Ledger confirmed in April 2026 that the Nano S Plus, its best-selling mid-range hardware wallet since 2022, has been officially discontinued and replaced by the Nano X3 Pro. The transition marks a generational hardware upgrade for Ledger's product line and reflects four years of Secure Element, display, and connectivity improvements that the original Nano S Plus chassis could not accommodate. For a full comparison of Ledger versus competing hardware wallets, see the Ledger review and the wallets rating.
What Is New in the Nano X3 Pro
The Nano X3 Pro is best understood as an evolutionary refinement of the Nano X line rather than a revolutionary departure. The core architecture — a Secure Element chip isolated from the general-purpose microcontroller, with private keys never leaving the SE — remains unchanged. What has changed is the quality of every component around that architecture.
The most significant security upgrade is the Secure Element itself. The Nano X3 Pro uses a new CC EAL6+ certified chip, up from EAL5+ in both the Nano S Plus and the original Nano X. EAL6 certification requires semi-formally verified design documentation and independent testing against a broader range of hardware attack vectors, including advanced side-channel analysis and laser fault injection. For most users the practical difference is marginal — the EAL5+ chip was already extremely secure — but for high-value holdings or adversarial threat models, the upgrade is meaningful.
- Secure Element: CC EAL6+ (up from EAL5+ in Nano S Plus)
- Display: 1.5-inch colour LCD (up from 0.96-inch monochrome)
- Connectivity: USB-C + Bluetooth 5.3 (Nano S Plus: USB-C only)
- Battery: 200 mAh rechargeable (8h standby), charged via USB-C
- Supported coins: 5,500+ (same as Nano S Plus)
- Price: $149 (Nano S Plus was $79 at discontinuation)
The Colour Display: More Than Aesthetics
The 1.5-inch colour display in the Nano X3 Pro is not merely cosmetic. Hardware wallet security depends critically on the user verifying transaction details on the device screen before pressing the physical confirm button — because the computer or phone software driving the transaction could theoretically be compromised and show false information. A larger, higher-resolution display showing more characters per line reduces the chance of truncation hiding a fraudulent recipient address.
Ledger has updated the transaction confirmation UI to use the extra screen space for colour-coded risk indicators: green for verified addresses in the user's address book, orange for unverified addresses, and red for addresses flagged by Ledger's security database as associated with phishing or known exploits. This visual risk layer makes the confirm/cancel decision more intuitive for non-expert users.
Bluetooth: Wireless Signing for Mobile Users
The Nano X3 Pro adds Bluetooth 5.3, extending wireless signing capability to iOS and Android via Ledger Live Mobile. For smartphone-first users who manage portfolios on their phone rather than a desktop browser, this removes the need for a USB-OTG cable or a laptop to sign transactions.
Critics of Bluetooth in hardware wallets often cite wireless attack surface concerns. Ledger's response — consistent across multiple product generations — is that Bluetooth transmits only signed outputs and status information; the private key computation occurs entirely within the Secure Element, which has no wireless interface of any kind. This architecture means even a complete compromise of the Bluetooth firmware layer cannot extract keys.
Users who remain sceptical of wireless connectivity can disable Bluetooth in the device settings and use the Nano X3 Pro exclusively via USB-C, matching the connectivity profile of the discontinued Nano S Plus.
Should Nano S Plus Users Upgrade?
The practical answer for most Nano S Plus owners is: not urgently. The Nano S Plus remains secure, fully supported, and capable of managing 5,500+ coins. Ledger has committed to firmware security patches for at least three years, meaning the device will receive critical updates through at least Q1 2029.
Upgrading makes most sense for users who: (1) primarily use their hardware wallet with a smartphone rather than a desktop computer, where Bluetooth connectivity is a genuine workflow improvement; (2) manage high-value portfolios where the EAL6+ Secure Element provides meaningful peace of mind; or (3) find the larger colour display a meaningful usability improvement for transaction verification.
The price jump from $79 (Nano S Plus at discontinuation) to $149 for the Nano X3 Pro is substantial. Users on a tighter budget who want to maintain hardware wallet security can purchase remaining Nano S Plus inventory (still available from third-party retailers) or consider the Trust Wallet paired with a lower-cost hardware signing device. Full hardware wallet comparison is available in the wallets rating.
Ledger Recover: Still Optional, Now Clearer
No coverage of a Ledger product launch would be complete without addressing Ledger Recover — the optional seed phrase backup service that caused significant controversy at its 2023 announcement. The Nano X3 Pro ships with Ledger Recover as opt-in only, with prominent disclosure during setup that the service involves encrypting and sharding the seed phrase across three custodians.
Ledger has since published the full Recover source code and completed a third-party security audit by Kudelski Security. The audit found no vulnerabilities in the cryptographic implementation and confirmed that opting out of Recover leaves the Secure Element in exactly the same state as a Nano S Plus with no Recover functionality. The controversy has largely subsided as users have had time to review the technical details independently.
