Samsung patents an S Pen design in the US with an optical zoom lens built into it

A Galaxy S10 may just be around the corner but Samsung is making news for a different development this time. The US Patent and Trademark Office just published a granted patent for Samsung today that reveals the Korean giant may be taking their S Pen into whole new territory in the future.[caption id="attachment_5072851" align="alignnone" width="1280"] Samsung Galaxy Note 9 with the S Pen on top of it. Image: tech2/ Omkar Patne[/caption]The patent focuses on the S Pen doubling up as a camera with an optical zoom lens function built into it. This could potentially be a big step for Samsung as an optic zoom system is vastly more capable when compared to a digital zoom system now found on all Galaxy smartphones.Samsung notes in the patent application that as more and more users begin to move to smartphones for photos, the company is faced with a space crunch to improve camera hardware.The patent titled 'Electronic pen device having optical zoom' reveals an image of the S Pen with an optics system in the upper portion of the pen. The diagram shows four lenses aligned before an image sensor along with a “communications module” to transmit the image data back to the host device. Based on the diagram, there’s also a “control key” that can be used to toggle the zoom function of the camera.[caption id="attachment_6039081" align="alignnone" width="799"] Diagrams of the new S Pen patented by Samsung. Image: Patently Mobile[/caption]Does this mean that the next Galaxy Note series smartphone will have an S Pen with a camera inside it? Well, not necessarily. Knowing how patents functions, companies don't always implement what they patent. The design could be used for a prototype, but it could be possible that the prototype never crosses the development stage.The new S Pen could also be bundled with laptops or future all-in-one systems meant for creators.