<div><em>The flaw comes at a time when so much is riding on the two flagship devices Samsung has just launched, writes <strong>Mala Bhargava</strong></em></div><div> </div><div>Samsung could certainly have done without this. A design flaw in the Samsung Galaxy Note 5 that means the S-Pen will get badly stuck into its slot if the user puts in backward. In the Note 4, you can't put in the stylus backward even if you try as it just doesn't fit. But with the Note 5, Samsung seems to have omitted to test this out properly and it can indeed get stuck - with resulting damage if you try to yank it out too forcefully.</div><div> </div><div>Samsung is about to face the onslaught of a release of new iPhones from Apple on September 9th, and the last thing the Korean electronics giant needed was a "gate" of its own, for Pengate is what the flaw on the Note 5 has been dubbed.</div><div> </div><div>Apple has had its own share of "gates" including an antennagate when Steve Jobs was still alive and it was found that gripping the phone in a certain way cut off cellular connectivity. Rather rudely, Jobs said people should hold the phone correctly. Samsung is trying to say the same when it asks users to read the manual, but one suspects Samsung is about to get away with it less easily than Apple did.</div><div> </div><div>Apple, more recently, had a more ridiculous "bendgate" when it was found that someone putting an iPhone in their back pocket could bend it by sitting on it. Well, no matter how perfect we expect our smartphones to be and how anticipatory of human error, it probably won't be enough.</div><div> </div><div>For Samsung though, the flaw comes at a time when so much is riding on the two flagships it just launched - the Galaxy S6 Edge Plus, which is being ridiculed by many as just being a bigger S6 - which it is, mostly - and the Note 5 which has so far had a really good run but now is being talked of because of the stylus flaw.</div><div> </div><div>The stylus is of course the one distinctive feature on the Note 5 and one would think a buyer would pick it up above other Samsung phones because of that feature which allows for unbeatable handwriting performance as well as all sorts of multitasking and other tricks.</div><div> </div><div>In real life, putting in the stylus the right way becomes second nature. You also have a clicking button on the end of the S-Pen, the feel of which should become instinctive as you tuck the stylus back into its slot. But when someone is in a supreme hurry, you can never say what might happen.</div><div> </div><div>The guys at AndroidAuthority, an online publication sepcialising in all things Android, has done some extensive fiddling with the Note 5's stylus and opened up the device using a toolkit that can be bought quite easily, and they have hit upon a good way of getting a backward-inserted stylus out quite safely. They use a piece of paper for this, wrapping it practically around the S-Pen and then insert and gently pull the stylus out. Worth it for all potential Note 5 users to have a look at how this is done.</div><div> </div><div>Of course, the other thing to do is not pull out the stylus, on accidental backward insert, and rush with it to a service center who should be able to take it out without causing damage.</div><div> </div><div>Avid Note fans may not get turned off from picking up the Note 5 as the device is known to always feature some interesting innovations. In this case, better handwriting, writing on a sleeping screen, and other interesting uses of the pen.</div><div> </div><div>There's also that superb camera and live broadcasting straight to YouTube. But there's no doubt that the flaw will scare many who will explore no further and leave Samsung to continue on its trajectory of a downward slide.</div>
