community forums offered a reasonable explanation for the smell:

This isn’t anything to be concerned about. While the S Pen is in its holster, it is close to the internal components of the phone, which will generate heat while…

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