The stylus should have died when then-Apple CEO Steve Jobs introduced the original iPhone at Macworld 2007, but thanks to the efforts of Samsung and others, it's managed to cling to life.
And now Samsung has proven its dedication to stylus-based touch interfaces by making a $58.9 million (UK£37 million, AU$56.4 million) investment in Wacom, makers of styluses (styli?) and drawing and design tablets.
The investment, revealed Thursday, earned Samsung a 5 percent stake in the Japanese stylus maker.
Samsung's stylus buy-in didn't come as a complete surprise, as Wacom's technology has already been used in the Galaxy Note, Galaxy Note 2 and other Samsung devices.
Samsung puts a ring on the stylus
What Samsung has demonstrated with its investment in the stylus technology company Wacom is a dedication to the stylus itself.
Where most smartphone owners are content to use their fingers or thumbs, some still prefer the more precise controls provided by a stylus.
That's where Samsung's S-Pen-equipped smartphones come in, not to mention newer devices like the Alcatel One Touch Scribe HD, just revealed at CES.
With this latest development in the story of the stylus, it seems those options for precision-minded smartphone users aren't about to disappear.
What does it mean?
Still, it's not clear exactly what will come of the latest development in Samsung's quest to keep the stylus relevant, but you can probably bet on seeing S-Pens with more devices in the future.
Even the Samsung Galaxy S4 could come with an S-Pen stylus, according to one report.
TechRadar asked Samsung to see if we can glean any more hints from the company, but the company didn't respond before publication.