(Credit: Eric Zeman)
NEW YORK—The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 does not support the S Pen. This is a big shift, folks. The Z Fold series has long supported Samsung's stylus, which is a natural fit for the humongous canvas offered by the tablet-sized screen. The S Pen made the Z Fold's giant display a natural space for taking notes, scribbling and doodling, and playing games. No longer.
Samsung Giveth
The first two versions of the Z Fold didn't support the S Pen at all, and we pointed out in our reviews what a shame that was. Samsung added S Pen support in the 2021 Galaxy Z Fold 3 5G. "The idea of using the S Pen with the Galaxy Z Fold 3 is a very good one. The big canvas is great to draw or take notes on," we said.
The S Pen is part of what makes the Galaxy UItra (and the Galaxy Note before that), well, Ultra. The embedded stylus is an important part of the experience and a major reason people by one of Samsung's most expensive phones.
I guess we should have seen the writing on that huge display. This year, Samsung took some features away from the S Pen for the S25 Ultra. For example, it pulled out the Bluetooth radio and nixed features like the remote control shutter button for the camera and the cursor-pointing function for presentations.
Samsung said the camera shutter feature was about the most used of the Bluetooth-enabled features available to the S Pen, and it wasn't worth keeping considering the cost.
Samsung Taketh Away
Usage data. It's a feature killer. Peter Park, Senior Product Manager, Samsung Electronics America, said the same is pretty much true for the S Pen and the Z Fold 7. The data shows not all that many people are using the S Pen—an extra expense—with the Z Fold.
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When demonstrating several of the Z Fold 7's software features, we inquired about the S Pen and S Pen-specific accessories, such as a case that holds the S Pen. Park told us that the Z Fold 7 doesn't support the S Pen and there are no S Pen accessories for the device. In fact, no stylus made by any company will work with the Z Fold 7.
Why? In order to make the phone thinner and lighter, Samsung had to reduce the thickness of the display. Since the display contains a new Grade 4 titanium lattice to add strength, it didn't have room for the active layer for the S Pen, too. Samsung stripped out the active layer in favor of strengthening the screen and giving it a less-obvious crease.
The S Pen died in the name of vanity.
It’s a shame, because we were hoping to see Samsung go all-in on the S Pen and integrate it fully with the Z Fold 7. Dreams, dashed.
RIP, Samsung S Pen (for the Z Fold): 2021 - 2025.