While the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold7 received positive feedbacks with the significantly thinner chassis, the company had to make a few sacrifices for it, one of them being the lack of S Pen support. A Samsung executive has confirmed that this was due to a technical limitation, of which they intend to solve and bring back S Pen for future models.
S Pen Is Not Dead For Foldables, Yet
On a technical level, the Z Fold7’s extreme thinness meant that the in-display layer required for S Pen to function was unable to fit inside the chassis. S Pen functionality existed for four generations of foldables before this one, though all of them required a separate variant that are designed to work on the less durable flexible screens, unlike the ones found in regular Galaxy S (and the now-retired Galaxy Note) models.
Kang Min-seok, Executive Director of Samsung’s MX business division, told Korean outlet ET News (via PCMag): “We are also researching and developing thinner and innovative technologies for the S Pen, so we will reconsider it when the level of perfection increases and there is consumer demand.” Samsung executives in America also told the media that stylus was rarely used among its users, which is why they chose to drop stylus support over increasing the device’s thickness.
While it’s hard to say when S Pen will return to Z Fold once again – over on the other side, Apple was spotted patenting new stylus technologies that involves a track ball and optical sensors. The premise is to allow the stylus to work on any surface, and even in mid-air. Will Samsung do something similar? Time will tell.
Pokdepinion: It’s a bummer for sure. Hopefully it returns soon enough.
